“Mona still asleep?” I asked when Madden shuffled into the kitchen.
“Yeah. I think she’s sleeping better now.” Madden went around the island to sit on a stool, even if getting onto one made him wince.
“Makes sense.” I turned to hand him a glass of juice. “She only feels truly safe when you’re around, so now that she has you here, she can sleep all she wants.”
Rey grinned. “Theo will wonder where his little sidekick is.” Then he turned to Madden. “Do you want coffee?”
“Yeah, sure. That machine looks…”
“Like a space station, I know.” I chuckled. “It does all kinds of coffee, but you can also get tea and cocoa if you want.”
“A latte?” Madden asked in a hopeful tone. “Do you uh…have any syrups?”
I smiled at him. “Oh, do we ever.”
Lake didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but once a day, he made himself the most indulgent coffee he could.
Rey opened the cabinet door above the coffee maker with a flourish to show Lake’s stash.
“What would you like?” he asked Madden.
“Uh, a bit of caramel?”
“Coming right up!”
* * * *
Rey drank his tea while sitting at the island with Madden as they waited for me to be done with their breakfast plates.
“I’ll make Mona some, too. I’m sure she’ll be downstairs soon enough.”
“Thank you.” Madden moved to get off the stool, and Rey quickly slid off his, hovering by Madden’s side.
He looked so worried, that I hoped he’d realize he needed to hide that if he wanted to be friends with the kid. Madden was world weary in ways that only people who had gone through some pretty shitty and rough times too young could be.
He needed a friend and not another pseudo-parent.
The boys chatted as they ate, and I could tell they were getting along even better than Lake and River had hoped.
Seeing Madden’s beaming smile or delighted laughter at something Rey had said made me feel like the boy had hope yet.
After they ate, Rey asked if Madden wanted to watch a movie or play something on the consoles—yes, there were multiple now—Lake had bought for the big TV downstairs.
“Sure. I’ll just need the bathroom first,” Madden replied.
Rey showed him where the downstairs bathroom was and came back to clear the table.
“Rey?” I said quietly from the kitchen.
“Yeah?” He raised a brow and came to me with their dishes.
“Just…an observation,” I started, then chose my words carefully. “He’s more fragile than Mona right now, you get that, right?”
Rey blinked a couple of times. “Uh, I suppose?”
“No, think about it. Truly think about his situation.” I kept my voice low. “Be his friend, because I don’t think he’s had many good ones in his life. Leave the parenting to Toby and the worrying to the rest of us and just…” I shrugged.
“Be his friend.” Rey nodded and smiled. “Okay. Good call.”
