Winter Hopes (Seasons of Love) (28 page)

Footsteps sounded, and Jane came into the foyer. “Here I am,” she said, grinning. “And here you guys are. Andy, let your mama
stand up so she can take off her coat and stay a while.”

Andy let go and ran away, barreling down the hallway towards the kitchen.

Sam and Lydia both rose from their crouches. Jane stood there smiling, her dark hair loose, comfortably dressed in a matching turquoise velour hoodie and yoga pants. Sam could see sisters
shared the same warm golden brown eyes, almost exactly the same, the eyes that had immediately captivated him when he’d first met Lydia. It was almost jarring to see them on another person.

“Hi Sam,” Jane said, holding out her hand. “I'm Jane.”

“A real pleasure to meet you," he said warmly, smiling as he shook her hand.

“Same here,” she said.

“These are for you,” Sam said, holding out the bouquet of flowers he'd been grasping in his other hand. “I just wanted to thank
you for taking Andy yesterday, letting Lydia and I have last night together. It was very kind of you, and I really appreciate it.”

“Wow,” Jane said as she accepted his offering. “These are gorgeous. You didn't have to do this, but thank you. And, you're welcome.”

The three of them chuckled together.

“I'm going to go put these in some water,” Jane said. “Why don't you guys take your coats off and come back to the kitchen?”

“Yes ma'am,” Lydia said. Jane leaned over to give her sister a quick peck on the cheek in belated greeting before walking away.

“She likes you already,” Lydia told Sam as she put their coats in the hall closet. “And Andy too. That last big smile he gave you was his seal of approval."

“Whew! Then I'm in,” Sam grinned, only half joking. “He's a
beautiful little boy, Lydia. Really. What a cute kid.”

“Thank you.” She smiled demurely, pleased. He stole a kiss from her before she led him down the hall, towards the noise in the kitchen. Steeling himself a bit, he followed her into the fold.

A young boy, but older than Andy, was sitting at the table in the
kitchen nook, reading a thick book by the sunlight that streamed in through the bay window. Andy and another boy his age were playing with cars, following each other around the kitchen in
ceaseless motion. A young girl was holding a handful of forks; most likely, Jane had instructed her daughter to set the dining room table. Jane’s husband was at the granite topped island in the middle of the room, cutting
up cantaloupe, and Jane was at the stove, flipping pancakes and
pushing scrambled eggs around in a large pan.

“Wow,” Sam marveled. “This is some scene.”

“Barely contained chaos,” Lydia remarked.

“It's great,” Sam said, smiling.

“Hi, Aunt Lydia,” the girl said, and went to the dining room with her cutlery.

“Hi, Sophie,” Lydia said to the girl's retreating back. “That's my niece,” she said over her shoulder to Sam. “She's seven.”

“Going on seventeen,” Jane’s husband joked wryly. He put out his hand immediately. “Nice to meet you, Sam. Welcome.”

“You must be Tyler.” Sam grinned, shaking the outstretched hand. “You have a lovely home. Thanks for having us over.”

“Well, Lydia practically lives here part time,” Tyler teased, “but it's nice to have you join us for breakfast. Hope you can deal with a couple of loud kids.”

“Easily,” Sam said, surveying the room. “Reminds me of home. My older brother and his wife also have three kids. Two girls and a boy, pretty close in age to yours. I'm over there fairly often.”

“Good, then you'll feel right at home with the volume and the craziness,” Jane said, flipping a pancake with finesse.

“Would you guys like something to drink?” Tyler asked cordially.

“I'll get it, Ty. Thanks though,” Lydia said, moving to the refrigerator.

Lydia hid her face in the fridge to take a deep breath. So far, so good. Andy seemed to like him, and kids had an innate sense about people. Sam seemed perfectly at ease. The only one there who was uncomfortable was her, and it was time to stop that. She took one more deep breath and pulled the orange juice from the refrigerator.

As she poured two glasses of juice, she heard Jane say to Sam, “So Sam! I hear you have some fabulous surprise planned for Lydia
tonight. That's all well and good, but I won't be there, so you have to let me in on the secret now. I can't wait until Lydia calls me tomorrow.”

Amused, Sam raised his eyebrows at her, smirked, and glanced over at Lydia.

“Disobey her at your own peril,” Lydia cracked.

Sam gave a relaxed laugh, then moved to murmur something close to Jane's ear. Her eyes widened at whatever he said.

“Wow! I'm impressed. I love that place,” she said with
enthusiasm. “Tyler has taken me there two or three times over the years. Mmm, so good.”

Sam leaned in and added something else. The kitchen had gone silent, and all eyes in the room were on him and Jane.

“Awww,” Jane cooed happily, smiling. Her eyes went to her
sister's mystified face. “Oh, she'll just love that. Well done, Sam.”

“Thanks.” Sam grinned.

“Hey.” Tyler pouted with mock hurt feelings. “Share.”

Jane leaned over to him and whispered in his ear as Sam
returned to Lydia's side.

“Oh, yeah, great choice,” Tyler enthused. He winked at Lydia. “You're all set, don't worry. It's all good.”

“You guys are killing me,” Lydia said with a laugh. “Bunch of co-conspirators.”

Jane smiled a teasing smile and turned back to the stovetop.

Sam thanked Lydia softly as he accepted the glass of orange juice she offered him. Their eyes held for a moment, and he winked at her. Feeling a little tingle, she smiled in response.

“Any chance there's coffee made?” Lydia asked her hosts, “or do you need me to make a pot?”

“Silly girl,” Jane chided. “Like I could get through a morning
without caffeine. It's made. Help yourself.”

“VVVRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOMMM!!!” Ethan screamed as he and Andy ran a new circle around the kitchen island, one after the other, holding their tiny cars aloft.

“Guys. Guys! Go take it in the other room,” Tyler told them in a distinctly parental tone. “Breakfast'll be ready in about five minutes. Give us a break 'til then, alright?”

The two small boys ran out of the kitchen, their cars in the air as they took off.

“That was my youngest nephew, Ethan,” Lydia told Sam. “He and Andy are best buds. And that’s my oldest nephew, Cooper.” She pointed to the boy who sat at the table by the bay window. At the mention of his name, Cooper looked up from his book.

“Hey, Cooper,” Sam said in a friendly tone.

“Hi.” Cooper rubbed absently at his nose and went back to reading.

“Don't take it personally,” Lydia said. “He loves to read, and hates to be interrupted.”

“Just like his favorite aunt,” Jane remarked wryly. “My running
joke is how did I give birth to my sister's kid? Coop reminds me so much of her, especially when we were younger. He's such a bookworm, just like her. She always had her nose buried in a book. I
thought she'd end up a librarian; but hey, I wasn't too far off the mark, was I?”

“As much as I love libraries,” Lydia said, "I love working with kids even more.”

“She has a lot of patience,” Tyler said to Sam. “Way more than I would, that's for sure.”

“Well, I can't slice into people, and you can,” Lydia said as she headed towards the coffee pot. “We all have our strengths, don't we?”

“Well, when you put it
that
way…” Tyler grinned. He pushed
the cut up pieces of cantaloupe rind into a pile as he asked Sam, “What do you do? Sorry, I wasn't told.”

“I'm essentially a graphic designer,” Sam replied. “Web design.”

“Essentially?” Lydia said, her tone mocking. She shot Sam a
quick look as she poured some steaming coffee into a colorful mug. She
turned to Tyler and told him, “That's one way of putting it. He
started
out
as a graphic designer. He's now the Creative Director, as in head honcho. At a huge media company. I won't mention the name since he's being modest, as usual.”

Tyler's expression showed that he was impressed. “Nice. Good for you.”

Sam just grinned casually. Lydia knew he hated tooting his own
horn, and likely was more than happy to let her do it for him.
“Thanks. Yeah, it's been good.”

“And you live in Chicago?” Tyler asked. “At least that much I know.”

“Yes.” Sam picked up his orange juice and sipped as Lydia
rejoined him. He slipped his free arm around her waist to inch her closer to him, and she nestled into his side. “I live in Lincoln Park, if you're familiar with Chicago at all.”

“Sure,” Tyler nodded. “Great part of town. I like Chicago. Haven't been there in a few years,” he added. “Last time I was there was for a medical convention, maybe four or five years ago. You from there originally?”

“Yeah,” Sam said. “Grew up in Evanston, right outside the city.”

“I’ve heard of it,” Tyler said.

“You live in Chicago?” Cooper's voice piped up from the back of the kitchen.

They all turned to look at him as Sam answered, “Yup, I do.”

Cooper looked confused. “Then what are you doing here? Just
visiting?”

Jane grinned and said to Sam, somewhat apologetically, “He has to know everything.”

“That’s cool.” Sam smiled easily at the boy. “I guess you could say that. Your aunt and I have become friends, and I'm visiting her this weekend.”

Cooper's eyes narrowed as he took in Sam from head to toe; his eyes lingered on the arm Sam had wrapped around Lydia's waist. “Friends? You look like a boyfriend to me. Are you her boyfriend?”

“Cooper!” Jane exclaimed.

“What?” Cooper asked, confused by his mother's ire. “It's just a question.”

“You're being a little nosy,” Tyler told his son. “You don't just come out and ask people private things. Especially ones you've only just met. It’s not your business.”

“Why is that private? He's
here
, isn't he?” Cooper said.

Lydia laughed out loud, but blushed at the same time.

“Kid's got a point.” Sam smiled. He looked down at Lydia, his dark eyes telegraphing a silent question. She just looked back at him, unsure of what to say.

Sam's smile widened. He looked back up at Cooper and
answered amiably, “Yeah, like a boyfriend. I hope that's okay?”

Cooper stared at Sam, then shrugged. Apparently having made his judgment, he went back to reading his book and into his own world.

Lydia and Jane exchanged wide eyed looks of amusement and disbelief.

“What was
that
?” Tyler whispered to his wife.

“Who knows?” Jane said under her breath, trying not to laugh
openly. “He's nine. I just know he's crazy about his aunt. Looks like he was being protective, if you ask me.”

Lydia and Sam looked at each other, and their eyes locked. His arm still around her waist, Sam squeezed her gently, affectionately.
The corner of his mouth turned up; he was clearly smitten as he
gazed down at her. In return, she gave him an open, delighted smile. God, she was crazy about him.

“I'm getting hungry,” Tyler said. “Everything almost ready?”

“Just about,” Jane nodded, turning off dials on the stove.

Sam kept his arm around Lydia's waist as she took a careful sip
of her coffee. “Where's Sophie?” Lydia asked, realizing her niece
hadn't returned. “She disappeared.”

“She's finishing up setting the table,” Jane said. She reached for a large blue and white platter that lay on the counter. “It's her new chore if she wants allowance.”

“Ah.” Lydia watched Jane stack pancakes onto a large oval serving dish and said, “Isn't there anything I can do to help? This just feels unnatural, standing here.”

“Well, you brought a guest,” Jane said. “So your main job today is to keep your guest entertained.”

“I see.” Lydia grinned. Sam winked down at her as she took another sip of her coffee.

“Breakfast is ready!” Jane called out, raising her voice so the younger boys could hear her. “Cooper, put the book down, time to
eat.” She went to lift the platter, heavy with pancakes, but Sam picked it up before she could and made his way around the kitchen island.

“Dining room?” he asked.

“That way.” Jane smiled, pointing to the door Sophie had exited through earlier.

“Great.” With a grin, Sam disappeared through the door.

“Cooper Aronson!” Jane said loudly. “Book down! Time to eat! Go!”

With a grumble, the boy marked his place in the page and
shuffled off to the dining room.

“Oh my God, that man is gorgeous,” Jane gushed to Lydia once
he’d gone. “And friendly? Polite? Gracious? Helpful?” Jane
mockingly put her hand to heart, feigning shock. “Holy crap. I don't think your husband ever picked up a plate in all the years I knew him.”

Lydia snorted, but was extremely pleased.

“He seems genuinely nice, Lyddie,” Tyler said simply. He
picked up the bowl filled with cantaloupe and added, “And he's obviously crazy about you, which means he's smart too. Good for you.” He
smiled at her before he too went out to the dining room.

Lydia looked after him happily. She turned to her sister and
asked in a whisper, “So you like him? Honestly?”

“I just told you I did.” Jane smiled. “Total thumbs up. He's
sweet. Like Ty said, he's obviously crazy about you. The way he looks at you makes me want to sigh. And you're right, that's a killer smile
he's got. I like his eyes too. They're warm.” Her gaze shifted as she caught a glimmer nestled in Lydia's hair. She moved in closer to examine the earrings and fingered one delicately. “Oh honey, they're
beautiful.”