The following morning Paige woke up at the crack of dawn wishing she hadn't taken down that last glass of wine. Turns out family game night wasn't just some cheesy TV stereotype, it was a real life thing that the Phoenix clan took very seriously. It also meant that you were having so much fun that you'd hardly realize you had drank an entire bottle of wine all on your own.
She looked over at Sienna who was sound asleep in the bed next to her. She wished she could crawl into bed with her and kiss her 'till she had no kisses left to give. Instead, she chose to respect Sienna's wishes, she understood Sienna was in a tight spot and pushing her to leave or cheat on Andrew would get her nowhere.
As Paige tiptoed around the room looking for something to wear she decided on some tights, a thermal long sleeve, and a pom beanie. She looked back at a sleeping Sienna before sneaking out of the bedroom.
Paige was in the kitchen making herself a cup of coffee when she heard footsteps. Sienna's mom was also awake.
"Looks like we're on the same coffee schedule." She said, walking toward the coffee machine and looking through a small drawer full of coffee pods.
"I needed some coffee after last night! I thought I had met stubborn and competitive when I met Sienna but boy does that apple really not fall far from the tree." Paige replied, chuckling as she took a seat.
"You haven't seen competition. Do you know that Sienna and Natasha didn't speak for almost a year because of a Monopoly game? There were tears, a flipped over table and a lifetime ban of Monopoly in this house. It has been years and nobody has ever dared bring up the Monopoly Disaster of 2015." Sienna's mom responded, leaning against the counter waiting on her coffee to brew.
"You know, nothing you say shocks me anymore." Paige replied, a permanent smile was now spread across her face. The idea of a younger Sienna fighting with her sisters, being a normal kid, made Paige happy. She wanted to know so much more about her. What was she like growing up? Has she always been so high strung? What was she like as a baby? Sienna was the book Paige had been searching for her entire life, she was only in the beginning chapters and she wanted more.
"Paige, have you heard from your parents? What are they doing for the holidays?" Sienna's mom asked, completely taking Paige out of her daydream.
"They are a couple of empty nesters looking to fill their facebook albums full of pictures. I'm sure my mom roped my dad into taking a trip somewhere." Paige answered, unable to look at Sienna's mom. She knew that if she looked at her it would give away how much it hurt that her parents hadn't even made an effort to have her spend time with them. When she called her dad asking for money to fly back home his initial reaction was to ask what kind of trouble she was in this time. Paige felt let down by her parents but this was not the time for a pity party.
Sienna's mom looked over at Paige while taking a sip of her coffee. She took a seat next to Paige and reached out for her hand.
"Paige, you know we don't pick our families but we get to choose who we call family. Sometimes, our chosen family serves the purpose of just filling in those little gaps our real families just can't fill." Sienna's mom looked at Paige with warmth in her eyes.
Paige didn't respond, instead she waited for Sienna's mom to continue speaking.
"I don't presume to know what your relationship is like with your parents but I do know what your relationship is like with my daughter. There's a brightness in Sienna's eyes that wasn't there before. Anybody capable of making my daughter happy is automatically accepted into our family, no questions asked." Sienna's mom smiled and put her coffee cup down on the table. "Alright, I'm sure you've had enough of this old lady talking your ear off." She said, standing up.
"No, not at all. The truth is these last few days with your family I've felt more welcomed than I have in a very long time. Thank you for being so accepting of me, it means the world." Paige stood up and walked toward the sink. She began washing her coffee cup.
Sienna's mom exited the kitchen and Paige was left alone in her thoughts.
While on her jog Paige felt overjoyed by Sienna's mom's words. She was getting to know the small town, jogging on the sidewalk past cute little store fronts. Her body was pumped full of dopamine and endorphins but there was also another feeling. She was happy. She had no idea where this was going but for the first time in the last couple weeks she was just letting things happen.
The scenery of the small town was very much like something you'd see in a cutesy holiday movie. Paige was starting to wonder if her sudden like for this town was related to how much she felt for Sienna. Before this trip Paige wouldn't have been caught dead enjoying herself in a place like Arkansas.
By the time Paige finally made it back to the Phoenix household, her calves and lungs were burning. She wasn't used to going on runs when it was so cold outside. The weather hardly ever dropped below fifty degrees during the winter season in Florida and Paige's body was not accustomed to the sudden change. When she punched the code into the door to allow her in the home Paige walked in on the whole family having breakfast.
"Hey! Come, sit. Mom made some chocolate French toast with caramelized bananas and there's still some bacon left" Sienna said, happily motioning for Paige to take a seat next to everybody. She looked over at her dad who had a mountain of bacon piled on his plate. "You know if this guy doesn't eat it all." She said, chuckling.
"Hey! I love bacon. I don't trust a person who doesn't love bacon. Do you like bacon, Paige?" He asked, raising an eyebrow almost as if the answer to his question would make or break their relationship.
"I love bacon and I think I may have to fight you if you don't share some of that." Paige laughed and took a seat next to Sienna.
"Good, where have you been all my life? I've always needed a bacon partner in crime. Sienna's sister is a vegan, that one won't even look at a slice of bacon without crying. Nobody here shares the same enthusiasm for bacon as I do. It's a lonely place to be." He replied, shaking his head and taking a bite out of a slice of bacon.
"Well, suffer no more, sir. I've arrived." Paige responded jokingly.
While everybody ate, Sienna held Paige's hand under the table.
"I didn't expect you to leave so early for your run. Why didn't you wake me?" She whispered.
"Why? Did you miss me or something?" Paige grinned.
"Maybe..." Sienna responded, squeezing her hand.
"So, where has Andrew been?" Sienna's dad asked, hardly looking up from his plate.
"You know, I haven't heard from him today. I think he was having phone issues. I'm going to call him in a little while." Sienna responded, feeling a pang of guilt knowing she was talking about Andrew while holding hands with somebody else.
"That guy's been a real flake lately, we were supposed to go to a basketball game the other night and he completely bailed on me." Sienna's dad said grimacing.
"Really? He mentioned the game, he said he went." Sienna responded, feeling slightly confused.
"Nope. Not with me. Maybe he went to another one with a friend or something." He replied.
Paige's gut told her something wasn't right and she was hoping that Sienna was seeing the same red flags she was. She had promised herself she wouldn't instigate when it came to Andrew. She focused on finishing her breakfast and didn't mention anything about the inconsistency of the story.
When Paige was helping Sienna's mom clean up the kitchen, she got a text message.
Unknown: I really enjoyed the time we spent together the other night and I'm really sorry for the way things ended. I'd love to make it up to you if you'd allow me. How about dinner?
Paige flipped her phone upside down. The text message from the barista from a couple nights ago was not something she was expecting. She certainly wasn't interested and felt this was one of those situations that would probably be best left alone.