Let's Not Stay Away Anymore (Kaimelia)

8: Into the woods

Amelia couldn't remember the last time she'd had two days off work in a row. Kai had insisted she doesn't show her face in the lab either, and enjoy her time off. But even with more time off than she was used to, there was still a bunch to do before the dinner party.

She'd have to make the house look presentable, find a recipe that wouldn't end in total disaster for all involved, and figure out how to act like an adult long enough to not just meet Kai at the door and take them right up to her room... Amelia, focus.

A text from Link made her regain her senses, remembering she'd have to go pick Scout up from daycare later today. Tomorrow he'd take him again, but she'd asked to spend some extra time with him today since she had more time off than she knew what to do with.

A silky moss green, spaghetti strap dress hung on her door, and Amelia admired it from her bed. I knew you'd come in handy one of these days. She finally caught herself being genuinely excited about tomorrow night, and decided she'd try her best to keep this outlook in the face of her home very soon being filled with people usually extremely interested in each other's love lives.

She spent the day actively avoiding having to change out of her pajamas, googling recipes, eventually deciding to whip up a salad and order the main course from a restaurant down the street, picked up around the house and finally got ready herself, to go get Scout.

The rest of the night went by uneventfully. She played with and fed Scout and watched him interact with the other kids who'd started pouring into the house after their respective daily activities. Eventually they were all content in the living room, and Amelia caught herself happily anxious to bring Kai into this lovely, homey mess of a life.

_____

Meredith's well intentioned and poorly planned dinner party was about to begin.

Maggie had actually canceled her last surgery, just as she had threatened to assist her sisters in preparing the salad and setting the long table that had been pulled out of storage especially for this occasion.

Sparkling water, two bottles of rum Winston had brought, and a variety of juices lined the counter, and the kids were already getting into the cheese and crackers that had been placed haphazardly on a heavy stained wood board.

Meredith came down the stairs, her hair in a half up-do, strands of curly blonde hair framing her face. She was visibly excited for Nick to arrive, not paying much attention to the ruckus the kids were causing, and seeing her this excited was a reminder that nobody still knew to make Kai the main event, even though Mer had stated their apparent loneliness as the whole reason for the party in the first place.

Winston was in the backyard, chasing Bailey around, with Maggie interrupting her own activities to go lovingly stare at them through the window. Maggie herself was wearing a flowery black blouse paired with a deep, blood orange skirt, and was floating around the house, fixing a couple of bouquets of flowers into vases to place in random corners of the rooms.

Amelia smiled, observing the chaos that was already ensuing. They'd really gone all out this time. She hoped Kai would get here soon, and find it just as oddly beautiful as she did.

Just as she stood by the stairs, taking in her surroundings, the bell rang. Amelia swung the door open to see what she could only think to describe as perhaps the most beautiful person in all human history.

"Hi," Kai waved, their smile and eyes bright with excitement. They handed her one of the three bouquets of differently colored wildflowers they had been clutching a little too close to their body.

"For the gracious host," they beamed.

They were wearing a black button-down with a casual forest green jacket over it.