She looked up at me and smiled softly. Her smiles were always the brightest part of my day. I could get used to waking up to them every morning.
“Morning, sunny.” She had been calling me that since we met, and I still hadn’t asked her why. I supposed it didn’t really matter. It was what she wanted to call me, so that was what I responded to.
“Morning, doodle.” I returned her smile and walked over to her outstretched hand to take the mug from her with one hand. I brought up my empty hand to sign, “Thank you.”
I headed over to the table and sat down, waiting until she sat with me before I asked the question I knew she hated to get. “How are you doing?”
Judging by the face she made, she was most likely groaning. She hated when people asked her that, but as her best friend, it was my job to ask the tough questions. To get her to open up about things she didn’t want to talk about. At least sometimes.
“I’m fine. I still can’t believe it’s real. I had just talked to him before I left for work, and everything was fine. He asked if we could go out to dinner when I got off, and I was looking forward to it. Now, I’ll never get the chance. He won’t be there to walk me down the aisle when I get married someday. He—” She dropped her hands and started crying. A few tears fell from my own eyes, and I quickly wiped them away before getting up to be by her side.
I rubbed my hand on her leg and her gaze snapped to mine. “Sorry,”I signed. I hadn’t meant to scare her. She looked down at my hand and I removed it, suddenly feeling like it wasn’t the right thing to do.
I wiped the tears from her eyes and melted at her sad expression. I would’ve done anything to take away her sadness. This wasn’t fair!
“Hey, why don’t we go take Duke for a walk? The fresh air will be good for all of us. What do you say? We can stop at the bookstore for some hot chocolate.”
I smiled at the tiny sparkle in her eyes. She loved their hot chocolate, and I knew she liked the barista. I couldn’t blame her. Not only was Rylee super sweet, but she was drop-dead gorgeous. Her wife was a very lucky woman. Still, the eye candy always brightened our day.
We finished our tea and talked a little more. I made sure not to bring up anything that would make her sad. The rest of the day was reserved for putting a smile on her face and getting to see her nose crinkle in happiness. It was my favorite thing to see.
We got dressed and I put Duke’s leash around his neck. I was still hungry, so I suggested we get breakfast at the cafe. Kaia had no qualms about that idea, as I knew she wouldn’t.
On our walk, Duke seemed to want to stop at almost every corner, to sniff around and release the smallest amount of pee, but I didn’t mind. It gave me more time with Kaia, and I’d always want that.
I kept “accidentally” bumping into her and she scowled at me, but her smile gave her away every time.
“Do you need help walking today? Did you spike your tea with something this morning?”
I smiled. I always enjoyed teasing her. Her pouts were the cutest. “No, I didn’t spike my tea, but I might need help. Can you carry me?”
Her chest shook with laughter, and I internally patted myself on the back. That was the first time she’d laughed in days.
“You’re hilarious. Come on, we’re almost there. Think you can make it?”
I pretended to think seriously about it. “I don’t know. I’ll try.” She rolled her eyes, and we kept walking toward the bookstore.
When we walked in, I grabbed her wrist to get her attention. The bookstore was packed, and I knew exactly what she was thinking.
“What’s wrong?”
I gave her a look. “Don’t even think about it.”
She frowned. “Think about what?”
“I know you, Kaia. You’re off today. Let Drea and the girls handle it. You do not need to feel guilty about having a day off. Look, the Bennetts are here, too. They’ve got everything handled.”
She looked around the store again, and her shoulders fell. “I know. You’re right. How did you know that’s what I was thinking?”
I shook my head. “I’m offended you would even ask that. You think I don’t know you after all this time? Let’s get our breakfast and hot chocolate, yeah?”
Her smile brightened at the mention of hot chocolate, and she nodded, putting a little more pep in her step.
I ordered two of my favorite turkey Danishes and a white hot chocolate with their cookie syrup. Kaia ordered the same hot chocolate and an egg sandwich.
“Come on, Rylee. You have to let us pay. You do this every time we come in. How do you expect to make any money if you keep giving stuff away for free?” Kaia signed and spoke at the same time, and I always appreciated that she did that. Even if the conversation didn’t include me, she always made a point to involve me.
I didn’t know what Rylee’s response was, but her face looked serious, and Kaia just said thank you and dragged me to our seats.
