My eyes creak open, and I rub at my crusty lids. I’m in the media room, on a long, L-shaped sofa. Loren’s standing over me, wearing a bathrobe and holding a spatula. I scratch my head. Hair sticking up everywhere? Check.
Morning breath?
No comment.
“I made pancakes,” she says.
I give the air a sniff to confirm the smells coming from thekitchen. Cinnamon and something else sweet-ish. Like bananas. Also coffee. And … “Bacon?”
She shrugs. “You’re the one who stocked the pantry and the fridge. I just took my cues from you.”
My stomach rumbles. “Thanks. I’m actually starving.” Unfolding myself from the sofa, I stretch my achy limbs. “Remember how I rented this place so I wouldn’t have to sleep on a couch for a month?”
Loren wrinkles her nose. “Starting tonight, we’ll use the actual beds. Probably.”
“You’re the boss, Mrs. Adams.”
“Don’t you forget it.” She spins on a slipper, then continues down the hall, calling over her shoulder, “You’re in charge of dinner, by the way!”
I dash upstairs to brush my teeth, thinking a guy could get used to this.
It’s me.
I’m the guy who could get used to this.
Breakfast turns out to be slightly overcooked bacon and slightly undercooked banana pancakes, but the meal is, hands down, the most delicious of my life. We eat at the table in the nook off the kitchen, while Loren summarizes the episode ofSurprise BrideI missed last night.
Apparently, I fell asleep first.
Later, we wash the dishes together. We’re basically killing this domesticity thing.
I can’t hide my smile. And I don’t want to.
Afterward, she tops off our coffee with the last of the pot, and we drop onto a couple of stools. “I have to say, you’re in a better mood than you were last night,” I tell her. “Like … much better.”
“I guess I justdecidedto be in a better mood.”
“Decided?”
“After season eleven ofSurprise Brideended, I stayedawake for a while, thinking through everything you told me. And I made a conscious effort to lean into your words. We’re safe here, right? Your mom is thousands of miles away, and it’s not like she wants to murder us in our sleep. You foiled her plan, so she sent us flowers, aiming to be a little ominous. Or creepy. But she probably just needed to jab you a little for not following all her rules.”
“Look at that.” My mouth tips. “It’s like you know the woman already.”
“I’m just working with what you’ve told me,” she says. “And it sounds like whether or notshe’ssatisfied that our marriage is legitimate, thelawis, right?”
“Another good point.” I lift my mug in a toast, and Loren clinks hers with mine.
“As far as I’m concerned, we did all this for a reason,” she says. “Formultiplegood reasons. So we should get on them. Get on with life. Carpe diem, as the poets say.”
I gulp down the last of my coffee. “Speaking of getting on with things,” I say, “I thought I’d head over to the district office today. I need to meet with Dr. Dewey to tell her the recurring donations I had to retract can actually … uhhh … recur again.”
“Really?” Loren sets down her mug. “Maybe it’s not too late for me to get my summer school job back. The next session doesn’t start until Monday.”
I take a beat, caught off guard by the idea, which I honestly did not see coming. Far be it from me to discourage Loren from working. My only goal is to encourage her in whatever path she chooses. But I kind of thought she wanted to focus on her dad these days.
“Do youwantto teach this summer?” I ask her, slowly. “If that’s still an option.”
She blinks at me like the question just came out in Latin. “I mean … I’ve never had a summer off before. So … yes?”