Page 71 of As The Shifter World Turns

71

A MASSAGE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY

Ivor

“Micah, if you allow these plants to die before I collect them tomorrow, there will be trouble.”

The unicorn shifter extended his arms with wrists together. “Cuff me now. Easier to get the punishment over and done with before we party!”

Daire ignored his friend and work partner and went up onto the roof.

“We don’t have a green thumb, I’m afraid, “ Archer admitted. “It’s kind of a desert up there.”

It was our baby shower day and everyone in the manor was invited. After an afternoon of pampering, games and craft activities, food was being delivered and we were eating on Micah and Archer’s roof.

I hadn’t been up on their roof but our grizzly friend had described the dead plants. Micah had been taking furniture and cushions upstairs since yesterday but Daire insisted it needed greenery.

“Ready?” Archer asked. My fellow wolf shifter had a sitter for Elune so he could join in the activities.

I nodded, eager to lie down and have a relaxing facial and foot massage. Neil, Archer, Micah, and Ryder were joining me, while Martin and Daire said they’d come later when we were playing games. Neil had brought Toby who said he’d never had a facial or a foot massage and wanted to try them.

We had three beauty therapists so Toby, Neil, and I went first. The massage tables and equipment had been set up in the basement apartment as Archer’s dad lived in an aged care facility most of the time.

As soon as I lay down and the therapist covered me with a big fluffy towel and placed a warm cloth on my face, I was in heaven. Neil was moaning beside me and Toby shouted excitedly, “This is nice.”

“Toby,” Neil said gently. “This is for us to relax, especially Ivor. So it's a quiet time.”

“Okay,” Toby whispered.

My face was cleaned and there were more warm cloths. If I had enough money, I’d do this every day. I fell asleep to soothing hands gliding over my cheeks and brow, and woke up to someone tapping a gong. “Is it over?” I asked not remembering if it was day or night.

I glanced at Neil who looked like I felt and Toby who was sound asleep. “That was so good,” my friend said.

We were led to another room while the towels and face clothes were replaced and it was Ryder, Archer, and Micah’s time for their facials. Micah had to carry a sleeping Toby into our room.

We sipped ginger tea and nibbled on cut fruit while leaning back in very comfortable chairs. When it was time for the foot massage, I opted for a light touch as my feet were placed in warm water, scrubbed, and wiped, and one was placed on a stool while the beauty therapist massaged the other one and rolled a wooden thingie over it.

So good. Once again, I closed my eyes and began to drift off to sleep when a yelp beside me had my eyes snap open. Neil was holding Toby’s hand and wincing as his foot was massaged. He’d asked for a strong massage and it was obviously painful.

“You can ask for a lighter touch,” I told him.

He shook his head. “I can do this,” he insisted, gritting his teeth.

“Neil, you’re hurting my hand,” Toby complained.

“Sorry.” My friend grabbed a magazine and hid behind it as he made faces. But he wasn’t hiding from the therapist because every time he grimaced, his toes curled and he tensed.

“What’s that noise?” I asked Archer as he came into the room after his facial.

“Ryder and Micah are sleeping, mouths open and snoring.”

“We’d better tip well,” I told my friend.

“How are your feet?” I asked Neil.

“Like walking on air.”

“My hand’s sore where you dug your nails in,” Toby grumbled.

Neil kissed the youngster’s forehead. “Sorry, sweetheart.”

“Go upstairs, while we have our foot massage,” Archer told us. “I've just laid out snacks on the table.

I wriggled Ryder’s big toe. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty, wake up.”

As Neil and I nibbled on satay, deviled eggs, and spring rolls upstairs, the yelps from the basement apartment told us my mate, along with Archer and Micah, had chosen not to do a soft foot massage. Toby kept running down and peeking and when he returned he took great delight in telling us how much pain they were in.

But when the three appeared, they agreed with Neil. “It hurt like crazy but I feel like I’m floating,” Ryder told me before taking a bite of a spring roll.

“Knock, knock.” That was Daire and Martin was with him.

Martin gave both Neil and Toby a kiss. “How was it?”

“Amazing,” Toby gushed, “But Micah and Ryder cried.”

“Did not,” Ryder insisted.

Archer clapped his hands. “Crafts time.”

“That’s not really my thing,” Ryder mumbled.

“Too bad. Everyone can do this,” Archer told him. He produced white onesies and fabric paints. “I’ve put an old table and chairs in the garden so we can all make something special for Ivor and Ryder’s baby.”

While most of us complained at first, we got enthusiastic as we put brush to cloth. Toby painted himself, Elune, and Patch. “We’re your baby’s unofficial cousins,” he told me, which had my eyes flooding with tears.

Daire painted Sunshine Manor while Martin did the local park saying our baby would spend a lot of time there. Micah’s painting was of two unicorns and a wolf. Ryder’s effort was stag horns and they were magnificent set against the white background and I did an impression of my wolf’s face, though I’d never really ‘seen’ him but knew what he looked like.

There was a football on Neil’s onesie while Archer painted a bicycle, like the one he used to ride to work.

“They’re so cute,” Ryder and I agreed as he looked at the onesies. “Our daughter will look adorable in these. Thank you.”

Archer herded us back inside. “Guess what I’ve got in here?” He held up a bag. Not bothering to wait for an answer, he continued, “These are the baby pics you gave me.”

We all groaned.

“Are we going to throw darts at them?” Daire asked.

“No! You’re going to match the baby pics to each person here.” He held up a photo. It was a baby holding a soccer ball.

“That’s so easy,” Micah said. “It’s obviously Neil.”

“Wrong,” Archer yelled. “Anyone else want to guess?”

Daire peered at the pic. “It’s not Toby, is it?”

“No,” Toby giggled.

“I ask this person to stand,” Archer announced.

We looked around. “Who is it?” I asked as no one made a move to get up.

“Hello, people,” Archer said. “I’m standing.”

“You?” Micah shouted. “That can’t be you. I’m your mate. I’d know.”

Archer shrugged and kissed the unicorn shifter. “Sorry, babe. You don’t know me as well as you thought.”

“Damn!” Micah said as he studied the photo .

There were plenty of giggles and wrong answers as we tried to match each baby to our friends.

My stomach grumbled when we finished and Archer noted, “Good timing,” as the food arrived and a team of caterers carried it up to the roof. Daire hurried after them, worried they might harm his ‘babies’ as he referred to his plants.

When everything was ready and I leaned on my mate as he climbed up the stairs, I held him tight as I caught a glimpse of the roof. There were fairy lights strung around and a big sign that read, “Congratulations, Ivor and Ryder.”

My mate wrapped his arms around me as our friends and Patch arrived on the roof. They toasted us with Shirley Temples because Ryder told them how much I enjoyed them on our babymoon.

“Thank you,” I said as I sipped my drink.

“I’d like to say something,” Ryder told our friends.

“Oh, speech,” Daire chuckled and he clapped. “Speech. Speech.”

“Thank you for giving us such an amazing day. You’re not just our friends, you’re our family.” I reached out and took his hand. “Ivor and I have travelled a rocky road to get to where we are today. But the future is bright and with our daughter on the way, we’ve put the past behind us and can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow and all the tomorrows after that.”

Baby hormones had me wiping tears away with the back of my hand. “Thank you. That was so sweet.”

“Ivor, I love you but can we put a pin in the tears and eat,” Daire told us. “I’m starving and I can’t eat when you’re crying.”

“Daire!” everyone shouted.

“Ivor, can I take the baby to the park when she’s born?” Toby asked. “Patch and I are grown up now and very responsible.”

Neil put his arm around Martin and tears glistened in both their eyes.

“That’s a very kind offer, Toby. When the baby arrives, she’ll need both her dads. How about we talk again when she’s a little older?”

“Okay. Come on, Patch. Let’s play with the ball.”