Page 10 of Wishing Upon a Monster
“Thank the Goddess the soup isn’t burnt. We will need to wait for the rest of this to cool, but then we can eat,” I rinsed the spoon under the faucet before laying it with the other kitchenware I used to prepare dinner.
“I am humbled you wish to share your dinner with me,” he said, his voice soft like rain on a tin roof.
I turned around, drying my hands on a dish towel. “Is that not done where you are from?”
“Where I am from, we feast on stars,min skat,” his amusement curving his lips as he continued, “but of all the worlds I have visited, yours is the most alluring. Sharing a meal, there is a vulnerability in that action that I have not experienced any world else. It has been an age since I have shared a meal with a human.”
My brain couldn’t grasp the idea that I was bound to a being that ate stars like some sort of blackhole, and I felt my human mind compartmentalizing that fact away for a freak out in the near future. “Is it rude to ask if you have been in this sort of arrangement before? With another human?”
I bent down, getting out two pale yellow soup bowls from the cupboards.
“It is not. I have shared many meals with humans in the past, but none with a being I have been married to.”
I placed the bowls on the counter and ladled out healthy portions for us both. Olan’s physique, while stretched, had muscle, and if he ate while on our plane of existence, then I felt like he probably ate as much as any of my brothers would. I also didn’t shy away from food, so seconds were a given. There wasplenty for thirds, and one person could even have fourths if they needed it.
I served us both in silence, and his red eyes followed my movements around the kitchen. I took two silver spoons from the drawer by my kitchen sink. “Is silver okay? I have stainless steel somewhere...”
“Silver for eating is fine, I have no adverse reactions to metals, but I prefer gold for trade. What do you receive in trade for your work for Mrs. Duvall?”
I blew on my soup, taking a tentative sip, feeling the slight burn on my tongue. “We receive human money and, at times, services. The warding around my property, for instance. The property itself, for that matter. I will receive the deed to this land once I retire from my work here. I have another ten to fifteen years to go before that happens.”
“I have enough gold that you will not have to work unless you want to, but I suspect that you do?” His hands made the silver spoon I gave him look dainty.
I watched, barely breathing, as he took a bite. His round eyes crinkled at the corners as he withdrew the spoon, a purplish blush staining his cheeks.
“This is quite good,min skat,it has been a time since I have had a good stew.” He picked up his steaming bowl of soup, the heat obviously not an issue as he scooped more into his mouth.
I let him eat, cutting us some slices of slightly mangled Italian bread before ladling him some more from the pot. I ate in pleased silence, enjoying his voracious appetite. It had taken me time to learn how to cook; we had a chef when I was growing up. It was one of the first things I learned to be good at, that I allowed myself to keep going with, against my parents’ wishes.
With a corroded sigh and a pleased pat on his stomach, Olan watched me eat the last of my second bowl.
I reached across the table to gather our dishes, a sense of accomplishment humming through my veins. Olan stood and watched me rinse the bowls and put them in the dishwasher. Once I was done, I stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do. I needed to probably get ready for bed, and yet–– I felt like there was something unsaid.
“Min Skat,I would like to tell you a story. Would you be willing to listen?”
I was taken aback by the question, a confirmation of what I was feeling. Maybe this was a part of being his partner––he had said we would speak to one another telepathically, and I assume that would mean emotions as well as words. I wasn’t skilled enough to read his thoughts, and maybe I would never be able to, considering my lack of magical talent, but the idea that maybe I could sense his moods gave me some satisfaction.
I wasn’t sure I was supposed to feel that way, but today was that kind of day.
“Could we sit on the porch?” I found myself saying, “It’s a nice night. I would like for us to get to know each other a little better.”
His mouth stretched into a pleased grin. “Yes, I’d like thatvery much.”
5
Olan
Iwatchedmin skat, my treasure, finish her stew. I was pleased to note that she ate a healthy amount. I found females who enjoyed their food and allowed that enjoyment to be known were confident and self-assured, which boded well for our relationship. I was male enough to acknowledge that the first time her pink lips wrapped around her spoon and she made those little noises of contentment, myhanehardened, and it continued to be at attention for the rest of the meal.
But she didn’t know what I knew. Who we would be to each other, given the time. To start in such a way, given how the universe introduced us, would be a mistake. Patience was called for. I had been waiting for her for tens of thousands of years. I could continue to do so.
I finished my bowl, the feeling of being full foreign, the stretch of my gut against my pants strange, the warmth of sharing a meal more pleasant than I ever thought it would be again.
I sighed, knowing that while the knowledge I had obtained about her was gathered unfairly,min skathad been hurt before,and she needed to know that I had been too. I would make the first move towards building trust.
But even a god can have pause, can worry when exposing one of his most vulnerable memories to the female who would mean more to him than any wish he may have of his own.
I watched as she cleaned our dishes and wiped down the surrounding area before turning to me, her brows drawn in concentration. I felt a whisper across my defenses. I suppressed the instinctual need to shove the foreign consciousness from my own.She was trying to determine my mood. Hope rustled in my chest. The idea that she cared enough about me to check. It bolstered me.
