Gypsy Candles

Chapter Seven: Promise

Chapter Seven::Promise.

“Hello?” I spoke absentmindedly into my earpiece as I drove home from the grocery store.

“Aubrey, this is Jake.”

I smiled at his voice and bit my bottom lip to reel myself back in –from what, I don’t know.

“Hi, Jake! Is this about our date tonight? I still have like three hours to get ready, don’t I?”

“Yeah, it’s actually about that. Sophia’s flight was just cancelled from New York because of the blizzard and, for the same reason, she can’t drive back here. So, in other words, I have Leo for the night. I wouldn’t mind leaving him with my parents or something, but he’s also got a cold and I don’t feel comfortable leaving him here. I’m so sorry, Aubrey.”

I frowned at the thought of little Leo moping about the house, sick as a dog.

“Don’t worry about it, Jake. All this cold weather and snow is clearly making everyone miserable. Blair is actually pretty sick too, and our Mom sent over some homemade chicken soup last night…if you want, I could bring some of that by? I swear, it’s magic.”

Hah. Don’t joke about magic, Aubrey.

“…Really? Would you mind? I was planning on just ordering take-out for him but that sounds so much better. Kirsten has the week off since she’s visiting family in New Hampshire, and I don’t really think asking Rebecca to cook something up is in her job description as my personal assistant…god damn it, why did I never learn to cook?” He moaned.

Probably because you grew up in a household where you had a personal chef and then, when you graduated from college, you acted like a spoiled brat and hired your own chef: Kirsten.

I bit my tongue. 

“Yeah, I’d be happy too! I’ll be there in about an hour?”

“Lookin’ forward to it. You’re a lifesaver, babe. As kind as you are beautiful. As helpful as you are intelligent. As understanding as you are-”

“Goodbye, Jake,” I interrupted, laughing as I hung up. “I’ll see you soon.”

And hopefully my face won’t be nearly as red as it is now.

xx

xx

When he opened the door, Jake looked about as miserable as his son probably felt. 

His blond head was a complete mess and his cheeks were pale and lacking their normal color. However, what really caught my attention was the small felt breathing mask he had over his mouth.

I tried to hide a laugh in my shoulder but failed.

Jake narrowed his eyes at me.

“You know I hate getting sick,” he snapped.

I rose an eyebrow.

“What? So you’re just not going to breath in the same air your sick son is breathing? I bet that makes him feel great,” I taunted as I stepped into the house.

“He likes it!” Jake defended as we headed to the kitchen. “He thinks I look funny which makes him laugh, so it’s a win-win. Hey, there are bowls over-”

“I know where the bowls are,” I cut in, not unkindly.

“Oh, right. Okay, well pull down the bowl with the teddy bears holding balloons. That’s Leo's favorite.” That particular bowl was actually front and center in the cabinet, so I pulled it down and carried the soup out of the heat-enclosing bag before I carefully poured a solid amount into the bowl.