Page 6 of Dreaming of an Omega Christmas
“I'd love one.”
I took him around, showing him some of the features. At first, he seemed absolutely delighted by all the things that the genie had taken into account, including stocking the house with some of my favorite things. But partway through the tour, he grew quiet.
“And this is the guest bedroom,” I finished. “Where you'll be staying.”
Falkanar nodded, almost sadly, as his eyes roved around the room. “Your whole house is fantastic.”
“Is everything okay?”
He forced a smile. “Yes. It's just… it must be so wonderful to finally have a home of your own. I guess I'm a little envious… This seems like the sort of place that I feel like I could be happy. Well, not for long anyway,” he added with a bitter laugh.
“You're welcome to stay here anytime you visit Vale Valley,” I told him honestly.
“Thank you, really.”
“You can consider it your home away from…” I hesitated, feeling bad for using a phrase that implied he had a home anywhere else.
Nonetheless, he smiled, genuinely this time. “My home away,” he finished for me. “I like it.”
I headed downstairs to let Falkanar freshen up. I was just settling down at my laptop when he returned, looking refreshed and relaxed.
“I hope I'm not interrupting anything,” he said. “You said you're a writer, right?”
“Yeah. And you’re not interrupting. I was just going over some notes from my editor.” He nodded. “What do you do?” I asked, immediately giving myself a mental kit. I wasn't actually sure if he did anything, considering he was constantly on the move. To my relief, he smiled and settled down in a nearby chair.
“I'm actually a writer, of sorts, as well,” he said. I arched an eyebrow curiously. “I have a travel blog. I make it a point to visit some of the popular sites wherever I go and write reviews of them. And I review restaurants, hotels, that sort of thing. It's not hugely popular and there's not a lot of money.” He shrugged. “But I make enough to get by. And it gives me something to do.”
“I've always been interested in blogging,” I said honestly. “I’ve just never really found anything I think anyone wants to hear about.”
Falkanar laughed. “You'd be surprised. Sometimes my posts that I think people are going to go nuts for get hardly any views, and the ones I'm not pleased with get all kinds of interaction. You never know. Actually, speaking of blogging, my laptop is at the hotel. Along with all of my things. I should probably get those and check-out.”
“Sounds good. I’ve got a spare key, let me grab it for you. I should be here, but you can have it just in case.”
Even though Falkanar had already seen everything, I was compelled to run around quickly and tidy up while he was gone. I threw some dishes into the dishwasher and set up clean sheets and towels in the guest room. By the time he was back, I was settled into my editing. I was surprised to see he only had a single large bag with him.
“Is that all you travel with?” I asked.
Falkanar shrugged and averted his eyes. “It’s all I have,” he said, embarrassed. “It’s hard to stay on the move with too much stuff so…”
“I understand,” I said quickly. “Help yourself to anything you need while you’re here.”
“Thanks.” With a nod, he headed upstairs with his bag.
We spent the rest of the day working in a comfortable silence. I edited and Falkanar said he was cleaning up and maintaining his blog. He also took the opportunity to do his laundry. The hours flew by, and I threw together a simple dinner for us. We ate while watching a bad holiday baking show, and spent the whole time laughing. It was nice to have someone to enjoy it with. By the time we went to bed, I was feeling happier than I had in a long time.
It was a shame Falkanar could only stay a couple weeks or so. I felt like I never wanted him to leave. Maybe I missed having roommates. Due to my financial situation, I always had to split rent with other people. I wondered if some of my loneliness here was because I was by myself at home for the first time in a long time. Even the roommates I didn’t get close with were still a presence in the house.
I fell asleep, wondering if I should consider renting out a room or two…
~~~***~~~
After breakfast, Falkanar excused himself to fold his laundry. As he walked by with a basket of dry clothes, I noticed that there didn’t seem to be very many. Of course, the small bag he travelled with probably didn’t hold many. I wished I had thought to offer some clothes he could borrow, and wondered if it would offend him or not.
Not long after he was done, we left for Traviel and Elarian’s. They were aiming for an early evening Thanksgiving dinner and I knew they’d either need help with Kirielm or the cooking. Based on what I knew from TV and vague childhood memories from when I actually kept in touch with my extended family, I knew Thanksgiving preparations were chaotic and stressful. To my surprise, the day was neither.
It turned out that Falkanar wasn’t a half-bad cook, so he joined Elarian in the kitchen. Travis and I helped out where needed, while taking care of Kirielm. The day was full of cooking and laughter.
In all honesty, I expected to be jealous watching Elarian and Traviel spending a family-focused holiday together. Instead, I found that I felt almost like part of the family. Even Falkanar seemed to be enjoying himself. The two of us really hit it off and by the time we were heading back to my house, loaded down with leftovers that Elarian insisted we take, I felt as if I had known Falkanar for years instead of hours.
