“Little Bird, where are you?”I call out, walking out of the bathroom.
“On the couch,” she answers as I enter the living room to find her trying to get off the couch.
“Havin’ some issues there, Little Bird?”I ask her, laughter filling my voice as I walk up to her and lift her in my arms.
“This isn’t funny, Bray.I blame you for not bein’ able to get out of bed, off the couch, or move around very good,” she says, the most adorable pout on her face as she looks up at me.
“I’ll accept the blame, Little Bird.You know you were there when this happened, yeah?”I return, resting my hand on her protruding belly as one of the twins kicks.
“I know I was there.I’m to blame for this, too,” she relents as I lean down and kiss her just as a knock sounds on the door.“Am I ready for this to happen?”
Wren is nervous about today because she wants everything to be perfect.Not just for the diner but to honor Leah’s memory.She has gone over all the details with a fine tooth comb and driven herself insane the last few days as the grand opening got closer.We’ve all had to tell her to rest and force her out of the diner or she would have continued working without sleeping, eating, or drinking anything.
“You’re more than ready for this, Little Bird.You’ve double, triple, and quadruple checked everythin’.Do you remember me draggin’ you out of there in the middle of the night last night because you just had to make sure everythin’ was still runnin’ the way it should so the desserts on display didn’t get ruined and the cold food already prepared for today were kept as cold as possible without freezin’?”I question her as she grabs the keys from the counter in the kitchen and we open the door to find Fury waiting for us.
“Everyone’s waitin’ on you, Wren.The parkin’ lot is full, grills are goin’ out back, and there’s a ton of people waitin’ to get the first glimpse of the changes you’ve made to the place,” Fury informs us as I carefully help Wren down the stairs.
We round the building to see Fury wasn’t lying.There isn’t a single empty spot in the parking lot as people form a long line in front of the door.Zach and Tristan put up a red ribbon across the door so Wren could do a ribbon cutting ceremony thing today.It was their idea and something she fell in love with the second they mentioned it.
“You’ve got this, Little Bird,” I whisper when I feel Wren hesitate the closer we walk up to everyone.
As people start to notice us making our way to the front door, silence fills the crowd taking the place of the various conversations that were happening seconds ago.Wren doesn’t look at anyone as she steps behind the ribbon with Fury on one side and me at the other side.Tristan and Zach step up behind her so she’s not alone and has the four of us for the strength she needs right now.
“Good morning everyone,” Wren begins to speak, her voice wavering with the nervousness filling her.I place my arm around her waist and let her lean into my body for the strength she needs in this moment.“I’d like to first thank you for coming out today to celebrate the grand opening of Leah’s Comfort Food.Leah meant so much to us for different reasons.To me, she took a chance on an unknown woman and became like a mom to me.One conversation is all it took for Leah and I to bond over feeling alone in the world with no family of our own.We were both lying to ourselves though.I had family in the members of the Knight’s Rebellion MC.Those men took me in and accepted me without questions or caring where I come from.Plus, I have my two foster brothers back and they won’t let me leave their lives again.I’ve also got a man at my side who I love with my entire heart and soul.Judge has been next to me every single day and calmed down my crazy when I got overwhelmed.
“Leah, has had all of you in her life.You might come in the diner and enjoy a meal, dessert, coffee, or whatever else, but you also share parts of your life.Leah knew most of you and enjoyed hearing about your triumphs in life.She cried with you when you weren’t doing so well and did everything in her power to support all of you here today.Leah was there as each new addition to your family was born and attended funerals when you lost loved ones.If one of you needed it, she threatened those who wanted to hurt you in one way or another and meant every word.So, without any further delay, I declare Leah’s Comfort Food open for business,” Wren says as clapping fills the crowd and Zach hands her one of those extremely large pair of scissors.Someone takes pictures as she cuts the ribbon and we watch it fall to the ground at our feet.
Turning around, Wren unlocks the door and opens it before stepping back and holding it open for the customers to start walking through.Fury holds everyone back for a second while gesturing to Wren.
“You go in first, Wren.Greet everyone inside as they enter.You can lead them to the tables and booths with the waitresses on staff today.Everythin’ else inside is ready.”Fury says as I walk my girl in and stand back to take in all the changes now that everything is done.
Wren ripped out the entire floor and replaced it with a light hardwood.The walls are all painted white with a dark grey border along the top and bottom.All of the booths and tables have been replaced.The tables are all dark wood with sturdier chairs that have cushioned seats.Each booth has a wooden table with either red or black seating on either side of them.There's a large booth on each side of the dining room that has one of those circular booths instead of a bench seat on both sides of the table.Wren extended the diner and made it almost three times as big as it was previously.She wanted to help more customers and have a larger kitchen to prepare more of the food on the newly updated menu.
All of the pictures Leah had on the walls before remain in the diner.There’s been additions to them.Wren found pictures of Leah from each stage of her life when we started to go through the things in her home.There’s a large picture of Leah and her husband Wren blew up directly behind the counter so you see it when you first walk in.All of the appliances have been upgraded and replaced.Especially the milkshake machine, coffee pots, and the ice cream station.There’s an entire section just for ice cream and other desserts that have been added to the menu.
The counter is longer and has all new seats in front of it.It curves around to the swinging doors leading into the kitchen and the other side ends against the wall where the register sits.There’s deeper shelves beneath it for supplies and the counter against the wall is where the new coffee station sits.The window to pass orders through remains because Leah loved looking out it and seeing her diner filled with happy customers.
“Judge, you can take the members of the club to the table reserved for you,” Wren says, pulling me out of my head as I continue to admire all the hard work she just put into the diner.
“Got it, Little Bird,” I tell her before leaning in for a kiss.
Wren doesn’t shy away from my touch in front of others and I love that about her.Turning to the club members, I lead them to the circular booth in the back where a reserved sign sits.Wren decided this would be our table and no one else is allowed to sit there.Even if we’re not in town, this booth will always remain empty for us.With the addition of more tables in the dining area, there shouldn’t be any reason for others to sit here.Taking a seat where I can watch my girl, everyone sits and we all talk about the improvements Wren made to the place.It’s perfect and I know Leah would be happy with everything.
***
Today has been longand I know Wren is exhausted.The new staff she hired to help those of Leah’s employees she kept on, are all amazing.They’re polite, here for the customers, and helped one another out without any kind of competition over tables and all that shit.During the entire day, Wren never once lost her smile.The real, genuine smile instead of that fake as hell one she had plastered on the first day I walked in and saw her here.Wren moved around the diner, helping everyone, unless one of us made her sit and take a break.We fed her, got her desserts, and made her sit between two of us so she couldn’t jump up when she saw something that needed to be taken care of.She didn’t even give us an attitude when we enforced those breaks.
Now, it’s just the two of us left in the diner as Wren closes the place up for the night.Yes, that’s a change she made with Leah’s blessing.The diner will no longer be open twenty-four hours a day.It will close at nine Sunday through Thursday.Friday and Saturday nights the diner will close at eleven.
“You almost done, Little Bird?”I ask her, entering her office to find her zipping the deposit bag shut so she can lock it in the brand-new safe.
“Yeah.I just finished the totals for the day.We did so much better than I thought we would,” she tells me, excitement in her voice as she pushes herself out of the chair to no avail.Reaching down, I help her get up while dropping to my knees in front of her once again.
“Little Bird, I know we’ve been takin’ this slow and I’ve been okay with that.I understand I have to earn back your trust and prove to you I’m not gonna just disappear when shit gets hard or I get scared of turnin’ into my parents.You changed that all this mornin’ with three little words.Wren, I love you and have since that very first night in The Hide Out.You make me want to be the best version of myself and become better than I was yesterday.For the first time in my life, I want to have you at my side to create as many memories as possible.I want to be the strength you need when you can’t find your own, support you in every dream you have, and raise our children together.Little Bird, you make every day brighter and each breath easier to take.I’ve already almost lost you and it proved to me that I can’t live without you.Will you do me the honor of becomin’ my ol’ lady?”I ask Wren, not sure if she’s going to agree to this or not.
Wren and I had a long talk about what it means to be an ol’ lady and that she’ll have to get a property tattoo.While she’s not really excited about getting a tattoo, Wren did say she would agree to be my ol’ lady and wear the rag.She wants everyone to know I’m her man.Hearing her say that made my heart skip a beat because in a way it was her version of claiming me.
“Yes, Bray.I will happily be your ol’ lady.I love you and those weren’t just words I said this morning.I fell in love with you a long time ago and it’s been a battle ever since as I tried to fight the feelings,” she answers as I stand and lift her in my arms, kissing her deeply.