The Smiles Household Novels & Stories

Zoe's POV The smell reached Zoe before the alarm did. It was sharp and chemical. Something was wrong. She stopped for a second and looked around the parking garage. She was three floors below the main building, standing near the storage unit Julian kept there. He had sent her down to collect some supplies that were needed upstairs. She had only been there for a few minutes. Then the smoke alarm suddenly screamed through the garage. Zoe jumped. At the same time, she heard the sprinklers above her.

"No, you have that same stupid grin on your face as the last time. Don't ever try to play poker; you'll be destitute before you know what hit you." "Listen, we're not ready to tell anyone right now so can we keep it just between us?" "Alright, but if you don't get rid of that idiotic grin the entire building will know before lunch time." Miss Jennings was right. It was almost impossible to not go around all day with a smile on my face. At home Colleen was the same. Meghan and Molly kept asking her what she was smiling about and when we were out in the neighborhood, total strangers would look at us and smile.

Williams yawned dramatically against me. Then suddenly looked up again. “Can I ask one more question?” I sighed softly. “That depends.” “Do you smile like this with Daddy too?” I blinked slowly. “What?” He touched my face carefully with his tiny fingers. “Your happy smile.” My chest tightened painfully again. Because once upon a time… Yes. Lucas was the reason for most of my smiles. The real ones. The uncontrollable ones. The kind that made my cheeks hurt from laughing too much. And maybe…

Katherine responds, but Lily doesn't give in until Macken signals the two to be quiet and enjoy their meal together. Kenny took out his phone to take a picture as a souvenir. The whole room was warm, making everyone smile with happiness. At this point, Katherine and Lily quietly listened to Macken's story. He said that each dish has its own story, just as everyone has their own story. Finding a delicious dish does not need to be too extravagant and rare, but just a dish that makes us feel good, just like finding a person next to you, you don't need them to be perfect, just them. It makes us feel warm. Macken believes that outside the door of the house, no matter how stormy it is, inside, as

“I know that.” I roll my eyes, grabbing my purse. As we head downstairs, I find Pookie playing with his favorite smiley ball in the living room. Tyler’s lips twitch when he spots the little furball bouncing around, and for a second, I see a glimpse of something I rarely do — a real smile. Mrs. Smith appears from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “Are you sure you’ll be fine?” I ask her for the hundredth time. “Yes, honey. Go and enjoy dinner,” she says warmly, scooping Pookie into her arms.