for me to sit on the sofa.
I did, making a mental note not to get crumbs on anything.
“Dean said you were in Nevada,” Liv said, holding out the plate to me. “You were working there?”
“Yeah, at a garage.” I took a cookie and thanked her. “Where… uh, where’s Nicholas?”
“Napping.” Liv glanced at the clock. “He could wake up in five minutes or two hours. He’s not exactly on a regular nap schedule yet.”
She smiled again. She was pretty. Always had been. She looked the same, too, wholesome and sweet, her dark, straight hair falling to her shoulders and pulled back with a blue headband. She wore a blue skirt and white shirt, with a medallion on a silver chain around her neck.
The only two times I’d seen her, both at the house where Dean and I had grown up, Liv had seemed kind of unsure of herself, like she didn’t know if she fit in anywhere.
I knew what that was like. But now she looked comfortable in her skin, more confident. Like she’d found her place. Like she’d found
herself
.
A strange feeling of relief filled my chest.
Good for you, Liv.
“My mother told me you own a café now,” I said.
Liv nodded. “My friend Allie and I opened it about a year ago. It’s called the Wonderland Café, and it’s geared toward families and children. We have a
Wizard of Oz
and
Alice in Wonderland
theme, a kid-friendly menu, birthday party packages. It’s been great. A lot of work and a lot of fun.”
“You and Allie are the owners?”
“Yes, and our friend Kelsey is a partner too, but she’s not involved in the day-to-day operations. She’s more of a silent partner.”
“Kelsey the weather girl?” I couldn’t imagine that hot, blonde spitfire being silent anywhere, at any time.
A sudden image flashed in my brain of Kelsey being
not silent
in bed. I wanted to see that. Wanted to
hear
it.
“Don’t call her a weather girl to her face unless you want to lose a body part,” Liv said with amusement. “Oh, hold on a sec. The lion awakens.”
A baby’s muffled wail came from the other room. Liv went in and emerged a few minutes later with five-month-old Nicholas. He had a shock of dark hair, a cherubic face reddened from sleep, and dark eyes. He was wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt with a picture of a cartoon dragon.
“This is Nicholas.” Liv picked up the baby’s hand and waved it at me. “Nicholas, this is your Uncle Archer.”
Uncle Archer. It took me a second to remember I was blood-related to this kid. I waved back at Nicholas. He blinked in response.
“He’s cute,” I offered.
“Thanks. He’s good, too, except for when he’s hungry or tired. Then he gets pretty cranky. Not unlike his father.” Liv grinned. “Hey, if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes, I need to get Nicholas changed, and then we’re going to see Dean.”
“On campus?”
“No, Dean doesn’t have classes this afternoon, so he went up to do some electrical work at the Butterfly House.”
“What’s the Butterfly House?”
“We bought an old historic property when I was pregnant with Nicholas,” Liv explained. “It seemed like a terribly romantic idea to buy this dilapidated house so that we could restore it together and live there eventually.”
My jaw tightened involuntarily. Old, jagged darkness encroached. I’d once had a similar plan to fix up a house with the hope of living there.
“How much work have you done on it?” I asked.
“Most of the exterior work and interior restructuring,” Liv said. “It took a long time to go through the purchasing process, then make the plans and get all the permits… so we’re still working on stuff. We’re getting down to the wire, though, because our apartment lease expires at the end of July.”
“The house is here in town?” I asked.
“Yes, up near campus,” Liv said. “It’s part of a residential neighborhood, but the lot is pretty big and surrounded by trees, so it’s nice and quiet. It’s a great property.”
Sure it
I did, making a mental note not to get crumbs on anything.
“Dean said you were in Nevada,” Liv said, holding out the plate to me. “You were working there?”
“Yeah, at a garage.” I took a cookie and thanked her. “Where… uh, where’s Nicholas?”
“Napping.” Liv glanced at the clock. “He could wake up in five minutes or two hours. He’s not exactly on a regular nap schedule yet.”
She smiled again. She was pretty. Always had been. She looked the same, too, wholesome and sweet, her dark, straight hair falling to her shoulders and pulled back with a blue headband. She wore a blue skirt and white shirt, with a medallion on a silver chain around her neck.
The only two times I’d seen her, both at the house where Dean and I had grown up, Liv had seemed kind of unsure of herself, like she didn’t know if she fit in anywhere.
I knew what that was like. But now she looked comfortable in her skin, more confident. Like she’d found her place. Like she’d found
herself
.
A strange feeling of relief filled my chest.
Good for you, Liv.
“My mother told me you own a café now,” I said.
Liv nodded. “My friend Allie and I opened it about a year ago. It’s called the Wonderland Café, and it’s geared toward families and children. We have a
Wizard of Oz
and
Alice in Wonderland
theme, a kid-friendly menu, birthday party packages. It’s been great. A lot of work and a lot of fun.”
“You and Allie are the owners?”
“Yes, and our friend Kelsey is a partner too, but she’s not involved in the day-to-day operations. She’s more of a silent partner.”
“Kelsey the weather girl?” I couldn’t imagine that hot, blonde spitfire being silent anywhere, at any time.
A sudden image flashed in my brain of Kelsey being
not silent
in bed. I wanted to see that. Wanted to
hear
it.
“Don’t call her a weather girl to her face unless you want to lose a body part,” Liv said with amusement. “Oh, hold on a sec. The lion awakens.”
A baby’s muffled wail came from the other room. Liv went in and emerged a few minutes later with five-month-old Nicholas. He had a shock of dark hair, a cherubic face reddened from sleep, and dark eyes. He was wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt with a picture of a cartoon dragon.
“This is Nicholas.” Liv picked up the baby’s hand and waved it at me. “Nicholas, this is your Uncle Archer.”
Uncle Archer. It took me a second to remember I was blood-related to this kid. I waved back at Nicholas. He blinked in response.
“He’s cute,” I offered.
“Thanks. He’s good, too, except for when he’s hungry or tired. Then he gets pretty cranky. Not unlike his father.” Liv grinned. “Hey, if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes, I need to get Nicholas changed, and then we’re going to see Dean.”
“On campus?”
“No, Dean doesn’t have classes this afternoon, so he went up to do some electrical work at the Butterfly House.”
“What’s the Butterfly House?”
“We bought an old historic property when I was pregnant with Nicholas,” Liv explained. “It seemed like a terribly romantic idea to buy this dilapidated house so that we could restore it together and live there eventually.”
My jaw tightened involuntarily. Old, jagged darkness encroached. I’d once had a similar plan to fix up a house with the hope of living there.
“How much work have you done on it?” I asked.
“Most of the exterior work and interior restructuring,” Liv said. “It took a long time to go through the purchasing process, then make the plans and get all the permits… so we’re still working on stuff. We’re getting down to the wire, though, because our apartment lease expires at the end of July.”
“The house is here in town?” I asked.
“Yes, up near campus,” Liv said. “It’s part of a residential neighborhood, but the lot is pretty big and surrounded by trees, so it’s nice and quiet. It’s a great property.”
Sure it
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