The next morning, I'm awake at 5:46, on the dot. Old habits die hard, I guess. I realize immediately that Maisie didn't call during the night and I'm filled with happiness. I know I won't sleep any more, but I spend the next 14 minutes just sleepily cuddled up to Owen, his arm wrapped around me, his breath heavy against my hair. I simply relish in the moment; we've been in the same bed for the past 4 weeks, but there's been an invisible barrier between the two of us. A line that we won't cross, bulleted down the middle of the bed. He stays on his side, and I stay on mine. I'm used to waking up to someone cuddled against me, but it's usually a child, and she's usually against my front, my arms wrapped around her small frame. She wakes when I do, when it's not quite light. She hops out of bed when I do, half asleep usually, and unsteadily makes it to her mattress on the floor across the room, where she'll sleep for another hour or two.
Pink light fills the room now, and Owen has his hand resting on my sternum, right above my belly. I know he can feel my heart beating, and I hope it's as much comfort to him as his is to me. I can feel his heartbeat against my back, where he's pressed up against me. Slow and steady and I hate to end this moment. But I do, I slip out from under his protective arm, and he stirs.
"You ok?" he whispers, voice heavy with sleep, his eyes still closed, his arm that he was holding me with stretching out, like he's trying to find me.
"I'm good," I whisper back, leaning down to him. I kiss him lightly, gently. "Go back to sleep," I say softly, and he sits up slightly, and catches my mouth with his again for a longer kiss. I gently pull the covers up over him and he snuggles down into the pillows and I smile, because he's asleep again in less than 20 seconds, breathing deep and even. I get up off the edge of the bed and slowly make my way to my dresser. I pull on a black tank top and blue and pink floral lounge pants, before opening the door and making my way to the bathroom. I use the bathroom, brush my teeth and wash my face. I feel half starved, probably thanks to our activities last night, and I smile again, unable to help myself. Maisie hasn't called and Owen and I finally talked. And it went better than I anticipated and everything just feels so good, I can't help but grin. I miss Maisie terribly, but the fact that she didn't call fills me with a joy I didn't realize I would feel. I think for the first time, ever, that maybe she will be ok. Maybe she won't be as emotionally scarred as I'm scared she's going to be.
I walk to the kitchen and pour myself a bowl of cereal. Usually, I'd make eggs but today I'm just plain old hungry and want something now. I splash milk over the Special K and start eating, one leg underneath me as I sit up against the kitchen table. I turn on Owen's iPad and open the news, which I read as I eat. I finish the cereal and slowly unload the dishwasher and stick my bowl in. Then I start a pot of coffee for Owen and make a cup of tea for myself.
I want to text Zia, but it's still early, so I force myself not to. I turn on the TV and spend an hour alone, watching the room lighten and brighten with creamy light from the rising sun. Owen wakes around 8:30, and I hear him walk to the bathroom, then to the kitchen. Then he's in the doorway, looking for me, wearing a pair of sweatpants and an old gray Henley that I recognize from the shared bag of clothes brought from the camper. I'm snuggled under a blanket, the TV on low, a mug of tea on the side table.
"Hey," he says, coming into the room.
"Hi," I respond, drawing my knees up to my chest as he comes and sits down next to me. He pulls the blanket a bit and arranges it so it's covering both of us. He takes my drawn up legs and pulls them over his lap, so I'm comfortable. His thumb begins to gently rub my thigh, absently.
"You were up early," he says.
"I know," I agree. He knows when my nerves get agitated, I can't sleep in.
"We'll get her today," he says, squeezing my knee.
"I know," I say again.
"Is everything ok…with like, last night?" he asks, trailing off, but looking me right in the eyes.
"Everything is ok with last night," I tell him. "I mean, I think it's better than ok."
He bites his lip and breaks eye contact.
"Is everything ok with you with last night?" I ask him, swallowing hard, a nervous feeling rising up within me.
"It's just going to be hard," he states, holding my leg and shifting his body weight on the couch.
"What is?" I say, panic engulfing me. He reads my eyes instantly.
"Hard for me to stop when she's here," he says. "Hard for me to not want more. Because I do. I want more. I want more nights like last night."
I breathe out heavily. "Do you do things like that on purpose?" I say.
"What?" he asks.
"Make me all nervous then say the sweetest things?" I accuse.
"I wasn't doing anything on purpose," he says. "And I wasn't trying to make you nervous. I'm just trying to be honest. With stuff that we don't have long to talk about."
I lean into him and he shifts his weight again, so he can wrap his arms around me. "I want more, too," I tell him.
"I never should have left and I'm sorry about that."
"It's not your fault. I shouldn't have said the things I did."
"We both screwed up," he states. I nod.
"Yeah. We did."
"But now we have Mais," he states. "I don't want anything bad for her."
"I don't either. We gotta try and call a truce on the fighting."
He leans in and kisses me, unexpectedly. I'm startled at first, but I start to relax the longer his lips are on mine. He slowly slides my mouth open with his and we're breathing in and his tongue is in my mouth, lips pressed to mine, that warm feeling starting in my chest. The blanket shifts and falls to the floor and he's still kissing me, moving his body weight so he's leaned into me, holding my face to his. His other hand snakes up under my black tank top.
My phone chirps. The text message alert.
We break apart instantly, like we've been caught. It's Zia's number, but it's Maisie.
"We need to make this work. For her," I say.
"For us, too," he says and I smile. "I want you. All of you."
I bite my lip and lower my eyes, flushing, remembering last night. "I want that too. More than I realized."
I'm practically out of the truck before Owen has it in park.
"Easy, there," he says to me. I laugh, somewhat self-consciously. I'm just so ready to get Maisie and have her back with us.
We walk up the front walk together and Maisie throws open the door and runs out towards us. She's laughing and she rushes right to me. She throws her arms around me, and squeezes me before she reaches one arm out and throws it around Owen's belly, which is the spot she can reach.
He holds her arms to him and she lets me go, then sidesteps me and buries her face in Owen.
"We missed you," I tell her, stroking her hair as she squeezes Owen.
"I missed you," she says, her mouth pressed into Owen's stomach, squeezing him. He laughs and gently entangles her.
"That tickled," he says, poking at her sides, making her giggle.
Zia is at the door and she's holding it open for us.
Maisie ushers us in. "I'm excited to show you my new stuff!" she exclaims.
Masie seems so excited she's almost giddy when she puts on her fashion show for us. She relishes in the attention, clapping and cheering. I've never seen her in front of an audience and it's melting my heart. I want to put her in some kind of activity, maybe a sport? Maybe dance? I'll have to ask her what she's studied besides the piano and violin. Jessie has pulled the left half of her hair into a braid that swoops around her head, and it merges with the rest of the hair into a braid that falls over her opposite shoulder. She looks older than she did 4 weeks ago. She looks older than she did when I let her go the other day. She dresses in a back room as the 4 of us wait on the couches. She comes out first, dressed in a purple tank top and a white wrap around skirt, which I instantly love.
She proceeds with the show: a navy blue tank top splashed with vibrant orange and pink flowers, a lemon yellow bathing suit with the sides cut out. She self-consciously crosses her arms over her chest, as we tell her how nice it looks. A new pair of jeans and a pair of dark purple leggings with a hunter green v neck t-shirt. Lastly, a lacy white long summer dress.
Maisie leaves the dress on and plops down on the couch with all of us. She snuggles up next to me and leans her head on my shoulder.
"You didn't have to call," I whisper to her. She grins.
"I didn't," she agrees. "The night went so fast."
"You did so good," I tell her. She grins wider.
We end up staying for a while longer, talking together about their night. Finally, Maisie goes in and changes back into her jean shorts and a pale blue t-shirt. Zia goes in to help her fold the new clothes and pajamas. I have a feeling she's telling her how much she's going to miss her and how much fun she had. And that she can always come to stay whenever she wants. Owen and I talk with Jessie, who is a nurse in a family practice. After they pack up, we pile into Owen's truck and wave as we drive away.
We head straight for the cabin site, because Owen wants to continue working. I need to gather up all of our dirty "cabin" laundry and take it back to my apartment to wash. I'll make them lunch, gather any last minute supplies, and head back over to the cabin.
Maisie is the first one out of the car when we pull up.
"Looks the same as yesterday," she observes.
"What did you think some kind of magic fairy would have come and built more?" Owen teases.
"Noo," she laughs. "But I thought maybe you'd keep working after I left!"
"We went to stay at Claire's in case you called. So we'd be closer to you," he tells her.
"You did?" she asks.
"I pinky promised, didn't I?" he asks.
She grins and flushes. "Thank you."
"No thanks needed, kiddo. Claire and I would do anything for you. You know that."
She nods. I smile at him. The two of them together. How Owen just knows the right things to say to her to make her laugh and comfort her.
"You going to help Owen?" I ask her.
"Yep!" she says.
"Good thing, too. Since those magic fairies weren't much help last night," Owen laughs.
"Owennn," Maisie moans, laughing.
"Ok, but first," I start, ever the practical one of my two goofballs, "I need dirty clothes duty from all parties who wear clothes."
Maisie jumps into action and runs to the trailer, which she has to wait for Owen to come unlock.
"Time me!" she shouts.
Once she's in, she quickly grabs a bunch of her dirty clothes, and tosses them into Owen's Navy bag and races back out the door.
"1 minute, 49 seconds," I say.
"Whew. That was fast," Maisie says.
I laugh at her pink cheeks.
"Owen's turn," she calls.
"Don't time me," he laughs.
Owen goes pretty quickly and soon the dirty clothes are gathered. He's gathered mine with his and he's grabbed mostly everything, save for a pair of pajamas of mine under a pillow. The bag is pretty full, so I toss it in the backseat of my car and say goodbye to the two of them.
Maisie wraps her arms around me, her face away from my shirt because she's rubbing sunscreen on herself. Owen comes up to me and puts one hand on my waist and the other tucks back a piece of my hair. He kisses me, longer than a peck, but nothing that would raise eyebrows.
"Love you," he whispers.
"I love you, too," I say. "Make sure she's rubbed that in all the way."
"I will," he says.
"Love you, Maisie," I call. "See you soon. I'll bring back lunch. It'll be late, so if you're hungry, there's apples and granola bars and pretzels in the cupboard above the sink."
"I know," Maisie says. "I love you too." She's already halfway up the ladder.
I get into my car and roll down my windows to hear Owen call her back. "Mais! Your face is completely white," he shakes his head. "Were you planning on rubbing that in at all?"
"I did rub it in!" She laughs, but turns mid dash to the cabin and skips back to Owen.
"Yea, maybe on your neck, but not that area!" he says, motioning to her coated face.
I watch her stop in front of him and pull back her hair, grinning. He shakes his head and laughs. "Gimme your arms. We have way too much here." She holds out her arms and he rubs the leftover lotion onto them. "Sheesh. Is there any even left in the bottle?"
I have to smile as I drive away. I don't know what I'd do without him.
Later that night, Maisie is running around, circling the cabin, in the deepening twilight. Owen has finally called it a night with building and he's with me in the camper, changing his shirt as I sit on the bed, folding laundry that I hastily threw in a bag unfolded in order to get to the cabin before dark. We've been talking about having a sleepover under the unfinished roofless section of the cabin and I wanted to be there to help set up sleeping bags and lanterns. Maisie wants to find constellations together and then move to the bedroom that's going to be hers to sleep. We promised her tonight and I'm happy she wants to try her room out, despite the fact there's no roof yet. Thankfully, rain isn't in the forecast. I'm folding a pair of Maisie's shortie pajamas and I set them in her pile.
My white, light blue, and sage green silky t-shirts are lightly wrinkled, but I'm not worried. It's been so hot and they'll be wrinkled with sweat in no time in the heat while we stay at the cabin site. Besides my duo, nobody ever really comes back to the cabin.
Owen removes his dirty, sweaty white t-shirt and starts to replace it with a dark blue Henley from the clean pile I just folded. I watch him, his strong arms flexing and his taught belly stretching as he reaches over his head.
"You should leave it off," I murmur, and he looks up at me and grins.
"You think?" he asks, smirking. He sets down the shirt gently on the bed.
"Just for a second," I say, smiling. He steps across the spare space in the camper and takes my mouth in his. He's kissing me softly at first and then longer and deeper and it fills me with heat. He pulls away for breath, and I'm kissing him before he has a chance to breathe and he smiles against my mouth. My hands go to his pecs and rest there, then I snake them over to his arms and he pulls me to him so I can feel his strength. I rub his arms as I kiss him. Then we break apart and smile at each other. I break eye contact, looking down and smiling to myself. Owen leans down to me and kisses me on the forehead, a sweet kiss that makes me blush. He then reaches past me and grabs the shirt, tugging in on.
"Hey," he says, as he's opening the camper door. I turn to him, a half folded pair of my dark straight leg jeans in my lap.
"You should take yours off for just a second," he smirks and I throw the jeans at him in retaliation. He grabs for them but the cuff snaps at his arm and I laugh as he winces.
He laughs, too. He gently tosses the jeans back at me, without any force. I grab them and fold them and put them into my pile.
"Go see what she's doing," I order.
"Yes, ma'am," he says, laughing.
Outside, I can hear him call to Maisie and hear her response from what sounds like behind the cabin. I fold the rest of the laundry and fit the piles into each of our drawers in the camper's stout dresser.
I go outside and Maisie has her arms raised and Owen is looking at something in her cupped hands. A firefly, I see, as she lets it fly away. Owen smiles at her and I smile, too.
"It's so pretty out," I say, and Maisie looks at me.
"The sky is getting to be purple. That's my favorite color," she says. "Can I go down by the lake? And try and practice skipping rocks?"
There's still at least 45 minutes until full dark, and I'm hesitant, but Owen deflects to me. He nods slightly and shrugs and smiles, so I agree to it.
"Yessss," she cheers. It makes me smile. I glance at Owen and he's smiling too at her response.
"I'm going to start a fire," Owen says, watching Maisie run towards the path that leads down to the lake.
"I'm going to call Karen," I tell him, and he nods. "And I'll start gathering the sleeping bags."
"I'll help you set things up once this is started," he says over his shoulder.
I dial Karen and she answers within two rings.
"Hey Claire!" she says, enthusiastically.
"Hey!" I say.
"I'm glad you called. I've been dying to know how Maisie did."
"She did great," I say. "She called not too late to say goodnight and was going to play Uno with Zia. But she didn't call at all throughout the night."
"That's great!" Karen says.
"We picked her up earlier this morning because I couldn't wait anymore," I admit and laugh.
"Was she glad to see you?"
"She was very glad, but she had had a blast with Zia." I get up and walk towards the camper to get the sleeping bags and talk to Karen without Owen overhearing. He's humming to himself as he gathers wood and I feel my heart swell watching him.
"I have to tell you," I say to Karen, excitedly. "Owen and I talked."
"You did?" she asked, "Oh, I'm so glad. How did it go?"
"Really good. I told him about the time I hit you at the beach," I say and Karen bursts out laughing.
"Oh my god. That beach trip. I wanted to kill you that day!" she laughs.
"I know. So did Mom," I laugh, too.
"HOW did that story come up??!" she asks and I tell her what happened.
"Oh, my god. And he said that today?" she says, excitement and sweetness in her voice. "I wish you had listened to me sooner. Woulda saved a lot of unnecessary anxiety for you."
I want to roll my eyes, but I know she really means it and not in a condescending way.
"I know," I admit.
"I mean, you can't go through ALL the two of you went through to just simply call it quits over a stupid fight," she says. "And I don't think I even know the half of it."
"You know enough," I tell her.
I gather everything we need to eat dinner by the fire and organize it by the door as Karen and I finish our conversation. We hang up and I take everything out in three trips to the large handmade wooden picnic table that Owen has placed near the fire pit. Owen nudges me softly as I set down the final handful of food I bring out. I turn and smile at him and he grins back at me, taking a bit of my tshirt in his fingers and gently tugging me close to him. He kisses my forehead, as we hear Maisie laughing and rocks skimming the surface down below.
Updated!! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter (and I know it's not a very long one) as I'm trying to get back into writing this fic!! Thanks everyone for reading!!! Stay tuned because I am getting mentally prepared for Dominion!!!!