35 Darren
I never noticed just how much of a rhythm and routine I had to my mornings until that Monday. Obviously, I had my pattern. I figure everybody did. Mine usually involved getting up, downing some coffee, and heading for a workout with Colby before breakfast on the way to the compound. On mornings when I got up early enough, I would eat before I went to the gym or warm up with a quick jog around the block. On mornings when I needed some extra sleep, the coffee was a reward for surviving the workout. But the rhythm was basically the same. That Monday morning, I discovered there was little predictability in waking up in a house with a toddler.
Before I even fully processed that I was still stretched out in Kelly’s bed rather than being home in my own, I heard a bright, cheerful giggle and felt something jump on my back. My grunt woke Kelly up, and when she moved over slightly, Willa dropped down into the space between us and cuddled up, stuffing her legs under the blankets. I looked over at Kelly, who gave me a sleepy smile.
“I didn’t realize two-year-olds got themselves out of bed,” I grumbled.
She laughed. “This is the first time she’s done it.”
Wrapping my arm around Willa, I gave her a kiss on top of her head.
“She just got out of sleeping in her crib a few months ago,” Kelly explained. “I wanted to keep her in longer, but she has been eager to have a big-girl bed. When I started planning to move here, I figured it would be easier to transition her over into a toddler bed then, rather than have so much change. Usually she is still asleep when I wake up, but I guess she is too excited to have you here this morning.”
The thought made my heart warm, and I was glad Kelly and I at least put basic clothes back on sometime in the middle of the night.
“Why don’t I let Quentin know we’ll be a little late getting to work this morning?” I asked. “Then we can make some breakfast.”
Kelly smiled and nodded. We had to go to work eventually, but I wanted to steal a little bit of extra time with her and my daughter. When I ended the call after leaving Quentin a message, Kelly and I got out of bed and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Willa sat in her highchair with little pieces of sliced strawberries on a plate in front of her, happily nibbling away while Kelly and I worked on finding a new rhythm together. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be. Apparently, we did great in bed, but in the kitchen, there were a lot of bumped elbows and shoulders. But we laughed our way through it, and I knew I would happily deal with the awkwardness for a while if it meant plenty more mornings spent together like this.
I stood at the stove making eggs while Kelly worked on cinnamon rolls. They were just the ones from a can, but when they were baking, the whole apartment smelled cozy and warm. While the food finished, I poured Kelly a cup of coffee, and we leaned against the counter together sipping it contentedly. I was surprised when the front door of the apartment opened. Kelly was in the middle of a sip and quickly pulled the mug away from her mouth just as an older woman came into the kitchen.
“Good morning,” the woman said with a hint of a smile as she looked from me to Kelly and back again.
“Hi, Pam,” Kelly said. She gestured to her. “Darren, this is Pam. She lives next door and takes care of Willa during the day. Pam, this is Darren.”
I noticed she didn’t elaborate on who I was and could only imagine Pam already knew.
“Nice to meet you, Darren,” she said. “Are you staying home today, Kelly?”
“Oh,” Kelly said, shaking her head. “No. We’re just going in a little late.”
I pretended I didn’t see the raised eyebrows Pam shot toward Kelly and started dishing out breakfast onto plates for all of us. We settled in to eat, then said goodbye to Willa so we could head to Quentin’s house. I wanted to pick up my bike and decided I’d grab some clothes while I was there. Quentin and I were close enough to the same size that I could raid his closet. Kelly pulled up to Quentin’s house, and I leaned across the car to give her a kiss.
“See you at work,” I told her.
“See you then,” she said.
I got out of the car and headed into the house with a smile on my face. All the brothers had keys to each other’s houses, so I let myself in, not expecting anybody to be there. Quentin was already at work, but it turned out Merry hadn’t gone along with him. She startled me when I walked into the living room and found her propped up on the couch, surrounded by pillows and still in her pajamas as she worked on a tablet in her lap.
“Hi,” I said. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting you to be here. I thought you’d be at work. I would have knocked.”
“Are you here to rob us?” she asked.
“No.”
“Then there’s no need to knock,” she told me.
I blinked a few times. “Would there have been reason for me to knock if I was here to rob you?”
Merry thought about that for a few seconds, then reached for the glass of juice sitting on the table.
“Nope. Didn’t think that one through. Doesn’t matter, I wouldn’t
