Simon Sr.’s car pulled in the driveway with the parents unbeknownst to her. Margaret was the first out while Miriam and the others went inside of the house. She could hear the sleepy cries from Jasmine up the stairs. She pointed to the formula on the countertop and glanced back at her husband, “Make a bottle for her, would you? I’m going to go and help Cherish.” She whispered before she trailed up the steps.
A sliver of light from the baby room was the only thing visible in the hallway. Miriam pushed the door open and saw Cherish struggling with stripping her daughter from the wet clothes. The creak from the door caused Cherish’s head to snap in Miriam’s direction and the latter was able to see just how haggard and worse for wear she was. Silently, she stepped into the room with her hands out, “I’ve got her. Don’t worry about a thing, sweetheart. I’ll change Jasmine, but you need to get out of those clothes before you catch a cold. Alright?” she asked.
Cherish slowly glanced down at the long, little girl who kicked her feet and wailed from the chill in the house. Nodding, she left Miriam to her and slowly dragged her water-logged body into the bedroom.
Margaret rushed up to her son who was in the middle of grabbing Jr. She panted out loud while the fear and stress she’d felt in the last couple of hours showed on her features, “W-Where are they?” she asked.
Jr. fussed in his arms as he looked over and nodded towards the house, “Inside changing.” He answered. He hesitated before he stepped to his mother and cut her off from chasing them, “Do you think you could watch and feed Jr.? I need to talk to Cherish…” He handed his grumpy boy to his mother before pulling away and ducking back into the rain.
“Of course.” She whispered to her son before she smiling in Jr.’s face, “Hello there my big boy! Did you wake up? Hm? It’s way past your bedtime.” She cooed. Once she entered the house, Simon Sr. went and grabbed one of the jars of baby food for his wife. Margaret paced towards the thermostat and turned off the air conditioning to give Jasmine, Cherish, and Simon a chance to warm up.
Chilled to the bone, Cherish already had her top and bra off in the bathroom. She peeled her jeans away before she stepped out of them and turned the shower on. Holding herself with her palms on her shoulders, she sat down on the edge of the tub and waited for the water to heat. The paint job she’d gotten on her toes was messed up and the stress that had melted away was back; beyond what she felt before. The ends of her curls dripped with chilled water down her arms as she stared at the floor blankly.
Going to the bedroom, Simon gave a small knock against the door and stepped in, “My parents have Jr.” he explained before she asked. He quietly shut the door behind him as he silently stripped out of his wet clothes to his underwear; on the verge of apologizing to her.
Nodding softly, she stared at him and felt a pang of guilt stab her side. Looking away, her shoulders began to shudder as she shook her head and pressed a hand to her cheek, “I’m so sorry. I-I’m so sorry. I…I hurt you and—and ma-made you worry and…” Unable to finish her sentence, she pressed both hands over her face and hid from his gaze.
That same sensation of guilt resonated through Simon before he crossed the room and closed the space between them. Reaching down, he grabbed her wrists and gently fought against her. He led her onto her feet and pulled her chin up to face him. She looked up into his features with a defeated expression. He leaned in and held her close with his lips pressed to her forehead. The way he treated her made it clear he wanted nothing more but to soothe and comfort her, “It’s okay. I shouldn’t have gotten so mad. You didn’t mean for this to happen. I’m just…so relieved that you’re safe. You two mean so much to me. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” he whispered against the soft skin above her brows.
Forgoing the fact that she was naked, in nothing but her underwear, Cherish stared up at him with tears in her eyes as she listened to him practically pour his heart out, from the deepest relief of pain, to her. He looked in her eyes. They were so sad and tired. Sighing, he kissed her soft lips and she kissed him back without restraint before she followed up with a second one.
They broke away before he grabbed the side of her face and pressed his forehead to hers; shutting his eyes, “We’ll fix it tomorrow. Don’t worry about it anymore.”
She gripped his wrist in her hand and accepted his help, “Alright.” She whispered vowing to no longer fight him. The point had been proven that safety came above all.
They stood there in a lover’s embrace and appreciated the fact they were together. After a couple of minutes, she broke away from him with a shudder. Her skin was coated in goosebumps and she could feel the heat from the water on her back, “I’m…going to take a shower, now. I’ll be down for Jr. soon.” She looked down and sighed, “Thank you Simon, I love you and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.” She whispered.
“Oh…” Her confession caught him. He wasn’t sure if she meant it in the same way he did the night back at the lodge but hearing her say it had him flustered. Backstepping towards the door,
