Chapter 4 #2
“Good morning, baby girl. How’s Ella Mae this morning? Did you and your dragon have a good sleep?”
The toddler had only woken Olivia a handful of times with her mutterings. Although she was too old to need food in the middle of the night, she sometimes needed comfort.
Still, the night at the B&B had been one of the best they’d had together. “Are you getting used to it just being you and me, Ella Mae? Are you ready for us to settle down and try building a life?”
The babble had Olivia smiling. “Me too. I’m thinking this might be the place. But we’ll need to see if there’s a job for me here. We can’t afford to stay in a B&B forever, and I don’t know if there are inexpensive lodgings here. Or part-time jobs.”
But it would be nice. The town had a warm and welcoming feel to it. They’d had a good day exploring the place on their own the previous day. Everyone she’d met had been kind and more than one had mentioned it was a great place to live.
She stretched. “We’ll spend some more time finding out about the town. Why don’t I get you changed, and then I’ll grab a shower, and we’ll head down for breakfast? After that, we’ll go exploring.”
Ella was more than content in the toddler bed. It seemed the small bed fascinated her. Olivia double-checked the lock on the door and left the bathroom door open as she rushed through her shower, listening to Ella babble and bang on her toy piano.
When they headed down in search of food, they found another couple in the dining room and Jim filling up their coffee cups.
He smiled at her. “Good morning, ladies. We have a highchair for Ella set up at the table near the window. We thought she might enjoy checking out the snow in the back yard. We’ve got a few feeders set up out there, and hopefully some birds will join you for breakfast.”
While he spoke, he ushered them to the table and filled a mug with coffee for her.
Ella cuddled her dragon close and studied the new space around them.
Olivia spoke to her quietly and pointed out the features of the room, hoping to add to her vocabulary.
Not that she’d pressure the girl to speak until she was ready, but hearing the words and associating them with objects was something Mary Mae had always done.
It wasn’t long before Carl and Jim both swung through the door from the kitchen. Carl carried a tray, and he set it down on the table. “We figured the sweet princess would maybe enjoy some oatmeal mixed up with a banana. We’ve also brought her some berries and chopped-up melon.”
Jim handed her two sippy cups. He held up the blue one. “Water.” Then the green one. “Milk.”
Ella grabbed the green one and babbled something.
Jim nodded. “That’s right. Milk. It’s good for your growing bones.”
They set the food on the table but out of Ella’s reach so that Olivia could feed her. Olivia’s eyes filled with tears at the kindness. The previous night, they’d asked about allergies and preferences and they appeared with Ella’s favorites.
“Thank you. This is amazing.”
Carl set another plate in front of Olivia. “You didn’t talk much about yourself last night, so I took a guess and made this up for you. If you’d like anything else, it’s no problem. We’re here to spoil you.”
That made her laugh. No one had ever spoiled her. “You’re doing an amazing job. This looks incredible. Thank you.”
Hard-boiled eggs, toast, and a fruit cup. A yogurt sundae with granola and berries.
She had to swallow back the emotion as she thanked them again.
Carl spooned a couple of berries onto Ella’s tray. She clapped her hands and then picked them up, mashing them with her fingers before stuffing them in her mouth. “Great job, Ella.”
Jim patted Olivia’s shoulder. “We don’t get the pleasure of little ones very often. Your daughter is a joy.”
She nodded and swallowed hard again as the men moved back to the kitchen.
She didn’t correct them because they had the exact right impression of what she needed to convey. In a legal, sense Ella Mae was her daughter. Mary had left nothing to chance.
Had her friend worried about Adam specifically, or had she wanted to be prepared because, as foster kids, they all knew to protect themselves?
Despite not having much money, as soon as they’d discovered they were pregnant, Mary Mae and Liam had paid to have wills done.
Wills that named Carmen Hall as guardian of little Ella Mae.
The wills also specifically stated that Adam was to never have guardianship or contact, despite being a step-relative of Liam.
After their deaths, Carmen became Olivia, Bella became Ella Mae, and both their surnames were legally changed to Gonzalez.
She hoped the layers of paperwork weren’t searchable, and that Adam would never be able to figure out who or where they were.
A shudder ran through her, and then Ella squealed and pointed at the window. A bright red cardinal sat at the bird feeder.
Pushing the fear and the past to the back of her mind, Olivia smiled at Ella Mae. “That’s a bird, a cardinal. And he’s bringing us good luck.”
Knowing she hadn’t been eating properly on their moves throughout New England, Olivia ate as much of the food as she could. For Ella’s sake, she needed to take care of herself.
Ella loved the oatmeal and banana blend and happily drank her milk. It was the most relaxed morning Olivia and Ella had enjoyed since Mary Mae and Liam had died.
“What do you think, Ella Mae? Does this feel so right because it’s our place? Do you think we can fit here?”
Ella didn’t answer Olivia’s whispered questions. Instead, she mashed more berries before lifting them to her smiling mouth.
That was as good an answer as any.
With a bite of her own breakfast, she decided to take it as agreement.
Phail might be their place. There was only one way to find out.