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I sighed and curled my fingers into her smock. “Because my mom tends to be a selfish bitch at the best of times. I spent most of my childhood living with my grandparents because she wasn’t very interested in parenting. Everything had to be for her no matter how negatively it impacted someone else. I’m still not sure how she turned out that way, but they knew how she was and took a lot of steps to keep her out of my finances.”
“What about your dad?” Nicky asked, cuddling me softly.
“He’s not any better. He won the lottery very shortly before meeting mom. The two of them just roll around in their money. And, like, I get that I was also born into privilege, but at least I acknowledge it and try to do better. Those two are like the gold-toilet kind of rich.”
Nicky pulled me back over to the stool and had me sit on her lap. “I’d say you’ve definitely made your grandparents proud. You put your money to good use to make a beautiful home for your pack, and you made Jasper’s dreams come true. I have no doubt you’ll do even more wonderful things in the future.”
“Thank you,” I said softly, swallowing back a fresh rise of emotion.
“Where are your dad’s parents in all of this?” Nicky asked.
“Oh, um, they actually kind of joined a cult a few years back. Last I heard they were part of a commune down in Belize.”
“What?!”
“Yeah. Cults like pulling in people with money. My dad gave them a bit from the lotto win, and the recruiters came snooping. I’ve only actually met them twice, and I haven’t had any updates since I got disowned.”
“My family seems so boring by comparison,” Nicky mused.
“Be glad for that. Interesting isn’t always good.” I gave her a long kiss to shake myself properly out of the sharp edges of grief and pulled her back to the potter’s wheel to finish up her project.
I helped her tidy the bowl she’d made and used my wire to slice it off the wheel so I could set it aside to dry.
“Now what?” Nicky asked.
“Now it air dries. Takes a couple days, and then you can decide if you’d like to paint it before glazing it, and then I’ll take it to a little studio downtown that has a kiln. You made a very cute bowl. Excellent first try.”
I set the bowl on one of my shelves and pulled Nicky back into a kiss. The taste of her chased away the memories, anchoring me firmly back into a much more pleasant reality.
She stayed for dinner before heading home to prepare for work and feed Spud. I worked on some of my paintings so I didn’t crowd her at work, but by the next day I was itching to see her again and asked Tony to take us both to the library.
I trotted after Nicky in the stacks, stealing her time for myself while she re-shelved a cart full of books. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail today instead of her usual chignon.
“Do you want to come over in the morning?” she asked. “I could make us breakfast.”
Warmth flooded my chest. “Fuck yes. Sign me up immediately.”
Nicky laughed. “I know it's not as fancy as the pack house…”
“If it's yours then I love it,” I proclaimed. “Besides I can ruin you in your bed just as easily as in mine.”
I was rewarded by her cheeks bursting into flames. She made a little choked sound and hastily shoved a couple more books back onto the shelf.
“Do you think there's enough room for Tony?” she asked.
“If we cuddle, there's room for anything,” I replied.
“That's true.” She fidgeted with the cuffs of her blouse. “A sandwich of people doesn’t take up much room.”
When her task was over and she had to return to the front desk, I returned to Tony with a bounce in my step.
“What's got you so happy?” he asked.
“You and I are going to have a sleepover at Nicky's.”
“Oh, are we?” His easy smile had me grinning back at him.
“Yep. She offered to make breakfast, so if there's anything in particular you want we should hit an early morning grocery run.”
