Chapter Eleven

Laura

Being very careful not to wake the small humans, Laura slipped off the couch. She gently put Ivy's head on a pillow and tucked her in while Ethan did the same for Dallas. When they were done, they both headed into the kitchen to wash their hands. Laura had them do it twice, just to be on the safe side.

While she was microwaving their food, Ethan went to the bag of DVDs and pulled out something. She wasn't sure what it was until she turned around and found that he had a little candle on the center of the table. It flickered and cast a warm light on the small wooden table.

“You didn't have to clear the table,” she said gently, bringing the food over. It was still in the paper take-out containers, but she didn't want to do dishes.

“Yeah, but where else would we eat?” he asked. She could see he'd neatly stacked all the bills, homework, and art projects on one of the empty chairs. “Next time, I really do want to bring you someplace nice, but for now, would you join me for a candlelig