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“I know. I feel awful.” He dished up crisp bacon and a waffle smothered in butter and syrup on a plate and placed it in front of her. “Thank you for letting me stick around.”
She thought it might be temporary but didn’t voice that. Not yet.
“You’re welcome. I don’t want to stop planning for the baby. It’s your baby, so you should be there, deciding what we buy and then paying for it.”
Tony chuckled. “When you’re finished, do you want to shop?”
“Yes,” she said, giving him the side eye. “We’d better take your truck, too.”
***
Down the beach, Lisa woke up late. After checking the clock on her nightstand, she quickly left the bed and ran out into the hallway. The sounds of Madelyn and Sierra talking to each other filtered out of the nursery, but neither girl was crying. The older children were sleeping in, she guessed, after a fun night of movies and games with Zach.
Nancy and Daniela were getting a well-deserved weekend off. It had been a while since Lisa had taken care of the two little girls alone, but she looked forward to it. Rather than disturb their time occupying themselves, she left them alone. She went back to her bedroom and prepared for the day, taking extra time with her hair and makeup just because it made her feel better about herself.
Out in the kitchen, she made a pot of coffee and then got breakfast started. Toast and English muffins, sausages and bacon, scrambled eggs and fruit salad. She’d start the day with home cooking, and if they wanted nuggets for lunch and dinner, it wouldn’t be so catastrophic.
After a cup of coffee, she heard Sierra crying for the first time, so she took her cup back to their room. It wasn’t usual for Lisa to be the first adult they saw, and Madelyn called out, “Momma!” the second she saw Lisa, running to hug her legs.
“Look at this big girl. You two climbing out of your cribs is not good.”
Lisa snuggled with Madelyn before dressing her and putting her down to run around the room. She went right to her toy box and grabbed a new favorite toy, a stuffed raccoon.
“You’re next,” she said to Sierra.
Sierra grinned at Lisa, climbing into her lap, hiding her face in Lisa’s chest. The memory of nursing must have been strong.
“There’s nothing in there, I promise you,” Lisa said, laughing.
After dressing the girls, she took their hands.
“Let’s eat, you two. Peace and quiet before the big kids wake up.”
She got the little one in a booster chair, with Madelyn at the table, and divvied up the food. Then she put a plastic drop cloth under their chairs.
Slowly, the older children came out. They grabbed what they wanted and took plates and bowls and glasses of juice to the table. The noise increased with each new arrival. Lisa leaned back against the counter with a fresh cup of coffee, happy.
“Aunt Lisa, can I have more eggs?” Brent asked.
He looked so frail, she was happy to feed him as much as he wanted. “I just remembered, I have pie, too.”
“Breakfast pie?” he asked, grinning. He looked so much like his father, it melted her heart.
“You remind me of your dad,” Lisa said, showing him Daniela’s pie.
“I’ll take a piece of that. Grannie said I look like him. I don’t remember him.”
Brent had been murdered before his son was born.
“No. But we have a ton of pictures of Brent, and I’d love to show them to you.”
“I’ll have that pie along with eggs,” Marcus said.
Lisa cut a slice of pie for him.
“Did anyone know my dad?” Brent asked the kids at the table.
“Nope. He died,” Megan said. “My dad, too.”
