“Homemade pizza,” Mom answers, her features softening. “Mira, do you know how far away Henry is?”
She opens her mouth to respond, but Javi gasps, his entire face lighting up. “Henry’s coming too?”
“He is. He just stopped to get something first,” my sister says, smiling at Javi after Dad set him down in the chairs next to her.
“I must be chopped liver,” Dad jokes, and Mom rolls her eyes.
“I’ve been telling you that for years,” she says, giving him a smile. I can’t believe I ever questioned their relationship, but my god, you have to really love someone to be that weird with them.
“But he’ll be here soon?” Javi asks, tugging on Mirabelle’s hand to pull her attention back to him.
“Soon,” she says, casting a nervous glance in my direction, and now I’m not sure if I should be afraid Henry’s almost here. I thought I was pretty damn helpful this afternoon when I listened and tried to cheer Mira up, but maybe I fucked up something without realizing it.
I’m distracted by the sound of heavy footsteps in the hall, and my older brother appears. “Do I smell homemade pizza?” JJ asks, walking into the kitchen with the same purpose as a dog trying to find a bone. “Fuck yeah,” he says, grinning, and Marley’s laughing quietly as she follows behind a few moments later.
“JJ,” she chides, and his face turns red when he realizes Javi’s in the room. He has yet to learn how to filter himself, and at this point, Javi’s going to end up starting kindergarten in the fall with a full vocabulary of swear words.
“Sorry, I meant heck yeah,” he apologizes with a sheepish smile, and I shake my head.
“We’ll work on it,” Marley says. Things are still strained between Hunter and JJ, but they’re leaving for Beaumont at the end of the week.
“How’s the packing going?” Dad asks, and Marley makes a face.
“I’m getting a lot done,” JJ says, casting a smirk in Marley’s direction. “Marley’s moving a little slower.”
She sticks her tongue out at him. “You know I hate packing.”
“No one’s saying you have to leave. You could just stay here forever,” Mom suggests.
“I wish, but after they leave for Beaumont, I’m spending the next couple weeks in Italy with my best friend. She spent the summer with my brother and his boyfriend at her parents’ villa.”
Mirabelle sighs, rubbing her stomach. “That sounds like a dream. I wish we could go to France,” she says, wistfully.
Dad asks Marley about the classes she’s taking this fall, and I think I hear the front door. I’m proven right when Henry walks into the kitchen with two bouquets of wildflowers, but he only offers one of them to Mira. “Hi,mon cœur,” he greets, leaning down to kiss her cheek.
She melts into his touch, taking the flowers. “You’re late,” she says but he’s distracted saying hi to Javi.
“I missed you. It’s been forever,” Javi says, and Henry kneels down to be eye level with him. A surge of protectiveness rises in me. I don’t think he’d say anything to upset Javi, but it doesn’t make me worry less. He’s such a vastly different kidthan when we first got here. He’s still had too many broken promises made to him for a five-year-old, but it’s clear how much Henry cares about him.
“I missed you too, squirt. I know it’s been a couple of days. Sometimes I have to go to work, but I promise I’ll always come back,” he says, softly, and I bite my tongue. “When you’re feeling a little bit better, I’ll take you with me so you can see where I go.”
The room falls quiet, and I freeze as Javi reaches out to hold Henry’s cheek. “My mommy and daddy promised to come home too, but then they didn’t. What if you don’t come back?”
“I hope I never have to break this promise because I know they didn’t want to either. I got these for you, though, because in this family, we give the people we love flowers,” Henry says, offering the second bouquet of flowers to Javi, casting a look in my direction as if to show me how serious he is.
He brought flowers for Javi. I don’t think it gets much more serious than that.
Everyone in the room is staring at us, and I remember vividly the conversation we had where Henry threatened to hurt me if I hurt Mira. When it comes to Javi, I’ll go down swinging if Henry ever does anything to hurt him.
Mom clears her throat, pulling everyone’s attention to her. “So dinner is going to be ready soon, but if you guys were still wanting to do that thing we talked about, we’ll wait to eat,” Mom says, and now I’m lost. Based on the confusion on JJ and Marley’s faces, they’re in the dark too. Could she have been a little more specific?
Mirabelle exhales a shaky breath, wiping at her cheeks as Henry stands up.
“Where are you guys going?” Javi asks, looking up at them from the flowers he was distracted by.
“We just want to talk to Bailey about something, but we’llall be right back,” Mirabelle says, and my heart stutters in my chest.
“Um, okay,” I say, unsure if this is something I’m ready for. Dad gives me a reassuring smile as I follow them through the patio doors to the deck, and I’m still reeling from what just happened inside.
