Alejo had been hoarding his secret to himself, but now the urge to tell the world surged through him.
Dad: I’ve found her.
Five seconds later, his phone rang, and when he heard the crackle of speakerphone mode turned up to the max, he knew both his parents were there. He shut the guest room door so their voices wouldn’t carry as his father said, “Your mate? You found your mate?”
Godiva chimed in, “Who?”
“It’s Wendy.”
The phone crackled even louder as the speakers tried to handle Godiva’s whoop of joy. “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me! Hey, it’s night out there now. Why aren’t you two busy making up for lost time in that bed?”
“Whoa, whoa,” Alejo said, laughing. “We haven’t even kissed yet.”
Godiva’s cackle quieted, as Rigo said, “But she likes you?”
“I think so. No, I can feel it.”
The phone made squishing noises, and Alejo knew that Godiva had grabbed it and was about to bark right into it. “I shoulda guessed that,” she said. “She’s gun-shy. Who wouldn’t be, after a bellyful of Bill Champlain?”
“I’m beginning to get that impression.”
“Oh, I could tell stories about his parents, who tried to destroy that town when they were on the City Council, by selling the entire coast to developers. Only time I got into politics, but we voted their butts right out again. You’ll have to take your time, mi’jito. She’s worth it. And so’s small Sam. He’s super shy. Don’t take it personally.”
“Actually, Sam and I get along pretty well…” Out it came: the squirrels that might not be completely squirrels having seen him shift, and his conversation with Sam.
Rigo said, “I never thought of shifting where Sam could see me. I don’t think he spoke five words to me during my entire stay, though I did a lot of work out in that garden.”
“For Sam, five words is a lot,” Godiva said. “If he’s talking to you, well, all I can say is, that’s the best news I’ve heard since I found the two of you again. That kid is super shy, and I think he desperately needs a man in his life besides Bill the Buzzkill.”
“Did I do the wrong thing by revealing that I’m a shifter to Sam first?” Alejo asked. “That’s my one worry here. Well, one of my worries. I just don’t want to mess this up.”
“Not Wendy,” Godiva said. “Maybe it’d be an issue with someone else, but I think, once Wendy’s onboard, she’ll be relieved that she doesn’t have to figure out how to tell Sam. She’s had to be both parents, pretty much. The important thing is, find a nice, quiet time, just the two of you, and lead up to it gently. Let her take time to get used to the idea before you spring it on her. And, lion before serpent, definitely.”
“What?” Alejo said. “I think my serpent is handsome, and—uh oh—I hear them in the living room. Sam must have finished his homework, and he’s not hiding in his room. I’d better go.”
“You do that,” Godiva said. “Oh, I can hardly wait! When Sam calls me Granny Godiva, it’ll be the real McCoy!” There went her cackle of happiness again, nearly blasting out the phone speakers.
“Good luck, son,” Rigo said more quietly. “Let us know if there’s anything we can do.”
“Thanks. I think I’ve got this,” Alejo said, with more confidence than he felt, and they all hung up.
As soon as Alejo entered the living room, Sam looked up, then timidly said, “I finished my homework. Want to watchAnimal Planet? It’s about wombats! They got armored butts!” Sam dissolved into helpless giggles at the word ‘butt’.
Wendy said, “Sam, manners,” with a quick look at Alejo.
He sat down, leaned over, and said, “All I know about wombats is, they poop in cubes. How cool is that? No other animal does it.”
Sam promptly doubled over, laughing himself silly. Wendy immediately relaxed as Alejo showed no sign of being offended. They settled in to watch the program, which gratified Sam by including a brief bit on the poo-cubes.
Alejo’s mind ranged from Wendy to Sam and back to Wendy then to a couple of wombat shifters he knew. Oh, he so badly wanted to introduce her to his world! That thought kept him smiling inwardly until the program came to an end, and Wendy took Sam off for his bedtime ritual.
Sam did not reappear again after bedtime. Alejo guessed he was tired from sneaking out the night before. He ended up exchanging a long text conversation with his childhood buddy Lance, who was a father to a couple of awesome young people. Lance recommended giving Wendy a book that had shifters in it, and finding out what she thought before approaching the subject.
Alejo fell asleep on that thought. The next thing he knew it was morning.
When he went out to the kitchen, he found Wendy and Sam flying about making sure they had everything for work and school respectively. How could he make the morning routine easier for Wendy? He’d have to consider that, he decided as they raced out the door. He paused to make sure Wendy’s old clunker actually fired up, then went to get the rest of the windows done on Wendy’s house.
As he worked, he thought about jobs Sam might like to do. He wanted the work to be fun and yet constructive, to familiarize him with the tools and minimize chance of accident. Building bird houses? Small and easy projects, and with any luck Sam would get to see them used before too long. Alejo knew Sam would be thrilled.
