Small Pleasures Novels & Stories

Portugal and yellow dresses and fishermen with bad jokes. Threshold collections and September start dates and sketchbooks finally full. Pasta on a Saturday and loud dinners and Tessa's face doing things. Simon's hand found mine under the table without anyone needing to notice. All of it. Every single ordinary irreplaceable piece of it.

Later that evening my stomach growls loudly. “Hey Preye, you mind if we grab some dinner? I’m starving after… all that,” I say, giving her a small smirk, voice casual but laced with flirtation. She turns, towel still hugging her chest tight. “I don’t mind,” she answers, smiling like she’s trying hard to stay cool.

Maggie, my eight-year-old little sister, walks into the kitchen and then immediately gags, "It smells like a dead body!" I scrunch my nose in disgust. "Ew. I think I've lost my appetite." "Sorry about that, guys," my mother laughs nervously. "I was just trying to cook a nice breakfast for us to all have together and well . . ." "It did not go well," Captain Obvious, otherwise known as the idiot Isaac, laughs. I smack his neck. "Yeah, and like throwing a pot would help! Now it's broken!" "Hey! I didn't know that the pot would just break," protests Isaac.

Mia sat in the cozy corner of the small café, her favorite spot by the window where the soft sunlight filtered through the dusty blinds. It was a Saturday morning, and the little town had a peaceful, almost nostalgic feel to it. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods filled the air, making her feel at ease. She hadn’t had many moments like this in the past few weeks, where everything felt calm and unhurried. It was a welcome change from the whirlwind of emotions she had been drowning in.

“You know, Edith was wondering how to treat you from now on, earlier she was like; does that mean you’re going to become our boss also?” “Tell dear Edith not to fret, I’m still just a lowly secretary, is there something to eat around here?” I was getting hungry already. “Check that cupboard by your left, there might be some granola bar left” I moved to it, lifting to the tips of my toes to search the top, around instant coffee some sugar and milk, I push some energy drinks aside. Not here. Then bent to check the bottom cupboards. A smile stretching across my lips when my fingers wrapped around a familiar smooth packet, “Yes!”

As the morning sun painted the sky in hues of pink and gold, Via bustled around the kitchen, humming a tune as she packed a picnic basket with sandwiches, fruit, and homemade cookies. The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the air, mingling with the sweet scent of the cookies baking in the oven. "Mommy, are we going on an adventure today?" Jaydee asked, her eyes shining with excitement as she skipped into the kitchen, her favorite stuffed elephant tucked under her arm.

I feel positively sinful knowing I’m naked beneath it. One more day. I only have one more day with Shane, and I’m going to make it count. I head downstairs and find him cooking a full spread. Eggs and bacon and what appear to be homemade hash browns. Despite the fact I would have said I wasn’t hungry, my stomach grumbles at the delicious smells. Like yesterday, he barely glances at me as he pulls a plate out of the oven and sets it on the table. “It’s hot.” “Shane…”

We stayed like that for a while — the two of us, standing in the soft glow of the kitchen lights, surrounded by the scent of home and forgiveness. When he finally turned off the stove and began plating dinner, he looked younger somehow. Lighter. Maybe I did too. As we sat down to eat, laughter mixing with the crackle of butter on hot seafood, I found myself thinking — maybe this was what healing looked like. Not grand gestures or perfect apologies… but small moments of peace between the storms. And as he raised his glass of lemonade toward me with a teasing grin, I lifted mine too, whispering silently to myself —