I turn back to the kitchen, Reverie flitting around me as her excitement dusts the air and Asher following close behind as I snag Reverie’s bag from the hallway.
“I got it.” His hand brushes mine as he takes it from me, then pokes his head into the kitchen. “Hey Zuri.”
“Morning,” she replies, allowing one side of her mouth to turn up before it falls again and a serious, not-Zuri-like expression crosses her face. “Take care of her.”
I’m not sure if she’s talking about me or Reverie, but I tense as I watch Asher and Zuri have a silent conversation, unsure if it’s a standoff or if they’re coming to some sort of understanding.
He nods a few moments later, just once, a determined dip of his chin while still holding eye contact with her as he says, “Always.”
My heart thumps a beat when Zuri mimics the gesture and Asher turns to me, eyes softening when he sees Reverie bouncing from foot to foot on my shoulder.
“Let’s go, don’t want to be late.” I give Zuri another quick squeeze and Reverie kisses her cheek before we zip her into a mini backpack, empty apart from her and a tiny blanket. I put it on backwards, hugging it to my chest as I strap in and wehead out. Much as I hate hiding her from the world, and the world from her, we all know it’s safer this way.
Brunch endsup being only the five of us today—myself, Asher and Rev, plus my parents—which is a relief for Reverie. She grew up with me and my family, but she still gets nervous when everyone is around. But Wesley is spending the weekend with a friend, I guess there’s some sort of online gaming tournament that they wanted to participate in, and Josephine isn’t going to be in town again until Thanksgiving in a couple weeks.
My mom and dad are thrilled to see Reverie, and she greets them both happily before fluttering back to my shoulder. Although we grew up in this house, it’s been ages since she’s been back here, so I expect it’ll take her a little bit to come out of her shell.
Asher immediately steps into the kitchen with my dad, asking to help again. My heart feels so full when my dad claps him on the shoulder with a smile. They make quite the pair, with my dad barely coming up to Asher’s chin, his arm slung around Asher’s shoulders regardless.
I follow behind with my mom’s arm looped in mine, then settle at the table. My parents have pulled out Reverie’s old pillow, the one she used to sit on during family dinners. It’s on the table now, set up next to my usual place with her doll-sized place setting.
I tip my head into my mom’s shoulder, silently thanking her for always making those I love feel welcome.
“How’s Zuri? We miss her around here,” Mom says, finger-combing my hair while my dad shows Asher how to crack eggs.
“She’s good. I haven’t been around as much lately,” I reply,my gaze flitting to Asher’s back before returning to my mom. Her knowing eyes twinkle back at me.
“Ah, shoot, I broke it,” Asher’s disappointed voice reaches our ears as my dad claps him on the back.
“You’ll get the hang of it. I don’t mind a broken yolk, try the next one.”
I grin, realizing he’s trying to fry eggs with a runny yolk, the way I like it.
“I take it things are moving forward with you two, then?” my mom says.
“Yeah, we’re going to get Rev settled into his place after this,” I say. “Not permanently, just so she can go back and forth for now.”
“Oh yeah? You excited?” Mom asks, turning her gaze to Reverie, who nods enthusiastically.
“He said I can bring whatever I want,” she says, then quieter, “It’s a little scary too, though.”
“Change is always hard, even good change,” my mother replies, reaching out to lightly touch a finger under Reverie’s chin. “We face it with our chin up and shoulders back, yes?”
“Yes,” Reverie replies, grinning.
My mom has said this to us since we were kids. Anytime we faced a challenge, she’d give us space to express our feelings, talk through our thoughts, then remind us to keep our chin up and shoulders back, to face it head on.
I think I lost sight of that, for a while. I stuck my head in the sand instead of acknowledging my shifting problems, but once Asher helped me face it, I was able to move forward.
It’s a good reminder.
We all settle around the table a few minutes later with plates of eggs, toast, breakfast sausage, and fresh fruit. I place a hand on Asher’s thigh as he sits next to me, smiling proudly at him.
“Thank you for breakfast,” I say.
“Don’t thank me yet, it might not be good. Can’t seem to flip an egg to save my life,” he grumbles the last bit under his breath, and I bite my lip to hold in a laugh.
I catch his narrowed gaze on me out of the corner of my eye as I cut into my egg and take a bite. I let out what is perhaps an overly dramatic moan of appreciation, partly because it really is good, but also to mess with him a little. He shifts in his seat and his throat bobs with a swallow when I lick the corner of my lips and glance at him with a smirk.
