My eyes bugged out as Levana yelled, “get her.” Flour showered poor Beth’s head.
Shrieking, she tried to take cover from me when I joined Levana. Then it was the three of us trying to outdo the other, their laughter causing funny dips and flips in my stomach. I felt it grow and expand to my throat, yet it hovered there, not daring to pour out.
Ingredients flew in all directions, misting the air and forming their own recipe on the floor, table, and countertops. We even redecorated the fridge and the stove.
I turned away to grab an egg and the remaining cream in a cup Levana had missed just as I felt someone come behind me. Thinking Levana had snuck up, I spun quickly, letting the ingredients soar. It took a moment for the newcomer to register and the silence of Levana and Beth to reach my ears.
I slapped a hand to my mouth, my eyes wide, the cup dangling from my other hand. His black shirt and coat covered in splatters of cream, egg yolk smeared over his beard, and the slippery white dripping down his cheek and chin, Xavier stood there staring at me.
Whether it was his shock or mine that did it, I didn’t know. Suddenly, I felt my lips stretch, my cheeks bunch, and the corners of my eyes tighten.
Xavier’s eyes went wide. Levana gasped, and Beth exclaimed to the Lord.
I felt it—a smile.
Before I could touch it, that bubble hovering in my throat for the last few minutes burst out of my open mouth. Loud laughter resonated through the kitchen for a second before I felt the sound rumbling in my chest over and over.
I startled, not believing the noise was coming from me. Then I saw Xavier smile and Levana laugh, and Beth chuckle. The entire kitchen erupted with my happiness, bouncing off the pots, the pans, the dishes, I heard it everywhere. That feeling flowing through me was something I’d never felt before. The sounds from my stomach, chest, and mouth continued filling the air, my ears, my pores.
And I fell in love. With the cheerful vibrations my body made. With the joy running through my veins.
Yes, I fell in love. With me.
“I’m laughing,” I choked out through giggles.
“Beautiful.” He smiled.
I had no idea why or how I did it, but my shaking body crashed into Xavier’s chest. Not caring that he was covered in cream or raw egg, I gripped his shirt, letting his warmth surround me. His muscular arms wrapped around me, his laughter ringing in my ears, blended with mine as he held me tight.
We stood that way for so long, laughing so much, my cheeks hurt until his laughter softened to a chuckle.
He kissed the top of my head. “My pretty little Ella, who makes broken look so beautiful, will deafen the world with the sweet sound of her laughter.”
I leaned back to look at him as I quietened, feeling my lips widen.
His sharp inhale was all I heard because my eyes remained captured by the laughter in those pretty blue eyes, and I had just one thought.
Through the darkness came light. Tall, enigmatic, older.
