My stomach is an anxious knot as I set up the coffee, whisk batter for pancakes, and set out a pan to make eggs. I’m not a great cook, but I’ve learned enough to be a decent one. Decent is going to have to be good enough.
Jen and Mia come out of their room at the same time, Mia looking adorably sleepy, her hair sticking out every which way, her rainbow nightgown fluttering as she stumbles into me and gives me a drowsy hug.
“Morning, Mia.”
She yawns. “Morning, Thea.”
I glance up at Jen and smile encouragingly. “Morning, Jen.”
“Morning, Thea,” she says softly, sliding onto a stool at the breakfast bar.
“Coffee?” I ask.
Jen nods, looking exhausted, her hair in a messy high pony, her mascara smudged beneath her eyes. “With—”
“Cream,” I tell her.
Jen smiles faintly. “Yes, thanks.”
I serve Mia and myself blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs. Jen sticks with coffee.
Mia’s licking syrup from her plate when she stops, leaning to peer out the deck’s sliding door. “Is that Daddy out there?”
Jen peers out, and I do, too.
“No,” she and I both say.
“Is it Ethan?” she asks.
Jen tucks Mia’s hair behind her ear. “No. Remember, I told you he’s gone away, because that’s how he handled being upset. And he’s not going to come back, because of that.”
“Sounds like he had a tantrum,” Mia mutters, rolling her eyes.
Jen snorts into her coffee. I try to hide my laugh with a cough.
“I’m okay with it,” Mia says. “He wasn’t my favorite. I mean, hedidbuy me nice stuff, but I like heart stuff better.” She smiles at us. “You give me nice heart stuff. So does Daddy.”
Jen and I both stare at her, both of us blinking away tears.
“You give us nice heart stuff, too, sweetie,” Jen tells her.
I smile, showing Mia I agree.
Mia smiles wider. “So. Where’s Dad? Did he have a tantrum, too?”
Jen gives me a wary look, gauging what I’m going to say. I’m not sure how to handle this. I don’t know where he is, what to tell her.
Jen leans in and tells Mia, “Daddy texted me earlier, said he’s going to a really nice grocery store outside of town, to buy the ingredients to make all our favorite foods tonight. He’ll be back in a few hours.”
She says that last part to me, and I feel like she knows. That even if he didn’t tell her directly, Jen inferred. That he’s angry, that he needs time.
There’s a lump in my throat, and the anxious knot in my stomach has doubled in size, but I still manage a smile for Mia. “You know what that means?” I ask her.
“What?” she says, glancing back and forth between Jen and me.
“Girls’ morning!” I tell her. “I can hang out with you, if Mommy needs some time to relax, or I can give you and Mommy some time together. Whatever anyone needs.”
Mia tips her head. “I think I need to wear my pretty special-’casion white dress.” She frowns. “Whenisthe special ’casion?”