Seeing the guests off.

I told Thomas that breakfast would be at 8:00 am, but that was because he had classes at around 10:00 am and Maria had to go to work, too. It was, after all, a monday. Thankfully, the rest of us had managed to keep Mondays free in return for a busier rest of the week.

After a very active night, I rose quietly out of the bed, trying not to wake anybody up. The girls tried to fight off sleep, but couldn't win. Better that way, since it’s not like they can go with only an hour or two of sleep like I can. I’ll come check up on them later.

Someone did wake up, though. Diana stirred on the bed across from where I was. She turned and tried to open her eyes. “Breakfast for Red…” she muttered tiredly, fighting her heavy eyelids.

I kissed her forehead. “I’ve got it. No need to get up yet.”

Diana smiled, nodded absentmindedly and closed her eyes again.

I took a quick shower, changed clothes and went down to the first floor. Hearing movement, Red and Cake walked out of the living room. Red yawned and stretched lazily.

“Big stretch,” I said, going over to pet him. He leaned into my hand, liking the scratches behind those big ears of his.

Cake meowed loudly at me, rubbing herself against my legs for a bit before she went over to the kitchen ahead of me. I chuckled.

Cake does have an automatic feeder, but I try to only use it when she’s home alone. I don’t know if it messes with the routine or not, but I like to feed her myself if I can. Red, though, was used to have some raw meat along with the usual dog food for breakfast, and there was no way of automating that.

I prepared their bowls and left them on the floor side by side. I kneeled in front of them to watch them eat, and had to gently push Red’s snout aside when he began to sniff Cake’s bowl. After a moment, I went to wash my hands and started getting breakfast ready for our guests, the two of whom arrived some 10 minutes later, all clean and ready.

“Good morning,” I said, putting the toasted bread on a small basket. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, we did,” Maria said, walking in with a bright smile. Behind her, Thomas let out a big yawn comparable to Red’s. “Um… The bed sheets…”

“We’re going to do laundry today, so leave them as they are,” I told her easily. “I’m sorry, but everyone else is still sleeping. I don’t want to wake them yet.”

Thomas shook his head. “Don’t. Let them rest on their day off.”

I nodded. “I’m guessing you’re drinking coffee?”

The big man nodded. “Thanks, man…”

“Tea for me, please,” Maria said.

I sat down and had breakfast with them. It was my first time feeling the real weight of responsibility of being a host. Like, not just having people around for a few hours. I wanted Thomas and Maria to feel comfortable here.

“No problems with the shower, either?” I asked them.

“No, but… uh…” Thomas grimaced. “I… had to use someone’s shampoo. I think it was one of the girls’. Not a lot, though!”

I chuckled. “Relax, it’s no trouble.”

After we were done, I saw them off, opening the gate for them.

And thus, we had our very first weekend in the house with two back to back gatherings. One with our families, and one with our friends. Fun as it was, I’d rather not make a habit out of them.

I looked over to Red and Cake, both of whom had already finished their meals. Red was licking his chops while Cake groomed herself. I smiled.

“You two have been getting along, huh?”

Red just looked at me with those big eyes of his while Cake meowed a response. It was a big relief that these two had become fast friends, otherwise Cake would’ve forced me to break up with Diana.

And as I was musing over whether or not that was a funny joke or not, I heard something that made me flinch. Something… loud, like a gunshot coming from outside, far away. Red and Cake flinched with me and stood on high alert.

I went outside again, through the front door. I didn’t see anything, and whatever that sound was, there was no repeat. I checked the backyard, too, looking around but finding nothing out of the ordinary.

Overthinking, I texted Thomas asking if they were okay, adding that I heard a weird, loud noise. My heart beat fast, only calming down when Thomas texted back, saying they were okay and that they’d heard it, too.

I went to check up on the girls on the third floor, but they were all still sound asleep. I guess the sound-proofing of the room did its job.

I stepped out and let out a sigh. Thinking it over, it was very unlikely that it was a gunshot. Could’ve been a truck or something else on the road. I didn’t hear anything else, even after keeping quiet for a long while. Red did seem a bit restless, though, looking out the window with his ears perked, unmoving.

I knelt next to him and patted his head. “It’s alright, boy,” I whispered.

Red grumbled, but he seemed to relax and he gave my face a lick.

I washed the dishes, then went to the bedroom Thomas and Maria used. I didn’t lie when I said we’d do laundry today, but… Instead of throwing these sheets in the wash, I cleaned them up like I did the sheets upstairs after everyone fell asleep.

I felt the heat of magic warming up my body, placed my hand over the bed and focused not just on a small stain or even a small area, but the entire bed. It was… too much. Grumbling, I unmade the bed and tried again, this time separately on every sheet. That worked a lot better. I could picture the effect more clearly.

When I went back to the living room to check that everything was in order or that no one had forgotten anything yesterday, I saw Cake looking out the window, too.

I got worried, thinking she might have heard something I didn’t… but no, she was just looking at a bunch of birds outside.

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