Page 32 of The Baby Dragon Bakery
Lavinia wasn’t sure yet if she would want to spend forever with Calahan, but she still had some time to figure that out. Until December, at least.
Calahan was wonderful. He really liked Lavinia, and she knew they should be content, but she just felt . . . She didn’t know what she felt, what was making her hesitate.
Nothing was perfect, not even her feelings for Theo, if she was being fair, which she was really trying to be. There weretoo many fireworks, which could be beautiful, yes, but they could also blow up in her face. She didn’t ever want to imagine her life without him.
With Theo, there was too much risk—too much to lose.
With a sigh, she went home, where homework was waiting for her. Graduate school was an endless cycle, and she hardly felt like she had a moment to breathe. After saying hello to her family and giving Biter a quick kiss and cuddle, she went to her room and did her assignments while listening to a playlist called “writing poems to your forbidden lover at three a.m.” which was surely what she would have preferred to be doing instead of categorizing different infectious diseases.
Luckily, she lived at home, so in the evening she came downstairs to a prepared dinner and the company of her family members, as well as the adorable Biter, who was practicing flying on the carpet with Alfie.
“Come on, Biter, come on!” Alfie coaxed, rattling a toy. Biter’s red eyes widened. She took unsteady steps toward Alfie, her tiny wings flapping. She made it a few steps before falling forward onto her face.
She hissed, and Lavinia scooped her up into her arms. “Aw, Alfie is making you do so much work, isn’t he?” Lavinia asked, scratching Biter’s scales. Biter hummed, wagging her tail. Even though Lavinia had spent all day with various baby animals, then even more hours reading about animals, she still loved this time with the baby dragon.
“I’m making her practice!” Alfie protested, coming over. “Mama said I can’t bribe her with candy, so I used the chew toy.”
“She’s a baby, Alf,” Lavinia said. “She can’t eat solids yet, let alone candy!”
“Oh.” Alfie looked sheepish, and Lavinia laughed, mussing his hair.
“Dinner!” Beena called.
Lavinia set Biter down in her bassinet with a few toys, then went to the table with Alfie, which Garrett had already set. Beena brought over a dish of lentils and a dish of boiled rice. The yellow daal was topped with a butter, brown onion, and coriander tarka; it was the perfect fortifying food.
After dinner, she helped clean up, then went back to study for a bit, until Beena called her downstairs.
As Lavinia made her way to the kitchen, she inhaled the warm scent of cinnamon and sugar. Her mother had baked pumpkin snickerdoodles, which were so yummy and cozy with a cold glass of milk.
She handed some to Alfie, who was sitting at the kitchen table doing his homework, then joined her mother in the living room with a second plate, having had enough of studying for the day.
They got cozy on the couch, and while Beena switched on the television, Lavinia spread a throw blanket over their legs. It was mid-October now and properly chilly, true autumn in full swing. She loved it.
Her mother put on the next episode of the show they were watching together, a period drama with an actress her mother loved. Once or twice a week, Lavinia sat and watched television with her mother; it was a nice way to spend time together, especially as a weekly ritual in the midst of her hectic school/work schedule.
Lavinia wasn’t big on period dramas, but she enjoyed watching them with her mother and was fully invested in thestorylines. There was something so swoon-worthy and grand imbued in these stories, something so romantic. Sighing, she watched as the hero wrote his heroine a beautifully worded love letter.
After the episode was done, Lavinia brought over a bowl of warm oil. It was a mixture of coconut oil, almond oil, and castor oil. She handed it to Beena, then sat down on the floor, by her mother’s feet.
“Tch, your hair is getting so thin,” Beena tsked, running her hands through Lavinia’s hair. “You’re taking too much stress from all your studying. And what have I told you about tying such a tight ponytail?”
“I know, I know,” Lavinia said, head rattling as her mother massaged oil into her scalp.
“We’ll have to do this twice a week now,” Beena said. Lavinia ordinarily got oil put in her hair once a week. “Then you’ll notice a difference.”
“Mmm.”
Beena continued to oil Lavinia’s hair, and Lavinia closed her eyes, enjoying it, though her mother could be a tad aggressive at moments. While it was heavenly to get her head massaged, she also loved sitting at her mother’s feet, feeling close to her.
When Beena finished, she brushed Lavinia’s hair, then pulled it back into a loose braid, so it wouldn’t move at night when she slept. Lavinia would wash it out the next morning.
“All done,” Beena said, smoothing a hand over Lavinia’s oiled braid.
“Thank you, Mama,” Lavinia replied. Even though she was done, she did not get up right away. She leaned against her mother’s knees, thinking.
Theo’s behavior had been different lately. Every time she tried to bring up Calahan, Theo seemed unhappy. It looked as though Theo didn’t like the fact that she was going out with Calahan, but there was no reason for him to be upset by that. Calahan was great, and Theo had always liked him.
A hesitant little voice rose in her mind:what if he’s jealous?
