Ella comes over to see Cora. “Aw, how long has she been out?” she asks.
“Just twenty minutes or so. She ate really good right before.”
“Oh good!” She runs her hand over Cora’s back, her attention then catching on Mom finishing the last little bit of laundry. “Maureen, I said no laundry, Miss Ma’am,” Ella scolds playfully.
“Oh, you did? Hm, I must’ve missed that order,” she teases.
“You—”
“Looks like she missed the part about no dishes too,” Jesse interrupts, pointing to the sink.
“Maureen!” Ella scolds. “Do we need to have your hearing checked already?!”
I can’t help but laugh. They go back and forth a few more times. Meanwhile, Jesse comes over and sits on the couch with me to see Cora.
“I want her,” he says, reaching for her before I can even argue.
Once she settles against his chest like she was mine, I watch her grip onto his shirt too.
I stand. “I have to get going anyway.”
“Where? You got a hot date?” Jesse jokes.
“Actually, I do, yeah.” I make my way to the door and slip myshoes on.
“Tell Wesley I said hi,” Mom says.
“Wait, that’s all she gets?” Jesse asks, looking at Mom, who looks confused. “She doesn’t get a whole spiel? Curfew, Jesus is watching, be back by eleven or your ass is grounded for a week?” he argues.
We all laugh, except him.
“Jess, I love you, but she has yet to give me even a lick of a heart attack compared to you.”
He gestures to Cora. “Even with the baby fever she’s had since she was nine?”
Mom laughs and shakes her head. “Believe it or not, yes.”
“Well, that’s not fair,” he mutters.
Ella laughs. “I don’t think Addie would believe half the things we did, let alone do them herself.”
“Now, what does that mean?” Maureen says and Ella’s cheeks blush.
“Don’t ask,” Jesse tells her.
“Well, might not be fair, but I can’t treat you all the same when you’re all very different,” Mom adds.
She’s right on that. Jesse would’ve ruined it for all of us if she did that. And Cody…he wasn’t much better. Mason and I wouldn’t have been allowed to leave the house if they treated us all the same.
* * *
Wesley sits across from me, the fire in the woodstove between us crackling. I look around the barn, pulling my arms in closer.It’s so cold, even with the fire going.
“It’s up to you, but we can go in? My sister isn’t home and my parents are upstairs. They offered us the living room if we want it,” he says.
I wait for my anxiety to rise, but it doesn’t.
“Maybe…yeah.”
