Hey There, Delilah

Waffle Sandwiches and Thirsty Bitches in the Morning

Song: morning playlist by cee

Ambrose groaned, slamming his hand on his phone to quiet the annoying alarm. He compared his slow ascent to rising like the dead as loud pops and cracks emerged from his back. With one hand rubbing the crick in his aching neck, he sluggishly trudged towards Cameron's room to wake him up.

Sunlight pierced through the small window in Cameron's room. Illuminating the white walls and ugly green carpet. Cameron was face down in his dark blue pillows. Drool seeped into the fabric and Ambrose made a mental note to change his sheets and wash his bedding later.

"C'mon buddy," Ambrose gently shook Cameron, "time to wake up."

Cameron whined, making incoherent sounds and Ambrose nodded in understanding.

"I know, school sucks. But you still gotta go." More whining. This time with some indistinguishable words from English and Italian. Unrecognizable to the untrained ear. But comprehensible for a parent like Ambrose. "Fine. I guess Jelly can't take you to school with me, then. What a pity because—"

Cameron landed with a thud, legs caught up in the blanket he dragged down with him. Ambrose snorted, hauling the kid over his shoulder and running into a sleepy Jill.

"I heard a noise," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. They were swollen which meant that at one point in the night, she woke up crying before going back to sleep. Ambrose bit his bottom lip to keep the forming frown at bay. "Is he ok?"

"I'm always ok." Cameron huffed, slithering out of Ambrose's arms and shuffling into the bathroom. The door closed behind him and the shower sputtered to life. Jill turned to Ambrose with a raised brow, amused.

"He's gotten moodier in the morning the older he gets."

"I can see that," she replied, chuckling at Cameron's cuteness. While Ambrose made a pot of coffee she rifled through the fridge. "Does he still hate eggs?"

"Nope." Ambrose filled her cup with cream and sugar. "He got over that. But he likes sunny side up eggs more than scrambled."

"Cool." Jill emerged with full arms and carefully placed the ingredients on the counter. Heat and sweetness filled her mouth as she sipped the hot coffee. "Mm. Is that mocha?"

"It's a phase," Ambrose muttered in a voice that was raspy and deep. He ignored her teasing smile. "Do you need help?"

Jill shook her head as she started whipping up the batter for buttermilk waffles. "Can you get me a hair clip from my bag, please? Thanks."

Ambrose looked through two bags before finding a collection of colorful clips. He plucked out the biggest one and when he returned Jill had three eggs cooking in a pan. Another one was frying six slices of bacon and she had the waffle maker out, hot and ready.

While she poured the batter Ambrose gathered her long hair into a low bun and secured it at the nape of her neck. "There you go."

"Thank you." Jill swallowed thickly, annoyed by the way her heart melted by his sweet voice and kind gestures. Logically she knew that the only reason she was latching onto him was because he was treating her well. Better than Noah had in the past couple of years. She couldn't help her messy feelings but boy did she look forward to the day when they finally went away. "Can you get the plates?"

After seasoning the eggs and poaching it so that the yolk was soft and still a little runny, she began plating. Jill added a layer of fresh spinach onto the waffle then added two strips of bacon and the egg. Topped with another waffle, she passed the sandwich to Ambrose, pleased to see his gaze locked on the food.