Page 57 of Changing Tides

Leia wakes early and crawls into the bed with me. I don’t resist and open my arms wide for her to curl up beside me. I know that these days are limited. I’ll blink, and she’ll be a teenager I’m unable to pry from her bed to get her to school on time.

So, I cherish this time.

When Amiya walks in the door, I’m flipping French toast in a frying pan while Leia watches from her stool at the island.

“Good morning, sunshine,” I say as she mumbles something about coffee.

I lift my chin toward the pot on the counter, and she mutters, “Bless you,” as she shuffles to the cabinet for a mug.

“Auntie Miya, where did you go?” Leia asks as she fills her cup and takes a gulp.

She plops into the stool beside Leia. “I went for a jog. Exercise is good for you,” she says as she pats Leia’s head.

“Exercise before breakfast?” Leia questions.

“Yes. I don’t recommend it.”

I plate the toast and sprinkle it with a dusting of powdered sugar before placing it in front of both of them with a pot of warm maple syrup.

Amiya pours a generous coating on her toast.

“How was your night, kid? Did you like having your bed to yourself?” she asks.

“I slept with Mommy,” Leia says around a mouthful.

Amiya’s eyes come to mine. “You did, huh?”

“Yep. We watched cartoons in bed this morning till our tummies got hungry. It was fun.”

“It sounds like it, although not as fun as my night and morning,” she says with a smirk.

I stick my tongue out at her.

She throws her arms out, as if to say,What happened? I threw you the perfect pitch.

I shrug and tip my head to Leia.

She just shakes her head and continues to shovel food into her mouth.

Leia finishes and asks if she can go outside and play. I glance out the window and see the storm clouds rolling in, so I tell her to take her coloring book and crayons on the back porch.

Once she’s out of earshot, Amiya begins to quiz me. “What happened when we left?”

“We watched a superhero movie,” I say.

She grunts.

“And then he ate me out in my closet,” I add.

She spits coffee across the island.

“Ew,” I cry as I tear a paper towel off the rack under the cabinet by the sink.

“You should have led with that. How was it?”

“Pretty hot. Conrad wasn’t really into that,” I say.

“Yeah, I know. He sure was into you doing it for him though,” she says in disgust and rolls her wrist at me—a prompt to keep going.

---