Page 35 of In Bellamira's Chains
We all laughed and followed her in, taking our seats before enjoying a simple breakfast of waffles, fruit, and juice.
We decided to spend the rest of the morning exploring the shops. Nyla, Elera, and Hazelle were given free reign today, and we would end the shopping spree with lunch before parting ways.
Lettie stayed in Adira’s arms or her stroller as we walked around, keeping our eyes on our loved ones.
“What about this?” Nyla asked the others as she held up a sheer black dress similar to the burgundy one Hazelle wore last night. “We could match!”
“Really? You want to match with me?” Hazelle’s voice was filled with awe and worry. She looked at Elera, then back at Nyla.
“Yes, really! That’s what friends do. Or I used to do that when I had friends.” Nyla grimaced, then started to put the dress back on the rack. “It’s silly. We don’t have to.”
“No, no! I’d love to. I’m new to all of this. I didn’t want you doing it because you felt like you had to include me.”
“Oh, no, I want to do it. I think we’d be a cute trio, don’t you?” Nyla pulled the dress back out and looked around. “Do you already have something like this, Elera? I don’t see anything in a good color for you.” That was true. The only other options were a pale purple and yellow that clashed with her skin tone.
“I do, actually. It’s a dark blue.”
“Perfect! I definitely have something to go under it, but I’ve never had something like this before.” They all laughed and chatted about how they’d have to have a girls night with just them and these would be their uniforms for it.
“What have we done, Addie?” I whispered.
“Created two families that actually enjoy each other.”
“Sounds too good to be true.”
“Yeah, it does.”
We both stood there, gobsmacked by the idea that our hard work and attempts to be better than the others was paying off.
Lunch was at The Boug, a tapas restaurant. With the variety of smaller dishes, we ordered an overabundance to make sure everyone had something they liked, and we were all full by the end.
We had cheese and bread, an ocean medley with crostini, lamb shank with a red wine sauce and mashed potatoes, a bossam platter, chicken shawarma with toum, beef and veggie empanadas, and a large caesar salad.
Everyone filled their plates, Lettie included who got bits and pieces of everything that was appropriate.
“What do you think, Hazelle?”
“Hm?” she said around a mouthful of shawarma. I laughed, enjoying the humorous sight, and a sense of pride swept through me. She had come so far, and food was a thing of joy now.
“That answered it. It’s delicious, isn’t it?” I took a bite of the lamb shank, loving the texture of the meat to fat ratio and the slightly gamey flavor that was unlike anything else I had tasted. The sauce mixed perfectly, adding to the robust dish.
A chunk of cheese flew onto the table, and we all stopped and stared at Lettie. Adira’s nickname of little monster was never more fitting as she let out a grunted growl followed by a squeal as she mashed her food offerings together on the high chair.
“Wow,” Hazelle breathed out. “Is that normal?”
“Sadly, yes.” Nyla let out on a sigh. “Very, very, annoyingly, messily normal.”
“And to think you’ll have two doing that soon.”
Nyla gasped and turned to Adira, anger blazing in her eyes.
“Another baby!” Elera shrieked, scooting closer to Nyla. “Really? How long?”
Nyla gave in, giving Adira a pass for the moment, but I knew there’d be hell to pay later.
“Only a month, so we have a long way to go, but I’m hoping we have an Omega. We can’t change the way things are without teaching all designations their worth.” The sincerity in Nyla’s voice was awe inspiring, and her words were truer than I wanted to admit.
“I never thought of it that way, but you’re right, Nyla. It starts with people like Adira and My Mistress.” Elera’s eyes lit up as she looked at me, and I knew we would be having a conversation sooner than later, but we both knew Hazelle needed more time before chaos reigned in our house again.