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I wasn’t sure what to make of Boston when he met us at baggage claim. I expected the brash smile and cocky smirk, but what greeted us were slumped shoulders and a hard look that had no small talk hidden in it. He shook my hand like a colleague and endured Ezra’s hug without smiling or participating in the gesture.
Ezra filled in the gaps on the way home with details of Danny’s proposal, the oceanic parade Dagat had thrown Ollie for delivering the stone without incident, and other happier things that didn’t inspire much from Boston, other than the occasional grunt. Ezra finally gave up, sighing. “Do you have any questions, son?”
Boston leaned forward from his place in the backseat. “I’ve never done pulling full-time. When do I start?”
“You can discuss that with October. She’s got an aversion to being touched, so best she knows when it’s coming.”
I cleared my throat when the conversation was thrown to me. “Um, yeah. The touching thing, especially since we don’t really know each other. In the beginning, Von and Mason would rub my arms every now and then. They never snuck up on me. That way I knew it was coming.”
“I can do that. How often?”
I shrugged, unsure what alien had taken over Boston, replacing his brash behavior with a coachable professional. “You’ll have to ask Mason. I don’t really know what I need as far as that goes.”
Ezra chimed in with, “She needs light layers of pulling often. Mason hasn’t been able to get her to zero since she was returned to us. Perhaps it’s the pulling for two issue, and the fact that he’s used to sharing a job with another Duwende.”
“Pulling for two?” Boston inquired. “Like pulling for October and Mariang?”
Ezra’s head snapped in my direction. “You haven’t told Von’s family?”
I pulled my sweater down, giving Ezra a sideways look. “Why would I? I barely know them. You only just sprung this on me now. Why didn’t you tell him? You’re the one who’s hiring him. Seems like basic job description stuff to me.”
“Yes, well, I told Von’s mother. I just assumed she’d spread it to her sons.”
“I haven’t been home in a while,” Boston admitted. “Missed a few phone calls, I guess. I pretty much jumped at the job offer when you called, and hopped on the first plane out. I didn’t think to ask for details.”
“Well, here we are, then.” Ezra put on a lighter tone as he addressed Boston. “You should know that your charge is pregnant, just starting in on her second trimester, by our best guess.”
This brought about a flicker of life in Boston’s eyes. “Pregnant? That’s... Well, congratulations. Who’s the lucky bloke you passed on Von for?”
I kept my mouth shut and chickened out, leaving Ezra to do the dirty work, spilling my secrets and cluing Boston in on a bit of magic we didn’t even know was possible until now.
Boston’s mouth was practically on the floor. “So Von doesn’t even know he knocked you up? You’ve never actually had sex?”
Ezra hated the term “knocked up”, and cringed whenever any of us threw it around. “Yes. My daughter is pregnant, and we’re all very happy about it.”
“Wicked.” Boston came to life in bits and pieces as he thought through all the things we’d already covered. “But Mason’s Matruculan. Ezra, so are you!”
“Yes, which is why we brought you on. It’s not just to replace Von while he’s off on holiday. It’s to cover for Mason throughout the whole third trimester, and the first month or so of the baby’s life. You’ll also be watching the grounds with Danny while I take my leave when the baby comes.”
Boston covered his mouth as the information crashed over him. “Oh, wow. I mean, this is...”
“Are you rethinking the job offer? I can always call in Alton or Graham. We’re trying to keep it in the family, since we’ve had trouble with spies before.”
“No, no. I’ll take the job. It’s just more of a job than I realized. I thought I’d be shadowing Mason until Von comes back, but this is a whole big thing.”
“Indeed. And I expect you to treat it as such. My daughters are national treasures. Their safety is of the utmost concern to me. If you can handle the job, I want to give it to you.”
“I can handle it, no problem. I might need to watch Mason the first day, though.”
“You should have a few months still before Mason has to take his leave of absence. Ask questions. Do what you need to be able to take over when he goes. You won’t be doing any reaping, of course, but daily pulling will keep you plenty busy.”
“Has no one told Von the baby’s his? I can’t imagine he’d stay away if he knew.”
I finally opened my mouth, but immediately wished I hadn’t when my attitude flared, exposing my vulnerable underbelly. “Yes, it’s every girl’s dream. Your special guy who wouldn’t commit to you before, ditches you with no warning, no conversation, but comes back out of duty to your unborn baby. So romantic. If there isn’t a ballad written about it, there should be.”
“Ah. I see.” Boston looked out the window, though it was too dark to see anything outside just yet. “He should still know.”
“If he wanted anything to do with me, he would. I’m not purposefully not telling him. I called him that first day and asked him to come home. He didn’t, and he won’t, so there we go.”
Ezra reached over and held my hand, taking my flinch in stride. I let him hold my hand because he needed to, and because I was trying with everything in me not to let my issues play such a prominent role. The healing waters had done something; I could feel the desire to claw at my skin and wash my hands too many times diminished significantly after I came out of the waters. But just like the bat-shaped scar across my back, the waters could only do so much. Some wounds were too deep to heal without scarring.