Chapter 13 #2
Winston stepped aside and stood next to a bookshelf filled with an assortment of Lego sets, puzzles, books, and action figures.
He tugged on the heavy, folded air mattresses to help his uncle.
Emily leaned in to assist him, grabbed a side of one of the mattresses, and handed the edge to Blair while Patrick plugged the air pump into the outlet.
“I put all our suitcases at the end of the hallway for now,” Sienna said when she walked in.
Blair dropped the air mattress into place and put her hands on her hips. “You shouldn’t be lifting anything.”
Sienna tutted. “I’m fine. I rolled them most of the way.”
Patrick inserted the air pump, and with a loud, mechanical whine, one of the mattresses began to fill with air.
Julia called Winston from the other room.
“Yeah?” the little boy called back.
“Breakfast!”
The boy ran down the hallway.
As the women stood idly, Blair tapped Sienna and said over the noise, “We need to call Tyson and Rocko and let them know what’s going on, too, so they don’t try to make the trip down here tomorrow until we have more information about the roads.
We can always delay their coming and stay a few days extra if it works for everyone’s schedule. ”
“Yeah.” Sienna leaned over to Emily. “We’ll be back.” Then she and Blair left for a quieter spot to make their calls.
After Patrick capped the second air mattress, he unplugged the pump. Emily divided the sheet sets onto each of the beds.
“I’ll make sure you have some flashlights tonight. You might need them,” he said.
She nodded and then fluffed out one of the fitted sheets.
Patrick grabbed the other end and they wrapped it around the corners of the air mattress.
Emily shook out the flat sheet and laid it neatly across the makeshift bed before adding a quilt on top and arranging the pillow at one end.
They repeated the process with the second mattress, soundlessly moving in unison.
Once the air mattresses were done, they changed Winston’s dinosaur sheets to a set with satin trim.
Patrick’s quiet behavior no longer seemed standoffish now that she knew a little of his story. The distance in his eyes was riddled with loss, and she couldn’t unsee it.
She dropped the last pillow onto the bed. They stood together and surveyed her new sleeping quarters. A crack of thunder went off like a cannon, but Patrick didn’t flinch this time. Instead, he offered her a half smile.
“The coffee pot’s full, and Julia baked a sausage casserole, and cinnamon rolls, if you’re hungry.”
Only then did she realize that she was. “That sounds delicious.”
He nodded toward the door.
In the living room, the weather forecast was chirping on the television.
A newscaster stood in the downpour, his raincoat tightly bundled around him, the hood cinched around his wet face as he braced himself against the wind, chattering on about the current conditions.
Sienna waved from the sofa, the phone to her ear.
Blair was at a foldout desk in the back corner of the room, talking to Rocko.
Patrick led Emily through to the kitchen, with a round table at one end and an L-shaped row of counter and cabinets at the other.
Julia brought the breakfast casserole to the table with a pair of plaid oven mitts and set it on a trivet next to a windup radio.
Patrick pulled out a chair for Emily, and she sat down.
“Dig in, y’all. No formalities in my house. Eat when you’re hungry.” Julia returned with a stack of plates and some cutlery. “Winston, get some sausage and eggs into ya. You need some protein or you’re gonna be climbing the walls with all that sugar.”
Winston was already chowing down on a cinnamon roll. He took a drink of milk from his glass, leaving a ring of white above his lip as he grabbed the serving spoon and lobbed a lump of casserole onto his plate.
Patrick went to the cabinet and retrieved two mugs.
He was barefoot, and that tattoo on his round bicep peeked out from under his sleeve when he closed the cabinet door.
His back was to Emily as he filled the mugs with coffee, and she struggled to take her eyes off his broad shoulders and the lean taper down to his waist. He turned around, and she quickly studied the casserole as he set a mug in front of her.
“Thank you.”
Julia brought her coffee to the table, along with a serving spoon for the cinnamon rolls. Then, she scooted the casserole Emily’s way. Steam rose above it, carrying the scents of cheddar, maple, and black pepper into the air.
Patrick left the room and returned with two more chairs, squeezing them around the table, and Blair and Sienna came in after him. They took a seat while Patrick made more coffee.
“Patrick, grab them a couple of mugs from the cabinet,” Julia said as she handed out the plates, her attention lingering on Blair.
“I’ll just have water,” Sienna said.
Patrick filled a glass and handed it to Sienna. The lights flickered, and the house groaned from the force of the wind.
“If the power goes out, don’t worry,” he said. “I’m charging the portable power station. I can hook it up to the fridge. It’ll run a few appliances.”
“Ooh, if the power does go out, can I help you?” Winston asked.
“Of course.” Patrick wrinkled his nose good-naturedly at his nephew.
Julia’s attention returned to Blair. “I’m sorry,” she said, leaning on the table. “Are you Blair Andrews?”
Blair paled. “Yes.”
Julia seemed as if she wanted to spout a million questions, but she said, “I thought you looked familiar since the minute you walked in. I follow you on social media.”
Sienna sat up protectively, but didn’t say anything.
Patrick eyed them over his mug of black coffee.
Blair’s smile wobbled awkwardly. “That’s great.”
Julia glanced at Blair’s stomach, but she blinked as if she wanted to cover up her inquisitiveness. She scooted the casserole dish over to her.
Winston wriggled onto his knees, slicing through the moment. “We should play board games. It would be fun with all the people.”
“That would be fun,” Blair agreed.
“What’s your favorite board game?” he asked them. “We have lots.”
“I like Monopoly,” Sienna chimed in.
Winston’s head rolled back. “That game is loooong.”
Patrick chuckled. “I made him try to play it once on vacation in the mountains. We were stuck inside during a snowstorm. We had nothing but time, and it was the only board game in the whole condo.”
“It was too confusing,” Winston said.
“How about Candy Land?” Blair offered, seemingly unaffected by Julia’s recognition.
Emily was bursting with excitement for her friend. She’d made it through her first hurdle.
Winston brightened. “I love that one! I have it!”
Emily grinned at him, but then sobered when she noticed the indecipherable thoughts on Sienna’s face. She caught Sienna’s eye, but Sienna shrugged it off, pressed a smile across her face, and took a drink from her glass.
“Maybe we can play it after breakfast, once everyone gets settled,” Julia offered.
Winston gave a little fist pump.
After breakfast, they offered to help Julia clean up, but she’d shooed them away. “Y’all should unpack what you need in case the power goes out. With the windows boarded up, it’ll get pretty dark.”
So they left her, Winston, and Patrick and headed to gather their necessities.
“Are you okay?” Emily asked Sienna, as they unzipped their suitcases in the hallway and carried their things into Winston’s room. She’d been quiet since breakfast, which wasn’t like her. “Something was bothering you at the table.”
Sienna shook her head. “Nothing new.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Blair said, holding an armful of toiletries.
“I’m fine. Really.” She bent down and set her pajamas next to the air mattress.
Blair leaned into her view. “You’re not denying that Emily saw something, so you’d better just come out with it. We’ll eventually pull it out of you anyway. Why wait?”
Sienna shook her head. “I don’t know how to relate to kids. So why am I the one having one? I’m going to fail this child.”
Blair put her arm around Sienna. “That’s not true.”
“Yes, it is. I offered a game suggestion to Winston, and he hated it. I haven’t even heard of Candy Land.”
Emily pulled a face. “What did you do during your childhood?” she teased.
Blair giggled.
“But, seriously,” Emily continued, “you offered a suggestion that Patrick also tried. Was it perfect for Winston? No. But all anyone does is trial and error.”
“That’s right,” Blair added. “The child’s own likes and dislikes will guide you. Your job is just to love them and be a moral compass for them.”
Sienna sat on the edge of Winston’s bed and slumped. “Blair is far better suited to motherhood. How cruel is the irony?”
Emily lowered herself next to her. “Or maybe this is a wake-up call to the person you were meant to be.”
For the first time in the entirety of their relationship, fear showed on Sienna’s face. Tears glistened in her eyes. She tipped her head back and blinked. “I’ve been all over the place emotionally. I can’t cry. I have to go back out there, and I can’t have puffy eyes.”
“Maybe we can stay in here and say we’re tired,” Blair said with a consoling grin as she took a seat on the other side of Emily.
“No.” Sienna shook her head. “I won’t make you stay shut up for me.”
“It’s not entirely for you. Julia knows who I am, remember? She didn’t say anything more during breakfast, but I’m wondering when she’ll ask the big question. I’d kind of like to hide out.”
Emily’s phone went off, interrupting their talk. She took it out of her pocket and paused before answering. “It’s Will.”
Sienna made a face.
With a sigh, Emily answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, I ran into Rocko at the gym, and he said there’s a bad storm where you are. I was just checking on you.”
So he was being chivalrous now? It was a little late for that. Had his conscience caught up with him? And what would his new flame think of him checking in on his ex?
“I’m fine.”
A loaded silence filled the line, but she didn’t bother asking what he needed. She didn’t care what it was. She just wanted off the phone.
“Okay, well, I just wanted to be sure you were all right. I’ll go.”
“Bye.” She hung up.
Blair grimaced. “That was weird.”
“I don’t think he has a clue what to do now. He’s screwed everything up so much,” Emily said. “There might be a side of him that still worries about me, but checking in isn’t his place anymore.” Emily fell over onto them, amusement bubbling up out of nowhere.
“What’s wrong with you?” Sienna asked.
She waved her hands around. “The Broken Hearts Beach Club—still brokenhearted and now coming to you from Winston’s room—in a tropical storm.”
The wind howled outside.
“It’s so us, isn’t it?” Blair asked.
Sienna let out a laugh. “The vacation will go up from here, right?”
Emily put one arm around Sienna and the other around Blair. “I can’t imagine it wouldn’t.”