Page 37 of Slow Birth
Vale gazed at Urho pointedly. “Or perhaps societal. And stop talking about me like I’m not here. Regardless, if Xan and Caleb will have us, then yes, I’m willing to go.”
“You’re coming, too?” Jason asked Urho.
“I made a promise to you both that I’d deliver this baby, and I will. So, if Xan will have me—”
Jason laughed. “Oh, he’ll have you. This way and that.”
Urho’s cheeks grew darker. “Yes, well, then I’ll be going, too.”
“I think we just cinched our invite,” Jason stage whispered in Vale’s ear, eyes dancing.
Vale laughed, his restless, irritable mood lifting, if only momentarily. He’d give birth by the sea with the wind and the waves in the background, and with an omega friend by his side. Jason would loosen up there, away from the daily grind of work and taking care of Vale. And Vale would relax away from his in-laws. Urho would be with Xan, and this thing between them, whatever it was, would stand a chance.
Yes, this was a positively delicious idea.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“What a terribleidea!” Father cried, his knuckles turning white around his fork and knife.
Pater, for his part, simply looked down at his plate.
Jason hated the sadness that slumped his shoulders, but he also knew he had to protect Vale and their child, more than he needed to protect his parents’ feelings. “It’s decided,” he said firmly.
“But your pater wanted to be there when—”
Jason shook his head. “I realize that, but Vale and I have made up our minds to visit Xan and Caleb.”
“There’s room at Seshwan—” Father started, but Pater put his hand on his arm and silenced him.
“We understand,” Pater said softly. “If Vale wants to be in Virona, he should be in Virona.”
“We can also go to Virona,” Father said.
“No,” Jason interjected. “This is…we need…look, Pater, Father, the thing is—”
“You stay at Seshwan-by-the-Sea until the worst of the flu has passed,” Vale interrupted. “Traveling to and fro between cities, and back and forth between Xan’s house and town, will only increase the risk of exposure.”
Pater flashed Father a hard look, and Jason wasn’t surprised when his father stayed silent in the face of it. “If you wanted us to leave you be,” Pater said, “all you had to do was ask.”
Vale stilled, his fork hovering over his plate. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”
Pater shrugged. “Darling, what don’t I understand about overbearing in-laws? If only Yule’s had lived long enough to meet you. I’m sure we’ve been a bit much.”
Father worked his mouth like he might protest, but then he didn’t, choosing to swallow half of his glass of wine instead.
“We’ve been excited. Too excited, I’m sure.”
“No,” Vale said, and if the paleness of his cheek was any indication, he was feeling pretty guilty at the moment. “Not too excited.”
“Father, Pater,” Jason interceded. “We love you both, and we’re happy that you’re excited. We want you to be excited. Right now, Vale and I need some time alone—”
“In a house full of people in Virona,” Father muttered.
“—alone in the way and place that we choose. Vale needs a place where he can relax and be taken care of, well away from the virus. I believe Xan’s house in Virona is the perfect place for that. There are beta servants to handle his every need and Urho will be staying there with us.”
“When I was pregnant with you,” Miner said, plucking up his wine glass and taking a sip of the ruby red liquid. “I dreamed of giving birth at Seshwan-by-the-Sea, but Yule’s pater wouldn’t hear of it. And the medical services weren’t very good in that area, and I was, of course, high risk…” He smiled, and though his eyes remained slightly hurt and sad, Jason thought he genuinely meant what he said next. “I wish you the birth of your dreams, in the place you are most comfortable, with Jason by your side.” He lifted his glass for a toast, and even Yule lifted his, too.
After dinner, Jason stood with a glass of bourbon by the big windows in the study, looking out at the shadowy, moonlit garden. He made mental plans about what team of beta workers to hire and what instructions to give them in order to be willing to leave his beloved space in someone else’s hands.
