Page 7 of The Omega's Third Wish
Chapter Four
Theo
After my first month, I was an anxious knot of both hope and dread. Life at Zeph’s was incredible. My room was nicer than any apartment I could remember. Mindy was just beside herself with joy to have a room of her own for the first time. Better yet, she and Rosie hit it off and were instant friends. They seemed to like all of the same things and it turned out Mindy was less than a week older than her new best friend!
Zeph had a big, fenced in backyard and the girls would go out at night and shift and romp. Mindy hadneverplayed with another fox her age before. It was heartwarming to watch.
It was, without a doubt, the dream job I never knew I wanted.
None of us were early risers, but I got used to being the first up. I made breakfast for everyone and started the laundry. Sometimes I caught myself daydreaming about starting the day taking care of my family, not just in the role of an employed omega, but as a father and a mate. I quickly shook myself out of those; Zeph was handsome and kind, but just my boss.
I spent my day cleaning, quite a bit more than Zeph had expected, checking on the girls, and helping Zeph with an increasing amount of administrative tasks. Sometimes I got to run errands and explore the town. My favorite was when I had the girls with me and our path took us by Sweet Bites, the town bakery. We always stopped in for a snack.
During the week I took Rosie to school and soon had Mindy enrolled as well. I headed back to the house and picked them up later. It was chilly, but not so cold we couldn’t walk back and forth, enjoying the decorations and beautiful leaves.
Sometimes Traviel and Elarian, the elf couple up the street, had fresh berries from their greenhouse they gave us. Their toddler could often be seen playing in the yard, taking some shaky steps around, often in the company of the family across the street. I hadn’t gotten a chance o talk with the couple, but I was pretty sure one of them was Traviel’s brother, possibly his twin.
After we got back I prepared an afternoon snack, helped Zeph a bit more, and then did a final clean before making and serving dinner. After dinner we went out back and Zeph and I had cider or hot chocolate while we watched the girls romp. Sometimes we shifted and joined it. It was easy sometimes, too easy, to forget we weren’t really part of this family.
Zeph was the perfect boss too; he always thanked me and seemed surprised by how hard I worked, always telling me I didn’t need to go “that” far. Don’t worry about actually folding the laundry, he’d take care of it as long as I run the load. Don’t worry about the dishes, just get them as far as the sink. No need to actually scrub the toilets or the bathroom. Maybe it was the omega in me or maybe I had just gone too long without a place that truly felt like home, whatever the reason, I couldn’t resist going the extra mile.
Zeph paid me promptly too – more than we had agreed upon! He insisted it was fair, since I had been doing more than he expected. We compromised by putting the extra toward some things for Mindy’s room. A proper bed frame, her very own sheets, a beanbag chair, and some cute fairy lights. Zeph surprised me by sending me out on some errands one day. I returned home to find Mindy’s room had been painted her favorite shade of lavender. She squealed with delight when she saw it and I fought back tears at the sight of the room my daughter deserved.
That night I tucked Mindy into her own bed. The window was open because the room still smelled faintly of paint, but it was too chilly to keep it open all night. I shut it as I left, turning off her new lamp.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, little kit?” I said, going back to sit on her bed.
“Thank you.”
I smiled and kissed her gently on the forehead. “Goodnight, Mindy.”
“Did your wishes come true yet?” she asked.
“What sweetie?”
She sat up, pulling a new stuffed animal a fox, that Zeph had given her, close to her chest. Her shadow danced on the wall thanks to her new lights. “Remember? At the festival? All of my wishes came true!”
I laughed. “Did they?”
Mindy nodded earnestly. “Yes! Don’t tease!”
“I’m not.”
“I hear it in your voice, Daddy,” she scolded. “I mean it. I wished for a sister and a kitten. Now I have Rosie and Tau!”
Well, that certainly was a coincidence.
“And,” Mindy went on. “I wished we didn’t have to move all the time and here we are! We’ve been here for a month!”
I winced at that one. I tried to hard to keep her happy, but there was only so much I could do about the moving when everything always feel through… I wanted to tell her we probably wouldn’t stay here for long either, but she sounded so pleased.
“And!” Mindy paused. “Promise you won’t be upset?”
I narrowed my eyes in concern. “I promise,” I said slowly.
“I wished you wouldn’t be sad anymore! And you aren’t! You’re so happy every day now, Daddy!”
