Page 119 of That’s My Orc, Tusk Off

A smile tugged free. “I’m better than okay. I’m just⁠—”

“Waiting for the other boot to fall.”

I wasn’t sure what boots had to do with this, but the saying strangely worked.

“Go home,” she said. “I’ll be right behind you. I just need to finish this intake form.”

“I can wait.”

“I know you can.” She squeezed my hand. “But I know you have a few things you want to get done around the house. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

“Twenty minutes,” I said.

“I’ll time it.”

At home, I took care of the too-tall grass and tidied my back shed. It took longer than expected. By the time I went inside, the sun had started sinking toward the tree line.

I hung up my jacket and heeled off my boots, striding to the kitchen, stopping in the doorway.

Willa wasn’t here, but a cookie container sat on the kitchen table.

Full.

The smell hit me next. Sweet and warm. I didn’t smell chocolate chip or ginger but something new.

I walked across the room and lifted the lid.

Pale golden cookies studded with nuts and cranberries lay inside. The edges had been crisped to perfection, and the centers gave when I pressed one with my finger.

My language was systems and coffee measurements and well-timed arrival schedules. Hers was baked goods and reorganized file cabinet drawers and noticing when Fred needed company.

We’d been caring for each other in parallel without naming it.

I picked up a cookie and ate it in one bite.

Cranberry and walnut. A hint of something citrus.

Delicious.

My parents would’ve required a report, a way of measuring if what I’d done mattered.

Willa just baked cookies because she thought I’d like them.

I ate another one. Then a third.

I’d never be able to explain to my parents what this felt like. The not-needing-to-prove-it-ness of it.

I didn’t want to try.

She’d left a note beside the container. We’re on the back deck. Join us!

I grabbed a mug of tea, the cookie container, and headed outside.

The deck was small, barely big enough for two people and a grumbletoad, though he mostly floated overhead. I sat beside Willa in the second chair, placing my tea and the cookies on the low table between us.

Movement in the woods caught my eye.

A rumbleback emerged from the tree line, its stone armor catching the last light. It moved slowly across the clearing behind the cottage, heading toward the water trough I kept filled.