揅an I have chocolate chips in mine??
I chuckle. I should抳e known she抎 want chocolate chips. 揧ep. Let me grab them.?
It only takes me a second to swipe them from the pantry and set them on the counter with everything else.
揟he light抯 green!?She cries excitedly, pointing at the waffle maker.
揕et me do this part,?I tell her, grabbing a rubber spatula. 揑t抯 hot.?I take the waffle out and set it on the waiting plate. 揂ll right, time for more batter.?
We work together, finishing all the waffles by the time Salem and Lauren come down.
Salem抯 freshly showered, her hair damp, and dressed for the day in her usual shorts and tank top. Lauren looks like she got run over by a car. Her hair is an untamed mess, there抯 drool dried in the corner of her mouth, and she抯 still wearing a pair of matching pajamas.
揂untie Lauren!?Seda shrieks, climbing off the counter.
Lauren presses her fingers to her temples. 換uiet down my favorite little gremlin.?
揑 didn抰 know you were here,?Seda jabbers, wrapping her arms around Lauren抯 legs. Poor Lauren looks like she抯 about to throw up. 揂re you hungry? My dad made waffles. I helped.?
揥e抣l see, kid.?She ruffles Seda抯 hair and sits down at the table, laying her head on the surface.
Salem grabs the bottle of orange juice, pouring a glass for all of us. She carries one over to Lauren and says something about going to grab ibuprofen for her.
Lauren raises her hand, giving a thumb抯 up.
I plate up waffles for everyone and Seda helps me set the table.
Salem returns, handing Lauren two pills. She gulps them down and mutters something under her breath. Salem laughs, pushing the plate closer to Lauren.
揈at,?she admonishes. 揑t抣l make you feel better.?
揥hen I throw it all up in your lap don抰 say I didn抰 warn you.?
Salem rolls her eyes, mouthing to me, 揝he抯 being dramatic.?
Breakfast goes relatively smoothly, despite the glares Lauren sends my way every other minute. I don抰 let it bother me. I know she抯 being protective of Salem, and I抦 glad she has a friend that cares so much.
Once the kitchen is all cleaned up, I join Salem and Lauren out on the deck while Seda plays in the treehouse.
I pull out a chair and sit down. Lauren has a big pair of sunglasses on her face, shielding her eyes. Salem props her legs up on the deck railing, tilting her head back to absorb the sun.
揂re you still up for taking Seda furniture shopping??
Salem nods, wiggling her toes. They抮e painted a blue color. 揂bsolutely. I think she抎 like having her own space here.?
揋ood. I might have to run by the hardware store too.?
揊or what??
揚aint桰抦 sure she抣l want to change the color.?
Right now, it抯 just a beige color I put in the guestroom because I had it leftover from a project.
Lauren snorts. 揚ushover.?
I shrug. 揑f it抣l make Seda happy I don抰 think that makes me a pushover.?
揑gnore her, she抯 just grumpy because she can抰 party like she used to.?
揥e didn抰 even party. We drank and now my brain hates me because it抯 literally pounding against my skull.?Lauren points at her head to drive home her point. 揑 only just turned twenty-six and my body apparently has decided I抦 forty and my life is over.?
揧our life isn抰 over at forty.?
Lauren lowers her sunglasses, her lips twitching when she tries not to smile. 揧ou抎 know, Old Man.?
Salem shakes her head. 揑 need a babysitter for you. You抮e more of a handful than Seda.?
Lauren tips her sunglasses like they抮e a hat in some old timey movie. 揌appy to be of service. Someone has to keep you on your toes.?
揧eah, because life hasn抰 already done that to me yet.?
Lauren wags a finger. 揟ouch??
揝eda!?Salem calls out. 揅ome down from there. We抮e going to run some errands, get some things to decorate your room!?
揜eally??Seda pokes her head out of the treehouse window. 揅an I get a princess bed??
揧ou can get棓 Salem slaps her hand over my mouth, trying not to laugh.
揧ou are such a pushover. You can抰 tell her she抣l get anything she wants. She might only be five, but she抣l take full advantage of that.?
揑 wasn抰 going to say that.?I grin when she lets her hand go.
揙h, you weren抰？？
My smile grows bigger. 揗aybe.?
She shakes her head, and I tug her into my lap.
Before Salem came back into my life, I was living every day just to make it through. Now, I抦 living for every day.
It抯 like I can finally breathe again.
CHAPTER 36
SALEM
I抦 exhausted by the time we get home from shopping. I抳e never grown into a love of shopping and I doubt I ever will. But Seda has a brand-new furniture set on the way, along with a new bedspread, and what she抯 dubbed Perfect Princess Pink paint for her room抯 walls. It抯 actually called Melted Ice Cream, but try telling her that.
揑 normally love shopping,?Lauren says, lugging in a bag of d閏or items, 揵ut your daughter is making me question it.?
揝he抯 something,?I agree.
Seda let loose to shop is like trying to wrangle a wild bunny. She runs and hops all over the place梥kips too梥ays hi to almost every stranger she sees, and dances in aisles if she likes the music the store is playing.
Basically, my child is the complete opposite of what I was. Then again, I抦 not really sure what I would抳e been like as a child if it hadn抰 been tainted by a monster.
We unload all of the bags while Seda runs around the front yard singing a made-up song.
揇on抰 go near the street,?I warn, walking up the porch steps to set bags in the foyer.
揑 won抰， Mom. You don抰 have to worry so much.?
She has no idea but that抯 like half of being a parent, maybe even more, constantly worrying.
揇o you think you抣l have kids??I ask Lauren when she sets down a bag of throw pillows beside my bag of blankets梑ecause Seda can抰 just have one blanket, she needs twelve. That she did get from me.
揗aybe when I抦 thirty.?Lauren wrinkles her nose, pursing her lips like she tastes something sour. 揘o, not even then.?She glances out the open door to where Thayer is now chasing Seda around the lawn. 揑 like your kid, but that抯 it. I抦 not sure I抎 be a good mom.?
揧ou抎 be a great mom,?I assure her, because she would be if that抯 what she chose. 揃ut not everyone wants to be a parent and that抯 okay, too.?
She shrugs. 揥e抣l see in the future. Right now, I like it just being me and Anthony.?She glances down at her ring finger. 揋otta get through the wedding first.?
揑 can抰 believe you抮e getting married in the Hamptons,?I bump her shoulder playfully, 搚ou boujee bitch.?
She cackles. 揂nthony抯 parents?place is there and it抯 stunning. It抯 perfect.?
The way she lights up talking about her fianc?makes me happy. She deserves that. For a while there I wasn抰 sure she抎 ever settle down. There抯 nothing wrong with that, but I could tell she was searching for someone to tame her. Not that Anthony has completely tamed her wild side, but when she抯 with him she is a slightly calmer version of her normal self.
I have to head up to Manhattan soon for the final fitting of my Maid of Honor dress. The wedding is at the end of the summer, and in just a few weeks we抮e headed to Vegas for her bachelorette. With the loss of my mom, I don抰 know how much fun I抣l be on that trip, but I wouldn抰 miss it.
揝peaking of the wedding, now that you抮e with Thayer I assume you抣l be bringing him??She asks as we head back out to my SUV for more bags.