Finch came home.
Hugh started by sweeping the floor. When he was done, he cleared the cobwebs from the
ceiling and chased a spider away with the bristles of his broom. He wasn’t entirely sure if
brooms were designed for ceilings, but he had no idea what tool he’d otherwise use, and it did
the job well enough. After scouring one of the supply closets for cleaning spray, he washed
the insides of the room’s windows—the outsides would have to wait for warmer weather—then
stopped to survey what he’d accomplished.
The room looked better, but not perfect. The floor was dull and lifeless, nowhere near as shiny
as the other floors were in the rest of the house. Seeing as how construction crews weren’t in
and out of the estate every other month to replace the flooring, Hugh deduced that there was
some way the staff kept the wood vibrant. He discovered the solution by accident whilst
returning the cleaning spray to the supply closet—“rejuvenating oil.” According to the bottle, it
would clean and restore finished wood and penetrate deep. Hugh wasn’t necessarily interested
in that last bit, but he tucked it in his back pocket for later should Finch come back home feeling
feisty.
Hugh loaded himself up with five very large bottles of the stuff and carted his spoils back to the
future nest room, where he dumped the oil straight out of the bottle onto the floor, working from
the perimeter of the room inward. By the time he was done, the drab-looking wood shone like
a carefully polished suit of armor. Pleased with himself, Hugh beamed at his new, stunning
floor. It was, perhaps, slightly more wet than he’d like, but all liquids evaporated given time.
Small, oily ocean aside, what an excellent job he’d done.
Now that the room was in pristine condition, it wasn’t hard to imagine what it would look like
when it was complete. Sheers would be installed, of course, running from the ceiling to the
floor. They would be paired with royal purple curtains of equal grandeur that would add a pop
of color to an otherwise serene space. Hugh would have the light fixtures updated and the
walls painted. An armchair would be placed in the corner and a stately dresser would occupy
the far wall. Other furniture would be added, too, as per Finch’s instructions. There was no
telling what a nesting omega might need.
Regardless of what other furniture would be installed, the crowning feature of the room would
be the egg bed. It would be circular, as most egg beds were, with a solid wood headboard