“You sure?”she asked, her brown eyes widening.“But how do I choose?They all look so good.”
“Hang on,” I said, taking the box to the kitchen.“I’ll cut them up and then you can have a medley.”
“But fair warning,” Salem said.“Fig will lie, cheat and steal to get your food.Do not let that dog near your plate.”
Lenni chuckled.“Okay.”
“Same goes for all of them, really,” I said.
The room was silent with unanswered questions while Lenni ate her smorgasbord of baked goods.
When she was finished, Lenni set the plate down onto the coffee table and then slid down onto the floor.The animals were still interested in her, but it was Mildred who she let crawl into her lap.She bent over, cradling my dog in her arms and buried her face in Mildred’s neck.
Her shoulders sank and she sniffed, like she was trying not to cry.
I took a seat next to Lenni on the rug and brought my knees up to my chest.
“Which donut was your favorite?”I asked her.
She inhaled a few deep breaths before replying.“The blueberry one.”
“No way,” I teased.“The sour cream is the best.”
“Yeah right,” Hadley said.“The bear claw with garlic olives.No question.”
Lenni raised her head.“Garlicolives?In a bear claw?”
“Pregnancy craving,” Hadley explained with a winsome smile.
“It’s weird, but the combination works,” Salem said.
“You’re an unreliable narrator,” I quipped.“You’re also pregnant.”
Lenni’s eyebrows lifted toward her hairline.“You’re both having babies?”
“Yep,” I said.“And you know what’s even funnier about that?Hadley and Salem are twins.”
“Fraternal,” Hadley explained.“Not identical.”
“No kidding,” Lenni said.“I wish I had a sister.”
“Me too,” I agreed.“I’m an only child.”
Lenni looked around at the three of us, taking it all in.
“I like your braids,” Salem blurted out after a moment of silence.
“I slept in them,” Lenni explained.“That’s why they’re kinda coming out.”
“I can braid hair,” I said.
“You can?”Lenni asked.
I nodded.“I can French braid, Dutch braid or fishtail.You want it, I can do it.”
Lenni fingered one of her braids.“I’ve never had a fishtail.”
“Well, today is your lucky day.”I smiled and stood up.“Hadley, you mind if we use your brush?”
