#he asks me questions like about why luke weaver was so excited to get his first save on the yankees

[m00sebaby]

just having a bit of a ramble dont mind me

[pink-flame]

Like You Could Love Me

So...the Angry Flower Squad was making me SO soft over gifs and @mamirugbee wanted porch fluff with kissing and I remembered that @thedeathdeelers and @missjoolee liked my idea of using this post as a Juke prompt and here we are. I wrote this from 12-2am so it’s quite possibly incoherent and I’m not checking for mistakes until tomorrow so take it for what it is, a late night labor of love. Enjoy! 💜

Julie hadn’t slept for almost 48 hours. 

Her school was hosting a Los Feliz High After Dark event for the lower grades who didn’t get to attend prom. It was pitched as being just as exciting as the dance but in practice was known to be little more than a glorified sleepover in the school gym with PTA members for chaperones. Flynn had been determined that that year would be different, and had talked Julie into joining her on the planning committee. 

The good news was that Flynn had a real flair for party planning and decorating when she was actually invested (see the difference between the dance they tried to forget and the way she had helped Julie’s dad throw together an epic garage party in less than 24 hours). So by the time Julie and Flynn and the other volunteers were done the gym was fully immersed in a carnival theme full of cute booths filled with potential activities and cute backgrounds to take pictures in front of. It was definitely an improvement over the year before which had been an under the sea theme which had consisted mostly of a few blue streamers and Mr. Weaver walking around in an inflatable Nemo costume. 

The bad news was that it had taken a lot longer than they had anticipated and they hadn’t fallen into bed the night before the event until close to 2am. Julie hadn’t been able to sleep even after she slipped into bed next to Flynn and heard her best friend start making the small whistling noises that indicated she was out cold. Julie had been kept up with thoughts of what her bandmates were up to without her and if they had lingered a little longer on what Luke in particular was doing right then, well that wasn’t that surprising. 

She loved Alex and Reggie but neither of them had attempted to hold her hand and remarked on their “interesting little relationship” or suddenly developed the ability to touch her and instinctively joined her in reaching out to gently cradle the other’s face. 

No, Luke was different, not that she wanted to say that in front of him unless she was sure he felt the same overwhelming feelings she did Oddly enough she was much more concerned about the possibility that he didn’t than she was about the fact that he was still..well, a ghost. It wasn’t that she was unaware that his ghostly status could lead to heartache for her later on, of course she was. It just didn’t seem so important suddenly. After what had happened with her mom, what had almost happened with the guys only a couple of months ago...anything could happen at any time. Tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed anyway so why deny herself happiness now if she could have it? If she could have it. Because that was still the question. 

Because Luke obviously liked her but did he like her? That sounded so juvenile but to call it anything else...well, that was really scary. Evil ghosts and the looming possibility of their return had nothing on the insecurity that came with not knowing exactly how the boy you lo...liked felt about you. 

So Julie didn’t get much sleep that night, Flynn’s alarm seeming to go off only moments after she finally drifted off. She had dragged through school that day, trying to match Flynn’s excitement for the night’s upcoming festivities though her own enthusiasm had quickly drained out of her altogether along with her energy. In the end it had been as fun a night as it could be with Julie spending most of it in a semi-exhausted haze. She and Flynn had played some of the games they had set up, and danced to the music they both agreed would have been better if it had been either DJ’d by Flynn or performed by Julie’s band, and when Carrie had sneered something about how tacky the theme was even that had been half hearted and without any real bite. 

So it was a pretty good night all things considered and Julie was in a good mood despite her complete exhaustion by the time Flynn’s mom dropped her off early the next morning. Ok, so maybe part of her good mood was actually because of her exhausted state by that point as she found herself feeling giddy and her mind had gone sort of pleasantly fuzzy. That was her excuse for how she found herself half-skipping up the path towards her front door, singing to herself. 

We create...perfect harmony 

“Somebody had a good time.�� 

Julie’s head snapped up to take in the figure of the boy who leaned against the pillar of the porch in front of her, a small smile bordering on a smirk tugging at his lips. 

Luke.

What was he doing there? 

Was he waiting for her?

She had to play it cool. 

She had to be normal. 

She had to not give away all the feelings that had been swirling around inside of her for the last couple of months since they first gained the ability to touch each other whenever they wanted and promptly both became too awkward to touch each other at all. 

She had to…

“I missed you,” She blurted. 

One of Julie’s hands flew up to cover her mouth as she took the last few steps up onto the porch, trying and failing to ignore the way Luke’s eyes widened even as that vaguely infuriating smirk grew larger. 

“I didn’t mean that,” She insisted once her hand had dropped back to her side. “I mean...I didn’t not mean it but...I just meant it would have been fun if you could have come. Any of you. All of you. Um...yeah.” 

Luke let her dig herself deeper, waiting until her stream of words had come to a complete stop. When they finally dried up he pushed off of the pillar with one of his signature little bounces, letting his momentum carry him to within a step of where she stood awkwardly on the porch. 

“Did someone spike the punch at this dance?” He asked her, amusement clear in his tone. 

Julie shook her head a little too fiercely, indignant despite the fact that she couldn’t exactly blame him for suspecting that she was drunk. 

She felt a little drunk. 

Not that she knew what it was like to be drunk but she was pretty sure it was similar to this. 

Not the point. 

“It wasn’t a dance it was a school sanctioned slumber party,” She corrected, focusing all of her energy on not slurring her words or otherwise embarrassing herself. “And nobody spiked anything. And actually nobody drinks punch anymore. Just so you know.” 

Luke held up both hands as though he were surrendering but that smirk of his was impossible to deny at this point, a fact that both made Julie incredibly irritated and simultaneously fighting the urge to lean up and kiss it right off his stupid face. 

Ok, that was not helpful. 

“Not a dance, no punch. Got it,” Luke said, his voice just soft enough to keep her annoyance more or less at bay. 

“Why are you out here anyway?” 

Julie hadn’t meant to ask that but it felt like any filter her brain generally had was long gone at this point. 

Luke tilted his head slightly and reached up to scratch at the back of his neck. 

“Oh, you know, just taking in the view.” 

Julie frowned skeptically. 

“Taking in the view?”

“Yeah,” Luke said, gesturing out at the plant filled yard. “Just communing with nature you know? Honestly, I forgot you were even out last night.” 

“Oh.” 

Julie dipped her head a little so she didn’t have to look directly at Luke as disappointment rushed through her. She was pretty sure she was too tired to keep the evidence of that emotion from being completely visible. She was so frustrated with herself for caring at all. He wasn’t her boyfriend after all. Why would be be waiting for her?

“Julie.” 

She reluctantly raised her head to meet Luke’s gaze which was fixed insistently on her. His smirk had fallen away leaving behind a look at once more open and somehow harder to read at the same time. 

“I’m kidding,” He told her as he took a half-step closer to her, so close that she had to tilt her head up further to maintain eye contact. “I was waiting for you.” 

“Oh,” She said again, very aware that she seemed to have lost the ability to say anything else. 

She reached deep down inside and mustered up the strength to pull out one further word. 

“Why?” 

His eyes somehow managed to soften even more and his voice was oddly breathy when he answered. 

“Because I missed you too.” 

And Julie knew that the most prudent thing to do was tuck that phrase away as something warm, and happy and precious to examine more closely when she had slept and had the mental prowess to actually determine what it meant for their interesting little relationship. 

She knew that. 

But she was exhausted not only from lack of sleep but from months spent questioning where they stood. She was happy to hear him say that he had missed her, of course she was. But she also found herself feeling strangely...angry. 

How dare he look at her with those big soft eyes and stare at her like that if he wasn’t ever planning on actually putting her out of her misery by telling her how he felt or didn’t feel?

“I wish you wouldn’t look at me like that,” The words burst out of her without her permission. 

Luke was clearly taken aback by her words, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead. 

“Like what?” 

“I don’t know,’ She hesitated, just enough awareness seeping back in to make her realize what a truly stupid thing she was about to say. “Like you could love me.” 

She watched as a whole range of emotions rushed over his face too quickly for her to decipher exactly what all of them were. 

“Julie…” 

“Forget I said anything,” Julie interrupted, turning towards the front door with every intention to flee the situation. “I’m just really tired.” 

“Julie!” 

He said her name more forcefully that time and she froze. She didn’t turn back to face him though, the pounding in her chest and the heat spreading across her face giving her all the incentive she needed to keep her head facing away. 

Luke wasn’t having any of that though. 

He reached out to gently tug her back towards him, one hand settling on her cheek while the other rested on her waist. 

If she hadn’t been blushing before she certainly was now. 

“Do you not want me to look at you like that because...because you don’t feel the same?” 

Luke’s voice shook a little as he gave voice to that question, his thumb seeming to stroke across her cheek without his permission. 

Julie was reeling, everything feeling surreal and dreamlike anyway because of her lack of sleep but when combined with Luke’s gentle actions it felt more and more unreal. She couldn’t help but remember the last time he had touched her face, how they had clutched at each other thinking it was the only chance they would ever have. Now they had new chances every day and they had been wasting them. 

Why had they been wasting them?

“Wait...feel the same as what? Feel the same as who?” She asked as her brain finally caught up with what he had actually said. 

He visibly swallowed and she took some comfort in the fact that apparently he was nervous too. 

“The same as I feel,” He paused. “About you. I...I love you, Julie. And if that makes you uncomfortable I never have to say it again, ok? But it’s how I feel and I just wanted to say it. Once or whatever.” 

“But…” Julie felt a giggle rising up inside of her as exhaustion and the pure absurdity of the moment settled in. “But I love you too.” 

Luke’s thumb froze on her face as his eyes lit up with something close to hope. 

“You do?” 

Julie nodded, the giggle finally bursting out of her only to be met with a grin from Luke so radiant she wished she could capture it in a photo to look at later. 

“You love me,” Luke said again as though he needed to confirm beyond any shadow of doubt. 

“I love you,” Julie repeated agreeably. “And you love me?” 

Luke nodded, bouncing a little on his heels as he somehow managed to step even more into her space. 

“I love you.” 

“Well…” Julie sighed happily. “Well, that’s great then.” 

Luke let out a bark of laughter that probably would have been loud enough to bring her dad to the porch if anyone but her had been able to hear it. 

Before she had time to remark on how obnoxiously loud he could be he was crowding her back until she bumped into the pillar he had been leaning against when she got home. The moment her back made contact with its firm surface he was bringing his other hand up until he was cupping both of her cheeks. She barely had time to adjust to that very much welcome sensation before he was lowering his head and aligning his lips with hers, pressing them together in a chaste peck that was still enough to send her heart racing. He started to pull back as if to gauge her reaction but she was having none of that. She had been waiting for this for so long and as previously established she had absolutely none of her usual ability to deny herself what she wanted. 

And what she wanted was her hands on Luke Patterson right then. 

She reached up and latched one hand on the back of his neck and the other threaded deep into his hair giving it a little tug just because she could. She had been wanting to touch him so badly ever since that night in the garage when she’d almost lost him and she’d been wanting to touch his dumb, messy hair ever since “I’m Luke by the way”. So she did. 

He let out a little pleased sound that was cut off when she stretched up to press her mouth back to his, this time with twice as much force and no intention of separating anytime soon. To his credit he took the hint pretty fast, his hands dropping from her face to wrap around her waist tugging her body to press against his as he moved his lips insistently against hers. And wow...that was something, the sensation of almost all of her pressed up against almost all of him. 

He wasn’t warm, not exactly, but he wasn’t cold either like she had feared he would be. It was more like his body was mirroring back exactly her own temperature, leaving it hard to determine where one of them began and the other ended when her eyes were closed as they currently were. 

Or maybe that was just them. 

Maybe it was like that quote she always saw floating around online about souls being made of the same stuff. 

When she was well rested and thinking rationally she had always rolled her eyes a bit at stuff like that but now...she was beginning to see the appeal. 

Julie massaged absentmindedly at the back of his neck as she drew his lower lip into her mouth, the sound he made in response enough to have her pulling back with a giggle. 

��Come back here,” He mumbled, his lips chasing hers even as she turned her face away leaving him to press soft, wet kisses to her cheek. 

“Now you sound drunk,” She told him, turning back to face him and looping both arms around his shoulders. “My dad will be up soon and I have no idea how I’d explain...this...when he can’t even see you.” 

Luke groaned as he leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. 

“You’re right.” 

“I’m right,” Julie echoed. 

It was true but that didn’t mean she was happy about it. 

They stayed like that for another minute or so, just enjoying being this close to each other with nothing to hide. They might have stayed like that longer but Julie suddenly let out a yawn she couldn’t contain directly into Luke’s face. 

Luke pulled back sharply but the soft smile that seemed to always be reserved just for her remained in place. 

“You need to get some sleep,” He told her firmly. 

She wanted to argue but all that came out was another yawn. 

Ok, so there was no arguing with that. 

“Goodnight,” She told him, suddenly feeling shy as she backed towards the front door wanting to keep him in her sight just a little longer. 

Luke gestured around them to the soft light spilling around her yard. 

“Good morning,” He corrected with a grin. 

Never one to let him have the last word, certainly not when she was too tired to be embarrassed, Julie leapt forward to press one final lingering kiss on his lips, retreating before he could do more than return the pressure.

Julie backed towards the front door, the grin now firmly on her face and a rather dumbstruck one adorning his. 

“Band practice later,” She reminded him. “Don’t be late.” 

Then she slipped into the house and up to her bed, incredibly tired and pretty sure of exactly  what she would be dreaming of. 

[hushedhands]

Challenge 73

Thank you so much for voting @iebenhoch21! This was really fun and cute to write, I hope you like it. And for anyone else who has sent me a prompt, don’t worry, I see you and I’m proud of you! I’m getting these out as quickly as I can, in the order that I get them ♥️ Don’t forget to make sure all your friends who can vote have voted! 

The monarchy of Illéa maintained properties in every province for the royal family to use in case they needed to stay overnight away from the Palace. America used them more than Maxon, mostly while touring the country and meeting with governors or bringing publicity to newly-opened public libraries.

This time, the whole family was traveling to the groundbreaking ceremony of the first public secondary school in all of Illéa. The public schools that had existed in America and Aspen’s childhood, used primarily as a holding cell for Sixes and Sevens until they were old enough to work, were in the process of being reformed and converted into proper elementary schools. It was clear, though, that more space would be needed for older students. An elderly couple from Kent with no children of their own had willed a small plot of land on the outskirts of an equally small town to Marlee, who had been their province’s representative in Maxon’s Selection and whom they’d grown to love through the television.

This kind of thing wasn’t unheard of; the Selected often found themselves beneficiaries in someone’s will at some point, but this gift was particularly special. Marlee found out about it just as America and Kriss began scouting land for their public school initiative and measuring the costs of acquiring that land for the Crown. It was a pretty little spot in a good location for a school, and best of all, it was totally free. The decision was made to name the school after the couple who’d willed the land to Marlee, thank Marlee for donating the land to the government of Illéa in a placard on the cornerstone, and begin construction as soon as possible.

America, Marlee, and Kriss would all be at the official groundbreaking ceremony, but Kriss, with no children to shepherd around, would be flying in just before the start of the ceremony. Marlee and America thought it would be best to bring their families a night early so they could all get some good rest and not have cranky, weepy kids in front of photographers the next morning. That was how Addy came to be riding in a car with her mom, Jamesy, and newborn baby Maisy on the way to a special royal house in a far away place.

Instead of regular breakfast that morning, almost five-year-old Addy rode with Kile, his two-year-old sister Josie, and Marlee in a car driven by Carter, and then they all got on an airplane with America, Jamesy, Maisy, Maxon, and a host of royal advisors. On the plane, Addy got to sit with Kile and they got eggs and toast for breakfast served on special airplane plates. Addy used a spoon for her eggs and only dropped a couple of bites on her lap, which she then ate with her fingers.

America had to give baby Maisy a lot of attention, as usual, and Maxon had to work for the whole six hour flight, but Marlee and Carter kept Jamesy, Addy, Kile, and Josie well entertained with coloring, board games, and eventually cartoons on the airplane television.

When the plane landed, Addy had to put on a puffy coat because it was chilly between the plane and the cars waiting to whisk them away. Addy loved her puffy coat and wished she could wear it all the time; it was a color called maroon which sounded very exotic and magical to little Addy. There were a few photographers on the tarmac waiting to greet them, and Addy gave them her very best wave. Maxon even thanked her for being on her best behavior.

This time they rode in a car that didn’t have rear-facing seats in the back, the way Palace cars usually did. Jamesy rode in a safety seat in the far back, and Addy was supposed to sit by him but she begged to ride next to America, and Jamesy didn’t mind having a whole row of seats to himself, so baby Maisy’s carrier clicked into the middle seat, and Addy sat behind the guard who was driving, and America sat on the other side of Maisy’s carrier.

“Mommy?” Addy asked as the car got moving.

“Yes, baby bird?”

“Why is this place far?”

“Why? Um…” America tried to figure out how to answer that question. “It’s far because… we live in a very, very big country. One of the biggest in the whole world. If we want to visit different places in our country, we have to go very far.”

“Hm.” This didn’t really answer Addy’s question, but it gave her something to think about. Was Illéa different from other places? What other places were there, besides Illéa? She knew about Luke and Andy’s home, that was different, but were there more places than their home? How many places were there in the world?

“Mommy?”

“Hm?”

“How many places are there in the world?”

America scrunched her brow, “In the world? I don’t know, Bird… lots and lots. At least a thousand.”

“Hm.” Addy didn’t know how much a thousand was, but it was definitely lots. Addy had never considered that the world was so big before.

They rode along in silence for a few minutes. Baby Maisy grew fussy and America offered her a bottle. Addy volunteered to hold the bottle, promising to keep it tilted up high so there wouldn’t be any bubbles to get into baby Maisy’s tummy and make her cry. Addy pressed a kiss to the baby’s fist as she fed her. Maisy’s fist was squishy and cute, and Addy liked to smooch it when she could.

America reached over the baby carrier and ran a hand through Addy’s red hair and smiled tiredly over at her, “Thank you for being such a good helper, Bird.”

“Welcome, Mommy.”

America closed her eyes, still stroking Addy’s hair, as Addy continued carefully feeding the baby. After a few minutes, Maisy spat the bottle out and refused to drink anymore. “She’s all done.” Addy announced.

America stopped stroking Addy’s hair, pried open her eyes, and packed the bottle back into Maisy’s baby bag.

Addy turned to look out the window again and this time, something major caught her attention. “Mommy!”

“What is it, honey?” America asked, concerned at the urgency in Addy’s tone.

Addy pointed at the window, “The leafs… the leafs are red!”

“It’s okay, Addy. Nothing’s wrong.” America soothed, “Aren’t they pretty?”

They were the prettiest thing Addy had ever seen. Reds, yellows, and oranges, vibrant and bright as far as her eyes could see. “Why? Why are they different colors?”

Again, America had to think about how to answer her, “This is a place where it snows in the winter. You know snow from cartoons, right?”

“Snow? Yeah.” Addy knew snowmen, in particular.

“Snow is kind of heavy and it could break tree limbs if it got caught on leafs. So, to protect their limbs, trees will let their leafs fall down before the first snow of the season. And when leafs are getting ready to fall, they turn from green to all of these beautiful colors.”

“Will…will they ever have leafs anymore, Mommy?”

“Yes. Every spring, brand new baby green leafs are born.” America reassured her.

Addy was astounded. “Our trees have all of their leafs. They aren’t scared of any snow.” she reasoned.

“That’s right.” America smiled, proud that Addy had grasped the concept. “We don’t get snow, so our trees don’t have to shed their leafs in the fall.”

“Wow, Mommy.” Addy had never imagined such colorful leafs before.

“And you know what else, Bird?” America had an idea, a smile spreading on her face.

“Hm?”

“Once they fall to the ground, leafs become crunchy.”

“Crunchy?” Addy thought about crunchy things. “For salad?”

“No, baby.” America giggled. “For playing in.”

“Playing!” Addy was excited. “We can play with them?”

“Yes. Once we get to the house where we’re staying tonight, we’ll go outside and play in all these gorgeous, crunchy leafs.”

“Yes!” Addy kicked her legs excitedly. Who would have thought that leafs would be her new favorite toy?

***

The cars carrying the Palace contingent rolled through big old black iron gates to signal that they’d arrived at the monarchy’s property. The house at the end of the drive wasn’t as big as the Palace, but it was definitely a mansion of sorts. America figured Gregory Illéa had probably stolen it from whatever family had owned it before the founding of Illéa, claiming it for the monarchy by his right as the newly crowned King of a formerly free land. As soon as the cars stopped and the guards opened the doors, the kids were ready to run wild. Kile, Addy, Josie, and Jamesy were allowed to run and jump and scream as much as they wanted, as long as they could still see the house from wherever on the massive, tree-lined lawn they were playing.

No adults standing over them! No seatbelts holding them back! Addy ran as fast as her little legs would carry her, just to feel the wind in her hair. She ran until the cold air caused her lungs to ache, and even then she only paused to catch her breath for a moment. She spun in circles until she collapsed onto the leafy ground below. Her mommy was right, the leafs were crunchy, but Addy couldn’t figure out how to play with them yet.

Finally, Addy ran into the house and called out for her parents. The inside of the house was huge and confusing, but Weaver heard her call and he carried her to the upstairs bedroom where her parents were unpacking their bags. Maxon’s work day was done and he was finally free to focus on his family and the importance of this trip.

“What’s wrong, Bird? Are you done playing already?” Maxon asked as Addy was transferred from Weaver’s hip to Maxon’s. Weaver bowed out of the room to continue his work downstairs.

“No, I’m sweaty.” Addy announced. Sure enough, the little hairs framing her face were plastered to her forehead.

Maxon helped her unzip her coat and Addy turned around as if she was going to head straight back outside.

“Hold on a second, Bird.” America stopped her. “You can’t go outside with no sleeves, it’s too cold for that.”

“But Mommy, I’m sweaty.” Addy complained.

Maxon scooped Addy up again, “Let’s go check your suitcase for a long-sleeved shirt. That should work until you’re ready to slow down and bundle up again.” he glanced at America to make sure that she agreed, and when she nodded, he carried Addy off to the bedroom next door where she and Jamesy would sleep that night.

The view out the window was gorgeous. Addy could see the whole long driveway all the way almost to the iron gates. She also spied Kile, Josie, and Jamesy down on the lawn playing some kind of game of tag.

While Maxon dug through her bag, Addy climbed up onto the bed and waited. It was really cushy, Addy liked it.

When Maxon found a shirt he thought would work for both Addy and America’s specifications, he told Addy to reach for the sky and he pulled her old shirt off and put this new one on. Addy’s new shirt was gray like her eyes, and it was soft on her skin. Much better than her old, sweaty shirt.

“Can I go play?” Addy asked permission.

“Yes. Mommy, Maisy, and I will be outside soon.”

“Kay.” Addy took off like a little bolt of red-headed lightning, navigating her way back out the front door and rejoining her friends in a flash.

It seemed like no time at all before Aunt Marlee and Uncle Carter joined them outside, followed by America, Maxon, and baby Maisy in her stroller. As soon as Aunt Marlee spied the baby, she rushed over to cradle her and kiss her, which freed Maxon and America to round up the bigger kids. Addy loved being a bigger kid.

America was in charge of the leaf quest because she’d played with lots of leafs as a little girl in Carolina. Maxon had never played with leafs before, so he was at her command. She told everyone to go all around the enormous lawn and gather big handfuls of bright, colorful leafs, then pile them up right here.

This was already fun, and Addy would have been happy making silly leaf piles all day long. But then, just when Addy though their leaf pile couldn’t get any more enormous, America and Marlee had a conference and seemed to agree.

“Line up by me, oldest to youngest!” America instructed. “Not you, Maxon.”

Maxon pouted and left the line so that Kile now stood up front. “Okay Kile, you’re going to run as fast as you can and then leap into the leaf pile.” America instructed.

Kile glanced at his mom as if his Aunt America had lost her mind.

“It’ll be soft, don’t worry.” Marlee encouraged him.

Kile gathered his bravery and ran full-speed at the leafs. At the last second, he jumped into the air and belly-flopped on to the leaf pile, disappearing for a moment in a puff of crunchy, colorful leafs. He emerged laughing his head off and helped restore the flattened pile to optimal fluffiness for the next jumper in line, Addy.

Addy pumped her little arms to give herself extra speed as she launched herself toward the leaf pile. At the last moment, she spun around and jumped backward, landing on her back with a soft thud and a lot of giggles.

America helped Josie and Jamesy while Carter snapped photographs of the fun. Maxon finally got his turn and made a huge mess, because he made what he called a leaf angel once he landed, which America said was like a snow angel, but Addy didn’t know what either of those things were. She just knew it was silly.

From then on, until the sun set and it was too dark to see, the Schreaves and Woodworks ran and jumped in an endless loop into the leaf pile. For a while, Maxon and Carter even tossed the kids into the pile so that they’d get to fall from higher up.

Addy never wanted to stop playing with leafs, but when it was officially dinner time she had to admit that she was starving. She’d worked up a huge appetite with all of her running and jumping (and giggling until she had a stomachache). The savory squash soup and fresh, hot loaf of rosemary bread that they had for dinner warmed her tummy up perfectly. After dinner, Addy took a long, hot bath where she found a hidden piece of leaf still in her hair.

Once America had Addy all dressed in her snuggliest pajamas, Addy joined the rest of everyone on the big back terrace and it was Jamesy’s turn for a bath. Addy took his abandoned spot on Maxon’s lap and learned that the chef had made them some super yummy apple cider for dessert. Addy got her own kid-sized glass and sipped away happily. Her mouth was hot enough from the drink that her breath became even foggier than it had been before, and it was fun to blow out all of that smoke like a dragon.

Bedtime came too soon, and they didn’t have time to play again the next day. They went straight from the groundbreaking ceremony back to the plane, and then home. Addy was disappointed, she’d wanted more time to play with the leafs, but America brought home an especially pretty red leaf and pressed it onto a blank page in a book for Addy to look at whenever she wanted and remember their family trip to Kent.