Penelope was in the kitchen washing the dishes from the kids, ignoring Gren’s insistence he’d get them later.
Katarina was giggling, taking pictures of all of this with her phone. “You two are the sweetest. You’re making the girls’ day.”
“They gave Ben a makeover once,” Pen chimed in, to Jules’ and Giles’ snickering laughter.
“Once,”Kat agreed, like it was a one-time deal but no one would ever be forgetting it. Her grin was wide, almost evil. As a current victim of such a thing, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know right now.
Alice glanced up at me and leaned in to whisper, “He was sleeping, but he lookedsopretty.”
“I’ll bet he did,” I agreed with a grin.
Bianca and Deedee paused in their hair style bickering to smile and nod. Even Calliope stopped to bob her head in a nod of agreement.
“I’ll send you a picture later,” Gren offered but couldn't look at me, because Calliope was serious, the little one meant business, then he gave my fingers, still in his, a light squeeze. Tiny little butterfly clippies had his hair looking like he’d suddenly grown a thousand cowlicks, the front of his hair pulled back with a large green bow clip, the sides pinched with thick daisy clips.
How many hair accessories fit in one tiny mini backpack?
“Abster doesn’t need clips,” Giles, now invested in this hair endeavor, came over to sit next to Kat, told the girls. “I like her hair when it has the flowers.”
“The flowers?” Kat echoed, glancing down at the little man when he nodded and then leaned into her. Her arm wrapped around him and her free hand ruffled his thick curls.
“When she makes the flowers in her hair and gives us each one,” Jules explained. Bringing his book with him, he sat on the other side of Kat. Her other arm went to wrap around him and she snuggled the boys. It was the most natural thing to them. Pen smiled fondly as she spied them from the kitchen. They were all obviously a close knit group. I felt like an outsider looking in on a very sweet chosen-family—not the family you’re born to, but blessed with, like a bonus.
Bianca and Deirdre glanced from the twins, to one another, then me. They put their high beams on with those pleading grins. Chuckling, I closed my eyes, pretending I had to concentrate. It was worth it to listen to them gasp softly, then oooh, like I’d just done a magic trick. From the looks on their faces, I’d say it was as good as one to them.
The blossoms were a lot like our Love Blossom, but no larger than a petite rose. Plucking one from my hair as the tiny blossom bloomed before their eyes, I fixed one to Bianca’s hair, and then plucked another from the tiny flower crown around my head to place one in Deedee’s.
With little squees, the girls hopped up and ran to show their mum. Kat leaned in, oohing and awwwing at all the appropriate places as the girls began to chatter over one another.
“Oh, don’t you both look so pretty!” Kat complimented.
“They smells nice, too,” Giles added.
“Smells nicenow,” Julien mumbled under his breath.
“Julien William Ochulles!” Pen gasped out.
Bianca reached over and pinched him. “Deedee does not smell!” she growled out defensively.
“But you do?” Giles asked questioningly, blinking his pretty eye as his brow furrowed.
“Nobody smells!” Penelope called from the kitchen, striding in, wiping her hands dry on a kitchen towel.
“I smell,” Viv commented with a grin, raising her hand, earning killing looks from Kat and Pen as the women turned to her with looks that screamed,You are so not helping!
“You smell like Undel Sedwig,” Jules replied with a funny look directed at her.
“And mud,” Giles added.
“I like mud,” Jules agreed with a nod.
“Can I have a pretty flower?” Alice asked from my lap, while my scalp cried in relief.
“Of course. Would Bernice like one, too?” I asked quietly.
Alice’s smile was slow but growing. “Please.”
Nodding, I plucked two more, adding one to Bernice’s straggly patch of hair and another to Alice’s.
