Castle Of Glass | B. Wayne

[34]

Calmia's mother had sent quite a lot of stuff for her and as she checked the bags herself, she was delighted to see the containers of food. The one thing she couldn't find anywhere in Gotham was her mother's delicious cooking and seeing how she had considerately sent all of her favorite food items, it made Calmia's heart swell with delight.

Right then she was surrounded by the rest of her family members as she unpacked the food suitcase. The only people missing were Richard and Bruce as they were both at work and would come home soon.

Aman had been shown to his room and was supposed to join them after freshening up while Jade had to leave on a client's call to inspect her boutique project.

Steph and Barbara were cooing over the knit sweaters, caps, and shoes that Sarah Hardin had sent for her grandchild. Cass was checking out the collection of baby blankets, each in a different color and Jason was occupied with the food boxes that Calmia had given him to set aside. 

It seemed as if the soon-to-be-grandmother had been preparing for the good news ever since Bruce and Calmia had gotten married. Because those intricately woven and beautiful collections of baby clothes and accessories couldn't have been completed in such a short time otherwise. 

Damian and Tim were in the room too, taking a look at everything that was coming out of the bulging bags Calmia's brother had brought from Egypt. There were a lot of gifts for Calmia sent by her maternal relatives too, especially her uncles so the unpacking was taking a long time. She was the only daughter in their extended family so almost everyone from her maternal relatives showered her with love and gifts.

"What's this?" Tim was examining what seemed to be a jar of ground coffee beans. Of course, he was most interested to know if it was coffee and what kind of taste it had.

"It's not coffee if that's what you're wondering." 

Tim's face fell at the remark, "Oh, too bad. But what is it? Looks like finely ground coffee beans."

"This is Egyptian tea leaf powder that we use to brew chai," Calmia explained, opening the jar and a strong aromatic scent filled the room, "but it's very strong. I don't think my doctor will allow me to consume such high caffeine intake these days."

His eyes lit up, "then can I keep it? I mean if it's strong enough to keep me awake when I'm working on my cases, then I don't mind swapping it for coffee."

"Tim, you incorrigible self-inflicted insomniac, you'll kill yourself someday from this very addiction." Steph shook her head in disappointment as she watched Calmia agree to his request.

"Pretty please? I'm not going to die by caffeine, I swear," Tim seemed quite intent on persuading Calmia to let him keep the jar.

"Fine, you can have it but you must promise me that you won't drink more than one cup a day," Calmia handed over the jar, unable to resist the pretty please look he had given her. "But Steph's right, be careful with your intake. Too much caffeine can mess up with your head."

Damian and Jason exchanged a glance, the same sentence right on the tip of their tongues that they bit off at the last minute. Both of them were thinking that Tim was already messed up, some more caffeine wouldn't be to blame for his mental health.

"I promise, I will drink only one cup per day!"

"That's like an alcoholic saying they will have only one drink," Damian shrugged.

"Hey, I'm a man of my word. I'm not going to break my promise," Tim seemed to have gotten offended by that remark.

"We'll see about that," Barbara smiled, knowing full well how easily Tim could end up breaking that promise.

"What if you don't like the taste?" Jason asked, checking out the jar that he had flicked out of Tim's hands.

"My taste buds have already been destroyed by drinking coffee while it's scalding hot," Tim shrugged, "I don't think I will feel the difference."

Calmia fetched out a box and a smile played upon her lips as she held it out to Damian, "Hey, I think you will like this."

"What's this?" He asked as he cautiously took the box from her, opening it to see basbousa inside. The savory scent of honey and caramel filled the room shortly after.

"My Amma makes basbousa that's twice more delicious than the one I treated you guys to. You can have it."

"But Miss Calmia, if you keep distributing everything among us, there won't be any left for you," Damian remarked, trying to give her back the box, "your mother sent these gifts for you. It doesn't feel right taking this."

"I know," the warmth in her eyes made Damian pause as well, "but you are my family. I feel happy when I share things that I like with you all. And there's plenty left for me. See?"

True, the suitcase was still full as Sarah seemed to have packed two to three containers of every single food item. So there was still enough left for Calmia even after giving away a box to every person present in the room.

"Thank you," Damian accepted the box at last, watching the smile on Calmia's face widen.

Seeing her right then as a part of their family Damian could understand very well why his father and Talia's relationship could never work out. Bruce needed someone who could value all the people connected to him as well and he knew his mother could not do so.

Talia was protective and possessive when it came to the people she loved but she couldn't extend that tight bubble to include the rest of them other than Bruce and Damian. She also got selfish with her loved ones, unable to understand that it wasn't a healthy trait and it ended up hurting them at times.

On the other hand, Calmia was warm and accepting and she loved every one of them fully such that even they had begun to deeply appreciate her existence in their lives. In such a short time, she had become a very important person in their lives and they couldn't imagine their family as complete without her.

Marrying Calmia was by far the best decision Bruce had made and there was no denying it.

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