Alex woke Daniel up when they reached her house in Chervil. She shook him up as he had fallen asleep.
"Hey, Daniel. Wake up. We're already here."
She said to his sleeping face. It took some minutes to wake him up. He looked like an angel sleeping peacefully while his head rested on the seat.
He finally opened his eyes and saw her shaking him to wake him up.
"I'm awake now. Stop shaking me," he said and straightened his back on the seat. He opened the door to his side and stepped out of the car.
"You don't have to be grumpy."
Alex said as they walked on the pavement.
"I'm not grumpy. I'm sleepy, Alex."
They went inside her house and he immediately sat on her couch. He looked around him quietly admiring the living room. Alex' living room has an Aegean Blue wallpaper on her walls, two cushy white sofas in front of a large sofa centered by a vintage coffee table where a colorful mix of roses and lilies and some hydrangeas filled inside a green vase that was placed in the center of the table.
In front of the seats was a fireplace built in concrete and a landscape painting hanging to a side wall while an LCD TV hung just above the fireplace. The floor was covered in a gray shade colored carpet.
"Don't you want to eat in the dining room?" She asked looking at him.
"Let's just eat here."
He said sounding sleepy.
"Okay. Give me a minute and I'll get us plates and some glasses."
Alex said and she went to the kitchen to get those. She returned to the living room finding Daniel already sleeping on the couch. She went to him and shook him to wake up. He slowly moved from his reclined position and sat.
"Let's eat first then you can go to sleep, Dan."
Alex took the food out from the plastics and styrofoams and put them on the plates. She sat on the opposite side of him.
They ate in companionable silence. Once they were done, she picked up the plate and returned to the kitchen to wash them. When she returned she found him once more sleeping on the couch already.
"Would you like to go to bed to sleep comfortably, Daniel?"
She asked looking at his sleeping figure. Instead of answering her he just stirred in his sleep. Alex went to the guest bedroom and took a blanket and a pillow with her. She propped the pillow under his head and covered him in a blanket.
"You must be so tired being always in front of your laptop."
Alex said as she ran her fingers on his hair. It was soft and he looked almost fragile, sleeping. She watched him for a minute and bent down to kiss him on the cheek.
"Good night."
She said in a soft whisper before she went back to her room to change into her pajamas and went to sleep.
The next morning when Alex woke up by 6 am she found Daniel still asleep on the sofa. Smarty was by his foot lying comfortably. She went to the kitchen and made pancakes, fried scramble eggs and bacon and prepared two mugs of chocolate.
Once she was done preparing breakfast, Smarty was already behind her wagging his tail in anticipation. When she looked up by the doorway, Daniel just entered the kitchen.
"The smell of pancake and chocolate woke me up," he said as he crossed the room and sat on one of the chairs. He picked a strip of bacon and gave it to Smarty.
"What time do we live for Avery Hill?" he asked as he started his chocolate. He moved his back and grunted a little.
"You should have slept on the bed instead of sleeping on the sofa. Do you seriously sleep and eat during mealtimes, Daniel St. Claire?" Alex asked over breakfast.
Daniel passed her a look as he picked another pancake on his plate.
"Stop sounding like, mom, Alex," he grumbled as he started eating. "I have to finish a teenage videogame. And we haven't yet done doing the game for Kleia."
"So, you mean to say is you're going to work these games even on weekends?" she asked raising a brow.
"But they have to be done."
Alex clicked her tongue looking at him eating his pancakes quietly. He lifted his face and looked at her. He picked his mug and pushed it towards her.
"Would you please make me another cup of chocolate, Alex?" he asked looking like a three-year-old with his just awoken state and a bit of tousled hair. "I wanna go home and sleep some more and have lunch later then finish the game."
Alex took his mug and made him another mug of chocolate.
"You can sleep some more in the guest bedroom and I'll just wake you up at lunch. Then, we'll drive to Avery Hill."
She said as she handed him back the chocolate drink.
"You'll do that, Alex?" he asked taking the cup. He yawned a little and took a long drink from the mug. "Then, I'll take the offer and sleep some more. Wake me up by lunch and we'll drive back."
He put the mug down and rose from his chair.
"Good night, St. Claire."
Alex said as he left the kitchen. She fed Smarty with his favorite rainbow color Kellogg's. Then, washed their dishes.
Since it was Saturday she did a bit of cleaning in the kitchen and in the living room and tidied up her bedroom. By 9 am, she bathed Smarty. Luckily, Smarty was one of those dogs who didn't go sulking when it was time for a bath. For him, taking a bath was like a play in the water and he loved being showered with water and blow dried thereafter.
She made a light snack by 10 am. Lemonade and some bite of cookies from her cookie jar. By 11 am, she prepared lunch—pork stew with potatoes and carrots and made some salad. She went to the guest bedroom to check on Daniel who was still sleeping soundly until she had to wake him up again.
They had lunch together. Then, she went to shower and changed her clothes to drive them back to Avery Hill.
It was a sunny and warm Saturday afternoon drive as they listened to pop music on the car.
"We have to drop by Sarah's place," said Daniel all of a sudden. "Sarah told me to get Stratus and Nimbus because she and Devin will be off to go on their honeymoon in Thailand. No one's going to look after them."
"Sure, no problem," Alex replied.
She drove to the city and stopped at Kale's Sunny and Bright Flowers. They were met by Rose who looked after the shop while Sarah and Devin were gone.
"What about Pecko? He seemed to have developed fondness for the cats," said Alex as she observed Pecko playing with Stratus when they arrived.
"Maybe we can take care of him, too, for a while," he said considering of taking Pecko with them. He turned to the red parrot and asked him, "Would you like to join us at home in Avery Hills while Sarah and Devin are out for their honeymoon?"
"I would love that," replied Pecko to him. He turned to the cats. "I'm joining Stratus and Nimbus to go home."
The cats meowed as if they understood what he said. Alex looked for his cage in the upstairs kitchen and found them. She put Pecko in his cage and Daniel took the cats inside the basket and they returned to their car.
They left the flower shop after getting the cats and Pecko and went to the mall to buy them their food.
"Pecko, look after Nimbus and Stratus while we shop for your foods, okay?" said Alex talking to the parrot. She freed him from the cage once they were inside the car. Pecko perched on the passenger seat as the cats stayed inside the baskets.
They went inside the pet shop.
"You always talk to these animals so easily, Alex," observed Daniel as they picked a basket from the entrance and checked for food for the bird and the cats.
"I've been talking to Smarty that way since I have him. I used to have dogs, too when I was younger and they've always likened to be talked to." She replied. "I'll go check some toys for the cats. You look for their food."
As Alex went looking for some toys for Nimbus and Stratus to play with, she bumped into a young woman who was carrying a white Maine cat in her arms. They were both in the toy section.
"Sorry," Alex said as she looked up at the shelf of other toys and accessories in the aisle. She bumped her when she turned from looking the shelves.
"No worries," the young woman said. She was a tall slender woman wearing a casual white shirt over a black strapped top and black thigh-fit pants and a pair of sneakers. Her black hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail.
Alex perused her eyes about the toys in the shelves and checked which among them would make Nimbus and Stratus happy. Daniel came to the aisle carrying a basket of goodies for the cats as she bent over the toys.
"Daniel?" the young woman asked in a surprise voice.
Daniel looked at the woman who called his name. He couldn't quite remember her name but she was familiar to him. She had been his classmate sometime when he was in his primary years and middle school. He racked his brain trying to remember her name.
"Reina…?" he asked uncertainly remembering her name.
"It's you. I'm glad you remember me," she said giving her a big smile. "Do you have cats for pets, too?"
"Yeah, my girlfriend and I are buying food and some stuff for Nimbus and Stratus," he answered her question. "And…ah…for the bird, too."
He said gesturing his hands towards Alex who was leaning on a toy choosing which color she would like to get for the cats. If it would be green, red or orange. Alex strengthened her back and turned to Daniel.
"Which do you think, Stratus and Nimbus would like?" she asked facing him showing him the toys.
"Alex, this is Reina," he said before answering her question.
Alex faced the woman again.
"Hi, nice to meet you. Really sorry for bumping you earlier."
"No worries, Alex," said Reina smiling at her.
"She's my classmate back in primary school and middle school."
Daniel explained.
Alex was carrying the three colored toys, a strawberry toy, a carrot toy, and a broccoli toy. Reina's cats reached for the carrot toy.
"She seemed to like it," said Alex as the cat's paw reached for the toy. "Here you can have it."
She said giving the toy to the cat.
The white Maine cat looked up at Reina as if seeking her approval. Reina laughed at her cat's reaction.
"Snow always looked at me whenever someone gives something to her seeking my approval," she explained.
Alex patted the cat's head and it purred quite contentedly.
Daniel spoke beside her.
"Alex, I'm still undecided which food should I buy for Pecko," he said looking at her.
Alex stopped caressing the cat.
"We're going to check for Pecko's food, Reina. So, we're going. Nice meeting you."
She said as she and Daniel turned their back and went to the bird's section. Alex remembered what Sarah used to feed it and she picked it from the shelf. Then, they went to line in the counter.
When they returned to the car, Alex and Daniel saw Pecko sleeping with the cats inside the basket.
"Aww…they're so cute to look at," said Alex cooing. She picked her phone from her pocket and captured a shot of the three animals before she started the car.
They drove back to Avery Hills.