Blue Kisses

Chapter 2

It's finally Friday night. Tonight's game night at Alice's and Lucy is driving me and Joshua in her parents' car. As we pull up, I'm eager to know what Alice's home looks like. Outside, it's a simple white house, freshly painted. Rose bushes wrap around like a moat. The front porch, adorned with rocking chairs and plants. Wind chimes hang above adding to the whimsical touch of their quaint home. We reach the front door and Alice is waiting to greet us, she's smiling and waving with both of her hands. She opens the door and lets us inside. It looks straight out of a magazine, the living room is small, it's dressed with candles and a toasty fireplace lighting up the room. It smells like fresh cookies and flowers. I've never been in a home where it was neatly organized and still felt cozy. Pink is the main theme of Grandma Lori's home, rosy curtains drape the windows and pink pillows neatly placed on the snug couch. A giant opening leads into the kitchen.

"Grandma, this is Josephine, Lucy, and Josh," Alice gestures to us one by one, smiling sweetly at us as if we're her brand new puppies. "And guys, this is Grandma Lori."

"I've heard a lot about Alice's new friends, I'm glad you all were able to patch things up." Grandma Lori says.

"Oh, here Grandma Lori, I've got you some flowers," Joshua hands the elaborate bouquet of pink roses he spent 30 minutes picking out to her. How did he pick the perfect bouquet to match her quaint home?

"You can call me Lori," she says, grabbing the roses.

"And I also made you a cake," he adds.

"Actually, I made the cake," Lucy corrects Joshua

"Yes, well it was my idea and I wrote out the apology on it," he says, grinning. "I hope you like carrot cake!" He sets the cake down on the kitchen table and opens the box. On it, frosting spells out I'M SORRY I HIT YOUR GRANDDAUGHTER WITH MY TRUCK. .

"Oh wow, how nice of you and I do love carrot cake," Lori replies.

"C'mon let me show you guys around, so as you can see this is the kitchen and that's the living room."
Alice grabs my hand and takes us to the hallway, "there's the bathroom if you need it" she's pointing at the door on the end, it's slightly open and a faint light casting inside. She points at the closed door on the other side and says "that's grandma's room. I would show you but she told me not to."

"What's upstairs?" Joshua asks.

"My room, I still haven't finished unpacking or else I would show you" Alice says.

"Oh when did you move here?" I ask.

"About a month ago," Alice replies. "My pare-"

"Where's the cat?" Lucy interrupts urgently, pointing at the cat tree in the corner of the living room.

"Oh probably hiding, she doesn't like strangers," Alice replies.

"Or the smell of men," Lori calls out from the kitchen, chuckling while she's cutting up the cake and putting them on small plates.

What was Alice going to say before she got interrupted? It sounded like she was going to talk about her parents... Did they die? Did they send her away? What happened? Should I bring it back up? No. I'll wait until she wants to tell us again.

"T?" Lori asks, staring at me.

Did I miss something? Lucy nudges me. Lori is standing next to her cabinet stocked with teas, "Oh, tea" I nod in realization.

"Yes, what tea would you like my dear?" Lori asks me again.

"Earl Grey. If you have it" I reply.

We all sit down at the kitchen table that's already set with the slices of carrot cake. The Catan box rests in the middle and Alice is passing out cat coasters to everyone. Lori hands us our tea's and mine is in a cup with a smiling gingerbread man on it. A Christmas tea cup and it's not even September. Does it feel like Christmas every day living here? I look behind me at the plush couch and picture Alice all cozy, drinking tea by the fireplace reading one of her romance novels and a cat curled up on her feet.