Page 72 of Mine to Worship

“Can I have it?” he asks, cocking his head at the drawing.

“Where would you put it?”

“I’m planning my own personal gallery.” The corner of his lips curls up.

“I should draw more, then,” I say, keeping the atmosphere playful.

“That and staying with me. And I’ll be a happy man.”

I lift onto my toes and press my lips to his. “No one makes me feel like you do. Since I met you, it’s as if you have rooted yourself inside me, taking over the biggest part.” I doubt I can still call it pretend when my mouth lets out words like that, conjuring what my heart feels.

“Good to know,” he whispers over my lips, tingles rushing to my toes.

My parents arrive after breakfast. My mom’s arms tighten around me and we hug for a long time.

“I missed you so much. I won’t let you go,” I say, tearing up after two months of not seeing her.

“Hmm, now that would be something,” she says, her voice breaking with emotions.

I hug my dad, and we end up in a family embrace.

“I missed you, baby girl. How are you?” my dad asks.

“I’m good.”

Kian greets them, and my mom hugs him, too. Taken aback, he stares at me with wide eyes. It breaks my heart that he’s unfamiliar with these small caring gestures. He shakes hands with my father, and something passes between them.

Kian and Dad carry the luggage in, while Mom and I amble into the kitchen, arm in arm.

“I brought you some tea. A fellow teacher said it alleviates the nausea.”

“Did you have a difficult pregnancy?”

“No, baby. On the contrary. I found out I was pregnant when I was already four months along.”

“It’s better now, but it can also change.”

My mom’s blue eyes swim with that protective sadness. She would take this from me if she could.

“I am sorry, sweetie. It will pass. You’re strong and when the baby comes, you’ll forget about this discomfort.”

“We didn’t plan it,” I blurt out.

She offers me a conspiratorial smile.

“It’s easy to get carried away in the heat of the moment.”

A tremor passes through my body and I shake my head, attempting to chase that image of my parents away from my brain. Still, I can’t stop smiling.

“Mom! Ick!”

“Whatever you’re doing to make Ellia smile, keep doing it,” Kian tells my mom from the doorway. His eyes shine with so much love, it goes straight to my heart.

“Would you like a tour?” Kian asks my parents.

“Yes, we’d love that,” my mom answers.

We show them around the chalet, then we go outside and take a walk through the woods.

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