Page 74 of Cinnamon Strudel
“I thought as much, so you can use whatever you have saved, and I’ll pay the difference. You have brought more joy to my life than I could have ever asked for. You mean the world to me, and I told you I will spoil you rotten.”
“You did warn me about that.”
“Is that your way of telling me you accept?”
She sighed and kissed his cheek, fingers lacing with his. “I accept and I do feel like a princess.”
“I hope I always find ways, big or small, to make you feel that way.”
“You have a way to make my life brighter with just the sheer thought of you. It could be raining and storming out there, yet I wake up knowing you’ll be the light I need on the bad days ahead.”
“Oh, darlin’, don’t spell me with your words, I’m already on my knees begging you to take my heart.”
“I’ll keep it safe and sound as long as you let me.”
He pulled her tighter against him, eyes burning as he buried his face into her neck. She was everything he ever wanted, and Morgan vowed that he would never let anything tear them apart.
Ruby
The following Christmas
Suitcases in hand, she led Morgan and Blue through the glass doors of the arrival’s terminal. When her eyes landed on her brother and sister-in-law, her vision blurred with tears and her steps sped up before she even realised it. In Roy’s embrace, she started to sob, squeezing her brother tight. After all, she hadn’t seen him in over two years.
“Good thing I brought tissues,” he chuckled, brushing her hair out of his eyes. “I’m glad you’re finally here too.”
“It was quite a rough flight,” Morgan explained.
Anika pulled Morgan into a hug, which lit up his tired eyes. “What happened?”
“Rude people giving Ruby a hard time,” Morgan scoffed.
“Andyou as well,” she corrected, remembering how he’d been treated on the plane. “They made you feel so inadequate.”
“If they even addressed me.” He pulled her in and kissed her forehead. “You had quite the hard time advocating for me and now you deserve all the rest you can get.”
“Well, we’d better get you two home.” Roy took the suitcases and led them towards the parking deck.
Morgan had been right—she was utterly exhausted, and she hadn’t even been the target of the bad attitudes. It had all started at check-in, when they’d asked for accommodation for Morgan and Blue, then the staff on the plane barely acknowledged Morgan and addressed her instead. Navigating the airport during their layover hadn’t been easy either. She hadn’t wanted Morgan to feel it, but she’d felt like it all had been put on her shoulders, and it had taken a toll. It had been Morgan’s first flight, and she’d added pressure to herself to make it as easy for him as she could.
They drove for two hours, finally arriving in the small village of Marienloh that Roy now called home. The landscapes were gorgeous, but she was too exhausted to verbalise it for Morgan. Roy and Anika filled the silence instead, and she welcomed the break.
It was already late when they arrived and seeing how tired she was, Roy offered to take Morgan and Blue around the block. Anika and Roy occupied the upper apartment, while the lower one belonged to Anika’s parents.
“Is this common?” she asked curiously as she entered the house. “It looks like a single-family house from the outside.”
“Pretty much. We don’t have large apartment complexes like you guys have. It’s often houses like this that are split into two.” Anika shrugged and unlocked the door. “Well, in larger cities it’s different. They do have what we call ‘Plattenbau’which is just lots of apartments stacked on top of each other in high buildings.”
“Interesting.”
“Village life and city life is very different. It still gives Roy trouble adjusting sometimes. Especially since everything here is closed on Sundays.”
They entered a long hallway with a kitchen to their left and a living room to their right. They’d prepared the office for her and Morgan to stay in and while Anika heated up dinner, she unpacked. It wasn’t long before Morgan joined her with Blue, who practically collapsed on the bed in exhaustion.
“Can you hold me please?” she asked, tears dwelling in her eyes yet again.
“Of course!” Morgan sat on the edge of the mattress, pulling her into his lap. “Talk to me, darlin’.”
“I’m so upset with how horrible everything went. Not only the way you and Blue were treated by the others but me too.”
