And just like that, a new Christmas tradition was formed. We would build the cabin to remember Peter and watch the movies.
And never forget who made my family a family before they were mine.
“Alpha, there is none other like you.” Gustav hugged me around the neck while he sobbed into my shirt.
“There is no other like you, omega. Never will be.”
Chapter Nineteen
Gustav
The rest of the holiday season went as smoothly as possible in a family with a young son and a pregnant omega. I settled into morning sickness and threw up a lot. Dane managed to sneak into the cookies while we slept late on New Year’s Day, and he threw up. Just once, luckily. But once the walls between my big-hearted omega and equally big-hearted son started to crumble, they fell into dust.
Which was lucky because between New Year’s and Valentine’s Day, it took both of them to handle me with what the doctor called hyperemesis gravidarum. It gave me little comfort to know that Duchess Kate of England had also spent her days in such misery. They were constantly bringing me drinks to keep my electrolytes balanced and avoid dehydration. Link even bought a little refrigerator he installed next to our bed filled with bottles of beverages, and Dane was now in kindergarten for the new term where he was having a much better time than sitting home worrying about his Papa.
My illness cast a shadow over our little guy, and both Link and I had to tell him over and over that sometimes an omega got a very upset tummy at the start of a pregnancy and that I was not under any circumstances going to die.
But as the snows melted, and late February brought the first signs of spring, I woke up one morning feeling fantastic. And that set the tone for the next few months. Sure, I was getting fat, but been there, done that, and got a great little boy for it last time.
I was flipping flapjacks late one Saturday morning in July, humming to myself and feeling the little one kick away when the phone rang. It was Beto.
“Can you come over this afternoon?” he asked.
“Well, I have a lot to do around here, Papa.” Sure, I called him that. And Dane, who spent as much time over at their house being spoiled as possible called him Grandpa and his husband PopPop. “Tomorrow would be better, if that’s okay.” I lifted the pancakes onto a plate and poured four more on the griddle.
“Well, it’s kind of important.” His voice held such an odd tone, I panicked. Beto, for all his healthy appearance, had been having some heart arrhythmia issues. So far as I knew, the meds were doing a great job controlling them, but we worried. “But if you’re busy…”
“We’re never too busy for you. I was just feeding the guys a late breakfast. Do you need us to come now?” I was already planning to make them pancake and sausage sandwiches to eat in the car.
“No. No...how’s two thirty?”
“We can come sooner. Is everything okay?”
Link came into the kitchen and hugged me from behind. “Who’s on the phone?”
“Your papa.” I spoke into the phone again. “Do you want to talk to Link?” Maybe he should be telling his son what was wrong.
“Sure, mijo.”
I passed the phone to my mate and he listened, nodding. “Oh sure, we’d love to come by. We’ll be there at two thirty. Love you, too, Papa.” He disconnected and set my phone on the counter. “So what’s for breakfast?”
“Pancakes and sausage.” Like he couldn’t see them right there in front of him? “Are they okay?”
“Seem like it. They said something about wanting us to come go through some of my old boxes. I think they want to turn my room into a gym or something. Dane might like some of my toys...the rest they will just donate.”
“Seems like an awfully specific time request to come over and go through boxes that have probably been untouched for a decade or longer. I told him we were busy, but he was pretty insistent.”
He shrugged, pouring syrup over a stack of pancakes half a foot high. “You know how they are. They probably already ordered a treadmill or something. Hand me a fork, would you?”
“Sure.” I started for the doorway to the living room to holler for Dane. “Just seems weird.”
“You know my dads.” He stuffed a big bite of pancakes in his mouth and soon we were all eating, the subject dropped. I’d hit the hungry phase of pregnancy, and whatever was going on with his dads would reveal itself soon enough.
We arrived at his dads’ house right at two thirty, thanks to my mate’s lollygagging around and taking a half-hour shower. Obviously, only one of us was worried about the old guys. I’d been fussing and fretting since they called, my delicious breakfast giving me heartburn as a result.
As soon as Link put the car in park, I was out the door and run-walking toward the house.
“Hey, wait for me,” he called.
“And me, Papa,” Dane yelled. “Hey, I can’t get out of this seat, the belt is tangled.”
“Link will get it for you. I need to know what’s going on with your grandpas.” Since Link was showing far less than the proper amount of concern, I’d deal with it. What if it was a heart problem acting up? And his other dad had looked a little off last time we were over. They were getting up there in years and nearly anything could go wrong. I hadn’t just gotten this wonderful family together to lose any members before the baby even met them!
Breathing heavy from my fast pace up the walk, I paused to catch my breath before ringing the bell. That gave my mate and son a chance to catch up. “Papa, why did you run?”
I didn’t want to alarm him. Damn, how would he react if one of his grandpas was sick? Or died?
Link placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him. “Omega, settle down. It’s not good for the baby for you to get upset, and look at Dane.”
I did, to see his little face pale and his lips trembling. Shoot.
Inhaling deeply, I let it out in a long whoosh. “Right.” I forced a smile and said to Dane, “I wonder if the drawbridge is repaired. You have to go right out and check.” Thereby getting him out of the way before he got caught up in whatever drama the grown-ups would be discussing.
“Do you think?” He brightened. “If they did, I can go up by myself, PopPop said so.”
I wasn’t sure even then it was a good idea, but I nodded. “Right.” Then rang the bell. A silence followed then some thudding and laughter. “Well, they don’t sound sick.”
Link squeezed my shoulders before dropping his hands. “I told you I didn’t think there was anything big. I’m sure it’s just the gym thing. It will be kind of fun to show you some of the stuff I collected. I think I have every report card from elementary school, if you can believe it.”
It was taking too long for someone to open the door so I grasped the knob. “Cover Dane’s eyes in case they are getting frisky. I’m going in.”
“What’s frisky, Papa?” Dane asked, but then it didn’t matter.
Chapter Twenty
Link
I knew what my dads were planning, had for weeks.
Gustav had no idea, of course. My dads were big fans of surprises, and it was fun to once be on the planning side of the surprise instead of the clasping-my-chest-for-air side of the secret.
Still, I had to pretend not to know.
“What did you do, alpha?” Gustav said, already crying, his voice trembled with emotion.
“I simply kept the secret. These two were the magic.”
Pink, blue, and yellow streamers in the shapes of cradles and strollers were everywhere. Confetti in the same motif were spread over all flat surfaces, and each chair had a pastel bow tied on the back of it.
“This can’t be true!” Gustav exclaimed and waddled as fast as possible to hug on my dads. They clapped and smiled, graciously accepting his gratitude, and then gently nudged him to see his guests. Edison and Liam came, along with Patrick and his mate. A few of the teachers from my school came and of course, George.
“You two did well,” I said, walking over
to greet my dads even though their attention was firmly affixed to Dane.
“It was a labor of love, for sure. But worth every second for the look on Gus’s, face.”
I watched while Gustav became the center of attention. My dads had arranged for him a chair in the middle of the room so everyone could see the gifts as they were opened one by one, and my omega held each tiny outfit and contraption up, trying to share the moment with me.
My dads took pictures and entertained Dane who also got a kick out of the little socks and tiny diapers. Sometimes I thought he was as excited if not more excited than us for the babe to arrive.
“Did you see these? They have sloths on them. I need sloth socks to match my brother,” Dane said, coming over to plop on my lap and dangle the three-inch socks in front of my face. He held them on his fingers like puppets.
Yeah, he was still stuck on the brother thing.
“I’m sure we can find you some sloth socks, buddy. I’ll have to look online.”
Beto called out, “Already found them online. Two-day shipping. Boom.”
My dads were going to spoil the kid rotten.
“Thanks, Grandpa!” He hopped out of my lap, satisfied with getting the socks and had already moved on to the next present Gustav was opening. It was some kind of rubber-looking mini chair. Like a more solid beanbag for babies.
“I’m proud of you, son. You’ve got a family now. Seems like not so long ago your father and I were going to set you up on some blind dates so we could have some grandchildren. Now look at us all, two grandchildren and another beautiful son. Fate has a way.”
I looked over at Gustav who was having the time of his life being gushed over and ripping wrapping paper from one package after another other.
One day a single alpha found someone to love, and before long, I had become us. Love was truly a miracle.
After cake and a few silly games, the party was over, and my Gustav sat down on the couch. Clint, one of my dads, went over and propped his feet up on the coffee table and covered him with a blanket. Two seconds later, my love, carrying my newest love was out cold.
A party takes it out of an expecting dad.
“Link, let’s go build the drawbridge while Papa is sleeping,” Dane whispered to me and took my hand.
“Okay. Good idea.”
We found some scrap wood behind the storage shed and on a piece of paper, drew out the plans first. Dane and I had gotten into a rhythm of doing things. We got paper, planned things out then executed according to the plan.
Gustav called us the architects.
In under an hour, the drawbridge was rebuilt and secure. Dane tested it several times with my help before I knew it was steady enough to let him go.
He continued playing while I went inside to check on Gustav and lend a hand cleaning up.
My omega was still asleep, so adorable I couldn’t help but steal a kiss from his lips.
“That was pathetic, Alpha. Give me a real one,” Gustav said, his eyes still closed, but a smile playing on his lips.
I did as he asked and took his mouth with fervor, loving how he tasted like cake and my dad’s sherbet punch. “How was that? Better?”
“Much. Today was such a blessing. Thank you, my love. I can’t wait to see our babe. I hope he or she has your lips and eyes.”
“I hope they have your blue eyes. I could get lost in them. Sometimes, I think I do.”
He chuckled and opened his eyes. “You could get lost in other parts of me tonight. I’d be willing.”
Willing was a joke. My omega had been the horniest of horny mates these last few months since recovering from the constant nausea. He never got enough. Good thing I never got enough of him.
“I’d be willing to oblige you in any way you want me. Are you ready to go home?”
“Not yet. I want to help clean up. I need some help standing, though.”
I assisted him to rise and then we cleaned up alongside my dads.
“You better call us the second this one goes into labor,” they chastised me.
“I will. I promise. Now we’d better go. This one is tired.”
Beto grabbed my other dad’s ass and said, “Yeah, tired. That’s what we used to call it, too. So damned tired all the time. That’s what pregnancy does to you.”
“Oh, stop it. I’m leaving.”
We grabbed Dane and went home.
There was no napping or being tired that night for either one of us.
Chapter Twenty-One
Gustav
After the baby shower, things really settled down. Link didn’t teach in the summer, and although he usually put in more time at the center, this year he spent it at home, cooking, cleaning, he and Dane generally waiting on me hand and foot. In fact, as the long, hot days passed, they had left the house less and less, which I knew wasn’t fair to either of them, but they brushed aside my suggestions that they go have fun. Since I had assumed the approximate proportions of a whale, I appreciate their efforts, usually. But as the hottest summer in two decades wound to a close, and our air conditioner, which should have been replaced long before I bought the place, sputtered and failed, I lost what little was left of my good humor and lashed out at the people I loved most.
I didn’t lose my temper often because I always felt stupid afterward. But everything was so irritating, I didn’t even know why I was mad half the time. And when I apologized, Link told me he understood I didn’t feel myself because of pregnancy hormones. I’d be myself as soon as the baby came.
But what if I wasn’t? I’d never been like that when I was pregnant with Dane. What if this was my new personality?
Link was just setting breakfast on the table one morning in late August when I arrived and yanked out my chair. “What is it, a hundred already, at eight o’clock?” I plopped down and glared at the cup of herbal tea already at my place. “God, I’d sell both the kids for a cup of coffee.”
“Papa?” Dane stepped into view from behind the high counter. “Don’t sell my little brother, Daddy Link.” Giving me a wide swathe, he ran for my partner and flung himself into his arms crying.
Oh geez. I’d become such a monster, my kid thought I was going to sell the baby. All the work we’d done to show him he could trust Link, and somewhere along the line I’d shown him he could not trust me. Tears blurred my vision and trickled down my cheeks. “Son, I’m so sorry!” I was crying as hard as he was, while Link managed to move over enough to hug us both.
“Your papa isn’t selling anyone, Dane,” he insisted. “It’s just an expression because he’d like to drink a cup of coffee.”
“No,” Dane sniffled. “Papa always tells the truth.”
I wanted a hole to open up in the floor and swallow me whole. Misery in my back, sending an ache through my whole body. I rubbed at it, trying to think what to do to fix what I’d broken.
“Dane, I was sort of joking.”
He stood by Link, hands on hips. “You weren’t smiling.”
My alpha looked from one of us to the other then nodded. “What we need here is a break in routine. Let’s all go to the park after breakfast and play some ball. What do you say, guys?”
“Yes. Let’s play ball!” My son’s mercurial temperament rarely let us down. He’d gone from the guilt master—with reason this time, but not always—to a bouncing little boy ready for action. “I’ll get my glove.” And he was gone while I suffered another pang. Dane had received the glove from the dads for his birthday, and because he and Link had stuck close to home to take care of me, he hadn’t gotten to use it except in the backyard so far.
Link settled at the table and picked up his own mug of tea. He hadn’t had coffee in months, either, at least not where I could see him or smell the brew. “So what do you say, omega? A couple of hours outside under the trees? It will do us all good.”
I pushed my scrambled eggs around on my plate. “Would you be very upset if I stayed here? I’d rather not have to use the park bathrooms, and I go so often
now with the baby dancing on my bladder.”
He set his toast down and frowned at me. “I was thoughtless. Of course you don’t want to go to the park. I’ll tell Dane we can play in the yard again. He won’t mind.”
“Liar.” But he was a sweet one, trying to take care of both of us. “Take him to the park. And then for ice cream, stop by the center...whatever you think of. You both need to blow the cobwebs of this place out of your heads for a while.” I gave up on the eggs, the pain in my back stealing my appetite. My due date was days away, thank heavens.
“But who will take care of you?”
I chuckled. “I’m not an invalid, Link. You two hover over me as if I might explode. Truth...I could use a little time to myself. I have that last assignment from work to finish before I go on paternity leave—although I don’t know why you insisted I even take the time off. I work from home.”
“We made that decision months ago. You yourself admitted that having a new baby is exhausting and you are entitled to that time. Plus, you work very hard from home. I really don’t want to leave you alone so close to your—”
Frustrated and achy, I shoved myself back from the table, managing to knock over my bland, watery tea and send a fork skittering to the floor. “Just get out and give me space to breathe, please!”
The hurt on his face made me feel even worse. Could this day deteriorate more? “Okay. Let’s go, Dane. We’ll get you a doughnut for breakfast along the road.”
Wincing, I turned to see Dane standing in the kitchen doorway, hugging his baseball glove, lower lip trembling and eyes swimming with tears. “Oh, Son, I’m sorry...”
“Papa, was I bad?”
The baby chose that moment to dance on my bladder. “Wait. I’ll be right back.”
“No, omega.” My alpha strode to the doorway and took Dane’s hand. “I think you’re right and a little space is a good idea. We’ll be back in a few hours. Text if you need us. The air-conditioning repairman will be here this afternoon, and maybe that will help all our tempers.” Ouch.
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