I giggle as he scoops me up and moves in the direction of his office.
Veyn emerges from the mirror that I finally convinced Marcus to set up in his space. An act that still gets random tirades when he’s fed up with the demon.
Today seems to be that day when we step over the threshold. Marcus kicks the door closed and there’s Veyn, perched on the desk.
“Fuck sakes,” Marcus mutters, which gets a laugh from me and a smirk from Veyn.
“Stop being greedy, Usher. She has enough holes for both of us.”
The progress between them is subtle and yet so vast. Marcus is no longerhumanwhen Veyn addresses him. And Marcus has put a mirror in his office.
Progress.
I’m set on my feet gingerly, and he faces the demon with the full weight of made up outrage.
“You can’t just keep popping into my office. I work in here.”
Veyn arches a brow as he hops to his feet. “Is that what we’re calling this?”
“Your daughter refuses to wear a hat,” I cut in before a full battle begins over boundaries. “She’s being unreasonable.”
“My little demon spawn can do as she pleases.”
I roll my eyes. “No, she can’t and you better not be telling her that.”
Veyn tilts his chin a notch in a manner that tells me he does.
“What we discuss is confidential.”
There is much we do not agree with, but more that we do. Ella is a free spirit like Eliah. She’s rowdy and chaotic like Ames. Most of the time, she’s mischievous and sassy like Veyn. But beneath all that, she’s sweet and loving like Marcus. And I love that she has the best parts of each of them, but it’s exhausting.
“I think I’m going to lie down for a few minutes,” I say instead, no longer in the mood for adult time.
Frankly, the slow cooking of a baby is tiring. I’m sleepy all the time and if I’m not tired, I’m hungry. My feet hurt. My back aches. I almost miss the rapid, overnight growth, but this one seems to be taking its time.
“Linny?” All humor is gone when he faces me. “Are you okay?”
I nod. “Yes, I just need some sleep.” I start in the direction of the door, adding, “You guys are on Ella duty.”
I make it all the way to the room I share with Marcus and Veyn without being stopped. The door is shut behind me and I move to the closet.
It’s only while I’m stripping my dress and stepping into the shower that I remember my gardening tools. I left everything in the yard following Ella inside.
I groan but let it go. They will still be there later.
Washed and stuffed in a slip, I climb beneath the sheets and immediately fall asleep.
I wake to a world of darkness.
The world outside the window glints with a million stars and a fat, round moon I can’t help feeling extra connected to. But the positioning of it has me pushing back the sheets. I don’t need a clock to tell me I’ve missed supper and bedtime.
I know the boys offer to help but bedtime is our special time — mine and Ella’s. It’s the one time in the whole day there is no arguing, no toddler chaos. It’s just her and me cuddled in her bed — my old bed — reading and talking about everything. I cherish those moments and have never missed a single one.
Though, the way she’s been lately, so angry and argumentative, I doubt she wants me there or cares as much as I do.
Still, I pull a robe on and pad the corridor to her room. The slice of gold forming a square across the carpet guides me to the door and the adorable scene on the other side.
Ella, small, freshly showered and dressed in her favorite pink nightgown sits in the center of two enormous men. Both propped with their backs to her headboard. Ella’s bedtime book is in Veyn’s hand. Still closed.
