Chapter 10 #2
"I honestly can't argue with that."
The second crown appeared in Charlie's hands.
She turned toward me.
"And this one's yours."
I smiled.
"I get to be a queen?"
Charlie frowned.
"No."
I blinked.
"Oh?"
She carefully placed the crown on my head.
"You're the Sunshine Queen."
Steel completely lost the battle not to laugh.
"I have absolutely no idea what that means."
Charlie smiled proudly.
"It means she's in charge of sunshine."
"I see."
Steel nodded gravely.
"Important job."
"I know."
Within minutes, nearly everyone walking through the hallway had stopped to admire Charlie's creations.
Mace laughed so hard he had to lean against the doorframe.
"I leave for twenty minutes..."
He pointed toward Remedy.
"...and suddenly royalty."
Bishop smiled warmly.
"I think the crown suits him."
Remedy raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"No."
Bishop laughed.
"But Charlie seems happy."
Charlie looked around the room.
"We need one more."
"For who?"
She thought for several seconds.
"Mr. Pickles."
"Naturally," Daisy said from the hallway.
"I don't know why I expected a different answer."
Charlie hurried toward the craft table.
"I'll make one."
The adults watched her disappear beneath an avalanche of construction paper and glitter.
Melissa leaned closer to me..
"I think you've officially been adopted."
I smiled.
"I've noticed."
"And?"
I looked toward Charlie.
The little girl hummed happily while trying to glue feathers onto a crown much too small for a teddy bear.
"I don't mind."
About an hour later, the morning settled into a quieter rhythm.
Most of the children had followed Lark outside to gather wildflowers for the dining room tables, their excited voices drifting through the open windows every so often.
Charlie was the only one who had stayed behind, sitting cross-legged on the floor with Mr. Pickles balanced against her knees while she patiently explained the many responsibilities of being a royal bear.
I climbed onto the little wooden step stool beside the window, carefully clipping new artwork onto the string stretched across one wall.
Every drawing represented another child who had begun to feel safe enough to create something joyful instead of something born from fear.
There were bright handprints, crooked rainbows, smiling stick figures, and dragons in colors nature had never intended.
None of them were perfect, yet every one of them felt beautiful.
Reaching a little higher, I stretched to fasten the next picture when the stool shifted beneath my feet. It wasn't enough to make me fall, but it was enough to steal my balance for a moment.
Before I could steady myself, a hand settled against the side of the stool.
"I've got it."
I looked down to find Remedy holding it firmly in place.
"I wasn't falling."
"I know."
"You still caught it."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"I know."
I couldn't help smiling back.
"I think we're starting to say the same things to each other."
His quiet laugh warmed the room.
"I think we are."
I clipped the picture into place before stepping carefully back onto the floor.
As I turned, our hands brushed, nothing more than the lightest graze of fingertips before they naturally slipped apart again.
The contact lasted barely a heartbeat, yet it lingered in my thoughts far longer than it should have.
There was no awkwardness between us and no instinct to step away.
Somewhere along the way, simply being near him had stopped feeling unfamiliar and had quietly become one of the easiest parts of my day.
Charlie's voice floated up from the floor.
"You forgot."
Both of us looked toward her.
"What did we forget?" I asked.
She held up a roll of tape with complete confidence.
"The corners."
Sure enough, one side of the drawing had already begun curling away from the wall.
Remedy accepted the tape with a chuckle.
"I'll fix it."
Charlie pointed toward me.
"You hold."
I pressed the picture flat against the wall while Remedy stepped up beside me to smooth another strip of tape into place.
We stood close enough that his arm brushed lightly against mine as he reached overhead, and once again the contact felt so natural that neither of us gave it a second thought.
A few weeks earlier I would have stepped away without thinking.
Now I simply stayed where I was, surprised by how comfortable his quiet presence had become.
"There."
Charlie nodded with obvious satisfaction.
"Now it'll stay."
"So, it will," Remedy said.
I glanced over at him, wondering whether he was talking about the drawing at all. Something in his expression made me think he wasn't.
Outside, the children burst onto the lawn while Daisy called everyone toward the gardens for lemonade.
Charlie jumped to her feet.
"Last one there's a sleepy dragon!"
She raced through the doorway with Mr. Pickles tucked beneath one arm.
Steel happened to pass the activity room at exactly the wrong moment and laughed.
"I don't even know what that means."
Mace shrugged.
"You don't want to be one."
"I figured."
Their laughter followed them outside until, one by one, the room emptied, leaving only Remedy and me behind.
The quiet settled around us almost unnoticed. Sunlight poured through the tall windows, catching tiny flecks of silver glitter that still drifted lazily through the air from Charlie's latest masterpiece. I absently brushed at my sweatshirt before reaching up to smooth my hair.
"I've got glitter everywhere."
Remedy studied me for a second before smiling.
"You've got one."
I paused.
"Where?"
"It's..." He lifted a hand halfway before stopping and pointing awkwardly toward my temple. "...right there."
I reached for it.
"The other side."
A laugh escaped before I could stop it.
"I'm making this difficult."
"A little."
He hesitated, and I watched the familiar question cross his face before he spoke.
"May I?"
That simple word caught me more than I expected.
He always asked.
He always gave me the choice.
Even after everything I'd told him.
Even after all the reasons I had to hesitate.
I looked into his eyes for a long moment before nodding.
"Okay."
He stepped forward with the same quiet care he showed every frightened child who walked through Harbor House.
His fingertips barely brushed the loose strand of hair beside my temple as he lifted away the tiny fleck of silver glitter.
The touch lasted no more than a heartbeat before he stepped back again, holding the glitter between his fingers with a small smile.
"There."
I laughed softly.
"I think glitter follows children everywhere."
"I think Charlie's declared war on housekeeping."
The laugh that escaped me came easily, and for a long moment neither of us felt any need to rush away.
Outside, Charlie's delighted laughter floated through the open windows while warm sunlight stretched across the worn wooden floor between us.
I couldn't have explained exactly what had changed over the past few weeks, only that being with Remedy no longer felt uncertain.
Somewhere between shared meals, children's artwork, quiet conversations, and ordinary days, I'd stopped wondering whether I belonged here and started wondering what it might mean if I did.
The laugh that escaped me came easily, and for a long moment neither of us felt any need to rush away.
Outside, Charlie's delighted laughter floated through the open windows while warm sunlight stretched across the worn wooden floor between us.
I couldn't have explained exactly what had changed over the past few weeks, only that being with Remedy no longer felt uncertain.
Somewhere between shared meals, children's artwork, quiet conversations, and ordinary days, I'd stopped wondering whether I belonged here and started wondering what it might mean if I did.
That thought should have frightened me.
Instead, it filled me with a hope so quiet and unfamiliar that I almost didn't recognize it.
Neither of us spoke.
Remedy's eyes held mine, the easy smile on his face fading into something softer, more thoughtful. He took one slow step closer, leaving enough space between us that I could have walked away if I'd wanted to.
I didn't.
"I'm glad you're here," he said quietly.
The words settled somewhere deep inside me.
"So am I."
For another heartbeat, neither of us moved. The sounds of Charlie laughing in the yard drifted through the open windows, reminding me that the world beyond this kitchen still existed, yet it seemed impossibly far away.
Remedy lifted one hand slowly, giving me every chance to stop him. His fingers brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear before he searched my face.
"Can I kiss you?"
The question surprised me almost as much as the warmth in his eyes.
I smiled.
"I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever ask."
A quiet laugh escaped him before he leaned in.
The kiss was gentle.
Brief.
More a promise than a declaration.
His lips barely brushed mine, lingering only long enough for my heart to forget how to beat before he pulled back again.
Neither of us spoke.
Neither of us needed to.
When I opened my eyes, he was still watching me, as though trying to make sure he hadn't imagined it.
"I've wanted to do that for a while," he admitted.
I felt my smile grow.
"I'm glad you finally did."
From outside came Charlie's unmistakable voice.
"Daddy! Sunshine! Come see Mr. Pickles!"
The spell between us broke as we both laughed.
Remedy rested his forehead against mine for the briefest second before stepping back.
"I guess we've been summoned."
"I don't think it's optional."
"No," he agreed with another smile. "It never is."
Together, we walked out into the sunshine where Charlie waited proudly with Mr. Pickles tucked beneath one arm, completely unaware that, in the quiet moments while she'd been playing outside, something beautiful had just begun.