Page 26 of Cabin Fever With My First Flame

Finn brushes past me to place a hand on Micah’s shoulder. He looks the young teen squarely in the eyes. “I’d give up everything because I love you more.”

Micah hugs Finn and says, “I know you would, but we love you enough that we would never ask you to.”

They hold their embrace until Micah pushes away. “So enough mushy stuff. What’s for breakfast?”

“Oatmeal,” I tease. “I’m in the mood for mushy.”

Micah groans. “Oatmeal is boring. It’s like eating flavorless boogers.”

Finn barks out a laugh. “And what is a booger supposed to taste like, Micah? Do tell!”

Micah blushes. “I’ll rephrase. Iimagineit’s like eating flavorless boogers.”

Mia walks in wearing her flannel jammies. “There are booger-flavored jellybeans. There are even ones that taste like dirt and earwax. Maybe you should ask whoever created those howtheyknow what a booger tastes like.”

“Thanks, Mia, for the lesson on flavor profiles. How about we change the subject?” I suggest, getting a little grossed out by the topic of conversation. “I was thinking about making French toast eggs-in-a-hole.”

Ava peeks her head over the back of the recliner, her blond hair a matted mess and a crust of drool down her chin. “I want my hole to be a snowflake!”

Mia turns to her sister. “Then it’s not a hole, Ava. It’s eggs-in-a-snowflake.”

Ava scowls and sticks out her tongue. “I. Don’t. Care. Mia. Potato—Tomato.”

Mia opens her mouth to correct Ava, and I stop her before this has a chance to devolve into a full-blown argument. “You both know the rule. Two cups of coffee, then it’s fair game. I’ll make the second cup last until well past noon if you can’t rein it in.”

I pull out a bowl and another two dozen eggs. I whip up a French toast mixture with cinnamon, vanilla, and a hint of maple syrup stirred in. Isaac and Jonah make their way downstairs as if they know breakfast is about to be made.

Since my daughters already know how to make this dish, I teach Isaac and Jonah how to make eggs-in-a-hole, except the toast will be French toast. Micah watches intently and absorbsinformation like a sponge. I take a loaf of bread and set them out on a sheet of wax paper and then lay out the various cookie cutters. “You can use any cookie cutter available as long as it fits inside the crust of the bread. It’s important to keep the crust intact.”

By the time I have breakfast made, there are every manner of Christmas shapes. There are snowflakes, gingerbread men, snowmen, Christmas trees, stars, candy canes, stockings, and mittens.

Finn looks at the plates and chortles. “At least no one will argue about whose is whose.”

We all take our plates and sit at the dining room table, which Ella and Micah have set with condiments and glasses of juice. Finn says grace. “Heavenly Father, thank You for Your provisions and for gathering us all here together. We thank You for providing us shelter, not only with a roof over our heads but with Your protection during this storm. We thank you for the hands that have prepared this food and for family and friendships, new, old, and renewed. Your grace is sufficient, and Your mercy endures forever. Your love is unconditional and unfailing. In Your name, we pray, Amen.”

“Amen.”

Chapter sixteen

Finn

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve,and Micah hands everyone an envelope, a piece of paper, and a pen. “This is something our mom started when I was just a small child, but it’s grown into a tradition our family has adopted over the years,” Micah says. “This is just a simple request to God for one intangible thing. In essence, it’s a prayer that’s short and sweet. Tomorrow morning,we’ll open them up and read them aloud so that God hears our prayers.”

Micah faces Mia and directs his next comment at her because she’s always quick to correct and impart her vast knowledge to those around her. She’s 10 going on 60, and Micah has already recognized this in the short time he’s known her. “I know that God knows our hearts and thoughts, Mia, but Matthew 18:20 states, ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.’ When we read these prayers aloud, we want Jesus present with us because we’re all together.”

Mia doesn’t argue and even gives Micah a genuine smile. Everyone nods their heads in agreement, and Ava immediately starts scribbling on her paper. Bailey stands up and hugs Micah. “This is something that’s special for you and your family. Thank you for allowing us to share in this moment.”

“You can be part of our family, Bailey,” Isaac informs her. “I like Ella and Ava because they’re sweet.”

“I like Mia because she puts Isaac in his place,” Jonah adds. “She can stay and be my friend.”

Mia throws her arm around Jonah. “I knew I liked you for a reason.”

Isaac laughs. “Seriously, Bailey. We love you all.”

“How about we write our letters now,” I interject, hoping that Bailey won’t become uncomfortable by the invite into our family. She and I are still trying to find our footing as friends.

We each write our letters, and I can’t help but laugh at Ava, who is the last to finish. Her little tongue is sticking out of the corner of her mouth, and there are drawings all over the page. She hands Bailey the letter to fold and put in the envelope. “You can’t look, Mom. It’s between me and God.”

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