Rachel stirred in her sleep, rolling to her side and settling in again. The covers felt warm and inviting, she never wanted to leave her bed again. She groaned when she felt a hand on her arm, slowly trailing down. The touch was soft and warm, inviting but yet not inviting enough to wake her from her slumber. The warmth of her bed was much more comfortable.
“Rache, I need to get ready for work and Ava is crying-”
She snapped her eyes open, trying to adjust them to the lighting in their bright bedroom. Ethan had pulled up the curtains, trying to wake her quietly. Her fiancé gently rubbed his thumb over her bare shoulder, putting his shirt which she was wearing back up so she was at least appropriately dressed while she’d take care of Ava.
“I’d get her-”
“But you’re late yourself.” She mumbled, she sat up and reached for a hair tie on her bedside table, “I’ll take care of it.” She told him in a low voice, still not quite awake yet, “You go get ready.”
He kissed her temple and then strolled toward the bathroom again. She then noticed her fiancé had been half-naked, a towel wrapped around his waist. Ethan lifted weights too, just like Ryan, there was no doubt about that when taking one good look at his firm body. She tilted her head to the side, trying to catch another glimpse of him. Hidden from her greedy view, Rachel got to her feet and made her way to Ava’s room. She approached her little girl’s crib. Ava’s face was wet with tears, her face getting all red. Hushing her, Rachel took her little girl in her arms and tried to quiet her down, kissing her chubby wet cheeks.
“It’s okay, sweetie.” She quietly told the little girl who still cried her eyes out.
Rachel changed the girl’s nappy which made Ava quiet down a bit and then moved to the kitchen to feed her. She placed Ava in the high chair, the little girl settling down. Ava watched her prepare a mashed banana, looking eager to dig in. Seeing her little girl’s eyes glitter with delight, her lips twitching to smile made her feel better about being forced to wake up from her slumber. Rachel let some coffee brew so Ethan could take it with him and fed Ava while waiting for the coffee to finish brewing.
“You’re an angel.”
Rachel chuckled, “I’m definitely not, but you’re welcome.”
Ethan moved to the coffee machine and poured the hot liquid into a travel mug. He closed the lid and then approached his daughter and gave the little girl a kiss. Ava looked up at him with big eyes, her lips curling up into a bright smile.
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t get you this morning.” He whispered to her.
“It’s okay.” Rachel assured him, “Say hi to Gabriel for me.”
Ethan met her gaze, “Right, we’re invited to have dinner at their place tonight.”
Rachel smirked at that, “It just slipped your mind?” She asked him, “Like dress shopping with your mother?”
“In my defense, someone seduced me last night making me forget about a lot of things.” He narrowed his eyes at her, “Like you meeting up with Ryan and not letting me know about it until the very last second.”
She shrugged a shoulder, “I knew you’d make a big deal out of nothing, so yes, I purposely waited until the last second to tell you.”
Ethan let that one slide as he continued, “So I’ll have a car pick you two up while I take a ride with them.”
“Got it.”
He kissed his baby girl once more, this time Ava let her happiness know vocally. He chuckled, giving his little girl a gentle tap on the nose and then moved to her. Ethan pressed a kiss to her cheek, “I’ll see you both tonight.”
She fed Ava the remaining banana and cleaned up, taking her baby girl out of the high chair to freshen her up. Once Ava was dressed and smelled like apples she placed the little girl in her crib to let her play by herself while she freshened up and got dressed as well. She didn’t have a lot planned for the day when Caroline paid her a surprise visit later that morning. Ethan’s mom wanted to discuss wedding details which she actually didn’t mind since it gave her something to do. Caroline kept Ava company while Rachel made them some tea.
“You sure you want nothing to eat, I still need to have breakfast.” Rachel trailed off.
“Fine, then I’ll have whatever you’re having,” Caroline told her.
“Waffles with berries on the side and of course some whipped cream.”
Caroline met her gaze, “Of course.” She agreed, her voice soft and gentle.
Ethan told her Caroline enjoyed spending time with her, she didn’t believe him at first but as she spent more time with his mother she came to realize that Caroline actually didn’t hate her. The woman also seemed to enjoy taking care of Ava.
“We should do dinner this Friday night, Mateo mentioned he wanted to see Ava again.”
Rachel nodded, “Sounds good to me.”
“Even if Ethan has a busy schedule, you two should just join us.” She continued in a clear voice, sounding awkwardly straightforward about a dinner invitation.
Rachel had to keep her laughter at bay. It was hilarious to her how Caroline brushed her own son off because she was taken by Ava. Ethan didn’t even need to be present anymore. She texted her fiancé to let him know about their Friday night plans. She teasingly added how his mother wouldn’t mind if he didn’t make it.
“We’ll join you for dinner Friday night.” Rachel assured her, “Even if Ethan can’t make it.”
Caroline seemed satisfied with that response, a genuine big smile spreading across her face which took Rachel by surprise. She had never seen that woman smile like that before. It took her a minute to pull herself together and pretend nothing out of the ordinary happened.
“Great. That’s settled then, after breakfast we’ll go over the preparations for the wedding. Most of it we settled, but I’d like to go over them one more time.”
“That’s very considerate of you, Caroline.” Rachel told the woman, “Ethan and I appreciate what you’ve done for us so far. Ethan’s quite busy with work and I’m starting my first shift next week so things are quite hectic right now.”
“What are you two going to do about Ava?”
“Daycare, Hunter and Starr offer daycare services.”
Caroline nodded, “That’s a good decision. I’m sure Ava will also love to interact with other children.”
“Yeah, and I’m just glad I can still do what I love.” Rachel admitted to Caroline, moving to the dining table to serve them the quick breakfast she made, “Let’s dig in while it’s still warm.” She also grabbed their cups of tea and settled at the breakfast table.
Caroline placed Ava in her high chair at the table, the girl shifted her attention to her colorful building blocks immediately. The little girl could entertain herself for quite some time. It gave them time to quietly enjoy their breakfast while discussing Caroline’s social schedule. The woman actually talked a lot more about her personal life these days, she figured Caroline felt a lot more comfortable around her now. She listened and commented truthfully.
After breakfast, Rachel quickly cleaned up while Caroline took Ava with her to the living room and settled down on the couch. Rachel joined them after she put the dishes away with a tray in hand. She placed their fresh cups of tea on the table and settled on the couch herself. Caroline took her through all the preparations for her upcoming wedding. It took them quite some time but once they finished their meeting Rachel felt like her perfect wedding was actually going to happen. She was looking forward to it now and it was all thanks to Caroline’s amazing organizing skills.
***