Within a couple of minutes, all the real adults are seated at the table with their respective cups of coffee—by real, I mean my parents, Kaitlyn’s and Henry’s parents, and Marley’s.
Theo finally quiets in Mirabelle’s arms as she takes a seat at the table, instantly grabbing a cup of coffee that Henry made for her. He sits next to her, careful to support Clem’s head as he leans to press a short, endearing kiss to Mira’s cheek.
“Le petit . . . déjeuner est servi,”?1 Javi says hesitantly in French, carrying over two plates stacked high with his favorite creation of blueberry and chocolate pancakes. He’s been trying to learn French, but he’s second-guessing his feminine and masculine nouns which I understand all too well.
Instinctively, I hold my breath, waiting for someone to comment on how they don’t want these pancakes, but everyone, including Marley’s parents, digs right in. Marley slides another plate to where Kaitlyn and I are seated at the island, which, at this moment, feels like it’s been designated thekids’ table.
“Thanks, Mar,” I say, smiling at her.
Mirabelle beams at Javi.“Très bien!”?2
Hayes nods his agreement. “This is a great combination. I think I’ll need the recipe if you don’t mind sharing,” he says, a twinkle in his eye that matches the same one his daughter has.
“Really?” Javi asks, grinning widely at him showing off his missing front tooth.
“Reallyreally.”
I recenter my focus on Kaitlyn who is pouring a small amount of syrup on her plate to go with her pancakes. She’s entirely too far away from me, but I can easily fix that. Being with her helps me breathe easier. She sees me not only for who I am, but also for who I’m trying to be. Hooking my foot around a leg of the stool, I pull it closer to me, resulting in Kait giving me a funny look.
“Can I help you?”
“I already helped myself because you were too far away,” I say, taking the bottle of syrup to pour a generous serving on my plate.
She shakes her head at me, a playful smile curving her lips upward. “You’re going to give yourself diabetes if your ratio continues to be more syrup than pancake.”
“Life is too short to deprive yourself of sugar,” I say, pouring more syrup on her plate.
“Bailey!” She elbows me as I laugh.
“You can thank me later,” I say, grinning at her as I take a bite of my pancake. My smile falters when Hunter walks into the kitchen, rubbing at his eyes to wake himself up. I’m not going to hide my relationship from him, but I’m also not going to flaunt it in his face. Progress in our relationship has stalled, and I’m sad we’re not much closer than we werea few months ago. It hurts like I’m missing a part of myself, but my therapist says I need to let him come to me when he’s ready.
Javi’s excited voice rings an echo through the room. “Can we build snowmen today? A whole army of them and dress them up?
“We sure can,” Dad says, raising any eyebrow at Marley’s parents. “Unless you guys are afraid of getting a little cold?”
Sephine laughs, accepting the challenge head on. “Oh, you are so on.”
“Bash, be nice,” Penelope chides, taking a long drink of her steaming coffee as Chris busies himself with a piece of bacon.
“It’s just a little friendly competition,” Dad says, putting his hands up in defense.
Mom rolls her eyes. “Sure,friendly. Just don’t cry like a baby when you lose.”
“Will you kiss it better if I do?” he teases, and I gag at the question. It’s nice to see them happy, but I don’t need them to flirt in front of us.
“Fuck, do you have to say that stuff in front of us?” Hunter groans, spearing a piece of pancake before shoving it in his mouth. Javi gasps, his eyes widening because he knows that’s a word he isn’t allowed to use, even when telling everyone we can’t say it.
“It wasn’t me this time,” JJ says, seeming pretty proud of the fact.
“Language,” Henry warns, causing Hunter’s cheeks to pink in embarrassment.
“Sorry.” He shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck.
Mom rolls her eyes, moving on. “Hunter, it’s perfectly normal for your dad to say stuff like that. It doesn’t warrant an exaggerated reaction. Can I have Clem?” she asks Henry, who passes his daughter over before dragging his hands down his face with a yawn.
Hunter grimaces, and I hold in my laughter, especially when JJ decides to open his mouth again. “Yeah, well, kissing is fine. As far as I’m concerned, you guys have only had sex three times: once for Mirabelle, once for me, and once for Bailey and Hunter.”
Marley laughs before she can clap a hand over her mouth, causing her parents to snicker at her. Henry moves to cover Javi’s ears quickly. “For fuck’s sake, there is a child at the table. Can we please just have an age-appropriate conversation?”
