Page 95 of Falling Slowly
I wrapped my fingers around his neck, reaching to kiss him. He didn’t fight me, but the way he kissed me back, slowly and tenderly, spoke volumes. I allowed myself one last moment of bliss, forgetting everything else, letting that affection pour through me and flood every corner of my body.
When I felt the need building up in my core, I pulled away and clambered out of the car. “Let’s go.”
He caught up with my slow limping and helped me to the cabin. I could hear Celia’s squeals through the door. My eyes did a quick scan of the porch as I stepped across it, coming up with nothing.
“Mom! Where did you go?” my daughter yelled as Charlie opened the door.
“I saw Charlie’s car, so I went out to meet him.”
Mom appeared from the bathroom, looking freshly groomed. “Good morning! This place is so quiet, I can’t believe it. No traffic, no sirens, no neighbors… nothing.”
“Breakfast?” Charlie gestured at the door.
“Isn’t this amazing?” Mom looked at us in awe. “I hope they have coffee.”
“And cereal!” Celia’s eyes shone like stars.
“Of course, they do.” Charlie chuckled. “Your mom can show you how to mix all the different cereals in one bowl and create a whole new breakfast dish.”
“All in the same bowl?” Celia looked at him like he’d suggested it was going to rain Froot Loops.
When we arrived in the cafeteria, the kitchen staff was still setting up the buffet. Only Harry sat at a corner table, raising his hand at us. “Good morning, early birds! Are you ready for the big reveal? Three p.m. today.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“When we’re revealing everyone’s artwork. Should be fun.”
“Ah.” I glanced at Charlie. “We kind of missed half the week lost in the forest, so we have nothing to show for ourselves.”
“There’s still time.” Harry wiggled his eyebrows. “The winner gets a free week’s stay at Rubie Ridge.”
“A free week here?” Mom’s voice vibrated with reverence. “You should do something, Bess. You could win it.”
“You could do it together,” Harry suggested. “I’m sure that’d be fine, given you’ve lost so much time. Let’s ask.” He raised his hand, looking over my shoulder. “Good morning, Leonie! A question.”
Leonie appeared by his table, wearing a yellow kaftan and a tired smile. She turned to us, lowering her voice to a hush. “I’m so sorry about what happened. I didn’t want to bother you last night as it was late. I thought it best to let you get some rest. How’s the leg?”
“It’s okay.” I waved at the moon boot. “I’m sorry we missed so much of the classes.”
“They could present their final artwork together, right?” Harry nodded at us. “There’s still a bit of time.”
“If you’d like to participate, that’d be fantastic!” Leonie clasped her hands together, her clunky bracelets clanging like cymbals. “I was worried you wouldn’t get to be part of the galleryopening this afternoon. That’s where we vote for the winners. I’d hate for you to be left out.”
Charlie cast me a questioning look. “What do you think? Before we went into the forest, I had an idea of something we would build with pinecones and a bit of glue. Might be fun with Celia.”
“But don’t you need to work on the campaign?”
“I can do that tomorrow. Today is… a special day, remember?”
“Cereal!” my child yelled as Tag the kitchen helper poured cornflakes into a dispenser.
I nodded. “Okay. First cereal, then pinecones.”
We filled our trays and took the table Harry had vacated, after he rushed back to finish his artwork. As we sat down, more people arrived. I heard them talking about their art pieces in excited but hushed tones, careful not to reveal their ideas to the wrong people. I wondered when the relaxing week of art classes had turned into this sort of competition.
Celia shoveled multi-colored cereal into her mouth, her face shining with excitement. “Can we have this every morning, Mom?” she asked between mouthfuls.
“That looks like Froot Loops,” Charlie observed.
