The moment Faye entered the kitchen, Princess smiled like someone who had been happy the whole day and not someone who had been busy begging her friends to stay for dinner. A bright light flashed in her eyes, her posture instantly lifting as her lungs expanded with a fast, sudden breath of relief.
"Faye, what are you doing here?" Princess said. Her voice carried a soft, surprising warmth, her chest heaving with a gentle rhythm as she rested her hands against the edge of the dining table.
Faye smiled and greeted the people around, then she went to the pups, who were so excited to see their mommy. They hadn’t seen her for two nights. Leonny waved his arms wildly in the air, his small lungs pulling in delighted gasps while Minny and the others squealed loudly from their high chairs, their little toes kicking the chair with rapid thuds.
"I am here for them," Faye said as she busily wiped off avocado pudding from Minny’s cutie face. She grabbed a soft paper towel, her thumb gently brushing over the baby’s cheek while her breathing remained fast and shallow, her eyes fixed entirely on the children to avoid looking directly at Princess.
"I will go get their things," Princess said, about to stand up from her seat.
"No, you should continue your dinner. I don’t want to disturb you for that. Take your time..." Faye said instantly, her voice dropping into a quiet, tight frequency as she kept her hands moving over the pup’s messy face.
"I thought MG does the picking," Kiara said. She leaned back against her chair, her eyebrows raising in slight curiosity as her breath escaped in a lazy, quiet puff.
"He is busy," Faye said with no further explanation.
"Okay. Princess made spaghetti and meatballs. Would you like to have some?" Kiara said in the most generous way she could. She gestured toward the pot resting in the center of the table, her tone sweet as her heart beat in a simple, easy rhythm.
"Yes, I did. If you are hungry, you can join us, but if you are not, there is no need to," Princess said. She kept her eyes locked on Faye, her chest rising and falling in slow, deliberate waves as she waited for a response.
"I am hungry. I haven’t eaten all day," Faye said, then she grabbed a plate from the counter.
"You haven’t eaten all day? Why?" Princess asked with a worried voice.
"Just work... nothing serious," Faye brushed it off. Then she sat down. Her seat was across from Princess, and Kiara happened to be sitting beside Faye.
"You can have my plate if you want to," Kiara said, offering her plate, but Faye ignored her and served herself.
Everyone at the table watched as Faye ate the spaghetti. She was now on the last plate because the pot was empty. Her fork twirled with a frantic speed, her mouth opening wide to take bite after huge bite without taking a single second to catch her breath.
It was like Faye was drinking the spaghetti instead of chewing it normally. The food vanished at a terrifying pace, her throat swallowing hard and fast while her lungs struggled to pull in tiny puffs of air between mouthfuls.
"Are you sure it’s just the whole day you haven’t eaten... or a century?" Kiara said, staring at the girl beside her. She blinked in utter disbelief, her mouth hanging open slightly as her own breathing completely stopped for a second.
Princess just stared at the way Faye ate. It was surprising, and the only time Princess had seen Faye eat like that was when she was pregnant... but Faye wasn’t pregnant.
She looked closely at her and noticed the swollen eyes, red nose, and frequent sniffling.
"Babe... is everything alright?" Princess asked softly, her voice laced with a gentle panic that made her chest tighten instantly.
"Yeah... I’m fine." Faye mumbled around a full mouth, her eyes darting down to her plate as her chest rose in a fast, defensive heave.
"Then why are you eating like a hungry cow?" Kiara asked, her tone entirely unfiltered as she tilted her head in genuine confusion.
"Kiara, if you want to leave, you can go," Princess said. She was fed up with Kiara’s shenanigans. Her eyes snapped sideways with a cold, sharp glare, her lungs expanding with a hard, dominant breath that signaled her absolute limit.
"Oh no... I have to finish my plate before leaving. Faye, you are not a cow. It was a slip of the tongue. I hope this doesn’t ruin our new found friendship." Kiara replied quickly, then smiling so kindly....
Normally, Faye would have said something, telling Kiara that she wasn’t her friend or looked for a comeback to balance the cow insult, but Faye wasn’t in the mood because she was trying to keep herself together.
"Hmm... I think I will just put this in a takeaway container and take it home. I’m supposed to be helping my girlfriend at the store, so am I free to go?" Beam, who had been quiet the whole time, finally said. She set her fork down gently, her chest rising with a soft, careful breath as she picked up on the thick, suffocating tension filling the room.
"Of course you are free to go. Does it look like I am holding you hostage or forcing you to stay here?" Princess said. She let out a short, stressed puff of air, her hands resting flat on the surface.
"Okay... good night." Beam murmured.
Beam stood up, grabbed a small container from the cabinet, packed her leftover food into it, and walked out.
"You should do the same. You have something to do, right? Your mother’s library," Princess said, turning to Kiara, who was casually playing with her food using her fork. Her voice was firm, her lungs pumping out slow, heavy breaths as she stared her friend down with zero patience left.
"No, I have nothing else to do..." Kiara said. Then she looked at Princess, who looked dead serious. Princess wanted her gone. The absolute stillness in Princess’s posture made Kiara’s heart skip a nervous beat, her lungs locking up as she realized she was genuinely being kicked out.
Kiara just quietly stood up.
"You better tell her to stay because tomorrow evening I’m not staying overtime, even if you beg, I won’t..." Kiara muttered. She leaned down slightly to whisper the warning near Princess’s ear, her tone a mix of irritation and annoyance.
She bid farewell to the pups, then left the kitchen and headed home.
Now it was just Faye, Princess, and the pups...
Just as it had always been.