“Yeah. You have to go?”
“I want to make sure we have everything set up, and I have to check on my grandmother,” he said.
“Gracie and I will be here,” Ava said.
Chay left a few minutes later, and she stayed in bed with Gracie as the little girl rolled around on the king-sized mattress. She texted her parents, who were both staying home from work today, and let them know she was going to be at Chay’s until the storm passed.
Then she got up and got dressed. Taking a moment to nose around Chay’s home. She’d seen the living room, kitchen and his bedroom, but there were a couple of rooms she hadn’t seen.
One was a large mud and utility room with a shower off to the side. Opening the back door, she noticed it let out to the woodsbehind the house, and there were cords of wood stacked beside it. Getting her boots and winter gear on, she brought in enough wood to stock the woodbox and checked on Gracie, who was crawling around the living room.
In the utility room she found a battery-operated radio and some flashlights and candles. Gathering those things together, she placed them on the dining room table. She took a quick glance at the pantry and noticed that Chay had enough canned goods and dry staples to see them through a couple of weeks at least.
Looking in the fridge, she saw he had some meat and vegetables and put together the ingredients for a stew that could simmer most of the day. She got Gracie set up in her high chair and gave the baby some mashed apples that she knew she liked to munch on.
There was something so cozy about being in Chay’s house. The storm looked as if it were getting worse, and she tried not to worry too much about him. He was capable and knew how to do his job and to stay safe. She knew this. Yet her heart raced as she waited to hear from him.
He messaged around noon to say he was almost done and would be heading home soon.
She called him back.
“Is Aponi coming with you?”
“No, she’s staying with a friend. They are going to tell stories and weave during the storm,” he said. “Do we need anything at the house?”
“I found the radio and battery-operated lights. I’ve got a stew on and I brought in wood to stock the fireplace…so I think we should be good.”
“What about Gracie?”
“I have enough baby food for her, and she can eat the vegetables you have here. I think we should be fine once you get home.”
Home.
She hadn’t meant to say it, but as soon as the words were out they felt right.
“I’m on my way,” he said. “You two stay inside. The storm is getting pretty intense.”
“We will. ’Bye.”
“’Bye.”
She hung up the phone, walking over to check on Gracie, who was done with her apples.
“Mama.”
“Gracie.”
More babbling that Ava didn’t understand but knew that Gracie was starting to try to communicate. “Good girl. You ready to get down and play?”
Ava got her down and set her on the floor. The little girl took off crawling and laughing to herself until she got to her blanket, where she stopped to play with the board book that Ava’s mom had given her.
Goodnight Moon.
The book was actually Ava’s from when she was little. Her mom thought she should have touches of her own childhood around the children she fostered, which Ava knew was important. Giving those kids a sense of permanency.
She sat down next to Gracie and pulled her onto her lap, but the baby squirmed away and went back to her toys.
“Independent lady? I can respect that.”
