Page 17 of Omega Chattel
Now Alli stood in my office looking around at my set up, chewing on his lower lip and trying not to show how overwhelmed he was.
“You said last night,” I began, “that you are turning eighteen today. This is your birthday, then.”
“I forgot.” His voice came out soft, contemplative, as if he could not believe it himself.
“Well, happy birthday. Hopefully, this will be a new start for you.”
He bit back a smile. “Thank you.”
“You know how to use a computer?”
He nodded. “The ones at the farm I learned on are old, but we got new ones recently.”
“Good. If you want to stay and get a plan together for a possible future, let’s start with some reading for you to do.”
“Lessons?”
“Yes.”
“In what?”
“Everything. Are you willing?”
He blinked at me. “Like a school?”
“Why not? What did you learn at the farm? Anything marketable?”
“I can take care of little ones. I can make a bed. I took a couple of cooking classes.”
As usual. I sighed. Did Omegas learn science or math? Even literature? Not much, I knew. It was the way the world worked. But maybe Alli could learn.
I set him up to start off slow.
“You’ll work in here today. But I will have a new computer set up in your room by tomorrow. That is where you’ll work.”
He nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Already off to a good start.
“You’ll have free time, of course. Television in the living room. There’s also a game room. I suggest you get to know Oren, Farrell and Tev. They’re older than you are, but very sociable and well-mannered.”
“How long have they been with you?”
“Oren has been here a year now. Farrell and Tev, two years. They are about to both about to become licensed accountants. And Oren is studying to be a paralegal. There aren’t many Omega accountants or paralegals, but it’s a start.”
“Then what will happen when they get licensed?”
“When they get work, they’ll move out and get their own places and start to think about raising a family.”
“But Tev and Farrell? I can tell they are a couple. Omega to Omega pairings produce monsters. Sylphs.”
I nodded. “I will continue to be their guardian for their legal and financial matters, but beyond that, they will finally become independent and be able to be together as they’ve always wanted even if they have to pretend to be roommates only.”
“Did you pick them to live here because they were lovers?”
“Yes. Otherwise, there was little hope for them in this world. And I chose them because I could tell they were determined to make it. I don’t want to waste my time on lost causes.”
Alli blanched a bit at my statement. “If I don’t succeed, I’ll—I’ll try to find some way to pay you back.”
