4. Todd

4

TODD

W hile Lewis showers and gets dressed I sit on an armchair in our living room with the eggs on my lap. Awkwardly, the only people who've showed up so far are Ansel and Daniel. They're sitting next to each other on the couch. Daniel's beaming from ear to ear, and Ansel's staring at him skeptically, like he can't understand how one person can be that happy.

"So, uh, you own a grocery store, right?" Ansel asks.

Daniel turns his head, that 100-watt smile still in full force. "Yes. Aren't the eggs lovely? They look hearty to me. Don't you think so? They're going to be strong chicks, I can already tell."

Ansel's lips turns up on one side. He looks Daniel up and down, and if I didn't know better, I'd think he was checking Daniel out.

Oh, for Christ's sake. That's the last thing we need. At least they're both omegas and I don't think Daniel swings that way.

I clear my throat. Ansel glances at me, and I give him my best do-not-check-out-my-father-in-law look.

He bites his lip playfully. Like a white-haired Peter Pan.

Luckily, there's a knock on the door. Daniel bounds up to open it. Two brown-haired men surround him with hugs, then rush over to me to look at the eggs. They coo at them like they're cubs, which feels strangely appropriate.

"Oh, Daniel, they're perfect. Such a lovely shape and color. And two of them. Bless Lewis's heart."

Daniel gestures to me. "This is my son-in-law, Todd. He's the alpha father."

The first man bristles, but the second nods to me. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Larry and this is Bill. We're one of Daniel's suppliers. And friends, of course."

Bill glares at Larry pointedly. Bill turns his nose up at me, but still says a halted, "congratulations."

More people come pouring in. Mostly brown-haired, as my polar bear shifter friends were a little surprised by this custom. One of my friends asked if they'd be able to see the chicks. I told her they wouldn't hatch for another month.

"So we're coming over to just look at the eggs?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah."

It was clear that wasn't appealing to her, and at the time I understood her confusion. But now that I hold the eggs in my arms, I realize what a marvel they are and I want to show them off.

Eventually, the polar bear shifters start coming in droves. Maybe they somehow communicated how incredible penguin shifter eggs are, or maybe Ansel forced them into it. We'll never know. Either way, I'm grateful, because when Lewis walks into our living room with wet hair and a baggy pair of sweats, he sees our apartment full of people who love us. I don't think either of us realized this was possible. We only hoped for half of this on the best of days.

I carefully stand up and give him my chair. He looks down at our eggs with a calm joy in his eyes. My sweet little penguin shifter. He's going to be such a wonderful father.

He sits down in the chair gingerly and holds his hands out for our eggs. It's only right that he show them to our family and friends. I hand the bundle to him.

Daniel organizes everyone into a line to see Lewis. While they wait, some polar bear shifters chat with penguin shifters. Some don't. But they all stare in awe at our eggs.

One thing they can all agree on is that what Lewis and I created together is beautiful.