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“Why are you asking?” Information for my replacement maybe?

“Because you do the work of three other employees, and people constantly request you. So, how much in the stacks?”

“Over the past few years, it’s really been shifting. I do almost everything online, now. I hope that was all right.”

Miss Pierce stood from behind her desk and came to sit next to me. “You are our most valuable researcher, and if you do most of your work online, would you consider working remotely?”

I was shocked. “Is that allowed?”

“It never has been before, but things are changing. If I can arrange it, would you consider staying on and working from home?”

I thought about it for a moment. “How about part-time until we see how it all works out,” I said.

“Yes.” Miss Pierce nodded. “As an experiment, and then maybe we’ll do more.”

We were never going to do more. I had other things to do, but it was a great start. “Thank you, Miss Pierce.” I reached for her hand and shook it. “It’s good to know my work is valued here. I’m not going to be too far away, so I can come in if I really need to every now and then. I’m moving to the mountains.”

“What prompted the change?” she asked. “If you don’t mind telling me?”

“I’m in love, and we’re going to live together,” I told her. “Changing my whole life.”

My mates were waiting outside when I got off work, and we went and picked up the last of my things and headed off to the mountains and our new home. While I was at work, they’d cleaned the apartment for me, so I’d get my whole deposit back. Not that I was messy, but things always looked dusty with the furniture gone.

When I locked the door behind me for the last time and left the key in the mailbox, I thought I’d feel sad or something, but all I felt was happiness.

And anticipation. We not only were going to start a new life; we wanted to have a baby right away. We were going to be a family.

Moving to their home and they want to have a baby right away.

Epilogue

Shaman

I was the last of my line. There would be no more after me. Or so I’d grown up fearing. But my mate, our beautiful mate, had fixed that. I sat on the porch, watching our triplets playing in the yard, wearing only diapers as they gamboled on the meadow grasses we’d planted for nature and their little feet. Not even two years old, they were already showing signs of wanting to shift, playing together more like baby unicorns than children.

My parents would have been so happy to see them. It was hard to tell whose DNA created which, and I never intended to find out. Why would I? Juven and I had been friends for a long time, and now we were mated to the same woman. A human who had taken a life we liked and made it one we loved. Halfway through her pregnancy, she decided she’d done enough librarian work for a while and quit but some of the clients she’d worked with followed her online, and she did some projects for her favorite people. Not commercial work anymore, mostly students, just enough to “keep her hand in,” as she said.

But these three were a handful, and once the new babies were born, we’d all be too busy for much else beyond helping out friends from time to time. Twins, this time, the healer said, after tsking at how quickly we were having more babies. We’d take a break after this, we promised, but Amber had never been more beautiful than she was today, sitting on a lounge chair, sipping a green smoothie while our children frolicked around her. She wore her hair up in a haphazard bun, her colorful maternity dress bringing out the color in her cheeks. When she moved in, she lost her makeup kit, and we’d told her not to bother buying more. We loved her as she was, and all that fuss was for women with less confidence than our mate.

Fate had found us the perfect female to be the matriarch of our family. Years from now, we’d have a yard filled with children and grandchildren. But for now, we had three little guys who needed to have lunch, and as the family cook, that was my responsibility. I went into the kitchen and got out some eggs and cheese for omelets. Sippy cups, divided plates so the strawberries and melon bits wouldn’t get into the eggs. Feeding this family was the best job ever.

Amber sailed into the kitchen, followed by the triplets and Juven. They got the boys into their highchairs and ready for lunch while I finished cooking. Overcome by a burst of love, I kissed the babies and their mom then gave my friend a big hug.

They all laughed and returned my affection, not pausing in their day’s activities for such emotions, used to living in the happy world we had created for our family.

Our little slice of heaven in the mountains.