Page 18 of Serendipity

I knew neither of us would take good enough care of them, since neither of us had a green thumb.

As we arrived at the house, I knocked and waited for them to open, and once Aggie did, she smiled brightly.

“What are you two doing here? What a nice surprise,” she said, pulling me into a hug.

“We visited the island and thought we’d come by,” I told her.

“Oh, you should’ve told me earlier. I could’ve gone out to grab something for dinner.”

“That’s fine. We’ll get something on our way back home,” I told her, then looked past her to see Mom come toward us.

“Hi,” I greeted, hugging her while Ezra gave Aggie the plant.

“That’s sweet, thank you so much, Ezra,” she said, smiling brightly. “This will fit nicely into our office. Come in. Are you sure you don’t wanna stay for dinner? We can get some Chinese, or whatever you’re up for,” she suggested.

I looked at Ezra, wanting him to decide.

“Uh, yeah, sounds good to me,” he said, smiling. “Hey, Daria.” He gave her a quick hug, then I grabbed his hand and pulled him with me to the couch.

“Would you guys like something to drink? I can make tea,” Mom suggested.

“Yes, please,” I replied.

“How was the island? I heard they made many changes over there,” Aggie said.

We sat down on the couch, then I nodded. “They opened this new coffee shop, and they’re restoring most of the little houses. I guess they realized it’s a great tourist attraction.”

“Well, that sounds fun! Maybe they’ll get the funfair to run again.”

“That would be amazing.” I smiled, looking back at Ezra. “See, it gets better.”

He chuckled, then looked at Aggie with a grin. “Juno’s persuading me to move to the island and start a business. If she keeps trying, I might cave in.”

“You’d have our full support,” she said with a grin. “And how’s your winter break going?”

“We’re just relaxing. Taking our time with things and enjoying every second of every day,” Ezra replied.

“That’s good. I’m glad it’s working out with you two. Daria didn’t have so much faith in you guys moving in together,” Aggie whispered.

“That’s not true. I didn’t have much faith in their relationship. Ezra’s still quite a bit older, but you proved me wrong, and I’m happy that you’re happy,” Mom said as she walked over to us with the tea.

Ezra smiled at me and placed his hand on my thigh, squeezing it gently. “Living with Juno is perfect. We get along, and she handles grown up things better than I do sometimes,” he said with a chuckle.

“Lucky you get to spend the rest of your life with me,” I mocked, nudging his side.

*

After we had takeout, there was no way for us to head back home without driving directly into a snowstorm, and Mom offered for us to stay overnight. My room in the attic still had my old bed and covers in it, so after getting ready for bed, we said goodnight to my parents and headed up the ladder to my room.

“Cozy up here,” Ezra said quietly.

He had to duck because the roof wasn’t high enough, but we’d be in bed anyway.

“As much as I love sleeping with you in our bed, I missed it up here,” I told him.

“Not offended by that,” he replied.

He got under the covers after taking off his sweater and jeans, and once I got undressed as well, I cuddled up to him to warm our bodies.

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