Page 126 of Born for Starlight

I gathered her up, and pulled her onto my lap. I arranged it so that her cheek rested against my heart, and my jaw laid along her hair. She felt thin. Much thinner than the last time I’d held her.

“Have you been eating?” I whispered my question.

“Some.”

“That’s not good for you. You need to be strong for Luzia.”

She hiccupped. I could hear the tears in her voice. “I don’t know when Luzia is coming. It’s taking forever.”

“That’s all the more reason for you to be healthy and ready for her. Sweetheart, you know she’s going to need you tough and healthy so she can lean on you.”

“I know. But nothing tastes good.”

I laughed. It just came out. It was probably the first time I’d laughed since the last time I’d been with her.

“I think I can solve that problem.” I leaned over with her still in my arms, and picked up the white bag with the cinnamon rolls. “We’ll have to heat them up, but this should tempt you into eating.”

“Are they…?” Her voice trailed off.

“Yep. Down Home Diner cinnamon rolls.”

She peeked up at me, with a little bit of spark in her eyes. “How did you get them? I wouldn’t have thought they would have let you in the door.”

“I had to pay an extra surcharge. But it was worth it. What do you say? Cinnamon rolls, or do you want me to make you cinnamon French toast?”

Her eyes went dark.

“Let’s stick with the rolls for now.” She slid easily from my lap, and plucked the bag out of my hand. I followed her into the kitchen and watched her pull a plate from her cabinet. She soon had the rolls heated and put two on plates for us.

“Butter?”

I looked at all the icing dripping down the sides of the roll and shook my head. “Are you sure you don’t want to share? That way we could save one for later.”

“I thought you wanted to fatten me up.”

She had me there.

I reached over her head, pulled two glasses out of the cupboard, and poured two glasses of milk, then followed her to the table. After we sat down, she rested her hands in her lap, and I took a sip of my milk, but didn’t reach for my roll.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” she finally asked.

“Ladies first.”

She picked up her fork and cut a small piece. A very small piece, and brought it to her mouth, then chewed. She smiled.

“Come on, Angelica, you didn’t even get any icing. And why are you using a fork?”

“Otherwise it gets messy.”

“Life’s messy.”

She sighed. “I know it is. But if I can keep some parts of it clean, I’m going to.”

I couldn’t stand it. I picked up my roll and pulled out part of the center. The part that was more cinnamon filling and icing than dough. My fingers got sticky and gooey. I brought the ooey goodness to Angelica’s lips. “Open up.”

Her eyes widened.

“You know you want to. It’s the best part.”