There is silence on the other end, and for a few moments I start to worry that the mute got hit on my end. Pausing in my perusal of fabrics and stuffing, I check my phone to make sure it didn’t.
But I’m distracted again. I found their “build your own pillow” section,and it is glorious! There is a deep purple chenille fabric that I think she would love.
I assume they hung up, and I am about to press the end call button when Xan comes back on. “Ok, love, now, say that again. Where the fuck are you?”
Gabe is cursing loudly in the background, and even our good doctor sounds put out. “Well, what did you expect would happen? No, I have a box of suture supplies in the first aid kit. Yes, I know it’s not normal, but just who do you think you’re speaking to? Oh, really, well, I can let you bleed all over the cab if you prefer. No? Good, now shut up.”
There are several pauses, and Gabe’s yelling has stopped, so I am only getting one side of the conversation at this point. Fair enough. I need a store clerk anyway to help me with stuffing pillows. I’m only half paying attention to Xan.
Letting Xan know I’m at Nests-N-Stuff in Springfield, “According to maps it looks like mile marker 105 is about 20 minutes out from me…so you should get here just in time to help me load stuff up…if I can ever find someone to help me work this damned pillow stuffer!” I say the last part less for his benefit and more for any customer service people who might be in earshot. This fucking purple pillow has now become an obsession and I am not leaving until it’s stuffed and in my cart.
“Ok, well, we are gonna be a bit more than 20 minutes man…Gabe was taking a drink of coffee when you called earlier and well…those plastic travel mugs aren’t as sturdy as one would think. Leo is stitching up his hand now, but I’ll take over driving afterwards. And we may need to make a stop to clean up some, I don’t want to walk into a well lit department store with a couple of guys covered in blood.”
“Ew, no. Yes, take them, get cleaned up…I don’t want anyone bleeding on my omega’s pillows. Fine, I’ll load them all when you get here, but then you have to take me out for dinner. Oh, I hear they opened a new Red Rogers in town here. I could go for a good burger.”
“Yeah, ok love, just…” a loud sigh from Xan. “Just stay safe, ok. Don’t talk to people you don’t need to, pick out what you think she might like, load up what you can in the Jeep, and Leo can drive it home after dinner, ok? Just be safe, please?” I hear the worry in his voice. I might feel bad about it, if I hadn’t finally managed to find a young beta woman to help me work the pillow stuffing machine. I would normally just fuck arounduntil I figure it out on my own, but these need to be perfect, so better to bring in the professionals.
“I’ll be safe. You be safe too, ok? I love you, and many snuggles soon, alright?”
“Love you too, Jacks. Just stay there, and I’ll see you soon.” The phone disconnects for real this time. I owe Xan more than I can ever repay. We’ve been best friends since Kindergarten, he was always smaller and everyone just assumed he would be my beta as we got older. But, surprise-surprise, his designation came in when we were 14, before mine, actually. While he never got as tall as me, he is alpha in all the good ways.
“I’m sorry, sir. I am not exactly sure how to work this machine. I am pretty new. But let me call a manager for you.”
Professional my ass.
Ugh.
I smile as politely as I can, to the unhelpful clerk. “Thank you miss, I appreciate your time.” I am not sure what she sees in my face, but she nearly runs towards the front, and then I hear a call for a manager and security to the pillow stuffing area.
Well, fuck.
Xan
When we finally get to Nests-N-Stuff, Jacks is sitting outside on the folded down back of the Jeep. Bags with colorful fabrics spilling out the top are stuffed in the trunk behind him, and it looks like the back and passenger seats are full as well. Plus he has three carts full of pillows in varying shapes and sizes parked beside him.
My love has been a busy boy, apparently.
He has his arms wrapped around a dark purple pillow, and is rubbing his chin and cheek along the top seam, back and forth, over and over. He looks a little lost, and I wonder how long he’s been sitting out here waiting. We got here as fast as we could, but I still worry about him.
Leo finally managed to talk Gabe down before we got here, but neither of them are happy, and they both stay in the truck after I park beside the Jeep and get out. I put down the truck gate when I walk by, but then go straight to Jacks and wrap my arms around his neck. He’s still sitting down and it sandwiches the pillow between us as I pull his face into my chest.
“Are you ok? You look sad. What were you thinking? You had me worried sick.” I try not to sound like I am blaming him, but even I have no idea what this was. “Why didn’t you just shop online and have it delivered?” He pulls back and the look he gives me tells me what a stupid question he thinks that is.
“Ok, number one, I’m fine, just…they called security on me. Two, they had six different people in there, none of them knew how to use the pillow stuffing machine.” At this point he’swaving the purple pillow he’s been scent marking around in the air. “They all kept taking it and trying different ways to get the machine to work, now it smells like them, and I need it to smell like us.” He starts rubbing it up and down my chest and neck, and yeah, it’s super soft.
“And to answer the rest of your questions, I was thinking that if I shopped online, I had no idea what colors I would really get. You know how nuanced colors get and while my setup is good, monitors never show exact colors. This, for example,” he waves the pillow in the air again, "could have looked like anything from black to lavender, depending on the monitor…and don’t even get me started on texture. Do you have any idea how many different things are labeled as cotton…how many different types and thread counts of cotton there even are. I’m not even going to go into microfiber.” He brings his legs up, wrapping his whole body around the small pillow, and rocking back and forth.
Clearly, my mate is feeling a bit overwhelmed. “Ok, well, let me get this loaded up in the truck, and move the stuff out of the passenger side, so Gabe can ride with Leo on the way back. Did you still want a burger?” He looks up at me and his eyes are bright with unshed tears.
“I just need a few minutes, ok. I got over excited and did something stupid, and it was all going fine, until it wasn’t...and they fucking called security on me. I didn’t even do anything, I was being polite.” His voice cracks at the end, and I just want to wrap him up and take him to bed for snuggles, but first I needto deal with this shit, feed him, and then we can get home, get a hot shower, and sleep.
I turn back towards the truck–I must have missed the sound of the doors, because Gabe and Leo are leaning against the side of the bed. Gabe’s expression is thunderous and even our pacifist has a hard look in his eyes.
“Guys, come on. Let's just get this loaded up, we’ll grab some food and head home, ok?”
Gabe marches over and I panic for a moment, until he reaches down and rubs his hand over Jacks’ mohawk, before pulling him in for a quick hug. When he pulls back he looks into Jacks’ sad eyes, “Help him get loaded up, a’ight. We’ll be back in a few minutes.” Then he pats him on the shoulder a few times before he and Leo stride towards the doors of Nest-N-Stuff.
Jacks slides off the back of the Jeep, his legs wobbly, and I help him load all his bags of pillows and blankets into the truck, as well as move a few things around in the Jeep so that Gabe can sit in the front seat when he returns. We are just pulling the bed cover closed on the truck when they get back. Leo still looks angry, and Gabe looks like he’s ready to break someone in half, but he comes back over and gives Jacks a hug before leading him to the front door of the truck and getting him settled and buckled in.
