Queen's River Stories: Adopt-A-Mom

“Good evening, my beloved friends. This is a story for all of you that are not related to your Alphas or Betas. Here in Queen’s River, we celebrate not just the Alpha patriarch who takes care of his mother, sister and other related women, but also those who marry an unrelated Beta, or take in a Local to ensure their happiness as well. The story that follows is one of those couples. A mature woman and a young man in the prime of his life who moved to Queen’s River to make a better life for themselves. In each other they found exactly what they needed. The mother figure that would take care of all of his needs and an Alpha who would always do right by her.”

“My name is Jocasta Monarch, and this is the story of William and Anne. I hope you will thoroughly enjoy it.”

Anne had tried her hardest not to be bitter when her husband of almost 30 years left her for his secretary. Dan had been telling her those late nights at the office was just him screwing the young woman, but she found out they’d been going on dates! Romantic dates! With hand holding!

Anne had suggested counseling when she had caught them, but Dan had just delivered divorce papers and had moved out the next day as if their time together had been worth nothing. All the sacrifices she’d made—never having children or a career, all those times getting gang-banged by the old geezers at his firm—it had all been for hi, and for the career that he wanted. And he’d thrown her away for a younger woman, just like that.

“So… Mrs. Parker?”

“Ms.,” Anne corrected, fidgeting at the desk in the State Labor Office.

“Ms. Parker,” the man said, peering at her over the top of his glasses. “52 years old, and you are a…”

“Housewife. I uhm... never finished my degree at the urging of my husband. Ex-husband…”

“Ms Parker, I’m going to have to be blunt with you. I just don’t see any opportunities for you.”

“Please, Mr. Pritchard. I need a job! I can’t afford the house on just my alimony cheque. I’ll flip burgers. Anything!”

“There are some options for mortgage or rent subsidization, but I don't think it's going to fully make up the difference.. Honestly? I recommend moving to a cheaper place.”

“Mr. Pritchard, I don't think I'm going to get much for that house if we did sell, and Dan's going to insist on his share if we do. I can't see the bank giving me another mortgage with the little i have coming from alimony, and anywhere around here I'd rent would cost more than the mortgage payments I have now. ” She could feel the tears welling up.

“I’m really very sorry Ms. Parker.” He really did sound sorry.

Anne walked out of the office with tears running down her cheek when she bumped into someone. “Oh god I’m sorry…”

The man looked like a used car salesman. Slicked back black hair, shiny suit and a smile looking like a shark who just saw a chance for a kill. All that with a tint that suggested heavy Indian heritage. “Don’t worry about it. Name’s Tom. Why so glum, sugarplum?”

“I… my husband left me and I’m losing everything.” If anything, his smile got wider.

“Well, why don’t I buy you a cup of coffee and you can tell me all about it.”

“What a bastard,” Tom said with conviction. “30 years of marriage, you said?”

“That’s right,” Anne sniffed. “30 years.”

“Unbelievable. And no kids?”

“He didn’t want any and I just…”

Tom patted her back. “I quite understand ,Anne. But you know what, I want you to think of this as a new beginning. It was very serendipitous for us to meet. I’m a recruiter you see, and there are a lot of jobs I need to fill. I think I’ve got something for you.”

“R...really?”

“Now it’s not very glamorous; government work, in fact. And you’d need to move to the town that will employ you, but they're very generous. They’ll pay all the moving costs and even set you up with an apartment close by.”

“You’re telling me the apartment is…”

“Part of the salary, yes.”

“This all sounds too good to be true.”

Tom laughed. “It does, doesn’t it? What can I say, my mom raised me right. When I saw you crying, I just had to act. Besides, receptionist at the Local shelter? Anyone could do the job. So why not someone who really needs it?”

“So like, for puppy adoptions and stuff?”

“You’ll be helping families expand,” he said vaguely. “The place you’d be moving to… free use is a bit different there…”

“I don’t care. Okay. Okay, I’ll do it! Where am I moving to?”

“Queen’s River”.

“William Donner?” Tom said smiling as he walked up to the young man.

“Yes...er… that’s me. And you are?”

“Tom Anwar. Pleasure to meet you.” William allowed his hand to be shaken, a bit taken aback by the smiling man.

“Er… likewise.”

“I’m not going to beat around the bush kid. I’m a recruiter. You ever heard about a firm called Garcia and Radon?”

“As in Eduardo Garcia? Yeah I’ve heard about him. Man's a legend.”

“He’s taken a personal interest in you. Let’s have a seat.”

Tom expertly guided the shocked young man to the nearby coffee shop and sat him down.

“Mister Garcia was very impressed with your thesis, Mr. Donner. I’m here to offer you a job.”

“At Garcia and Radon?”

“That’s right. Now I’m sure you’re going to get a lot of offers over the next few weeks but I want you to seriously consider this one. I’ll be the first to admit the downsides. You’ll need to move halfway across the country to a place with pretty steep local taxes. The culture can also take some… getting used to.”

“You got me at high taxes,” William grinned. “So why should I consider it, besides getting to work with Eduardo fucking Garcia?”

“Garcia and Radon will pay all of your moving costs as well as arrange for a home of your choosing besides the usual car, and other company perks. Though while there you should consider public transit. It’s very good.”

Tom took a sip of his coffee before continuing. “That’s part of why taxes are so high. City services take care of just about everything: public transport, hospital costs, education. The town takes on quite a lot to make the lives of everyone who lives there better. And you can’t argue with results. An highly educated population with one of the lowest crime rate in the country.”

Tom slid a piece of paper over to William. “Besides, with what we’re offering as a starting salary, trust me, you’ll still be very well off.”

“Holy…” William looked at the number. “When do I start? And where?”

“Next month.=,” Tom grinned, having closed the deal, “in Queen’s River.”

“Yes sir, very successful trip. About 50 new applicants.” Tom spoke over the phone while he was packing his bags. Yes of course I closed Donner. Who am I, William H. Holbert? Yes sir I know you don’t follow sports. Baseball player who never hit a… never mind. Thank you sir. Yes I’m looking forward to coming back home. Missed my mom’s cooking, that's right. Speak to you soon sir, thank you.”

Tom sighed as he sat down and dialed another number. “Hey Mom. Yeah I had a good trip. Can’t wait to see you either. Really, Cynthia asked about me? Yes, get her over for dinner. Tuesday night is fine. Ooh, no I don’t know, tell me, what are you wearing….”