Chapter Twenty Six
I had no idea what I was doing.
"Jacob?"
"Yes, Rapunzel?" He was making hazel nut soup in the kitchen. I felt my stomach churn and realized a second later that I wanted the soup. It was tasting better lately, which meant he was playing nice. Jacob poked his head in the kitchen.
"I forgot, did you want me to water the flowers first, and then pick the seeds?" My tone was bright and cheerful while on the inside, my head was confused and muddled.
"Pick the seeds, darling."
"Okay." I put down the small bowl that already had seeds in it. I blinked. What?
"Do I need the bowl?"
"Yes, darling." He never lost patience with my sudden forgetfulness.
I grabbed it and walked out into the garden, my free hand fretfully pulling down my short dress. It reached right above my knees and it made me feel exposed. I felt like I had worn longer dresses, and had preferred them that way. But Jacob had gone out to town a few weeks ago and had bought it specially made for me. So how could I not wear it? He provided everything for me.
I got onto my knees to gently tease the seeds out of the stems. Jacob had shown me a way to do it so the stem wouldn't split in half and so the flower wouldn't die. He had taught me the second week I had been with him.
I worked quietly, a smile plastered on my face at the thought of dinner, while my stomach churned again. I wanted the soup, but it felt wrong somehow. I blinked as I moved to the next flower. I was tired with eating hazel nut soup-
No, it wasn't, I stood up, irritation seeping through me. I loved eating the soup. It was my favorite.
The taste of the soup filled my mouth while Jacob and I were sitting at the small table eating half an hour later. It made me feel sick and hungry at the same time. I stifled the nausea and swallowed.
"Thank you for dinner." I felt a bit agitated. Why didn't he ever let me cook?
Jacob's dark gray eyes were watchful as he stared at my blanking face. "Have you liked the ingredient I added to it? It gives it a bit of a kick, doesn't it?"
I nodded mechanically. "It makes it taste wonderful."
He smiled and his eyes grew warm. Jacob peered at me. "How's the seeds coming?"
"We're going to have a lot more soon." I smiled at him in response. Something in my head told me I should have frowned. "Where does the ingredient come from?"
"My brother Dwayne gets it from the market in town." Jacob's face went dark as he waited for my reaction.
I felt blank and tried to fix my face into a smile. Dwayne. What a nice name. "You have a brother named Dwayne? Is he nice?"
"He's very nice," Jacob's face relaxed. "She's named Azalea and she knows Eugene."
Eugene. My mind tried to click but the taste of the hazel nut in my head began to mute it. "She's nice to him, right?"
Jacob nodded, his eyes still on my face. "She's very good friends with him."
Was he expecting me to be mad?
"I hope so." I picked up the bowls and washed them quickly in the sink, asking more questions. "Do Dwayne and Eugene know each other?"
"They will soon, there's going to be a ball soon." Jacob was suddenly behind me. His hands rested on my shoulders. "The Queen and her daughter are dancing."
"Can we go?" I felt the click try to happen again.
"Maybe." Jacob rubbed my shoulders. I smiled as I dried my hands off. I followed him into the bedroom and we curled up together.
"Night," he whispered in my ear. He sounded happier for some reason.
"Why are you so happy?"
"Because you're so in love with my soup." He kissed my nose.
"It's that ingredient you put in it." I pointed out.
He nodded and rubbed my arm under the covers. "Get some sleep."
I smiled a tiny smile as I sank into sleep.
I played back the conversation and the click happened again.
"Why are you so happy?"
Azalea's Point of View
She was tired when she opened her eyes. Her hands and lower back felt strangely sore, like she had picking flowers for a long time. She could taste hazel nut and some herb on her tongue.
Azalea opened her eyes and saw that she was in a different room. "What?" She sat up with a groan.
Eugene and Olivia were standing over her. Olivia started speaking, "Good! You're awake. Everything's fine. I'm just checking the baby, okay?"
What?
Azalea rubbed her eyes. "No, don't." It wasn't hers. How could anything be there?
"It's been about a month," Eugene pointed out gently, "we should be able to hear the heartbeat now."
"I don't want you to check." Azalea tried to scoot off the bed but she felt too tired.
"Please?" Eugene begged.
"Yes, please?" An unfamiliar voice was in the room.
They all looked at the threshold. A woman with honey blond hair was staring at her with bright blue eyes.
"Stephanie!" Eugene ran up to her and kissed her hand. "It's amazing to see you."
She looked at Azalea and smiled. "Hi! I'm your mother's sister."
Azalea forced a grin and crawled off the bed to hug her. "Nice to meet you."
Stephanie smiled then looked at Olivia. "How are you doing, Liv?"
"Fantastic, mother." Olivia beamed at Stephanie. "Eugene and I were checking Rapunzel for the baby's heartbeat."
"Good thing I came over then." Stephanie smiled. "Let me listen first."
Azalea got back on the bed, holding her breath as Stephanie leaned down. The honey-haired women smiled.
She looked at her daughter, Eugene, and then Azalea.
"There are two heartbeats, not one."