Chapter 4 Elle
1698 Words
Elle
“How was your first day, Chief Everett?” I asked when he came into the room. We were getting ready to go down for dinner.
“Wasn’t bad at all,” he said. “Blythe wants to tweak the warrior training to add in some new skill exercises, maybe get some extra weights to use when running to build endurance.”
“Wow, that sounds exciting,” I said, and he chuckled.
“How was lunch with the ladies and Ludo?” He asked. “Did he pop the question yet?”
“No, but they’re going to meet Becky’s parents this weekend,” I said.
“Oh boy,” Everett said. “Is he freaking out?”
“I’m going to say yes, he was trying his best to keep it together, but I’ve never seen someone lose color like that so fast,” I chuckled, remembering Ludo’s face.
“He’ll be okay,” Everett said. “They are mates; you can’t argue with the Goddess.”
“I hope he proposes soon,” I said.
“Me too,” he said, and I looked at him with surprise. “Once he gets married, I never have to hear the word wedding until Neve finds her mate.”
“Not true,” I said. “Clem and Tiny are getting married next month, remember?”
“Yeah, but we can just go to that one; we don’t have to plan it or, you know, be involved,” he replied, sitting on the bed.
“You aren’t involved now,” I sighed. “What’s gotten into you?”
“I just feel like we’re getting too busy to start our lives,” he said. “We are trying to start a family, but the rest of our family keeps pulling us away from each other. I want to spend a day buried deep inside you without having to go dress shopping or peace speaking or going to meetings and spending all damn day on the phone!”
“Hey,” I said softly, pulling his head into me and running my fingers through his hair. “If it happens for us, it happens. Maybe the Goddess knows that things are going to be a little hectic right now. We can wait until things settle down.”
“I think we both know if we wait for things to settle down, we will never get the chance,” Everett sighed. “I don’t want to wait.”
“Then we will keep trying,” I said. “It will happen when it’s supposed to, babe. It makes me happy to see you ready to start a family, but don’t get frustrated.”
“Let’s go get dinner,” he said when my stomach growled in his ear.
We headed out of the room and down the stairs. The whole tribe was in attendance as we joined the family in the dining room. Dad was already seated at the table beside Minnie and was chatting away. Blythe was sitting beside her with an amused look on his; he winked at me as we passed by.
“Evening, Chieftainess Elle,” Blythe rumbled in his deep voice, trying not to smile. He loved to tease me with the formal title.
“Head Warrior Blythe,” I returned his joke. He chuckled as I took my seat beside Everett at the head of the table.
“Elle, when are you leaving for Greece?” Dad asked.
“Next Wednesday, I believe,” I said. “Freyja and Gwen are coming with me.”
“I can’t wait to see Athens,” Freyja said from the end of the table. “Gwen has a whole tourist trip planned out.”
“I would love to see the pictures,” Brenton said. “I had always wanted to see Greece. The architecture alone is stunning.”
“Aw, Dad, I didn’t know that,” I said. “You should come with us.”
“Yeah!” Freyja said with excitement. “Aw, that would be great, Brenton!”
“Oh?” Dad said with surprise at the sudden invitation. He’s been in my life for three years, and I never knew he wanted to travel. “Well, I don’t know; it’s such short notice.”
“No, it’s not,” Gwen said. “Please, Brenton? I’m going to need a buddy while Freyja and Elle are at the conference. We can tour the city together!”
“Well, I can’t say no to that, now can I?” He chuckled. “Okay, yes, that would be lovely, thank you.”
“You’re going to love it, dad,” I said, feeling a renewed excitement about the trip. I was low key dreading it because Everett couldn’t come with me, but taking my dad to do something he’s always wanted to do gave me something to look forward to.
“I got a whole bunch of travel guides and magazines,” Gwen said excitedly. “We can get together and look them over. We can plan out some day trips.”
“That sounds wonderful,” dad said with a smile.
“My, it’s going to be quiet in the castle,” Patricia said. “Ian and Tasha leave tomorrow with the kids for a month. Elias and Ginny are going to America for two weeks this weekend, then you all will be gone to Greece.”
“You should travel too, Miss. Patricia,” Gwen said. “Mr. Denny’s retired now; you can travel all you want.”
“That would be lovely,” she said with a smile at Denny. “But someone needs to stay here and make sure the rest of the castle runs smoothly with meals and cleaning schedules.”
“What did you do on your first day of retirement?” Ian asked his father.
“Spent it in the greenhouse,” Denny said.
“That’s it? You pruned and watered flowers in a greenhouse?” Ian said. “All day?”
“Aye,” Denny said and went back to his dinner. “There are three of them.”
“You’re going to need more hobbies, old man,” Ian chuckled and clapped Denny on the shoulder.
We finished dinner with the usual banter and laughs. Gwen couldn’t wait to show dad all of her travel stuff, and they got together to plan some local spots by the hotel. I called the council to let them know that we would need the extra ticket after all, which wasn’t a problem, and I got to speak to my favorite council member, Elder Fran.
“Oh, I’m so happy for Brenton!” Squeaked the elder. “He is going to love Athens. So many exciting things are happening for you all.”
“You’re going to officiate for Freyja and Gwen, right?” I asked.
“Yes, I am!” He said happily. “I have been quite honored that Black Wing has been requesting my services for your weddings.”
“Well, you’re the best,” I replied, making him laugh. “I always look forward to seeing you, Elder.”
“As do I,” he chuckled. “Give my best to the new chief.”
“Have a nice evening, elder Fran,” I said and hung up.
“How long is the Greece trip?” Everett asked; he sat in the chair in mom’s office.
“Ten days,” I sighed.
“I have to sleep without you for ten days?” He groaned. “And miss ten days of baby-making?”
“Maybe we could use a rest,” I said. “Just a small break. We have been trying nearly every day for months. Sometimes more than once in a day.”
“Do you not want to get pregnant?” Everett asked quietly.
“Of course I do,” I said. “Starting a family of our own is the most important thing to me, but it’s important not to get stressed out over it. Ever had the experience of being frustrated with something, so you leave it be for a while then come back and figure it out?”
“This isn’t a puzzle or a video game,” he said.
“No, this is more biology, so it’s even more sensitive than that,” I said.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be obsessed,” Everett sighed and pulled me against him. “Seeing Ian and Tasha with Ivan and Neve just makes me want to have that for myself, you know? I can’t wait to see you pregnant, carrying our child. Watching them grow and run and play.”
“I think about that too,” I said, laying my head against his chest. “Why do you think I steal Ivan every chance I get? The baby smell is like a drug.”
“We should head to bed,” He said. “Maybe tonight will be the night?”
“Let’s take a night off,” I said, and he frowned. “We are both stressed out, and that’s not helping, so I say we hang out with Eli and Ginny and watch some movies and eat junk food.”
“Alright,” he said with a deep sigh and kissed my nose. “Whatever you want, kitten.”
“Hey Eli,” I called through our mind link.
“Howdy,” Elias replied in an awful southern accent.
“I don’t think I want to know what that’s about, but I was wondering if you and Gin want to hang out tonight?” I laughed.
“I’m practicing my American accents,” he laughed. “Sure, we are at home. Come on by, and we will watch some movies or something.”
“Sounds good; we will be there in five,” I said and closed the link. “Let’s go.”
Spending time with my best friends was always a good stress relief. I didn’t want to think about peace speaking or babies. I just wanted some laughs and relaxation for the night.
- Writer
