Breaking Bones

Chapter 23: Preparing for Happiness

Ever true to her word, Martha had woken the next morning and prepared a feast for the masses in honor of Leonard and Anatalia's engagement. It had taken Leonard a moment to coerce Ana out of bed, the early mornings of the south still not agreeing with her, but a quick reminder of her favorite breakfast waiting for her downstairs had her up and about fairly quickly. She was feeling better than the previous evening, the anxiety pertaining to her own mother fading as she was able to fall asleep and wake in Leonard's arms. The couple made their way downstairs hand in hand, bringing a large smile to Martha's face as they rounded the corner into the kitchen. 

"Good morning! Everything is all set. Hashbrowns, sausage patties, and blueberry pancakes with a homemade blueberry syrup. Please eat as much as you'd like." 

"Thank you, Martha. It all looks and smells amazing." 

"Anything for you, my girl. So, any fun plans today?" 

"Well, we were maybe going to start apartment hunting, but we hadn't really discussed a schedule or anything. We don't have to start work until next week." 

"I was actually hoping we could do apartment hunting tomorrow darlin." 

"Oh. Did you have something else planned for today?" 

Leonard released a heavy sigh and dropped his fork onto his plate before rubbing his hands down his face tiredly. Anatalia frowned at the response, unsure what exactly had brought it on, and moved to scratch Leonard's back gently in comfort and support. 

"I have to go see Jenny and tell her about us. You're going to be my wife, so she and I need to come to some sort of agreement about Jo. I refuse for you two to be separate for the rest of our lives. If Jo gets to live with Robert, she should get to live with you too on the rare occasions we get her." 

"Are you sure you want to handle that today? We could do it later this week if you want more time to prepare." 

"No. I just need to get it over with as soon as possible. I want you and Jo in the same room again as soon as possible. I'm excited for us to be our own little family." 

Talia smiled wide at the thought and Leonard's smile matched her own as he looked over to see her reaction. The couple knew that being married would officially solidify Ana being Jo's stepmother, but they hadn't really talked about it in any kind of detail beyond that. Leonard had always been too nervous to ask Talia her thoughts on essentially becoming a mother. But one look in her eyes now and he knew that she was as excited for the experience as he was. Martha watched on in awe of the love shared between her son and Anatalia. She had known from the moment she met Ana that if anyone would love her Leonard forever, it would be her. She couldn't be more relieved that the two of them had finally gotten to a place of confidence and trust in one another to make their love permanent. 

"Thank you, Len. That means a lot. Do you want me to go with you?" 

"No, that's alright darlin. I should probably go alone for the negotiations." 

Talia chuckled lightly at Leonard's exaggerated phrasing, but also knew that it wouldn't be far off from the truth. She nodded in understanding and then leaned forward to place a quick kiss to his lips, giving him an encouraging smile before removing herself from her seat to dish herself up seconds of her breakfast. 

"Sounds like it might be a wedding planning day for us then, Martha. If you have any venues in town in mind, I'd love to go tour some. We should get a place scheduled as soon as possible." 

"Oh, I'd be honored to go venue hunting with you. There are a couple of spots that I think could be very pretty in the fall." 

"Glad to hear it. Don't worry, Len. I won't make any final decisions without consulting you first."