«I couldn't utter my love when it counted. Ah, but I'm singing like a bird, 'bout it now. I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted. Ah, but I'm singing like a bird, 'bout it now.»
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Jenna opened her eyes, the lightning in the room way too bright for her own taste. Her brows furrowed in confusion until she remembered she was not in her bed; she was in Eden's bedroom. As an act of reflection, Jenna's hand reaches for the spot next to her, completely remembering Eden had slept next to her the night before. She didn't dream that, she knew he had.
It was empty. There was no one on the bed with her. Jenna looked around the room, as if somehow that would help her find him. Obviously, there was no sight of Eden in the room. Jenna sat in the bed, her feet touching the floor. She looked down at the oversized Nike hoodie she was wearing. She walked into all that by herself.
She walked out of the room and down the stairs, searching for Eden. Her hands buried in the pockets of the hoodie. She could hear some noise coming from the kitchen, so Jenna decided to follow it, barely making any noise herself.
Poking her head through the door, Jenna found Eden near the stove, having a mini-discussion with a woman who was about her father's age; that was definitely not his mother. Jenna raised her eyebrows slightly, staring at the exchange between them with attention.
The woman slapped his hand away when he tried to get to the pan in the stove. "What are you doing? You are never interested in breakfast." She scolded him. Jenna bit her lip, a tiny smile wanting to form in her lips.
"I, uh," He scratched the back of his neck. "I have company."
The expression on the woman's face was one of utter surprise, and somehow that made Jenna feel good. She didn't know why, but part of her felt special (that could be an exaggerated term, but at the moment it felt like that). "You have company?" She asked him, tilting her head to the side. Eden nodded. "That explains a lot. If you have told me, I would've shown up later in the day."
"I needed breakfast." He shrugged. The woman narrowed her eyes and shook her head.
Jenna decided that maybe it was time for her to stop spying. She knocked on the doorframe and cleared her throat, both of them turned immediately to look at her. Eden softened his expression while the woman gave her a polite smile.
"Good morning. I apologize if I interrupted." Jenna told them, it took Eden less than a second to shake his head.
"You are not interrupting Jen." He smiled. His eyes kept staring at her for a few seconds until he remembered there was someone else in the kitchen. "Jen, this is Cecilia. She helps me with the house. Cecilia, this is Jenna." Eden decided to keep for himself the fact that Cecilia also helped him with the kids. After everything he had found out over the past hours, bringing his sons into conversation didn't seem right.
Cecilia wiped her hands and made her way towards Jenna, offering her a hand. Jenna got closer as well and took her hand, muttering a 'nice to meet you' while giving Cecilia one of those sweet smiles of hers. Cecilia came back to his side, while Jenna leaned in the kitchen counter, her eyes focused on Eden.
"Breakfast is almost ready." Eden told her, Jenna just nodded. He turned to Cecilia. "We'll be in the living room." Cecilia didn't say a thing, she motioned with her hand for him to go ahead.
Eden walked closer to Jenna and offered her his hand, she didn't hesitate as she took it and he intertwined their fingers together. It felt weird, there was five-years distance still between them. Eden decided to let go when they sat next to each other on the couch. Jenna fiddled with the sleeves of the hoodie, clearly wanting to say something. He just stared at her with attention, it still felt surreal that she was there.
