Jake
“Listen. I know every site and doctor says first-time pregnant parents don’t show at eight weeks, but IswearI’ve gotten bigger.”
Griffin smiled patiently at me. “I know, Jake. I mean, I don’t see it yet, but it will happen eventually.”
This was probably the third time I gave him my spiel this week alone, but I couldn’t help it. Knowing there was a life growing inside of me, knowing my body was changing… It was too exciting to keep to myself. I constantly checked myself, both in the mirror and with my hands, to keep track of any miniscule changes.
Even though Griffin was probably right and I was too early in my pregnancy toactuallyshow.
The air had grown warm with the promise of spring. The cool breeze brushed against us as we waited outside the Omega Angel Café for Skylar to let us in. Griffin’s car was parked neatly on the curb, holding five small cat carriers inside. On the wide sidewalk right in front of us stood an outdoor wire play pen with a fabric top so that the kittens inside couldn’t climb out. One of the orange kittens was currently in the middle of an escape attempt.
Griffin chuckled. “That one’s gonna be trouble. The new owners better show up fast before he really does escape. I don’t know how much longer this pen is going to last.”
“They better show up,” I grumbled. “If anyone stands up my sweet kittens, there’s gonna be hell to pay.”
Two weeks prior, we’d gotten serious about finding homes for the kittens. We did interviews with people who answered our ads, and narrowed it down to a handful of people we trusted to give them good homes. We picked a public place for the kittens to be picked up for safety’s sake - I originally wanted people to pick them up from our apartment, but Griffin’s alpha instincts kicked into overdrive and he said he didn’t want strangers in his pregnant omega’s home. I’d rolled my eyes but agreed.
Skylar initially asked his boss if the kitten pick-up could be performed inside the Omega Angel Café as a sort of feel-good advertisement, but due to health reasons, it wasn’t possible. They did, however, allow us to do it outside on the sidewalk as an official Omega Angel Café event. The kittens drew attention to the café and allowed us a safe public place for pick-up. It was a win for everybody.
The café’s bell rang as Skylar popped outside. The halo on his head wagged with every motion. “Hi! How’s it going so far?”
“Nobody’s come yet, but it’s still early,” Griffin said. “We agreed on noon, and it’s only 11:30.”
Skylar nodded. “Right. Oh, look! You guys have company.”
We turned to see one of the kitten adopters, but instead were greeted by a group of people losing their minds over the kittens. There were men and women, alphas and omegas alike, of all ages.
“Are they for sale?” one woman asked.
“They all have homes,” Griffin said kindly.
“Is this like, a café event?” a man - an alpha - said to me.
“Sort of,” I told him. “They allowed us to be on their property while we wait for the owners to pick up their kittens.”
The alpha took in my words with a nod, but he seemed more interested in the café itself. “Cool. Hey, check this out,” he added to some of the people with him. “This place looks interesting, and I’m starving. Let’s grab something here.”
Skylar grinned at the new wave of customers and greeted them. “Hi! Welcome to the Omega Angel Café!”
Griffin and I smiled at each other, feeling satisfied knowing we’d helped out on our end of the bargain.
Time flew by as people gushed over the kittens and asked us questions about the event until finally their new owners began showing up. One calico was adopted by an older alpha and omega couple whose adult children had left the nest, and other calico sister by a young woman who worked as an artist. One of the orange males was adopted by an alpha cousin of Sammy, one of the café employees. Griffin loaded each kitten up into a carrier from his car and handed them off with a smile.
“Take good care of them,” I said each time with tears in my eyes. “And stay in touch!”
Once the kitten numbers dwindled and crowd had mostly dissipated, only two kittens were left - the naughty orange male and the pure black female.
It was half an hour after the agreed meeting time and anxiety began to settle in the pit of my stomach. What if they didn’t show up?
But at that thought, the café door swung open. Kaden, one of the employees and the omega who helped us catch Lilith, came out with a sigh.
“Sorry, you guys caused a huge lunch rush and they needed me on staff for a while,” he said. He bit his lip in anticipation as he peered into the pen. “Is he ready for me?”
Griffin scooped up the mischievous orange male, who went limp. “Here he is.”
“He’s so damn cute,” Kaden murmured. He pet beneath the kitten’s chin.
“He’s the worst, naughtiest one in the whole litter,” I told him with a smirk. “Congratulations.”
