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It’s adorable that he can’t tell his mom no. It’s nerve wracking to have his mom on the other side of my door. I look down at my toes and realize I'm in my sleep shorts and a tank top. Nerves explode into mortification.
I can’t open the door! I’m in pajamas!I hurry and text back. Seconds later, the sound of a phone ringing in the hall outside my condo breaks the silence.
“Jonah? What? Jammies? Oh who cares about pajamas? Your father and I raised nearly a half dozen of you monsters. I couldn’t care less if your girl’s in her jammies. Tell her we’ll wait while she gets dressed, but this breakfast casserole is best eaten while warm.”
Dancing bubbles in the text window let me know Jonah’s passing along her message. Which is amusing considering I’m fairly sure the whole floor heard everything. I crack the door open, the safety chain keeping it from swinging wide, and peek through the sliver of space.
“Um, Mrs. Taylor?”
“It’s Bonnie, sweetheart. Or Mom. Whichever you feel comfortable with.” Her round face is rosy, and even her eyes are bright with her grin. Behind her, Jonah’s dad is alternating between casting curious looks through the narrow space at me and smiling down at his wife. I’m charmed and unnerved all at once, and it occurs to me I have yet to respond to his mom.
“Okay, um, Bonnie. Do you mind if I just run and get dressed real fast? Lavender is still asleep, but she was up a few times during the night, so she’ll probably sleep for a while still.”
“That’s fine, honey! We’ll be as quiet as mice in a cattery. Fitzy already told us all about your sweet lil one, and we just can’t wait to meet her!” Somehow, I don’t think quiet and Bonnie Taylor are well acquainted. It’s almost too good to be true how I only minutes ago wished I had a mom to support me, and poof! here’s a fairy godmother.
I toss on a pair of sweatpants and a baggy hoodie, wanting to be comfortable for the day and knowing if I put on fancy clothes to try to impress Jonah’s parents now, I’ll be changing as soon as they’re gone. Which means more laundry. Brokelife adulting has taught me to never dirty more clothes than necessary because detergent is expensive. Plus, folding laundry is the worst.
Opening the door, I find not only his mom and dad somewhat, sort of, patiently waiting, but Jonah bursts through the door of the stairway like a superhero on a mission. He’s panting and out of breath as if he’s been running for miles, but the rueful smile on his face still manages to be sexy.
“Good, you didn’t let them in yet.” He’s wheezing a bit, and I can’t hold back my laughter.
From Lumi, I know the guys all work out together every morning. Jonah’s drenched in more sweat than rushing to my place could cause and wearing gym shorts, sneakers and a thin T-shirt despite the late fall chill. I wonder if he actually ran here from the gym downtown.
“Ma, you couldn’t have waited a couple hours?” He gives me a wink before dropping his brows into a scowl he shoots her way. Mr. Taylor puts a hand on his wife’s shoulder and mock scowls right back at his son.
There’s a lighthearted enjoyment between them, even when harassing each other. It reminds me of the way families act on the sitcoms that play on cable after school. I’ve always sort of believed relationships like that are pure Hollywood fantasy.
“Breakfast casserole, Jonah Bernard Taylor. Breakfast. If I’d waited ‘til you wanted me to, it’d be lunch casserole, and that makes zero sense. Don’t you argue with me.”
She’s smiling and glaring at him simultaneously, and it’s more than I can take. And seriously, Bernard? I’m quaking with laughter and whipping my head back and forth to keep up with their banter when I feel a little body plaster itself against my back.
“Mommy, what smells good?” So much for quiet. We woke Lavender. Realizing that reminds me we’re probably bothering the neighbors, too. I step backward, dragging Lav to the side with me, and gesture for everyone to come in.
Over breakfast, which is more amazing than anything in a single baking dish has a right to be, we all get to know one another. It takes less than ten minutes for Bonnie to have Lavender calling her and Jared Nana and Pop. The eagerness in her latching on to them gives me a sharp twist of guilt in my chest.
I hate that my circumstances and choices have kept our circle so small. My daughter deserves to have all the love and family in the world. Instead, she just has me. As though he senses the pain I’m trying desperately to hide, Jonah wraps his arm around my shoulders from his chair next to mine and leans in to whisper into my ear.
“She’s an amazing little girl, Bunny. Look how in love with her my folks are. You’re a great mama.”
Bonnie catches my eye and gives me one of her bright smiles, taking in how close her son is to me. Her approval pours over me, sealing gaps and filling holes I’ve lived with for years. Her hands clap together like an excited preschool teacher, and all of our forks freeze while we watch her bouncing happily.
“I have an idea!” It’s impossible not to share her smile.
“Jared and I can take Lavender home with us for the day since her fever yesterday means no school today! I can keep an eye on her. Make sure it’s really just a quick bug. That way you two can run errands and Sirena won’t have to miss work tonight!”
Bonnie told me during breakfast that she recently retired from being the school nurse of all things. If I can rely on anyone to help with a still somewhat sick kiddo, it would be her. Right?
Jonah squeezes my shoulder and leans over to whisper again. “You don’t have to say yes. She won’t be mad if you want to keep Shortstack here for the day and call out again tonight.”
“Mommy, Pop has a train set in his dude cave! He said I can flip the track switch! Please can I go there?” Her breathing sounds much easier today, and her fever’s gone down completely. That guilty pang about keeping our circle smaller than my baby deserves prods at me.
“Okay, but can I at least bring over dinner for everyone, so we can see each other before she goes to bed over there? We’ve never spent a night apart.”
“That would be perfect, sweetheart.” His mom practically coos at me. It’s blatantly obvious she’s considering my daughter to be family at this point. It doesn’t feel like a stretch to think she considers me that way, too. Foreign as the feeling is, I love it. I’m going to hold on to it for as long as I can.
Something tells me, even if things don’t work out between me and Jonah the way he seems to think they will, Bonnie and Jared aren’t going to let Lavender or me go.
CHAPTER9
