Chapter 28 #6
?William didn't waste a second. Grasping the heavy wooden frame by its sides, he hoisted the entire structure up in one smooth motion, carrying it over to the entryway where the old coat rack had sat for years.
He carefully lowered the new one into place against the wall, making sure it stood straight and sturdy.
?
Stepping back, he planted his hands firmly on his hips and stared down the finished piece with an expression of profound artistic reverence.
Elowyn quickly joined him, walking over until she was right beside him.
Without saying anything, she copied his exact posture, placing both hands on her hips as she stared at the newly assembled coat rack.
The two stood there in silence for a while, admiring their handiwork.
"We should start our own construction company," William suddenly declared.
"Yeah."
"We'd make a fortune. Look at this thing." He gestured proudly toward the coat rack. "This is professional work, Ellie. Absolute craftsmanship."
Elowyn nodded solemnly, still admiring it.
"Honestly, I think we could build five whole houses in one day."
Nodded along again, the girl was completely unfazed by the sheer absurdity of the claim. "Mhm."
"Maybe six if we skipped lunch."
Elowyn gave a thoughtful shake of her head, apparently taking the estimate seriously which only made William's confidence grow.
"People would be lining up to hire us. We'd have a waiting list three years long. We'd have our own trucks, matching uniforms, everything. Between my sheer vision and your unmatched technical execution, people would be begging us to do their framing. We're just that good."
Over on the couch, Seraphina sat quietly watching the two of them, her hand pressed over her mouth as she tried and failed to suppress a silent, shaking laugh at the sheer magnitude of their shared delusion.
"Are you laughing?" William whipped his head around to look at the woman.
"Yes," Seraphina glanced down at her watch. "I should get going."
"Back to work?" Elowyn asked.
"Back to work," the woman confirmed. "Unless you want me to take the rest of the day off and stay here with you?" She smirked.
"No, it's okay. I think everything is good here," Elowyn grinned, making William smack his face at her obliviousness as he walked back to the kitchen.
"Alright," Seraphina chuckled, standing up. "I'll see you later, darling."
"Goodbye- oh, WAIT!" Elowyn sprinted to her room in a hurry, only to return holding something in her hand.
"Here you go," she smiled proudly as she placed a small ceramic duck that had a piece of bread on its head in Seraphina's palm.
"What is this for," Seraphina asked, turning it over in her hand.
"Thank you. For the coat rack and the food," Elowyn shrugged, rocking back and forth on her heels.
"Elowyn," Seraphina sighed. "You don't need to give me something, love," she tried to return the duck only to have Elowyn push it back into her hand.
"Okay," the woman agreed to accept. "Thank you, Elowyn."
Elowyn only nodded once, suddenly looking like she was complimenting something big.
Carefully, she stepped forward, awkwardly placing her body right next to Seraphina's warm one and lifted her hand, delivering three small pats to the woman's back.
Seraphina's lips curved into a warm smile at the three small pats. She allowed Elowyn to finish the awkward little gesture, watching as her hand began to retreat.
Before she could step away, Seraphina gently caught her arm and drew her back closer, positioning Elowyn directly in front of her.
"Raise your hands for me, love."
Elowyn's brows knitted together in confusion, but she did as she was told and raised her hands.
"Okay, now loop them around my neck."
Still confused, the girl lifted both hands and carefully placed them against Seraphina's neck, her fingers resting on either side as though she were preparing to choke her.
"No," Seraphina let out a soft laugh and gently took hold of Elowyn's wrists, easing her hands away from her neck. "That's usually my job, sweetie."
With a fond smile, Seraphina guided Elowyn's hands back up, carefully looping her arms around her neck. Once she had them where they belonged, Seraphina slipped her own arms around Elowyn's waist and drew her in, finally pulling her into a warm embrace.
"There we go," the woman whispered softly against Elowyn's neck. "This is how you hug me. Okay?"
"Okay," Elowyn whispered back, her face burning red and heart pounding wildly.
Seraphina eventually released her, though her hand lingered lightly around Elowyn's waist before she stepped back.
"I'll take care of him," she tucked the ceramic duck carefully into her handbag, making sure it wouldn't knock against anything.
"It's a girl," Elowyn corrected.
"My apologies. I'll take care of her."
Elowyn smiled widely, seemingly satisfied that Seraphina understood the importance of the tiny duck.
Seraphina gave Elowyn one last affectionate smile before opening the door. "I'll see you soon."
"Bye," Elowyn gave a small, shy wave.
Only once Seraphina had left and the house once again fell into its normal silence did Elowyn realize it wasn't so quiet. She could hear choking sounds coming from the kitchen, making her run over to see what was happening.
A broken glass of apple juice was spilt all over the floor and William stood over it with tears in his eyes as he gasped for breath.
"Will!" Elowyn ran up to him and started smacking his back.
"I'm okay," he wheezed, but it was too late. Elowyn was already standing behind him, beginning to give him the heimlich.
"Ellie- " he tried again, only for her to press harder, causing the man to spit up more apple juice all over the floor.
"I'm okay! I'm okay," he gasped.
"Are you okay?!" Elowyn grabbed his face, pulling him closer.
"Yes, I'm okay Ellie," he took a deep breath.
"What happened?!"
"Elowyn. You innocent little soul," he inhaled deeply again.
"What? What happened?!"
"Seraphina said that choking is usually her job," he walked in a small circle, clearly still shocked by the comment. "I knew she was a kinky little fucker!"
"William!"
"What? It's not a bad thing. It's hot!"
Elowyn just rolled her eyes, walking back to the living room. "Are you gonna finish my nails or not?" She called over her shoulder.
"I'm going. Let me just clean this mess."
"That's what you get for drinking my apple juice without permission!" She scolded from the sofa.
?
It was now late afternoon, and the sun began setting, the house was filled with the warm smell of freshly baked cookies.
William had left a while ago after finishing Elowyn's nails, leaving her to enjoy the rest of the afternoon on her own. Now, she stood in the kitchen wearing an oversized apron, carefully placing the last few cookies onto the tray.
Her dad would be home tonight.
Elowyn had decided to make them for him as a little surprise, wanting something warm and homemade waiting for him when he walked through the door. She glanced toward the oven, checking to make sure she turned it off before returning her attention to the cookies in front of her.
Chocolate chip were his favorite.
She had even purchased a small "welcome home" banner that she had planned to put up in the kitchen. But she couldn't open the packaging.
"Why must people wrap things so tightly," she strained as she pulled with all her might.
Then suddenly the sound of the front door being unlocked could be heard.
"Oh no," she frowned. He was here earlier than expected.
Either way, she placed the package down and ran to the living room ready to greet her father, only it wasn't her dad at the door.
"Mom?"