Page 16 of Neighbors' Omega
He turned and smiled. “He’s a smart man. Hell, they all are. I think that’s why I just pick up whatever slack I can. It makes me feel useful.”
“You don’t feel useful?”
He shook his head. “Shane does so much: lacrosse, kayaking, skiing, snowboarding. He’s always leading tours or teaching classes. Derrick loves helping people find their new homes. Roland thrives on creating desserts that people devour. How am I supposed to match all those passions?”
“You don’t like your job?”
He shrugged. “It’s ordinary, at least when compared to them. I sell mattresses. There’s nothing really exciting about that.”
“Everybody needs to sleep, and if you’ve never met somebody who hasn’t gotten a good night, then you’ve been lucky.”
He chuckled. “I had this little old woman the other day, literally dragged her mate in by the ear. Imagine the frailest elderly omega woman you can, then an alpha who might have been a body builder in his prime. Well she’s got him by the ear, pulling him into the store. Finally after they passed the desk she let him go and pointed to the display models, then proclaimed that they weren’t leaving until they found a mattress that he wouldn’t complain about.”
“Really?”
He laughed and nodded. “She was feisty, and I loved it.”
“Did they find a mattress?”
“Yeah, I set them up with one of those adjustable ones, so each person can control their own side. It was more than they wanted to spend, but I convinced them when they told me how many mattresses they had tried over the past few years, and told her that she shouldn’t sacrifice her comfort just because he couldn’t decide how soft or firm he wanted the bed on any given night.”
I laughed. “It’s a good argument.”
He smiled and nodded. “I really do think they’ll be happy with it. There was just something in her eyes, yanno? She’d tried her best to be comfortable for him, but I wonder how long it had been since she’d had a good night’s sleep herself.”
“Sounds like you did a good thing.”
He chuckled and bumped my shoulder with his. “Thanks for trying to make me feel better.”
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Trying to make my job seem more important than it is.”
“People spend a third of their life asleep. I don’t think it’s a minor thing to help them sleep better.” I paused. “Besides, you already said you’re happy with who you are. Doesn’t that include what you do for a living?”
“I don’t know sometimes…”
“Then change things. It’s never too late.”
“And do what?”
I shrugged. “That’s not for me to say. It’s your life, make it a good one.”
He leaned against me. “Thanks.”
Chapter 5
~October~
There was a quiet intensity throughout the library. Midterms had descended upon the campus, and students were intent on studying. While it wasn’t as overwhelming as finals, it was still a noticeable difference from the normal day-to-day.
“I’m going to go shelve in the reference section,” Dawn announced, standing and glancing at the returns cart.
“Ok.”
She rounded the desk and disappeared out of sight.
I turned back to my current task: making a list of which of my student employees would be graduating in December, so that I could give the library director advance notice of those hiring needs.
