Chapter 158: New Opportunities
[Evander].
I’m not sure what Rosalynd is going to think when she sees this.
I hope she takes it well. It’s been two months since our daughters were born and sometimes her emotions overtake her.
“My love,” I call out as I cross the threshold of our home in the woods. Today is Rosalynd’s day with me, and I can’t wait to come back to her from my dealings with the new council, even if I have some difficult news to share.
My “surprise” is hidden in the satchel lying across my chest. She’s become such an intuitive witch since the babies were born that it is almost impossible to keep anything from her. She’ll likely sense the contents or see a vision or some other trick of the universe that will reveal everything before I open my mouth to tell her.
Sometimes I wonder why any of us boys even bother to try.
“Back here!” She responds from the kitchen, her voice strained with effort as if trying to lift something heavy.
The kitchen is the last room I’d expect to find her in and probably the one room she should avoid without supervision. I love her, but the woman cannot cook, which is why I make most of our meals. For my charming wife microwaving a burrito is still a challenge.
The scene that awaited me wasn’t what I was expecting.
With a baby strapped to both the front and back of her torso in matching carriers, she struggles to open the oven with her foot while balancing two cookie sheets, each one containing two cake pans. With shaking hands, she is trying to figure out how to put them into the oven without bringing the babies too close to the heat.
Silently rushing forward to help, I take the cookie sheets away from her and set them down on the stovetop as I close the door to the oven with my hip.
“What on Terra are you trying to do, Rosie? I thought we agreed not to bake unless someone…”
“But it’s your birthday!” She claps, waking the twins who start to cry. She begins bouncing up and down to soothe them Evangeline’s little brown hand reaches out to me as she wails as her sister, Endora, pouts her perfectly pink lips, her hazel eyes watery and clear with the wisdom of a much older child.
“You stop counting after 200,” I kiss her on her chocolate-smeared cheek as I gently take little Cassandra from her. Evangeline starts wailing louder, so I give her my finger to grasp. She is only a couple of months old but is already showing a stubborn jealous streak when it comes to her parent’s affection.
“Why didn’t you call Gideon to come over and help,” I shake my head, looking at the eggshell swimming on the surface of one of the pans. Grabbing a fork, I fish it out before placing the trays one at a time inside the double oven. “He’s a master baker and has been cooking his entire life.”
“It was supposed to be a surprise,” It is evident where Endora gets her pout from as her mother looks up at me, her large gray eyes wide. “I’ve never had a family to bake for and…”
I pull her into my arms. We are a mess of chocolate and baby and laughter.
“Well speaking of surprises, I have one for you as well. Two actually.”
The first one is a folded contract in a plain envelope. The second is an invitation, spelled to be read only by the recipient.
Both say “Rosalynd” in scrawling ink.
“What are these?” She holds one in each hand, her flour-covered fingerprints adding texture to the surface.
“Opportunities, if you choose to accept them.”
Cautiously she opens the contract first. It is signed by all of the leaders of the Northern California children of the moon: Werewolves, Vampires, Sasquatch, Sirens, Elves, Dragons, Leprechauns, and Witches. All three of her husband’s names are mixed with an assortment of others. 27 signatures in all.
“The council of the Moon has decided to reconvene,” I explain slowly, going over the details of the document. “We met this morning, in fact, and we all came to the same consensus.--we want you to be a part of the group, as a representative of the In Between. We were also hoping you’d serve a term as Warden.”
“Warden?”
“Yes,” I smile so that she understands that this is a good thing, an honor. “The Warden oversees the day-to-day running of the collective, calls, and presides over meetings. You would also be the final vote if needed for a tiebreaker. The position is only for a generation, around 25 years, but it is possible to serve more than one consecutive term. You would be provided with lodgings big enough to house the entire collective, and also a substantial salary.”
“So…this is a job?” She blinks at me. “A very powerful and important job.”
“Yes,” I confirm.
“Oh.” She looks sad for a moment as she considers. “But what about the babies? Also, I was hoping to do something creative with my time--maybe write a book or start a podcast about my adventures. It would have to be fantasy of course…nobody would ever believe any of this is real.”
“I don’t see why you can’t of these things,” I shrug. “The position is more honorary than anything, we meet maybe twice a year. And it is very lucrative,” I smile. “I thought you might appreciate having some money of your own, not to mention your place to live. I love having you here, I know all of us do, but you don’t have your home base and…”
She wraps her arms around me. Kissing me softly she whispers. “Thank you, Evander.”
Her voice sends shivers up and down my spine, my fingertips tingling as I touch the skin along her back.
“Let’s see if we can get these two down for a nap, shall we?”
The other surprise can wait.