I waved to her dad and brother as they exited the vehicle and headed home.
Chapter 8
Lily
Iwoke up to the smell of bacon and coffee and the knowledge that my first night alone with my kids had been pretty much a failure. After Dad left and Cade crashed on the couch, Calla had woken up. She’d beaten her sleep record last night, but not by much. She was up for hours nursing and cooing at me. She finally went back to sleep at three thirty this morning. It was five now and I needed to get ready for work.
I was not in the mood to be awake, so I threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, found some shoes, and put my hair up in a bun before heading downstairs. Cade and Mom were in the kitchen sitting in mismatched painted chairs at Gram’s battered wood farm table. Mom held Calla while Cade stuffed his face with bacon and eggs. He gestured to a filled plate on the table next to him. I lifted my chin in thanks and sat to stuff my face too. Dylan was still asleep, as one should be at five in the morning during summer vacation.
“Morning,” I grunted after swallowing my eggs. “Let me nurse her. I’m full.” I took Calla, so I could feed her and get some cuddles before I left.
“You’re wearing that?” Mom asked me.
“She’s fine, Mom,” Cade told her. “Lily, you’re fine.”
“I don’t even care if I’m not fine.” I stole a piece of bacon from Cade’s plate. I couldn’t reach my own while holding Calla. Cade laughed and took a piece from my plate. “I’m just glad I remembered to put on a bra. I’m not going back upstairs.” I did not have enough energy for any more stairs today.
“Well, that’s okay, I guess.” Mom gave up on making me change clothes a little too quickly, but I was too tired to worry about it.
“I’ll wait until Dylan gets up, then take them back to my house. Mark and Mara will be there soon. Jude is off so he’s going to swim with us today.” She pointed at me and said, “Don’t worry. I won’t take Calla in the pool. She’s still too little.”
I smiled at her. She already knew all my parenting rules because I got them all from her.
She winked, then continued, “You can come pick them up whenever you’re ready. I packed the diaper bag. There is no need for you to do a thing. You have a great day, honey.” She gave me one of her million-watt smiles, then started texting on her phone.
I smiled back and reached out to touch her hand. The kids would have a blast with her. “I will. I’m turning over a new leaf today. I’m going to be fearless.” I passed Calla back to Mom. I had already kissed Dylan goodbye before I came downstairs and was ready to go.
Cade handed me another piece of bacon and gave me a chin lift. “Good luck, Lil.”
After kissing my baby goodbye one more time, I left. I grinned when I spotted Violet smiling and waving at me from the back door of her shop.
“Are you waiting for me?” I hollered as I got out of my car. She laughed at me as I climbed out of my Expedition. I was soshort I had to use the running boards along the side to get in and out of it.
“Yes, I’m waiting for you, silly. Here, put this on when you get inside.” She handed me a tiny, fitted, black T-shirt, one that was cuter than the one I was wearing and didn’t have spit-up on it. It said, “First, I drink the coffee. Then I do the things.” Violet’s said, “Death before decaf.” Our ensembles would be completed by purple half aprons.
“You were the one texting with Mom earlier, right? Fine, I’ll change.” I huffed and stomped toward the back door of the shop. I knew I was cranky from lack of sleep and needed to shake it off. I sighed and smiled at Violet to make up for my attitude.
“I brought lipstick and mascara too. And a hairbrush. My God, Lily. You’re lucky you have me,” she said with a smirk.
“I was up all night with Calla and basement zombie nightmares. Give me a break. And what’s wrong with my hair? You don’t like my mom-bun? I’m stealing this look back from the hipsters.” The crankiness surged back through me. I was mouthing off to Violet and that took balls. I took a deep breath and tried to settle down.
“You have two different shoes on. Have you no pride?” Vi’s teasing smirk helped to calm my sass.
I looked down. Hmm, so I did. One pink and one black sneaker. I was just glad I’d chosen the right feet. “They’re both Converse. Lay off.”
“Grouchy, too,” she muttered under her breath.
I sagged against the side of the building as she unlocked the door. “I’m so tired, Vi. I feel like I’ve been tired for the last two years. I apologize in advance for every rude comment that comes out of my mouth today.”
“Don’t worry, I get you. I’ve been there. We’ll go in, you’ll change, and I’ll make you some coffee to wake you up,” she offered as we walked into her back room. I paused for a moment and took a deep breath. It smelled like heaven in here,like sugar and spice and everything nice—and coffee. So much coffee. We passed a restroom, a big walk-in storage closet, and a staircase that led to a tiny loft before we got to the kitchen area.
“I can’t drink it because I’m nursing. I haven’t had coffee in over a year. I’ll be surrounded by delicious, caffeinated beverages for hours, and I can’t drink any of it. What was I thinking coming here?” I almost shrieked the words—that’s how sorry I felt for myself.
Violet looked at me with horror and pity. “When I was nursing the boys, I drank one cup of coffee a day. The doctor said it was fine. You can have one coffee,” she declared.
“How did you survive on only one cup?” Violet was a coffee fiend, completely addicted. Owning this shop was her life dream come true.
“One cup of coffee a day, no sleep, and twin boys.” She closed her eyes, held up a hand, and shook her head at the painful memories. “That was when I perfected my decaf roast. It won’t give you all the feels, but it’s not bad. You can try the decaf after I get you all fueled up on the regular.” She winked and bumped my shoulder with hers as she passed me. I followed her through the swinging doors to the front.
