Chapter 28 #3
Perhaps it was the afternoon sun spilling through the living room windows, catching the small freckles scattered on the girl's nose, or the way Elowyn's big hazel eyes looked up at her from the floor. Maybe it was the girl's quiet excitement every time she discovered a fact worth sharing.
Whatever the reason, Seraphina found herself wanting to reach over to gather the girl into her arms and just squeeze her, smooth the ribbon in her hair, or brush another loose strand behind her ear. To indulge the simple comfort of touching her.
The thought alone made her rein herself in. She'd already overstepped once. The last thing she wanted was to repeat the mistake and make Elowyn uncomfortable again.
Instead, Seraphina quietly lowered one hand beside Elowyn, leaving it there with her palm facing upward. She made no effort to draw attention to it, keeping her eyes on the half-finished coat rack.
In truth, she was simply curious to see whether Elowyn would acknowledge it at all.
And she did- though not immediately.
Another page had turned, William muttered something under his breath about the instructions, and Elowyn absently reached for another piece of pineapple. Halfway through the bite, her eyes drifted to the side landing on Seraphina's open hand, making her furrow her brows in confusion.
She looked at the hand, then up at Seraphina, then back at the hand again.
Without saying a word she finished chewing, lifted the half eaten piece of pineapple from her mouth and carefully set it in the center of Seraphina's palm before returning to the instruction booklet as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
The sound of Seraphina's low, velvety laugh made Elowyn turn her head to look back at the woman, who was already looking back at her.
Still smiling, Seraphina lifted the half eaten piece of pineapple from her palm and popped it into her mouth with a small smirk.
Elowyn's gaze briefly dropped to her lips before returning to her eyes, the confusion on her face only deepening.
Seraphina remained silent, lowering her hand beside Elowyn again, palm facing upward.
Elowyn studied the open hand for several more seconds before cautiously reaching over and poking the center of Seraphina's palm with the tip of her finger.
When nothing happened, she lifted her head and gave the woman an unmistakably baffled look, her brows drawn together in silent question.
She stared at the woman for another second, utterly unconvinced, then turned back toward the instruction booklet and nudged the next board closer to William.
A quiet laugh bubbled in Seraphina's chest as she watched the girl surrender to the mystery. She had no idea what she'd expected, but it certainly hadn't been to have her palm inspected and poked like an unfamiliar household object.
Deciding she'd teased Elowyn enough, Seraphina carefully rested her hand against the middle of the girl's back. The contact was firm, her palm settling with a comfortable pressure over the fabric instead of brushing lightly across it.
Elowyn flinched, her shoulders lifting before she went completely still. She lifted her eyes from the panels and stared at the wall in front of her, trying to make sense of what had just happened. She didn't understand why Seraphina had suddenly put her hand there.
Then Seraphina's fingers began to move.
She scratched slow, even paths across Elowyn's back, keeping the pressure steady and firm instead of featherlight.
The effect was almost immediate. The tightness drained from Elowyn's shoulders, her posture softening as the tension unraveled.
That feels nice.
Elowyn let out a long, contented breath, then continued to read through the instructions.
"What's that for?" She asked, pointing to the small two-tier shelf that William had just finished building.
"Shoes," Seraphina answered absentmindedly.
"I thought this was a coat rack," Elowyn murmured, flipping through the instructions again to see if she misread the product.
"It is, but there is a place for your shoes so you won't have to be leaving them against the wall anymore."
"Ooh, fancy," Elowyn whispered in awe. "So now you should remember to take your shoes off at the door... right?" Elowyn side eyed Seraphina, her face completely serious earning a laugh from William.
"I'll be sure to remember from now on," Seraphina chuckled, winking at the girl.
"And you can hang up your coat now too," Elowyn started getting excited about the new piece of furniture. "But if you want to keep it on, you can. It gets very cold in here."
"Speaking of coats," William cut in. "What's in the pocket Monroe?"
"Excuse me?" Seraphina raised a brow.
"You're excused," Elowyn chimed in, repeating the same thing she told Seraphina the other day.
"No, Ellie that's not-" William laughed at her misinterpretation.
"It's not what?"
"Nevermind. Back to you Ms. Monroe, what's in the pocket?" He asked again.
"What pocket?"
"Your coat pocket. The one you left in my best friend's room," he smirked. "There's something crunchy in there, but Ellie refused to let me go through your "personal belongings." So I'm curious now."
William watched Seraphina suddenly stop scratching Elowyn's back, realization forming on her face.
"Trail mix," Seraphina answered, her tone composed.
"Trail mix?"
"Are you deaf?" She scoffed in annoyance.
A grin slowly spread across his face. "You actually have trail mix in your pocket?"
Seraphina gave him a deeply unimpressed look. "I fail to see why that is difficult to believe."
"I don't know. It just feels very on-brand considering what Ellie said about you."
"What did I say?" Elowyn looked up.
"You said she looked like she liked trail mix."
"Oh, yeah!" Elowyn's face brightened with recognition. She looked at Seraphina with open satisfaction. "I told you."
"You did," Seraphina smiled down at her.
William looked between them, his grin widening. "Wait. So she really did convince you to buy a trail mix?"
"I was already at the store."
"That wasn't my question."
Seraphina reached for the coat and pulled the small packet from its pocket, holding it up between two fingers. "Are you quite finished interrogating me over a snack?"
"Not even remotely."
"So you do like them," Elowyn turned to face the woman.
"I do."
"And you lied to me," Elowyn squinted in accusation.
"Yes, I unfortunately did. I apologize."
"I guess I'll accept your apology since you're getting me food," the girl sighed, her eyes landing on the small packet of trail mix in Seraphina's hand.
"Would you like some?" Seraphina's hand lowered to offer the snack.
Elowyn leaned closer to inspect it without taking the packet. Her eyes continued down the label until they reached the words dark chocolate.
"No thank you," she scrunched her nose in disgust.
With that settled, Elowyn turned back toward the coat rack and reached for the next piece of hardware.
William watched her for a second before looking back at Seraphina. "I'm never letting you live this down."
"I wasn't aware there was anything to live down."
"You've got trail mix in your coat pocket, Monroe."
"And?"
William shook his head, grinning to himself. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."
He decided not to tell Seraphina that keeping trail mix in her pocket is such a grandmother thing to do.
"Is the food almost here," Elowyn suddenly asked, getting increasingly annoyed that it still hadn't arrived.
"It should be here any minute now," Seraphina replied, her hand returning to its slow path up Elowyn's back until it reached the base of her neck. Her palm settled there, fingers curling gently around the back of it as she began to massage the area.
"Ouch," Elowyn flinched at the sudden sharp pain.
"Why is your neck so tense," Seraphina murmured, her fingers working against the stiff muscles.
"You should see the way she sleeps," Will laughed. "That'll explain everything."
Elowyn frowned, already suspicious of where this was going.
"She sleeps like a starfish," William continued, completely ignoring her expression. "One arm thrown above her head, one leg hanging off the mattress, and somehow she always ends up taking up the entire bed. I've woken up to find her head hanging off the side, too."
"I don't do that," Elowyn grumbled.
"And she steals blankets," William added. "She'll start the night wrapped up like a little burrito, but I still always end up freezing by morning."
Elowyn shook her head firmly, refusing to accept any of it.
"I'm just saying, your neck being tense isn't exactly a mystery," Will shrugged. "Just a heads up for the future Mrs," he wiggled his brows.
Seraphina's hand stopped at the base of Elowyn's neck. "Mr. Bennett," she said, her voice clipped. "Do try to remember that not every thought needs to be shared aloud."
Only Elowyn is allowed to do that.
William's grin faded, returning his attention to the coat rack.
However, Elowyn remained still, tilting her head as she looked between them. "Future Mrs?" she repeated, turning the words over in her head. "You mean like your future wife?" Her eyes settled on Seraphina.
Feeling his face heat up at the girl's bluntness, William suddenly became very interested in the screw he was holding.
Seraphina looked down at Elowyn completely composed despite the situation William had so casually created. "That would be the implication, yes."
"Oh," Elowyn giggled. "That's silly."
Seraphina looked down at the girl beside her, one eyebrow lifting. "Silly?"
"Yeah," Elowyn continued laughing. "I can't get married."
"You still believe all that crap she told you?" William asked, suddenly very serious.
"Yeah," Elowyn shrugged. "Nothing she said was a lie."
Will rolled his eyes and went back to work, clearly having heard this argument before only making Seraphina further interested in what made the girl think this way.
"Why can't you get married?"