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A midweek lie-in was unheard of but Gaia found herself still in bed at half past seven on Wednesday morning, staring at the ceiling as she slowly woke up and got used to the light pouring through the window. It felt wrong not to be in the café, her heart clenching as though she had forgotten something, but she had made sure everything was in order last night. Max had agreed to be at the café from six o'clock to make sure she had plenty of time to bake some cookies and decorate a couple of cakes, and maybe even whip up another, and Zara was due to head out any moment now.
As if on cue, Zara stepped into the bedroom, holding onto the door as she poked her head around and she smiled at her parents. Evan was still asleep, lying on his side for the first time since before the accident with the duvet tucked up round his shoulders, quietly snoring against his pillow. Clover lay between the two of them, slowly kicking her feet and gazing at the world around her. She'd been difficult last night, wailing any time she was left alone until Gaia had eventually given up and brought her into their bed and bolstered pillows around the baby.
"Hey, Mum," Zara whispered, so as to not wake her father. "I'm going to head out now." She held up her phone. "Max has already been in for a while."
"Ok, hun," Gaia said with a smile. "I hope you too have a good day. Tell Max thank you for me."
"Will do. Have fun at the spa!"
"Thanks, Zar." She didn't move from the comfort of her bed, waving Zara off before she rolled onto her side, inhaling Clover's sweet baby scent before she let out a long sigh and got out of bed. She had found herself fantasising about the trip since the weekend, dreaming of a day of utter relaxation with her friends without having to worry about anyone else. It was rare that she got to do anything for herself but Bree had promised that today was about utter relaxation and pampering.
It was just about the only wedding preparation that Bree had agreed to, refusing to put much thought into her outfit or her flowers, and her idea of catering was no more than the fact that there were several pubs within walking distance of the park, if anyone got hungry. Gaia envied that ability to not care at all, to be so unfazed by the potential for disaster. She'd had three months to plan her own wedding, her unexpected pregnancy giving her a tight deadline to tie the knot before she became a mother, and that had only just been enough time: she had worked herself up into a stressed frenzy right up until the big day. Bree was the opposite in every way, caring about nothing more than tying down the man she loved: friends and family were a bonus, and the expense of a party was unnecessary.
Evan shifted, rolling onto his back and kicking his feet when he got tangled in the duvet, and Gaia watched him with laughter on her lips as she bent forward and reached behind herself to do up her bra.
"You alright there?" she asked, and Evan let out a sleepy laugh before he opened his eyes at last, looking at her with a lazy grin. He cast his eyes over her body, as she stood in nothing but her underwear while she found something to wear. It didn't really matter what when she would only be taking it off again but she wanted to look nice, tugging a brush through her hair as she searched through her cupboard.
