“It’s a very moving story, but it’s kinda sad, and there’s a debate about the subject matter. Some say it’s beautiful and others disagree.”
“Oh. Well, we’ll keep it until he’s older, and when we read it together, we can discuss the message.” It would stay in his room until he was ready to read it or have us read it to him. “Is that okay?” I didn’t want Remy to be disappointed in our son’s choice.
“Mmmm.”
We bought the book and got out of there.
“How about no more bookstores on a Sunday. Next time, let’s go Monday morning when the kids are at school.”
“Deal,” my mate agreed.
If it’d been the two of us, I would have suggested we grab a bite to eat, but we headed straight home. We’d get used to going out with the baby eventually, but today was not that day.
“Let’s order in, and after Huxley has a nap, we can eat in bed.” Remy yawned.
“You don’t mind crumbs in the bed?”
“I’m so tired I wouldn’t care if I shared the bed with a rhino.”
“That’d be kinda owie, you know, with the horn and all. Which way would he lie, with the horn facing your side or mine?”
My mate caught my eye, and I giggle-snorted. He put a hand on the dashboard and cackled.
“We must be more exhausted than I realized if we’re discussing which of us would get the sharp end of a rhino’s horn, the same rhino who’s sharing our bed.”
Considering there must be rhino shifters, it wasn’t so implausible.
Remy put the new book not on the picture ledge but in the bookshelf, and I ordered food. When I arrived, my mate was already in bed. This was our default setting these days.
“Gimme, gimme.” He outstretched his hands, but I peeked under the duvet before giving him the bag.
“Looking for rhinos?” He giggled.
“Just in case.” I climbed into bed, and we ate and dropped crumbs.
“Did you ever think this would be your life?” Remy asked before biting into a taco.
“Nope. I was all about work. I had hoped to meet someone one day, marry, and have a family. What I didn’t expect was that the man of my dreams could transform into a koala.”
“And I always assumed I’d mate with a shifter.” He piled guacamole on a corn chip and ate it. “Not that there’s anything wrong with humans.” He patted my hand and licked around his mouth
“Thanks, and I noticed you slipped that last bit in there as an afterthought.”
He shook his head and put a hand to his mouth because it was full.
“I bet you didn’t think wood would figure so prominently in your life?”
“Not really. Trees, yes, because of my koala, but not wood.”
Huxley was still sleeping. In the past, if we’d been eating in bed on a Sunday, we probably would have finished off with afternoon delight. But we were existing on a few hours of uninterrupted sleep most nights and sex was the furthest thing from my mind.
I tossed the garbage in the trash, and after a glance at our son in the nursery, I hurried back to bed, anxious to get as much rest as possible before the baby demanded a feed.
“You know, even though I practically have to prop my eyes open with toothpicks, I wouldn’t miss this time with Huxley. Whenhe’s grown up with a career and maybe a family of his own, I’ll look back at this time with fond memories.”
“Mmmm.” Remy turned over. “Can we reminisce about a possible future some other time?”
“Absolutely.”
