Page 32 of Awaiting
“Designs stuffed animals?” Bexley asked, yawning.
“Yes. We went to university together.” Alex stood up fully, placing the elephant on the sofa beside Bexley. When one of the babies made a sound, she added, “I think it’s time for their breakfast.”
“I’ll get it,” Bexley said.
“No, you stay. I got to sleep in an actual bed last night. You had an elephant for a pillow and a blanket made for an infant over your body. Do you want to go shower or maybe at least get a little more sleep?”
“It’s better if they eat at the same time. We can maybe feed them, burp them, then put them back down for a bit and grab some breakfast for ourselves.”
“That sounds like a good idea. I was thinking that it might be nice to take them for a walk on the palace grounds later today.”
“I think that could be fun,” Bexley said with a smile. “Can I maybe run and brush my teeth while you prepare their breakfast? I need to change, too.”
“You look all right to me,” Alex replied, promptly blushing.
Bexley was wearing a pair of pink pajama pants with waffles and mimosas and the words, “Let’s do brunch,” on them in white lettering, as well as a white T-shirt that left little to the imagination. Alex hadn’t noticed it when Bexley was still lying down with the green-and-yellow baby blanket covering her, but now, she could see the shape of Bexley’s full breasts and even the smallest peaks of nipples. Alex looked away quickly, hoping Bexley hadn’t seen her staring at her.
“Thanks, but I don’t think this is how you’re supposed to greet a future Queen – morning breath and embarrassing pajamas.” Bexley chuckled.
Alex had a whole lot of ideas about how Bexley could greet her in the morning, and this was one she’d certainly be perfectly happy with.
“I’ll get things ready in here. Take your time,” she said instead.
With Bexley out of the room, Alex took a deep breath just as Tor began to wake up. She moved to prepare their breakfast, deciding that this morning, they could have some mashed bananas along with their bottles. Nora had placed their fold-up high chairs against the wardrobe in order to feed the twins in here, so Alex had them set up and ready to go. When Bexley returned, Alex passed her the spoon and the baby food. Then, Bexley took Tor, and Alex took Julia.
“Bananas, huh?” Bexley said as they each faced their respective baby.
“Do you have a thing against bananas?”
“No, just making conversation.”
“And we’re so desperate for topics that we have to talk about fruit?” Alex teased.
Bexley laughed and said, “I slept on a sofa with an elephant for a pillow. Give me a minute to fully wake up.”
Alex laughed as well before turning to watch Bexley carefully wipe mashed bananas off Tor’s face.
“Well, he seems to like my bananas,” she noted.
“Saybananasagain.”
“Why?” Alex asked.
“Because it sounds funny in your accent.”
“What accent?” Alex joked.
???
“So, when you say there’s no one there, you really mean no one.”
“Yeah,” Bexley replied as they walked. “My dad died a few years ago of colon cancer. My mom died when I was younger. Alice and I kind of bonded over losses, I guess. My brothers were already working the oil rig when my dad passed, so they decided we should sell the feed store instead of trying to take it over. There’s a lot more money in what they’re doing anyway. Now, it’s just me there with my grandmother.”
“So, your brothers just left you there?”
“Not exactly. They come home when they can, but their jobs require them to be gone for months at a time, and they like what they do. They didn’t go to school like I did, so making the kind of money they’re making will help set them up without having to worry about much. They also send money when they can, but I make enough to support us, so I’ve been putting what they send away for Grandma’s assisted living facility, and some of it goes into college funds I’ve started for my future nieces and nephews.”
“Assisted living facility?”