Chapter Eighteen #2
“Of course. But that can wait. We’ve got a dinner to eat!
” Sadie grabbed Maeve’s hand and practically dragged her inside, bouncing with glee the entire way.
The moment she opened the door, the savory smell of meat and spices hit Maeve all at once.
Her dining room table was on the verge of collapsing from all the dishes Sadie had made: a luxurious looking beef and vegetable stew, freshly baked white bread with peach jam, and a massive pie topped with a small slice of rhubarb.
Maeve’s eyes widened as her breath hitched. “Oh, Sadie… This must’ve cost a fortune!”
Sadie waved her free hand as the other shifted Lila against her hip. “Father had record sales after the Independence Day festival, so I had quite a bit of pocket money to work with. Plus, Sam’s here, and you know that boy can eat.”
“He is?”
Sadie nodded. “Sure! I figured that was why Jed went to the barn first. Must’ve seen Sam out with the cows and wanted to fill him in on your time in town.”
That was a generous way to put it. To Maeve, Jed just looked like he was trying to run away from having a conversation.
“And, if dinner’s really going to bother you…” Sadie poked Lila’s nose with a smirk. “This little one hasn’t had a proper birthday party with us yet! So, think of the meal as a gift from her Auntie Sadie.”
Maeve’s heart melted at the familial title. Auntie Sadie… Then, she really did believe Maeve was doing a good job with Lila?
“Aw, Maevey!” Sadie blinked furiously, fanning her now-watering eyes with her free hand. “If you start crying, I’m going to start crying too!”
Was she crying? Maeve brushed her hand across her face, surprised as she pulled it back wet. She wasn’t sure when she’d started crying, but she didn’t feel as if she could stop any time soon. “S-Sorry. I–I just don’t know how to thank you for all this.”
“I already told you-”
“No, Sadie.” Maeve grasped her friend’s free hand, squeezing it tightly as tears poured down her face. “I mean it. Fer everything you’ve done, since the day we met. I–I know I ain’t always been easy to be around, and…and all of this…?” She squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s so much, Sadie.”
Sadie’s expression softened as she squeezed Maeve’s hand back. “It’s never ‘too much’, Maeve. Not for my chosen sister. Especially after-”
She paused, swallowing.
“When the worst of winter finally passed, and I could finally visit you…I don’t know. It seemed like you’d lost something in there. Something you wouldn’t find once the snow melted away.”
Maeve’s heart suddenly ached.
“But I was talking with Jed recently,” Sadie continued.
“and the way he talks about you, the way you two act around each other… It reminded me of that old spark you had. I’m not sure if it’s back because of Jed, or Lila, or some combination of the two.
But you remind me of the person you were before getting snowed in. ”
Sadie then gently pulled her hand free to wipe her face. “Ugh, you’re gonna make me look all red-eyed and puffy! Sam’s gonna think you said something mean to me.”
“He would never!” Maeve laughed, trying to clean her own face. “Sam knows I always say the nicest things.”
Sadie gave her a dramatic look, though the effect was greatly undercut by her smile. “Uh huh. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Mrs. Mercer.”
Dinner was a tremendous affair, and if Maeve had it her way, she would’ve spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping it off.
But Lila had spent far too long asleep, and she put up an incredible fuss until everyone moved out into the back yard with her.
There, Jed and Samuel took turns holding Lila’s hand as she continued practicing her walking, leaving Maeve and Sadie to lounge along the back porch, herbal tea in hand.
“So much better than springtime,” Maeve mused, taking a sip of her tea.
“Oh no! Spring has flowers and cute baby animals!” Sadie insisted. “Plus, it was springtime when you and I first met, remember?”
Maeve tilted her head, as if trying to shift the memory loose. “Were it really?”
Sadie nodded furiously, setting her cup to the side to free her hands. She waved them about as she spoke, and Maeve found the sight entirely too endearing.
“Yes, it was! There were all those puddles left over from the rain, remember?”
“We had our pick of which one to shove those boys into,” Maeve chuckled.
“Exactly!”
Maeve put up a hand defensively. “Alright, ye’re right! I reckon I’ll amend my statement. Only a li’l bit, though.”
“I’ll take a ‘little bit’ from you any day.” Sadie moved to pick her tea back up, but paused. “Oh, by the way! Sam kept asking me about where your tools are kept. He needed a hammer or some such for a loose fence post, but insisted it wasn’t anywhere in the barn.”
Maeve rolled her eyes, setting her cup aside before standing. “Sam’s blinder than a bat flying round in the middle of the day sometimes.”
“Ooh, be nice,” Sadie teased. “I’ve only had to point his hat out to him a handful of times.”
Chuckling, Maeve started her trek to the barn, already preparing to tease Samuel mercilessly for missing something so obvious.
She couldn’t remember feeling so relaxed, especially after going through as much as they had.
There was an underlying instinct throw herself back into work immediately, but...
something about having her friends and husband with her made the tasks feel all the less urgent.
“Suppose I could get used to this feeling,” Maeve mused as she slipped into the barn.