Page 85 of Laws of Love
When they finished, Aiva rinsed the dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher before the three headed outside. The girls made a beeline straight for their garden, and Aiva was not surprised. It had only been a week since they planted it, and none of the seeds they’d planted were sprouting yet, but the flowers were still pretty. Aiva had watered the plants in the middle of the week, and since it hadn’t rained, she was sure it was fine for the girls to do so again.
After they watered and talked to the plants, because according to Yasmine, it helped them grow nice and big; they skipped over to the outdoor activities Aiva had set out before Kaley was dropped off. They opted on the chalk first and began a drawing together of a princess slaying a dragon. As they drew, the two took turns making up the story and telling it to Aiva.
Once their drawing was complete, and the story they were telling ended with the princess and the dragon becoming best friends instead, Kaley asked Aiva to draw hopscotch squares. They played for a bit before moving on to blowing bubbles. She’d collected all shapes of bubble wands over the years since it was something her little sister always enjoyed doing, and the girls had fun using each one, seeing which ones would float longer.
Bubble wands were forgotten when Aiva began to chase them around the backyard with a bubble gun, both girls laughing as they tried to evade the floating spheres.
“Can I have a turn to do it?” Yasmine asked after a few minutes.
“Of course, sweetie.”
Aiva refilled the dispenser and handed the gun to Yasmine. As soon as she had it, she took off after Aiva and Kaley until the bubble liquid was gone. Aiva refilled it again, this time giving it to Kaley. As her sister was chasing Yasmine, she pulled her phone out and recorded them before taking a few pictures, as she’d been doing throughout each activity so far. This time, when the gun was empty, the two sat on the patio, catching their breath, and Aiva dipped into the house quickly to grab popsicles.
“After we finish these, can we play with the silly string?” Kaley asked.
“You can,” Aiva replied, taking another picture. “Then we’ll go inside and do a puzzle.” By that time, they would have been outside for a little over two hours.
Silly string playtime ended more chaotic than Aiva thought it would. Kaley couldn’t get hers to spray at some point and instead of asking her for help, her little sister had tried to fix it on her own and sprayed herself in the face. Yasmine had accidentally dropped hers. The nozzle came off and some of it got into both girls’ hair. Luckily, it was easy enough to get out, but after that, they were ready to head into the house and do something else.
They were currently finishing up a puzzle of puppies in a basket. Aiva had taken pictures at different stages in the puzzle, and now that they were putting the last few pieces together, she took another one. When it was finished, she had them get close together to take a photo of them and their finished product.
“I’ll be right back,” she told them, heading towards her room.
She grabbed the frame she’d picked up a few days ago and a sharpie and returned to the living room. Aiva removed the insert in the frame and wrote the girls’ name on it and the date withFirst sleepoverunder it. Placing the insert on the back of the frame, she carefully slid the puzzle onto it before placing the frame on top and allowing the girls to lock it into place.
“Now we have an extra memento of the day,” Aiva told them. She placed the frame on the accent table behind the couch where a few other framed puzzles she and Kaley had done together were.
“Can we hook up the karaoke machine now?” Kaley asked, and Aiva agreed. She allowed her sister to set it up while she turned on the television. By this point, she could probably do it quicker than Aiva.
The girls chose a song fromMoana,and as they put on their cute little concert over the next hour, Aiva recorded them when she wasn’t singing along with them.
Once they finally tired of singing, which was after doing what Aiva was sure was the entire soundtracks to severalDisneymovies, she pulled out her bracelet making kit. It was something both Kaley and Tara enjoyed doing when they stayed with her. She’d lost count of how many bracelets they’d made.
Kaley and Yasmine opted to make matching bracelets, and Aiva gave them free rein. Only stepping in when they asked her for help.
After they finished their bracelets, she let them choose a movie to watch before she started making dinner for them. For which they requested chicken sliders and homemade fries.
It was nine-forty when Aiva tucked the girls into bed in the matching pajamas and bonnets she’d bought for them. After dinner, she’d run them both a bath. One in the hall bathroom, the other in her en suite, then put face masks on them before painting their nails and toes.
“Goodnight,” Aiva said, as she turned on the nightlight.
“Night,” they responded in unison, and Aiva exited the room, turning the light off.
She turned off the lights in the living room and checked the front door, then the back before going into her en suite and starting the shower. She always enjoyed sleepovers with her little sister, but they never failed to wear her out. Aiva was sure she was just as drained from the day of fun as they were.
After her shower, she got dressed, twisted her hair, put on her bonnet, and sent a goodnight text to Knox with some pictures she’d taken throughout the day. As she settled in bed, she decided she would let the girls help her make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast in the morning.
36
Knox sat on the bed while Aiva checked the bathroom. They’d boarded the ship an hour ago and had just gotten to their room. He could admit that at least half of that time was spent with people stopping him and asking for autographs and pictures. He was sure it would happen more while they were there, and while he knew Aiva didn’t mind, he would be sure to make it up to her.
The introduction with her siblings at the airport had gone well. He hadn’t needed her to point out Marreigh. She made it clear that she was a fan before they even spoke to one another. He’d introduced Ezra to everyone, and things had gone well so far. However, he was sure, at some point, he’d have the “don’t hurt my sister” conversation with either Meila or EJ.
When Aiva exited the bathroom, she stood between his legs, and Knox pulled her onto his lap.
“Seven days of relaxation and you in swim trunks. I’m ready for it,” she said with a smile, and he chuckled.
“That’s also six nights I get to have you naked under me,” he responded.
