Page 84 of The Gathered Fragments of Us
Smiling at me, she said, "well?"
"Well, what?"
"Why are you still sitting here? I distinctly remember you promising me a bath and wine, like three minutes ago."
I coughed a laugh out, pulled her to her feet, and kissed her soundly. She responded in kind, deepening the kiss and opening her heart to me—just a little bit, but it was a small stitch she let me sew in the brokenness I had placed there. And I prayed to God she would let me keep stitching and mending the fragments together.
Chapter 33: Deeper Roots
~Felicity~
I woke the next morning wrapped in Caden’s arms, feeling a small bit of peace. It wasn’t overwhelming. It wasn’t perfection. But it was something—it felt new. A bit of quiet in the storm.
The conversation last night had been a start. I'd needed his honest apology—not the apology from the night we fought about the purse. Last night felt like he understood a part of where I was coming from. The way he'd seen my pain and called it valid instead of calling it selfish. It gave my anxiety some ease.
"Morning," he murmured against my hair, his voice still rough with sleep.
"Morning." I turned in his arms to face him, but I was cocooned in all the blankets and him. As I tried to turn, I got stuck and ended up flopping around like a fish out of water.
"Wait, wait—" he called out—the both of us laughing hysterically, "you're gonna go overboard!" He was grabbing me, trying to keep me from falling off the bed.
"I'm stuck!" I was laughing so hard that I started snorting. Then I shot up, still wrapped, but now sort of sitting upright. "Oh my God, Caden, get me out of here!" I said, with a bit of panic starting to flow through.
"Okay, okay. Hang on—"
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
Finally clearing me, I jumped from the bed, running to the bathroom. The sigh of relief—from actual relief, and from notpeeing myself in bed, was almost tangible. Jesus, forty certainly comes with new experiences—I thought, laughing to myself.
Going back to the bedroom after washing up and brushing my teeth, I climbed in bed. He reached for me, "Nope!"
"What?"
"I just brushed my teeth!I'mclean—you have morning breath!" I playfully dove under the covers and hid my face. He burrowed under trying to blow his nasty breath on me. "Nooooooo!!!!"
Laughing, he nuzzled my neck after digging deep enough to find me, saying, "fiiiiine. I'll go make myself presentable. Can I get a raincheck?"
Muffled, I replied, "yes, as long as you brush away all that yuck."
"On it, babe."
He grabbed his phone, put on some music, and went to the bathroom to clean up. I climbed out of bed and went to the mirror on the other side of the room. Looking at my reflection, I could see a very small light in my eyes. I hope it keeps getting brighter.
"Felicity?" I heard him call out.
"Yeah?" I responded.
"Don't go down without me, okay?" He seemed a little uncertain when he asked, but I could swear I heard a bit of hope in there.
"Um, okay. I was going to head down now."
"No! Wait for me! Please?"
"Um," I looked around and decided to sit on the small bench in front of our bed. "Okay."
A couple minutes later, he came out of the bathroom, texting with someone.
"Who's that?"
