Page 35 of Enticing the Elf
He’s eyeing me suspiciously now, and I give him my sweetest smile, the one guaranteed to terrify anyone who knows—and has crossed—me.
“Nope. Not while you have your scary face on.” He turns away, hesitates, and turns back. “Just remember that Eoin will need time for both those tasks. You need to get them started as soon as possible.”
I hold out until he’s almost at the security gate before I cave. “Hagen, come back.” To his credit, he’s not gloating when he rejoins me. “What were your suggestions?”
“We’ve asked around—quietly—and have the names of some people who’d let you pet-sit, to see how Eoin copes with having to help you look after a living creature. You’ve got your choice of two cats, three dogs, and a parakeet. Alistair’s also in talks with someone about their seahorse. It’s apparently very needy, which would be a great test, but the tank is too big to move. We’re not sure if it’s a feasible option.”
“Seahorse?” It takes me a moment to place what that is—my mind goes immediately to land horses, but they would needsuper big tanks. “I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a picture of a seahorse.” Or if I did, I didn’t know what I was looking at. “People keep them as pets?”
Hagen shrugs again. “I don’t think it’s common, but I guess so. They don’t look like horses at all, though. I asked Jaid why they’re called seahorses, but he didn’t know.”
I scribbleseahorseon the blotter beside my keyboard as a reminder to google it later. “What else is on the list, other than pet-sitting?”
He hesitates. “Pet-sitting might be the best option.”
“Hagen.”
“You could babysit for a weekend. That might be trickier, though, because so far nobody’s volunteered their kids for a whole weekend. One guy in the legal department at CSG said he’d pay you to take over coaching his kid’s soccer team, but that’s not what we’re looking for.”
“I’m not babysitting kids that don’t know me for a whole weekend,” I declare flatly. I rarely want to look after kids for more than a couple of hours, even when theydoknow me—and more to the point, I know they’re not going to turn into monsters as soon as their parents leave. Other people’s children are precious as long as those other people are around.
The coaching, on the other hand… Hagen’s right, it’s not what we’re looking for, but it could fit the “care for something important” task. Maybe. If I convince Eoin I care about coaching a kids’ soccer team.
It might help if I knew more about soccer than what the uniforms look like.
“Well, then it’s pet-sitting or getting your own pet, which is a huge decision and not something to be done just for the challenge.”
“Huh? Oh, right. Of course. I’d never get a pet just for the sake of the challenge.” As always when I think about getting apet, I remember with fond sadness the ones I loved. I’ve outlived a lot of precious animal companions in my life, and I miss them all. The grief over losing them fades until the happy memories are stronger, but it never completely disappears.
It’s been a long time since I had a pet, though. Embla died not long after we realized the anomalies were a problem, and even after I’d mourned her passing, I didn’t want to get another pet with everything so unstable. It’s been thousands of years.
Maybe…
“Dáithí?”
I look up and see Hagen still standing there, waiting for me to say something. I have no idea if he asked me a question or just wants me to tell him which option I’ve decided on.
“Let me think about it,” I say. “I’ll try to make a decision today. Or maybe tomorrow.”
He nods slowly. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I’m fine. Just thinking about some of the pets I’ve had.” I muster a smile. “You know how it is.”
“Hard. It’s hard to lose anyone you love. I have to get back to work, but you can call any of us if you have questions or need help. Eoin already sent Ari to ask us a bunch of stuff. He’s taking this seriously, Dáithí.”
I wait for hope to rise, like it always does when I think Eoin might actually prove himself, then realize it doesn’t have to—its new resting place is so much closer to my conscious self than it was before. When did that happen, and how much more will it hurt if things don’t turn out? “I know he is.”
Hagen gives me one last, long look before wandering off toward the security gate. I wait until he’s through it before flopping back in my chair. So much to think about.
Starting with, am I ready for another pet? I’ve been here on Earth, safe from the threat of destruction, for over a decade. Ihave a home, a secure job, and it’s beenso longsince I had an animal companion to love. Maybe it’s time to consider it.
A little overtwenty-seven hours later, I’m convinced I’ve made the right decision, but cursing myself for choosing a two-bedroom townhome with a courtyard instead of a house with a yard. After all, if I’m going to adopt all these precious babies, I’ll need space for them.
Jared chooses that moment to say, “One, Dáithí. You know it wouldn’t be fair to get more than one, at least at first.”
I look around the shelter he brought me to when I asked for his advice on adopting a pet here on Earth, and reluctantly concede that he has a point. “Fine. I don’t have room for them all anyway. Explain to me how this works—I choose my baby and take them home?”
He shakes his head, grinning. “Not exactly. You choose your baby, then fill out a dozen forms and pay a fee. The shelter will take forty-eight business hours to do a background check on you, make sure you’re not someone who has a history of violence against animals or has had a neglected pet in the past.” His eyes widen, and he lowers his voice. “Is that going to be a problem? With your, um, migration history?”