Shina grins, then frowns, once more looking at her eldest niece.
“Go shower, and get ready for school. I'll be up in a few minutes to chat.”
Huffing Leena storms out, yelling the whole way up the steps about how much she hates this prison.
“Okay, who is hungry?” I say, clapping my hands, trying to lighten the mood.
I grab the eggs, scoop some on a plate, and then add the bacon.
I give Shina a portion and an extra slice of bacon for the little man.
Shina yawns and adjusts the baby on her chest. His eyes are open, and I notice they are grey.
“And who is this little one?” I ask, and the little boy answers.
“That's our baby brother, Alec. And I'm Xander.”
“And you, princess?” I think I know her name, but she's so shy, hiding behind Shina's legs.
“Kenna,” she whispers so sweetly.
Xander digs in, squealing over the donuts, and Shina walks over to me with a tired smile and squeezes my shoulder.
“Are we even going to talk about the fact you're in my apron?” she whispers, and I laugh.
“Orange juice mishap. Didn't think it was appropriate to meet the kids shirtless.”
She giggles, then yawns again. Alec starts to fuss, and I reach out for him. She hesitates, raises her eyebrows, looks down at the baby squirming, and then nods.
I take him from her, bounce him gently, and pat his butt.
“You're good with kids,” Shina murmurs.
“I have a big family. Three brothers, two sisters and a shi… crap load of nieces and nephews.”
She smiles, then looks off out the window and frowns.
“This is all I ever wanted,” she sighs, then looks back toward the stairs. There is loud pop music blasting from the floor above.
“She's a lot like I was at fifteen. Defiant, strong-willed, but so damn smart. It scares me.”
“I got this handled if you want to go talk to her,” I offer, and she nods. After she's gone, I continue to rock Alec, then look around for the baby formula. He has to be hungry too.
Kenna speaks up and points to a cupboard by the sink. “Auntia Shi keeps his food there. But he can have some scrambled egg yolks too. Alla usually cooks him some.”
As I prepare the little man some breakfast, I can't help but to imagine a future like this.
A house full of kids, cooking, laughing and spending time with them. A door slams upstairs as I'm wiping Alec's hands clean.
The little dude really loves eggs.
“I hate this prison. When is my mom coming back? I don't want to be here anymore!” Leena screams, making Xander flinch.
He tries to hide it, but I can spot a trigger when I see it. His mom must not have been the greatest.
“Hey, buddy, why don't you and your sister go get ready for school while I clean up.”
He nods, scrapes his plate off in the trash, and then puts it in the sink. Kenna follows his example, and soon they are sneakingup the kitchen staircase, avoiding the showdown by the front door.
