Page 101 of The Gathered Fragments of Us
"Not a bad idea," I responded. "I'll see what she thinks." I smiled at him and kissed his cheek. It was a good morning, and I liked the experience of starting it off on a positive note.
Downstairs, the kitchen was controlled chaos. Maliyah was making pancakes while Macy packed her school bag. It's amazing how easily kids adapt—her cast didn't even seem to be holding her back as she pulled all her stuff together.
Lucas sat at the counter, truck in hand, explaining the differences between dump trucks, backhoes, and front loaders to anyone who would listen. Zoe was methodically eating strawberries, sorting them by size, and making them dance on her plate before each bite.
"Aunt Fliss!" Zoe called out when she saw me. "Do you have to go to work today?"
"I do, sweetie. But I'll be back later this afternoon."
"Will you bring me a present?"
"Zoe," Maliyah warned gently. "We don't ask for presents."
"It's okay," I said, sitting down next to her. "What kind of present would you want?"
"An elephant! A real one!"
"Hmmmm, I have a feeling like a real elephant might be a little big for our house, and pretty hard to find on short notice," I said seriously. "How about I see what I can find that's elephant-adjacent?"
"What's that? Elephanjesscent?" Lucas asked, momentarily distracted from his truck discussion.
I held my laugh back and repeated, "elephant-adjacent," sounding it out with him.
Once he had the new word mastered, I explained, "elephant-adjacent is something that's almost like an elephant but not exactly an elephant."
"Like a hippopotamus!" Macy suggested.
"Or a rhino!" Lucas added.
"Or a really big dog!" Zoe giggled.
I laughed at the three of them.Man, they were cute.I looked up at Maliyah and caught her eye, sharing a smile together. This was exactly what we'd needed—normal family chaos, kids being kids, the kind of noise that made a house feel like a home.
"Alright, everyone," Caden announced, grabbing his coffee and briefcase. "Time to get this show on the road. Macy, you ready?"
"Ready." She shouldered her backpack carefully, mindful of her cast. "Aunt Maliyah, will you be here when I get home?"
"Absolutely. Lucas, Zoe and I have very important plans around fort-building activities."
"Can I help when I get back?"
"I promise that we'll save the best part for you," Maliyah promised.
As I headed in to work, I tried to shake off the almost surreal feeling I had. Just a couple weeks back, this commute had been routine, automatic. Now everything felt so different—from my trek in, to the audiobook I had going, even the taste of my coffee. I felt as if I were experiencing something new yet rote. It made me wonder if this was what it felt like for people who had been on leave and were returning after a long absence.
Walking in, it took all of thirty seconds before I heard, "Felicity!" Suddenly, Callie appeared as the elevator doors opened on myfloor. "Welcome back! How are you feeling? Did you have a good time on vacation?"
Shit. Well, I hadn't really thought about how I'd respond to people. What was I saying to Macy just yesterday?"Hey Callie, how's it going? Did everyone miss me?" Avoidance it was!
"Of course! I imagine your team has lots to catch you up on. I'm guessing they'll have some good HR fodder for you now that you're back!"
I nodded, smiled, and said, "HR is never boring!" Definitely not sharing the details of my personal life of chaos with her or the rest of the team up here. I'm not interested in becoming the topic of conversation. The sounds of Dori ran through my head, Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.
Tossing my stuff on my desk, I sat down and sighed. I'd barely settled in when there was a knock on my door.
"Welcome back."
Ethan stood in my doorway, looking polished and professional in a charcoal gray suit. His smile was warm but somehow different—more reserved than usual.
