Tea Parties and Feather Boas (Luke Kuechly)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Beloved

•We'll sit
And talk the stars down from the sky
And I'll not forget the chaos in your eyes, love•

Grinning ear to ear, Lydia swung opened the front door of her apartment. "Isla Joy!" She greeted the young child, pulling her into a tight hug. She would have picked her up if it hadn't been for her ever-growing belly.

Isla giggled happily. "Hi, Miss Lydia. How's my baby brother?" She looked at the older woman with a sparkle in her green eyes placing her small hands on the woman's stomach. Lydia couldn't help but hope that her son would share his with his sister.

"He is doing very well," Lydia said, kissing Isla's forehead.

"That's good to hear," Luke said, stepping into the apartment, closing the door behind him. "Thank you for watching Isla tonight by the way."

"Of course, it's been too long since the two of us hung out," Lydia smiled, looking up to find the man looking very dapper in a nicely tailored, black suit before her. She couldn't help it when as her mind momentarily wandered back to the first night she'd seen him in a suit.

Luke nodded with a smile. "I really appreciate this, Lyddie."

The woman's heart briefly fluttered and her mind went blank at the nickname. Luke didn't know what to do as he comprehended the words that left his mouth. They were still trying to find a comfort zone with each other and set proper boundaries. The two adults just looked at one another until they could think of something of relevance to say. Luke was the first one to do so.

"So, I'll be back around 9:30. Everything she needs to get ready for bed is in this bag. You know the drill so I guess I don't need to go over it."

Lydia nodded, taking the small bag from Luke.

"Ok, you can go now, daddy," Isla spoke up, obviously ready for her father to go.

Luke chuckled, kneeling to kiss Isla's head. "Alright, little miss, I can take a hint. Behave for, Miss Lydia. Ok?"

"Always."

Luke smiled. "I love you, Isla. Have fun. You too," He said towards Lydia.

"We sure will," Lydia answered as Luke opened her front door and then disappeared behind it.

Lydia turned around, coming face to face with a very enthusiastic smile from the five-year-old. "So what do you want to do first, Isla bear?"

Isla shrugged, simply happy to be there. "I dunno."

"Well, we could paint our toenails, watch a movie, or make cookies."

"Cookies," Isla nodded. "As long as you don't burn them."

"I burn the cookies one time," Lydia said, shaking her head playfully as she moved to the kitchen.

Isla giggled, pushing a stool over to the sink to wash her hands while Lydia went through the cabinets to get all the needed ingredients. As she dug through the cupboards, the sound of the stool being scooched across the kitchen floor echoed throughout the small apartment. It made Lydia smile, bringing back memories of making cookies with her mother. A sudden flood of emotions overwhelmed the woman. She couldn't have been much older than Isla when her mother had stopped. She sometimes wondered what happened to the woman who had baked cookies with her every week. Now it felt as if her mother was constantly reminding her she wasn't good enough.

"Miss Lydia?"

"Yes, Miss Isla Joy?" Lydia smiled, breaking out of her train of thought

"How did my baby brother get in your belly?"