Fulfillment(79)

He smirked at her and she smirked back, both of them in the middle of a war of smirks. I sat there watching them, trying not to laugh, Nic, too stifling a smile while rolling her eyes.

“You can take the Lexus. It has more leg room than the Trans Am.” He switched off the blender.

“Deal,” she said with a victorious grin.

Bryce finished off the eggs benedict by sprinkling some chives on top. He leaned across the bench and went to hand it to Lucy, but quickly snatched it back and took a bite, teasing her.

“Arsehole,” she said playfully.

I burst into laughter.

“I was about to give this back to you,” he said. “But now I’m just gonna lick it.” He held the slice of baguette up to his mouth, again teasing her. She went to grab it but he was too quick.

“You are so aggravating at times,” she growled as she frustratingly pushed her stool back and launched herself around the island bench, now in pursuit of the half eaten baguette. I watched her chase him around the bench a couple of times when I noticed another slice on the plate with a perfectly cooked egg and silky Hollandaise sauce to match. I looked up at the brother/sister duo still running rings around me then leaned forward and picked up the abandoned baguette. Hmmm, don’t mind if I do.

I bit down on it with a huge grin on my face. Yum!

Nic laughed and smiled at my consumption. Her smile also held an apologetic undertone.

She jiggled Alexander in her lap as she spoke to him. “Aunty Alexis is a clever cookie, isn’t she?”

I swivelled around on my stool to face her, making sure I kept my leg out of the way of Bryce and Lucy. I thought I’d offer my own form of acceptance of her apology, offering her some of the Eggs Benedict. I held it up toward her. “Want some?”

She nodded cheekily then stood up from the dining table and quickly walked to the bench to avoid getting run into by Lucy, who still hadn’t noticed the spare slice.

Nic took a bite and let out a loud “Mmm.” Lucy refrained from chasing Bryce and both were stopped in their tracks.

Nic and I froze.

“Are you for real?” Lucy asked, exasperated.

We both shook our heads. Bryce laughed harder then shoved the last piece he was holding in his mouth. I quickly did the same.

“You all suck!” she said. “Not you baby boy. Mummy still loves you.” She wrinkled her nose at Alexander. “But you, you, and you,” she pointed at each of us. “You all suck!”

She went to walk out of the room.

“Luce,” Bryce said as he scooped out two perfectly poached eggs that had been hidden in the pot. She turned back around, spying him placing them down on another sliced baguette. “Remember that thing you did for me a few weeks ago, where you said I owed you?”

“Yeah?”

He poured the remainder of the sauce over each plate. “Well, we are even.” He smiled triumphantly as he pushed a plate toward her and one toward Nic.

Lucy stepped forward and took hold of the plate with an equally triumphant grin. “Whatever.” Then she left the room.

***

Nic and Lucy had taken Alexander to the shopping precinct for the afternoon. Bryce had taken off in search of Gareth to have a word to him about skipping his appointments with Jessica, and Nate and Charli had been in their bedrooms. Nate appeared at the top of the stairs just as I was about to head up there to see what they were doing. The sight of him at the edge of the top step terrified me immensely, causing me to panic.

“Nate, be careful!” I shouted in a loud voice.

He startled a little at my outburst and gripped the railing rather tightly. “Mum! You scared me. I was being careful,” he called down to me.

“Sorry, Mate. Just make sure you hang on to that railing at all times, please.”

He nodded and made his way down slowly, timidly walking up to me and giving me a hug.

“Promise me you’ll just be very careful, okay?”

“Okay, Mum.”

“What’s Charli doing?”

“Writing girl’s names on her notepad with coloured markers, there are a lot of names on that list, Mum.”

“I’m sure she’ll pick the right one.” I loved Charli’s dedication to a task that was set for her, although I knew she felt this task was a special one.

“Mum, can you have another baby?” Oh shit! That came out of nowhere.

“Yes, I can.”

“When?”

“Not right away, Mate. Mummy’s body needs to heal first. ” I smoothed his hair away from his face. “Why?”

“I was sort of looking forward to it.”

I pulled him to me and hugged him tight, kissing him on the side of the head. “Do you want to know something?”