Chapter 37 WESTLEY
TRICKSTER:
I’m on my way over with Aurora. Please say yes…
I barely have time to comprehend the text message before there’s a flurry of knocks on my front door.
I make my way over with Patch following curiously behind and pull it open to find Maevyn standing behind Aurora, who’s bouncing from foot to foot. It’s five p.m., and they’re both dressed down in pyjamas already.
“Hello, ladies.” I smile as I push open my flyscreen door and lean against the frame. “What can I do for you?”
“We were wondering if you might be free to join us for dinner?” Aurora asks.
I look over at Maevyn, who’s wearing a soft smile.
“I would love to. Are the pyjamas mandatory?”
Aurora looks down at her grey plaid shorts and faded black T-shirt. “Yes, actually.”
“This particular dinner is one we do every first Sunday of the month,” Maevyn says, and I feel my stomach trip. She’s letting me in. Asking me to be a part of another piece of her and her daughter’s life that’s special to them.
In the few weeks since having breakfast with my parents, I’ve noticed Maevyn has seemed different. Not in a bad way, but where she used to be quick-firing sass and unfiltered play, she’s become softer. More intentional. With what she says, with the way she touches me.
It’s definitely hard with a kid in the house to be as open with affection as I’d like.
I get up early for work, and she works late a few nights a week.
Truth be told, I’m finding it a lot harder to be away from her as much as I am.
I’ve stayed at their house three times this week, and it still feels like not enough.
I try to keep my distance on Sundays since it’s the one weekend day they always get to spend time together, which is why asking me to come over for dinner means so much to me.
But knowing it’s for one of their little traditions, it’s like an arrow straight to my heart.
“Okay, I’ll go get changed. What time should I come over?”
“As soon as you’re in your pjs!” Aurora shouts, already running back over to her house.
I wrap an arm around Maevyn’s lower back, pulling her into me, so I can press a kiss to her lips. I love the way her palms come up to rest on my chest, and her body falls against mine.
“Are you sure you want me there for your special dinner?” I ask between light kisses. “I know how important these little moments between you and Aurora are.”
She pulls back, exhaling as she rests her forehead against my chin. “You’re kinda becoming one of those important things.”
I press a kiss to her forehead as my palms slide up between us, cupping her jaw so I can tilt her head back and look into her pretty brown eyes.
“Then I can’t wait.”
***
Ten minutes later, Patch and I are stepping through Maevyn’s front door. Callie’s over at Liv’s place, having dinner with her and Daisy, and I love how easily my sister has slipped into life in Heart City. It feels nice having her close after missing so much of our lives together.
“We’re here,” I call as I move through the front hallway and down to the kitchen, following the smell of something sweet. Patch runs ahead as soon as he hears Aurora’s voice.
I round the corner to find the girls standing at the island bench. Plates and cutlery are neatly laid out, along with a bottle of syrup and two tubs of ice cream. What looks like a waffle iron is plugged in and set to one side.
Maevyn looks up with a smile, which falters slightly as her eyes drop to the grey sweatpants I’m wearing.
“This is dinner?” I ask, stepping behind the bench to stand at Maevyn’s back, peering over her shoulder. My hand naturally finds her hip and glides across her stomach, pulling her into me.
“Nice pjs,” she murmurs as she stirs batter in a big mixing bowl. Aurora stands beside us, cutting up strawberries.
I press a kiss to the side of her head. “I remembered how much you liked them.”
“On the first Sunday of every month, we have waffles for dinner.” Aurora’s eyes light up as she looks over at me.
“Really?” These two never cease to amaze me. “And how did this particular tradition come about? Because I know there’s a story.”
Maevyn leans across to lift the lid of the waffle iron and sprays it with some non-stick oil before pouring a ladle full of mixture in the centre.
“It was about nine years ago,” she starts, looking over at Aurora.
“We were moving to a new city, and I thought we could make the trip in a day, but my eyes couldn’t handle being on the road any longer, so we pulled into a motel that had a twenty-four-hour diner attached.
It was so late at night, and I figured we could just grab some burgers or a sandwich or something, but after midnight, they switched to breakfast foods.
It was February, and one of their monthly specials was Valentine’s waffles, complete with whipped cream, pink sprinkles, and strawberries cut into hearts. ”
I look down at Aurora’s chopping board and notice that she is, in fact, cutting the strawberries in half and then slicing the tops to form the two peaks of a heart.
“For the next few weeks, there were times I’d ask Aurora what she felt like for dinner, and she’d keep asking for waffles. So we decided to make it a thing.”
“Are they always Valentine’s Day themed?” I ask, taking note of the pink sprinkles and tubs of strawberry cheesecake and boysenberry swirl ice cream on the counter.
“We switch it up for Halloween, Christmas, and my birthday.” Aurora counts off the days with her fingers.
“You don’t do something different for your birthday?” I ask Maevyn.
She shakes her head. “Strawberry is already my favourite.”
The strawberry candle she’s always burning comes to mind, and how much she enjoyed the berry farm for Crew’s wedding. Her reaction makes sense now—the big grin and the way her eyes lit up.
Aurora lifts the lid, revealing a perfectly cooked waffle.
“How is it you can manage waffles, but no other baked goods?” I ask as Maevyn removes it from the iron, then pours another spoonful.
“I don’t know.” She laughs. “All the ingredients get dumped into a bowl at once and then poured onto the machine. I think anything more than three steps in a recipe intimidates me.”
“Remember that time you tried to make apple pie?” I think that’s what Aurora says. It’s hard to decipher through all the wheezing she’s doing as she throws her head back, pointing at her mother.
“I had such high hopes for that one.” Maevyn shakes her head, then turns in my arms, one hand coming up to rest against my heart like it seems to do often. “The apples were still hard, the lattice pastry on top was still doughy, and it basically just tasted like cinnamon and flour.”
I smile as I trail a hand up and down her back.
“I’d really love to attempt that one again, actually. It’s like the ultimate mum recipe.” I tilt my head in question, waiting for her to continue. “You know how in old movies and TV shows, the mum could always make the perfect pie?”
I see the light on the waffle iron flick from red to green, so I lift the lid, revealing another golden waffle. “Looks like waffles are your speciality, Trickster.”
A few minutes later, we’re all sitting around the coffee table with our plates of waffles.
Aurora loads hers with whipped cream and sprinkles, and one scoop of boysenberry ice cream.
Maevyn goes strawberry heavy with two scoops of strawberry cheesecake ice cream, strawberry hearts, and some maple syrup. I decide to have a bit of everything.
“I’m working next Saturday, and Ever’s going away,” Maevyn says as she piles more strawberries on her plate. “Would you or Callie be around to check in on Aurora while she’s home?”
“You can come to self-defence in the morning with me if you want, kiddo. The weather’s holding up still, afterwards we can take Patch down to the beach and have lunch at Sweet Escape.
” I look up, finding the two of them staring at me, and my cheeks flood with heat.
“Or I can just check on you throughout the day.”
“Mum, can I go out with Westley?”
I can’t decipher the thoughts as they pass over Maevyn’s face, but it ends with a deep breath as she looks at her daughter. “If you want to, babe.”
Aurora nods enthusiastically, a big grin taking over her face.
Maevyn places her hand over mine. “You’re okay with that?”
There’s no hiding my delight at her accepting my help, at Aurora welcoming me in as a part of her life as well, when I know having a male figure, any other close adult, is new for her.
“I wouldn’t have offered it if I didn’t want to.
” I turn my hand over, closing my fingers around hers and bring it to my lips, leaving a kiss against her knuckles.
I’d do anything to make her daughter smile like she is, and I’m getting damn good at making Maevyn do just the same.
After dinner, the three of us work together to clean up the kitchen before stretching out over the couch to watch a movie. My back against the seat rest, Maevyn’s back against my chest, and Aurora passed out, clutching her mother’s stomach.
I have one hand running through Maevyn’s hair, the other resting on Aurora’s back, and I think to myself, this is what it’s meant to feel like. Family. Love. These are my girls.
“I didn’t think we had room for more,” Maevyn whispers. “But you fit perfectly.”
I kiss the top of her head. “I was just thinking the same thing.”