Page 20 of The Spellreader and the Phoenix

(Max wanted to tell them to cherish every single moment—but he had no idea what the situation with Alex’s other parent was, or their life in general. So he’d swallow any unsolicited advice, even if his heart ached a little, remembering when he’d been fifteen and maybe hadn’t appreciated his parents as much as he should have.)

There was a brief diversion as their mom admired the window that Alex had decorated, and Max liked how appreciative she was even though her focus was mostly on Max.

He pulled open the door and ushered Alex and their mom in.

“Hello. I’m Maximilian March.” Because his parents, god rest their souls, had hated him. “But please call me Max.”

He offered his hand, and she shook it. There was no magical recognition buzzing along his skin. Definitely a normal person, just like their son.

“Natalie Rodriguez. I’m sure you understand my concerns.”

She had dark brown eyes like her child. Right now, they were narrowed and looking at Max very intently.

“Mom!” Alex protested.

“Absolutely,” Max said firmly. “You can’t be too careful these days. Alex likes the bookshop, and my sister’s been nagging me to get some help. It seemed like we might be able to kill two birds with one stone. I don’t know how to say I’m not interested in kids without just saying I’m not interested in kids, so, uh, I’m apparently just going to say that.”

Alex looked at him like he was a fool, but thankfully, Max’s awkwardness seemed to reassure Alex’s mother.

“I don’t really like people, generally,” Max added, “and I’ve never really understood the whole ‘attraction’ thing. Like, what’s so great about sex, anyway?”

Alex stifled a laugh behind their hand. Even their mom looked faintly amused.

Max cleared his throat. “Which is probably not something you really needed to know about me. Sorry. I’m 38, which does, appallingly, mean I’m technically old enough for your child to be my child.” He and Alex made identical horrified faces. “I made sure to look up all the rules regarding employing minors, and Alex has already said they’ll let me know whenever they need time off. I do research for clients, so if Alex is working up front, I can do more of that. But I’ve been managing for years working around that obligation, so if I need to keep doing that, I can. Alex’s schooling comes first, and I should have plenty of flexibility to make that work. If you ever have any concerns, you can reach out to me, and we can discuss it.”

Max thought that speech might have got away from him a little, but whatever, he’d said what he was trying to say. Oh, almost.

“The bookshop is a safe space, and I won’t tolerate any bigoted behavior by anyone. Alex has my permission to protect themself, and I’m happy to throw anyone out. I’ve never had an issue with a customer before, but I’m a cis white man, so I’ve got a boatload of privilege that means my experience is probably very different from Alex’s. But I swear I won’t take any shit from anyone, and Alex’s safety is my top priority.”

He probably wasn’t supposed to say “shit” in front of Alex’s mom, but it was out there now.

She continued to look at him for another long moment, and then she gave a very firm nod. “Alright. It seems like we’re on the same page. I reserve the right to stop by whenever.”

“You’re always welcome,” Max confirmed.

“Mom, I don’t need you to check up on me!” Alex protested.

Their mom shot them a look. “Alex, you could be sixty, and you’d still be my baby. I’m always going to want to protect you; that’s just how parenting works.”

Alex huffed a breath. “Ugh, you’re the worst. Go away so you’re not late for work.”

But they gave their mom a hug, and Max was glad to see how much they cared for one another.

Alex’s mom hurried off to the car, and Max eyed Alex.

“You want to go have breakfast? I assume your mom would freak out if we had it up in my apartment—and I’ve really only got cereal—but we could go out. We could alternate between staring awkwardly and asking one another asinine coworker getting-to-know-you questions.”

Alex snorted. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Let me get my jacket.”

October was around the corner, and mornings were starting to get a bit chilly.

“Do you want to come with me?” Max asked Red. “You’d need to keep quiet. Normal people frown on strange animals, especially when they mix with food.”

Red chirped and rubbed against his neck again. That was good enough for Max.

Shrugging into the jacket, he met Alex downstairs, locked up, and then they took off on foot towards the nearest diner that did a full breakfast, agreeing that if they wanted granola, they could get that at home.