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‘YOGGIE’
SEBASTIAN
The house is still quiet, which is a miracle. Since Lilly and Angel joined us, I’m now surrounded by four females. And I totally love it. It feels so right. Starting the coffee, I grab a cup and move to the front porch to sit on a rocker and enjoy the morning. I’m going to need to talk to Nora. If Lilly and Angel are planning on staying here, we’ll need to build on because they’ll need their own space. Right now, the two girls are sharing a room. Olivia and Angel are best friends, or besties, as they call it. Poor little Teddy is lost. It’s not just him and Olivia but also Angel because the two girls are attached at the hip.
Hearing the screen door open, I assume it’s Nora but when I look up, it’s Lilly. It’s taken some time to get used to seeing her because she does look so much like her mother. I wait because Lilly isn’t a morning person, so I’m kinda shocked to see her up. After a couple of sips of her coffee, in her humongous coffee cup, she looks my way.
“Good morning, Sebastian. What’s got you up so early sitting on the front porch?”
I smile at her, sarcasm this early is something for her. Guess therapy is helping because the first couple of weeks were brutal. Lilly thought everyone except Nora was out to get her. Yeah, rough. We’ve gotten through most of that.
“Morning, Lilly. Feeling your oats, are ya? I usually wake up early and grab coffee so I can start my day grateful and remember how very lucky I am to be alive.”
I watch as she gets a smirk on her face, but then she looks at me and must see something.
“Why, Sebastian, are you lucky and grateful?”
Guess now is better than later. I spoke to the therapist and she said to share when I thought the timing was right. Well, we’ll see.
“Lilly, when I was in the military, I was a prisoner of war for over eighteen months. So, I do understand a lot of what you’re going through. I was treated like trash each and every day. I almost died twice because they tore parts of me that shouldn’t have been torn. It’s taken me many years to even talk about it.”
“How did you manage to get out and keep living? Can I tell you something? I know I can trust you. I’ve had thoughts about killing myself, don’t tell Mom. I’m talking to my therapist and Joan has put me on some medication. She told me it would take time and to get a schedule and follow it. So tomorrow, no sorry, today I’m going to talk to Tink to see if there is something I can do on her ranch. Maybe with the animals because I’m not liking being around people I don’t know. And as soon as I can, Angel and I will be out of your hair.”
“Lilly, no, you don’t have to leave. You’re not in my hair. Actually, I was gonna talk to you and your mom about maybe adding on so you and Angel could have your own space. Don’t run out at my expense. I love having the two of you here. So drop that for now, ’kay?”
She goes to say something and stops as the door opens again, and my Bae comes out smiling. She grabs the lawn chair we keep up for when we are all out here, but I grab her hand and pull her onto my lap. Another thing Lilly is going to need to see is a normal relationship. Something she’s never been exposed to since she was a young girl and saw her parents, before her nightmare began.
“So, what were you two talking about before I walked out? Looked pretty intense for this time in the morning. How’s everyone doing? What’s on your agendas today?”
I pull her into me, kissing her softly. When I pull away, she’s looking a bit more relaxed. I hear Lilly and when I look, she’s wiping tears away. Goddamn it.
“No, Sebastian, these are happy tears. I’m beyond thrilled that my mom has you in her life. Something both Angel and I need to see after what we’ve been through. I don’t want my daughter to never experience real love. So please be you, never change that because it’s a rare gift. Now, Mom, I was telling Sebastian that maybe Angel and I should move. Now wait, calm down, woman. He set me straight, so don’t be surprised when the house starts to grow. Saying that, I’m going to get another cup of coffee. I can never thank you guys enough for all your doing for us. It truly means the world to me.”
I feel Nora tremble with emotion as Lilly walks by. When she goes into the house, I feel my Bae let loose ’cause she starts to cry. I hold her throughout until she calms down and leans into me.
“Sebastian, thank you for being you. I doubt I ever would have made that first move so I’ll never let you forget that you started this thing, and I can promise I’ll never end it. I love you, Sebastian. You’re my Yoggie bear.”
“And you, Nora, are and always will be my Bae. Now let’s get to talking about the addition we’re going to have to build, so everyone has their own space.”
When she pulls me to her, I go willingly. There is nowhere else I would rather be than on our porch with Nora on my lap and my lips on hers. Perfection. We’ve finally both found what we’d been looking for.
Forever and always.
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