“Welcome back,” Luina said as they entered the house.
“We’re home! Brr, it’s freezing out there!”
Myuke hung her scarf on the back of a chair and crouched in front of the fireplace. She had been very grumpy when she’d left the house, but the fresh outside air seemed to have cleared her mind. She was back to her regular self again.
Bram’s happy smile had probably popped into her mind while she was choosing cakes, making her realize how much she loved her. Once she apologized, Bram was sure to follow suit, and their relationship would be all but repaired.
Hoping that the carefree happiness he had gotten so used to would soon return, Anima addressed Luina.
“Something smells fantastic. Are you cooking?”
“Oh, you noticed? I thought the smell of the firewood would mask it.”
“I love the smell of your cooking almost as much as I love you. That’s why eating your meals is always the highlight of my day.”
“Why don’t we get to eating if it makes you so happy?” Luina chuckled.
“Say no more; I’m starving. How about you, Myuke?”
“I’m starving too. I guess we should save these for later, then, huh?” Myuke proposed, holding up the cake box.
“What did you buy?”
“Myuke picked out some miniature cakes for everyone.”
“I got you a chocolate cake and a fruit tart!”
“Oh, thank you so much! Those are my favorites!”
At the sight of Luina’s content smile, Myuke celebrated her successful cake-picking.
“You’re welcome! There’s two for everyone; we can have them after lunch or something.”
“They’ll be even tastier if we eat them later in the afternoon, when we’re a bit hungry. I’m sure the other two will be back soon, so we should get everything ready for lunch. Could you help me, Anima?”
“Of course, but where exactly are they? I haven’t even heard them since we got home. Oh, no! What if they wandered into the forest?!”
“Don’t worry; they’re upstairs.”
“Upstairs? Are they drawing?”
“No, they’re changing. We went outside to pick cabbages for lunch, and they both fell on their backs. Their clothes got completely soaked.”
“What good girls. I’m so proud of them.”
The moment Anima commended them, he heard the sound of Marie’s swift footsteps. She burst into the dining room, followed sluggishly by Bram.
“You’s hooome!” She rushed up to Anima and hugged him tightly. “I helped Mommy! I pulleded a cabbage, and, and, it was thiiis big!”
“Wow, that’s incredible. I can’t wait to eat the cabbage you picked. I’m proud of you too, Bram.”
Bram sheepishly looked at the ground. She felt awkward in front of Myuke, but Anima’s compliment managed to put a slight smile on her face.
“O-Of course I’d help out, m’kay? Anyway, where’s the bed? Did you ask them to deliver it?”
“We didn’t get one.”
“Oh... Well, doesn’t make a difference to me, m’kay?”
She acted indifferent, but her face didn’t lie. She looked relieved that she didn’t have to stop sleeping with her beloved sister.
“Myukey, whassat?”
“Mini cakes.”
“Cakes?! Woo-hoo! I love cakes!”
“And there’s two for everyone!”
“Two for ev’yone?!”
Marie immediately jumped at the promise of cakes. She let Anima go and snuggled up to Myuke, looking up at her with puppy-dog eyes.
“We’ll have them after lunch. We gotta go out and play in the snow first. It’ll make them taste twice as good! I promise!”
“Yaaay!” Marie responded with a big smile, then sat down to wait for lunch.
With the girls in the dining room, Anima followed Luina into the kitchen. She had prepared fried cabbages, eggs, and bacon for lunch. The two of them got everyone’s portions onto plates, sliced a loaf of bread, filled some glasses with milk, then brought the feast to the table.
“Thanks for the meal!” Marie sang before they started eating.
Though the room felt far less tense than it had earlier in the morning, Bram and Myuke still weren’t speaking to each other. Myuke likely felt too awkward to make up with her sister at the lunch table.
“It was nummy!”
Marie had to have been starving; she cleared her plate faster than anyone else. She wishfully glanced at the cake box sitting on the table, but she kept to her word and didn’t ask for any.
“Thank you, Luina. As always, that was delicious. All right, girls, let me take care of dishes. Go out and play in the snow; it’ll make you extra hungry for your cakes.”
“I’ll go out later,” Myuke said. “I wanna draw right now. Marie, do you wanna draw with me?”
“Uh-huh! I draw us payin’ in the ’now!”
“I can’t wait to see it!”
Myuke and Marie headed upstairs, while Bram started collecting the dishes.
“You can go and play with them,” Anima told her.
“I can’t just let you do all the work, m’kay? You go rest, Mommy. I’ll help Daddy, m’kay?”
Luina always wanted to do her fair share of the chores, but she couldn’t ignore Bram’s earnest request.
“That’s really kind of you, Bram. Thank you.”
Blushing from Luina’s praise, Bram took the plates and quickly made her way into the kitchen. Anima picked up the glasses and followed after her. They made their way out the back door and over to the well, where they proceeded to wash the dishes.
“Daddy, I need to talk to you about something, m’kay?” she said in a serious tone the moment they were alone.
“What is it?”
“I wanna make up with Myuke, m’kay?”
“Really?! You do?!” Anima cheered. Those were the very words he’d been waiting to hear. With Myuke and Bram both set on making up, their quarrel was sure to come to an end. “Let’s go tell Myuke right now!”
“I-I can’t do that, m’kay?”
“Why not? You want to make up, don’t you?”
“I do! I do, m’kay...?”
“Are you worried she won’t forgive you?”
Bram nodded meekly. It was incredibly tempting for him to come out and tell her how Myuke felt, but it would have been meaningless if she didn’t hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. Moreover, there was a chance—albeit an incredibly small one—that he was wrong about Myuke’s feelings. If that were the case, it would undoubtedly bring about disaster.
So long as Bram gives her an honest apology, I think she’d forgive her either way.
Anima was certain Myuke would forgive Bram. She’d put a lot of thought into her cake choices, and ultimately decided on two flavors that Bram was sure to love, hoping that a heartfelt present like that was going to ease the tension. There was no doubt she wanted to make up.