“We could ask Marley, but JJ and Hunter are running drills at the field this morning,” he answers, and I follow after him, feeling the sun beating down on my shoulders already.
“Oh, well we don’t have to go now. We can go later,” I blurt out, and Bailey looks over his shoulder at me, his eyebrows knitting together.
Perfect. So much for not acting weird today.
“Okay? We can go later.”
“How did Javi’s appointment go this morning?” I ask, catching up to him with my nerves twisting in my stomach as a bead of sweat rolls down the back of my neck.
“It was the best it could have gone. The specialist says they should be able to fix the hole in his heart, so they’ve scheduled his surgery to happen in a couple of weeks.” Bailey glances over at me, a small smile forming on his face. “He’ll be happy to see you,” he continues, and I mirror his smile.
“I’m glad he’s going to be okay. He’s a great kid,” I say, and Bailey opens the front door for me.
We find everyone in the kitchen, and it’s great to see how fast Javi’s fitting in. He’s helping Thalia makepancakes, and Marley’s back is to us while she opens the fridge to pull out what looks like a container of blueberries.
“Are we making blueberry or chocolate chip pancakes?”
“Both,” Javi answers, and Thalia laughs.
“We can do that, but it probably won’t taste very good,” Marley says, setting them on the counter.
Bailey’s hand grazes my arm, and he nudges me forward into the kitchen.
“Do I smell pancakes?”
Javi turns around so quickly, he nearly falls off the stool he’s perched on, but Thalia’s reflexes are still quick enough to help steady him.
“Kait!” he says, hopping down to run at me, wrapping his arms tight around my waist. “Have you ever had blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes?” His dark brown eyes are crinkled with happiness at the corners, and it’s incredible to see how much he’s come out of his shell since getting here.
His cheeks are growing rounder, and even Bailey’s starting to fill out after three weeks of steady meals. It’s hard not to notice, even when I shouldn’t.
I know he did his best to take care of Javi, but I can’t imagine it’s easy to get the right nutrition when you’re not sure where the next meal is coming from.
“I’ve had them separate, but never blueberries and chocolate chips in a pancake together.”
“Sounds great, buddy,” Bailey says, reaching to ruffle Javi’s dark hair.
Javi grins, batting his hand away before returning to Thalia’s side to climb back onto the stool. Bailey takes a seat, and I try to figure out if there’s anything I can do to help, but between the three of them, it appears they have it covered.
I slide into the seat next to Bailey, ignoring the nervous flutter in my stomach. “I’m happy the appointment went well,” I say, tapping my fingers on the counter. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times I wash my hands, they’re usually stained with flecks of paint.
“Us too,” Thalia says, turning back to smile at me. Bailey shifts beside me, and it takes every ounce of self-control I have to not look at him. I have nervous energy to burn right now, and I’m not sure what to do with it.
“Oh, JJ and I were wondering last night if you and Hunter would want to go on a double date before they go back to school at the end of July?” Marley asks, and I actually love the idea, even if I hate the reminder that Hunter’s leaving soon. With everything going on, I’ve been trying to find time to tell him I decided to take the leap and will be deferring for a year. I also haven’t told my parents, but that’s a problem for later me.
“That sounds like so much fun. I know Hunter’s been wanting to go to the aquarium, but we haven’t made it there yet if it sounds like something you’d want to do?”
“I’ll ask JJ when they get back, but I’m in,” she says, smiling wide.
“What’s an aquarium?” Javi asks, sprinkling in chocolate chips and blueberries into the pan.
“It’s a place where a lot of fish live,” Thalia answers, and he lights up.
“Can we go too?”
Bailey laughs under his breath next to me. “We’ll go another time to look at all the fish.”
“Are you going to spend the rest of the summer with your family once JJ goes back to Beaumont?” I ask Marley, trying to distract myself from Bailey sitting next to me. He’s not even fucking doing anything, but I still can’t concentrate. I knew Marley would be the perfect buffer.
