The next day, Sophia felt like work passed by in a blur because she had Casey on the brain, and thoughts of wondering what dinner at her place could be like. She was also, of course, wondering what kinds of things they'd talk about, because though she had a feeling that they'd talk about their days, and things like that, she was also certain that they would come around to the topic of Melissa, and the babies, and maybe even where they would all live together. Sophia wasn't even sure if she'd prefer a brownstone, or an actual house, but she knew that she would like whatever she and Casey would come to settle on in the end.
"What's the matter with you?" Olivia asked, laughing at how Sophia kept checking her watch every ten minutes or so.
"Oh, leave her be, and I know exactly what she's thinking." Alex admonished, waving one of her many cookbooks at Olivia. "Come help me decide what to eat, so we don't end up with dinosaur chicken nuggets again."
It was the next evening. The Benson-Cabot clan were all home for the day, and while Olivia and Alex were deciding what to make for dinner, and Melissa and Noah played together, Sophia was clearly antsy about something.
"Melissa and I are going to Casey's place tonight for dinner, but not until seven. I've been jumpy all day long because I'm so excited." Sophia explained. "Have either of you ever been to her place before?"
"Not since 2008, or so." Olivia said with a pause and then looked to Alex. "What about you?"
"Not since 2015, but that was just because real life got in the way after that, until Sophia and Melissa walked into our lives." Alex arched an eyebrow at her daughter. "She did tell you her address, and all that, right?"
"Yep, so don't worry. I just don't want to show up super early, since she lives in the vicinity of Central Park. At least it's not on the side where The Watering Can is, because her parents are always there."
Olivia put down the cookbook she'd just picked up and looked at Sophia curiously. "Why wouldn't they go home?"
"All these years of friendship with Casey, and you never knew?" Sophia said in surprise.
"Knew what?" Alex asked curiously.
"There's an apartment area over the shop—Casey lived there with her parents, but also Junior, Ellington, Beatrix, Virginia, and Tiffany. I haven't been up there, but I know it's small enough that Casey developed claustrophobia."
"I've seen Casey panic about elevators before." Olivia said, snickering at the memory.
"It was also such cramped quarters that she took to playing softball and hanging out at the batting cages just to have some time away from the place." explained Sophia. "Senior and Violet still reside there because they've never lived anywhere else together, and Savannah and Abigail also still live there, but Abigail's about to be an only child."
"Savannah's moving out?"
Sophia nodded. "That's what I heard through the grapevine, but I don't know where she's going to go because she doesn't always used English around me."
Olivia sat back in her chair, processing everything. "I'm learning new stuff about the Novaks all the time now."
"Sophia's still very fidgety, though." Alex rapped Olivia on the side of the head with her knuckles. "Be mature!"
"Me?" Olivia massaged the side of her head. "Look who's calling the kettle black!"
Sophia laughed at them. "You two have a wonderful parenting style."
Alex laughed, too. "If you really want to kill your jitters—and time—go get Melissa ready right now, and go get Casey flowers from The Watering Can. You can't go wrong with bringing flowers on any date, or whatever this is, plus, I'm sure Melissa would love to help."
"You're right; they turn to putty around each other, and Melissa loves to give presents to people." Sophia stood and stretched. "Thanks for the idea, Alex. I'll go get ready."
Alex nodded in approval while Sophia crossed to the couch and ruffled Melissa's hair.
Melissa smiled up at her. "Hi, mommy!"
"You ready to go to mama's house?"
Melissa cast her book aside immediately. "Let's go!"
"Hold your horses, Missy—we need to get a bag of toys together for you to take."
"Nana Allie helped me!" Melissa pointed to a Frozen-themed backpack that had been beside her. "See?"
Sophia nodded. "Yes, I do. Let's go get you in some clean clothes, now."
Melissa didn't have any objections to that. She'd always had enough clothes in her life to get by—or whatever Sophia could afford—and while she'd never been without, she now had enough in her life that she wanted for nothing. This was because it seemed that Olivia and Alex were always finding new reasons to buy her new outfits or clothes; the truth of it was that both mothers enjoyed shopping for a little girl, and Olivia wanted to make up for having missed Sophia's baby years, especially. In the end, all Melissa knew was that she suddenly had a lot more things to wear than she used to, and she loved it.
Had she had her way that night, she would have chosen her outfit that night, but Sophia chose for her so they would be able to get out of the apartment in a timely manner.
Tonight, she was wearing a long-sleeved shirt that bore the message, 'YOU MAKE ME HAPPY' in big print letters across the front, khaki pants, white socks (the frilly ones, because Melissa insisted on making a good impression), and her favorite shoes with rainbow laces. She also wore a cranberry-colored pea coat and matching gloves.
As far as Sophia went, after a few outfit changes, she settled on a grey shirt dress, black leggings, a long purple open sweater, and a matching knit toque. Even her socks were purple. She also wore her favorite Ugg boots (a gift from Alex) because not only was the weather getting cooler the closer they drew to Halloween, but she could also feel her the pregnancy-induced changes on her body, including swelling feet. Before she left, she grabbed her own coat and put on, also grabbing hers and Melissa's matching infinity scarves, just in case it got too breezy.
When they were out in the hallway, Melissa looked up at her mother.
"What now?"
"Well, you know the shop where I work now?"
Melissa bobbed her head. "Yep! There's flowers!"
"Mama's parents own the shop, and we're going to go get flowers to give to her!"
Melissa lit up and tugged on her mother's jacket sleeve. "Let's go!"
THE WATERING CAN
777 5TH AVENUE
MANHATTAN
At the flower shop, things were a little slow because it was almost closing time, so Violet and Abigail were minding the storefront again. Or, Violet was minding it, and Abigail was watering the plants and talking to them. Sophia didn't see anyone else in the family, but she supposed that everyone else had gone home, or was out making a delivery.
Abigail saw them first, and made a beeline for her friends, leaving be her begonias.
"You're back!" she said in surprise to Sophia and then pointed to Melissa, who was hiding behind her. "Is that Melissa?"
"Yep, but she's being shy."
Sophia steered Melissa around so that was standing in front of her.
"Don't be shy—this is Aunt Scrappy. She loves to play, and she knows all about flowers. You've met her before, but you're just blanking out."
"Oh!"
Abigail held a hand out to the toddler. "Wanna come look at flowers with me?"
"Yes!" Melissa took her hand and looked back at Sophia. "I can go?"
Sophia nodded. "Mind your p's and q's, but go run along with auntie now."
Melissa blew her a kiss and gave her attention to Abigail. The little girl was extremely patient with her new friend, and before long, she was explaining about the importance of talking to plants and showing her how a watering can worked.
Looking around, Sophia finally found Violet watching from behind the front counter, with a fond look on her face.
"Hey, Violet." Sophia said, sidling up to her.
"Hi, sweetheart. Back already, hm, and with Melissa?"
"Uh-huh."
"For dinner, right?"
Sophia's voice rose an octave. "Uh-huh!"
Violet came around the corner and patted the younger woman on the cheek. "You're nervous because it's the first time you've been to her place, and you came here to get flowers? It's totally okay to be nervous, but if you go any higher, dogs will hear you."
Catching her drift, Sophia blew out a breath and spoke in a regular tone. "You're totally on the ball, Violet. I want to get flowers for her, and I want to make a small bouquet for Melissa to give to Casey. I've always taught her the importance of good impressions, and flowers are perfect for that."
"Even if I wasn't a florist, I'd agree. Cassandra loves blue forget-me-nots, just like Melissa does, but she also loves daisies, too."
"Oh, I think I saw Tiffany put out fresh daisies before I left."
"That, she did." Violet started walking towards the display. "They're over here now."
RESIDENCE OF CASSANDRA NOVAK
678 72nd STREET TRANSVERSE #5A
CENTRAL PARK
MANHATTAN
Casey lived in a very nice apartment building that faced Central Park, and the first thing Sophia and Melissa noticed was that it was a building with a doorman. He was a friendly middle-aged man by the name of Arlo.
"Are you here for a visit?" he asked.
Sophia nodded. "We're here to see Casey Novak."
Arlo perked up. "Miss Novak told me that some friends of hers would be coming by today. She lives on the fifth floor, in 5A—the first one on the left after you get out of the elevator."
"Thank you."
Arlo opened the door for the Bensons, and he tipped his hat to them as they went by. Both had to work very hard on not bursting into giggles.
After disembarking the elevator, Sophia and Melissa found Casey's place very quickly.
Sophia looked to Melissa. "Can you ring the doorbell for me, please?"
Standing on her tiptoes, Melissa rang the doorbell and stood with Sophia again. Casey opened the door very quickly.
"Hey, you two!" she opened the door wider so they could enter. "Come on in!"
Sophia and Melissa walked in to find themselves in a front hall area, and immediately, Sophia noticed that this was were Casey kept her jackets, shoes, umbrellas, and things like that, but before Sophia could help her daughter with her things, Melissa walked up to Casey.
"Mama?"
"Yes, my tiny love?" Casey asked, looking down at her.
"We got flowers for you!" Melissa pointed to the bouquets in Sophia's arms. "Right there!"
Casey hugged her and then knelt down, helping Melissa undo her jacket and shoes.
"Thank you so much for the flowers." Casey told her. "I love flowers a lot."
"Me, too!"
"What kind did you get?"
"Daisies and… f-f-forgets!"
Melissa stumbled over saying 'forget-me-nots,' but Casey still understood her. "Do you mean forget-me-nots?"
"Yes!" Melissa chirped and then hugged Casey. "I love you!"
Casey's heart fluttered, as it did every time she heard Melissa say those words to her, and she held her around the waist with one hand and cradled the back of her head with her other hand. She loved every moment she could have with Melissa, and she really loved the little girl's hugs.
"I love you, too. So much." Casey said when they pulled apart. "Did you bring your backpack?"
Melissa pointed it, beside a bench under the coatrack. "There!"
"Can you pick it up?"
Melissa obliged, and even put it back on. "I did it!"
"There's a good girl." Casey stood and put her daughter's things away and then took her by the hand to the living room. "You see all that, over there?"
Casey pointed to a corner of the living room, where just an hour before, all of the play equipment she'd won for Melissa in the auction, had been delivered and set up. All that was missing now was a little girl who wanted to play.
Melissa looked at Casey adoringly. "Yep!"
"Well, all of that is just for you!"
"Really?"
"Uh-huh!"
Melissa lit up, gave Casey a quick peck on the cheek, and a "Thanks, mama!" before skipping off to play.
When Casey turned around, she saw that Sophia was in the doorway, watching. She'd hung her things up and put her shoes away, and was carrying the flower bouquets in her arms.
"How are you?" Casey asked, after they kissed and hugged.
"I'm great—my day was just all over the place because I was so excited about coming here." Sophia explained. "But we stopped by work and got these for you."
Sophia held out the bouquets, both wrapped in clear cellophane, and very full of Casey's favorite flowers.
"I love them!" Casey took them into her arms and examined them. "I know you know I love blue forget-me-nots, but how did you know I love daisies, too?"
"Violet talks."
Casey laughed. "That, she does, but I'm glad she could help. Come—I'll put these in water and show you the kitchen."
While the apartment where Sophia and Melissa currently lived put Sophia in the mind of a museum, Casey's place was open and in an industrial design with exposed brick walls, iron support beams, and hardwood floors.
The kitchen area was set against one wall, by a large picture window that looked out onto Central Park. To get to the kitchen, there was an open dining area with a big table and benches to sit on. Overhead were hanging lights, bright, and illuminating room, namely framed pictures of New York landmarks, and paintings of cottages and fantasy landscapes. Sophia also saw a full-sized Captain America shield sitting on display above a bookshelf that was jam-packed with all kinds of books and knickknacks. They were also in full sight of the living room, where Melissa was happily playing with her new toys.
Casey motioned towards the bench closest to the stove. "Dinner is almost ready now. This will only take five minutes."
Sophia sat and watched Casey go through the process of getting vases down out of a cabinet, filling them with water, and taking care of the flowers so they were out of the plastic and arranged nicely.
Sophia also took Casey in, and what she was wearing.
She was barefoot tonight, but she had on very cute blue peasant top, and a long, flowing red skirt, decorated with a polka dot pattern. Simple, yet beautiful. Casey's hair was down, but any tendrils that would have fallen into her face were gathered in the back with a blue hair ribbon, and the rest was falling down into the rest of her long, beautiful red hair. For extra effect, Casey only had on a minimal amount of makeup and was wearing pearl stud earrings.
And she's all mine, Sophia thought, sighing happily.
"What's the sigh for?"
Casey sat the full flower vases in the middle of her dining table, and sat on the bench, facing Sophia.
"You just look very pretty tonight."
Casey took Sophia's hands in hers, kissing her palms. "And so do you. What do you think of my place?"
"It's really nice, and actually just the style I've wanted for a place of my own."
"Well, how about that."
"There is one thing, though…"
Casey laughed. "The Captain America shield?"
Sophia nodded. "Yeah. I wouldn't have pegged you for the type who likes comics."
"I've loved them all my life—Junior and Ellington read them to us when were were little, and eventually, I'd steal their books and sound the words out myself, until I could understand them."
"So you taught yourself to read because you 'borrowed' your brother's and sister's comic books? That's really cute."
"My favorite has always Captain America. Last year, for my birthday, everyone chipped in to get me that shield, and it's been on display where it is, ever since."
"Well, now I know what to keep my eyes pealed for."
Sophia motioned towards Casey's middle. The material of her shirt was loose and obscuring it, but Sophia knew that at seventeen, almost eighteen weeks, the shape of the bump was really coming along.
"How's baby boy?"
Casey grinned and moved closer to Sophia, and laid her palms flat on her bump. Sophia's breath caught as she felt Casey's taught skin through the shirt, and then even more when she felt the baby press up against her.
"He's happy, and he's been wiggling ever since you and Melissa got here."
Sophia stroked Casey's middle with her thumb. "This is really incredible."
"I think the same thing, every day." Casey smiled. "And how is baby girl?"
Sophia put Casey's hands on her middle. "In a nonstop wiggling frenzy. She really doesn't get this wiggly until she hears you."
Casey kept her hands where they were, but looked over to Melissa, who was deeply engrossed in a game of make-believe with her new toys. She was so happy, and the sound of her joy and happy chattering made Casey's heart light. Melissa had been through a lot in three years of life, but she was as happy as anything.
"What are you thinking?" Sophia asked her.
Casey looked back at her. "Obviously, Melissa knows that you're pregnant, but she doesn't know that I am. Should we tell her tonight?"
"Yes." nodded Sophia. "We're together, for good, and who knows what we'll talk about tonight, but if anything, we're telling her that she's getting another sibling."
"Sounds like a good idea. I've even made a chicken and pasta casserole with mixed vegetables, and there's also macaroni."
Sophia grinned, pleased Casey had remembered Melissa's favorite things to eat. "That will help ease her into it. Anything else on the menu?"
"Mashed potatoes, and an old family recipe for Irish soda bread. In fact…"
DING!
"It's ready now, which means that it's time to eat. How about I set the table and you go check on Melissa?"
Melissa stood and stretched. "I can do that."
"Good." Casey stood and kissed Sophia's cheek, smiling at her. "I love having you and Melissa here, already."
"I love it, too, and so does she."
The couple kissed again, and went about their tasks.
After dinner (and dessert—three slices of cherry pie), Sophia and Casey decided that it was time to tell Melissa about the second baby.
"Melissa," Casey called to her. "Will you come sit with us?"
The little girl looked up from the book she was looking at, to where her mothers were sitting on the couch together. They'd been talking there for awhile, but she hadn't really been paying attention because she'd been busy with her new things. Now, she was curious.
"Okay, mama!"
She put her book down and climbed up on the couch, sitting between them.
"What's going on?"
Sophia kissed her on the top her head. "We have something we want to talk to you about."
Melissa picked up Sophia's hand, and looked at her fingers, examining them.
"Did mama give you a ring?"
Sophia laughed nervously. "No, she didn't."
Melissa looked to Casey. "Did mommy give you a ring?"
"No, actually."
Melissa pouted. "Are we gonna live here?"
"Mommy and I will talk about that later." Casey told her. "Right now, I have something special to tell you. You like surprises, right?"
Melissa nodded. "What is it?"
"I have a baby in my tummy!"
Melissa hadn't been expecting that, so she looked back at Sophia, for cconfirmation.
"It's all true!" Sophia nodded. "I have a baby in my tummy, and mama has one in hers!"
More excited now, Melissa looked back to Casey. "Can I see?"
"Sure."
Casey hiked back her shirt, exposing her middle. Melissa was fascinated, but Sophia's breath caught in her throat—this was the first time she was seeing Casey's bare middle. It was as cute and petite as she'd always pictured, and it made her heart flutter to know that the little baby she'd fallen in love with and thought of as one of her own children was in there, growing, and not ready to be interrupted by the world yet.
Melissa held her hands out. "Where do my hands go?"
"Right here." Casey put Melissa's hands on her middle, right where the baby was. "What do you think?"
"I think I'm in love."
Very delicately, Melissa placed a tiny kiss on Casey's middle and spoke to the baby.
"I love you!" she gave the bump another kiss. "I'm gonna go play now!"
She slid off the couch and went back over to her books and toys. Casey kept one hand on her middle, and with the other she was wiping her tears away. Sophia scooted closer to her.
"She still surprises even me with just how sweet she can be, sometimes."
Casey laughed and then smiled at Sophia. "Did you teach her to be like that?"
"I taught her a lot, and the rest is just her. She'll probably develop some kind of code she lives by, before long." Sophia wiped Casey's tears for her. "When I told her about the baby I'm carrying, she burst into tears because she was so happy. She even told me that her wish had come true."
"That's incredibly sweet." Casey took Sophia's hand and placed it on the same place she'd put Melissa's. "Come feel your son."
Though they still had some time before they found out the genders of their unborn children, Sophia's heart fluttered even more. The baby was awake and moving around under her palm, like he knew both of his mothers were there. Casey's skin was also very warm and very soft. Sophia had to fight the urge to not jump Casey's bones.
"Wow."
Inspired, Melissa lifted her own shirt to show off her own belly, and she directed Casey to exactly where the baby was wiggling about. Like her brother, the second Benson-Novak child was wide awake and curious.
"Your kid is super wiggly again, Red." Sophia leaned back on her hands. "She does like kisses, though. A lot."
"I can take care of that."
Sophia watched as Casey proceeded to plaster her bump with kisses and speak sweetly to the baby in between each one. While this happened, Sophia's heart filled up even more with love for Casey. More than ever, she had to fight the urge to not disappear somewhere with her for a few minutes so they could get frisky without Melissa seeing them.
Casey was thinking along the same lines as her because she placed one last kiss on Sophia's middle, fixed both of their shirts, and pulled Sophia into a proper sitting position.
"Do Olivia and Alex know about movie night?"
Sophia nodded. "Yep. They already volunteered to look after Melissa."
"See if you can make it overnight."
"Really?"
"Mhm. I don't know how much of any movie we'll actually watch, but there are some things that we should talk about."
"And we couldn't possibly cover it all in a few hours."
"Or even a night." Casey kissed Sophia's lips. "Whatever we don't get to, we can finish during our stay at The Plaza."
Sophia had told Casey about the trip that she'd received in her mystery bag, and they had spent half the night making plans that surrounded it.
Checking that Melissa was still absorbed in her toys, Casey kissed a trail of kisses down Sophia's cheek, throat, and chest, ending at her shoulder.
"We could do other things, too."
Sophia sighed lustily, perfectly understanding the insinuation. "Yes. Yes, we could."
"What should we do now?"
"How about we watch Melissa play?"
And so they did.
