“Ah,” the omega said in a whisper-soft voice, folding his hands on the table. “Yes. It can be scary for families, but I assure you we do quite well here.” He motioned toward the alpha. “My husband and I moved from the other side about a year ago, once we both needed wheelchairs. It’s never easy getting older, facing reality if you will, but this place provides a gentle landing.”
“Thank you. I appreciate you saying that.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I imagine I’ll always feel a little guilty, but it helps.”
The omega shook his head slightly. “Don’t feel guilty. This is simply the way of things. Besides, your father probably feels bad too.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s an alpha?” the alpha asked.
“Yes.”
“Then he probably worries about being a burden on you.”
“Maybe,” Assa hedged, doubting very much that his father cared about that.
“Families can be tricky,” the omega said. “Things never quite work out the way you plan.” His kind eyes darkened, taking on a faraway stare. “Our son passed away a few months ago…” The alpha rubbed a hand across his shoulders. “Cancer. It was quick, mercifully. But now we find ourselves in another province, far from our grandchildren. When we retired from our bakery and moved here, we thought our lives would be full of travel and relaxation. We never expected to getoldso quickly…or to lose our only child.”
His husband kept up the slow, soothing back rub. “At least we’re together,” the alpha said. He peered at Assa. “A few times a month, the nurses set up calls over the computer, so we can talk to our grandsons. And see them on the screen.”
Assa furrowed his brow. “You can’t call them more often? To video chat?”
The omega tutted. “We never got fancy phones like that, and even if we had, figuring out those things is impossible.”
“Not to mention the small screens,” the alpha said. “Even with my glasses, I can barely see the buttons.”
“Do you know your son-in-law’s phone number by heart? If you do, I’d be happy to make a call for you now. He might not pick up, since it’ll be an unknown number, but I can try,” Assa offered.
The omega lit up. “Truly? You would do that?”
“Absolutely,” Assa replied, pulling his phone from his pocket.
They gave him the number. Assa tapped it into the video call app and hitconnect. To his surprise, the person on the other end of the line picked up, and he found himself staring at one of the most beautiful alphas he had ever seen.
“Hello?” the man said.
“Um…hi,” Assa stammered. “My name is Assa Pashuk. I’m here at Green Rivers Assisted Living and Care Facility in Warburton. Your, um, in-laws asked me to call.” Quickly, Assagave the phone to the couple. When they struggled to hold it, he squatted between them and pushed out the kickstand on the case, setting it on the table.
“Papa Sal! Daddy Endo! So great to see you,” the alpha said. “I wasn’t expecting to speak to you until this weekend.”
“Well, this nice young beta came by and was kind enough to spend time with us. He offered to lend us his phone for a call.”
“That’s wonderful! Let me go grab the boys so they can say hello.”
“Yes, Calder, please get them,” the elderly alpha—Sal—said.
“I can’t wait to hear about Jordie’s classes,” the omega—Endo—added. “And Ked grows an inch every time we see him.”
The alpha chuckled. It was a low, growly laugh, and Assa’s belly swooped. He couldn’t remember the last time an alpha’s generalvibeshad affected him so quickly. So viscerally.
Assa moved away as the couple spoke with their son-in-law and grandchildren, to respect their privacy. He wandered around the room, mindlessly examining the books and board games on the shelves.
Eventually, Sal and Endo asked him to return to the table. They said goodbye to their grandsons and gave Assa his phone back.
He noticed how much the conversation had drained them.
