“You are always welcome to visit with him, Papochka. When we put in for him to get a slot, the two of you were still very much in Ibiza and weren’t an option for watching him. Nor would I ask that of you. You’re retired.” I knew that Father had obviously just come “out” of retirement, and although he said that he was doing it because Master Edison had talked him into joining his committee, I was sure that because I was mated now and we had a baby had some sway. My parents had tried to get me to leave Bristol and move to Ibiza with them. It didn’t have the appeal to me as it did for them.
“I mean, I wouldn’t mind,” Papochka said. “You say you’re going to be at the clinic for three days.” Papochka shrugged. “I could do my pottery stuff on those days.”
Father was trying his hardest not to laugh. I was certain that Papochka knew he was trying to hold it in through their bond.
“Oh, for fate’s sake,” Camden said. He shoved the bottle at me and moved Merlin up onto his shoulder. “You all are terrible at hinting at things.” Camden rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Lukyan, do you want to watch Merlin once he starts crawling? At least on those two days?”
The immediate happiness on Papochka’s face was undeniable.
“I’d love to. I can come here. And if you give me a list of dos and don’ts, I’ll make sure I follow them. I wouldn’t want him to get off of whatever schedule the two of you have.”
There was a loud burp in the room, and we all looked down at the baby.
“Little man, there is no reason for so much noise to come from such a tiny package,” Camden said. Merlin made a face in response and then started grunting. Camden did not look impressed. “Of course you’re filling your diaper. You just ate.” There was more grunting. There was nothing to do but laugh at the situation. If this wasn’t real, I didn’t know what was.
Once Merlin was finished filling his diaper, Camden passed him off to me. I laughed as I got up and took Merlin and the almost empty bottle to the kitchen.
“I have to agree with Daddy on that one, Merlin. That was quite the acoustic display there. Are you sure you’re finished?”
I set the bottle in the sink to be cleaned with the other dishes later. A little bit of magic had our son no longer scowling and settling in for a little nap. He was six days old, so this was his life. He had parents who took care of his every need. Like all new parents, we fed, changed, and soothed him. He ate, slept, filled his diaper, and provided us with a myriad of different faces for someone so small. I brought Merlin close and kissed the top of his downy head. He had blond hair like Camden, but it was ultra fine and was more fuzz than anything. This wasn’t uncommon with blond- or red-haired babies.
“Did someone want to hold him?” I asked as I joined the others again.
“We actually should be going,” Father said. “I’m not meaning to spring things on you and then run, but we’re supposed to have supper with the Torreses.”
“Oh? Are they the ones you were referring to?” I asked. I thought I might have heard that name before but couldn’t be certain.
“Yes. They are both lynx shifters. They’re from mainland Spain but moved to Ibiza about the same time we did because they needed to disappear for a bit.”
“Ah,” Camden said. “I’ve been really lucky that I haven’t had to do that yet.”
“You shouldn’t have to if you stay with the council. There is nobody up here that is going to say anything to you about not aging. There are some humans in Timber Valley, but in all honesty, most of them are tourists, and they’re never here long enough to realize a lot of us don’t age. There are some that come back year after year, and they do notice things at the restaurants or stores, but they haven’t caused any issues,” I told him.
“It will be nice to not have to move so frequently,” Papochka said. “Perhaps we should suggest to Hugo and Sofia that they should move here.”
Father and Papochka both laughed. “We both know they would never leave their grandchildren.” Father came over and ran a gentle hand across Merlin’s hair. “He’s adorable. We’ll see the two of you soon, hopefully? Does that work? We do not wish to intrude while he’s so young.”
Camden was standing beside me now. “You’re his grandparents. You’re not intruding.”
“But you need to bond with him the most,” Papochka said. “He’s yours. You need to be his comfort in these early days.”
Camden nodded. “All right. Well, whenever you wish to come back, I won’t say no,” Camden told them. He moved to Papochka, and they hugged. “Enjoy your dinner with your friends. That’s important as well.”
We said our goodbyes, and they were gone. Camden smiled at me and then went back to the new lounger that he’d found online, and I was more than happy to magick it for him.
“This thing is really great,” he said as he put his feet up. It had been for his recovery because he didn’t want to spend the entire time in our bedroom, and I didn’t blame him.
“There was a reason why you wanted it, and I can see why firsthand,” I told him. “Did you want Merlin again?”
I could tell that Camden did, but he pulled his hands back. “I don’t want to hog him.”
I carefully handed the baby to my One. “My love, he’s your baby. You can never hog him. He’s yours. You carried him. You, despite what you might have believed some time ago, most certainly delivered a little warlock. Even though you aren’t one yourself, you did, and you can hold him anytime you wish.” I leaned down and kissed first Camden and then Merlin where he was snuggled on my One’s chest. My entire world was right there, and I was an extremely lucky man.
Chapter 20
Camden
“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
