Em and I shoveled our way back to the house after we’d somewhat refreshed ourselves and had put everything back in its place. It had started snowing a little bit harder again, but our work was still going to be pretty noticeable and useful, you wouldn’t have to walk through meters of snow to get somewhere. As before we had our little ‘break’ in the garden annex, it was mostly my strength which did most of the lifting, especially now that Em had used quite a bit of hers in… other situations.

Nonetheless, we got back to the house relatively soon. The path back was a bit shorter than the path to the annex. We put away the shovels, against the wall this time, where they belong, and took off our wintery outside gear. In the hallway back to the living room we ran into Karin who apparently was just returning from the bathroom, she was still in her pajamas.

“Good morning, sister. Aurora.” She greeted us in the short yet friendly fashion we were used to.

“Good morning.” I replied back. “Have you been awake for long?”

“Half an hour.” Karin said.

“Is Ria downstairs already as well?” Em asked as we all started walking in the direction of the living room.

“She was here before me… but…”

“But what?” I tilted my head questioningly.

“You’ll see.”

Karin walked into the living room ahead of us, opening the door. Where we were standing, we could only see Em’s mom sitting on the sofa.

When she saw us, she smiled and put her finger against her lips, signaling us to be quiet. As we approached and got a better angle, we could see that Ria was sleeping with her head on her lap. She’d also been covered by a blanket.

“Hey there, girls, how did the snow shoveling go?” She asked in a quiet tone as Karin sat down on another sofa and continued reading the book that was placed on the table.

“Your driveway should be relatively snow free for the time being, same goes for the paths in the garden.” I said, while I lowered my voice as well. I didn’t sit down yet, as I was looking quite bemused at my sleeping girlfriend.

“Mom… why is Ria sleeping on your lap?” Em just flat out asked while she kept standing next to me.

“She came downstairs forty-five minutes ago.” Ilse started explaining. “She asked where you two had gone and afterwards got something hot to drink for herself. She still looked pretty tired, though, so she started to doze off rather soon afterwards.”

“I hope you aren’t too uncomfortable with her on your lap.” I smiled.

“Not at all.” Ilse smiled back. “It reminds me of when Emma and Karin were little. And I know here, parents aren’t exactly the cream of the crop. But she’s such a sweetheart.” Ilse gently rubbed Ria’s arm.

That’s where I saw my opportunity. “Oh, did Em like having lap pillows a lot?”

“Rora.” Em spoke softly and pouted.

“Definitely.” Ilse chuckled softly. “She sometimes still does.”

“Mom.” Em turned her pouty face towards her mother.

“I am just telling the truth, Emma.” Ilse giggled.

Em just crossed her arms and pouted even longer.

“Since we are all downstairs, should we get started on breakfast?” I asked.

“That’s a good idea, Aurora.” Em’s mom nodded. “Would you be so kind to prepare some of the bread that’s in the kitchen and put out the plates?”

“I can do much more than that.” I said confidently. “Would you know if there’s some eggs present in the fridge?”

“There are.” Karin replied before her mom could, she didn’t look up from her book.

“In that case, would you like some scrambled eggs with that as well?”

“That sounds marvelous.” Em’s mom smiled at me.

“Alright, let’s go Em.”

Pouty Em’s pout turned into a slight smile. “I’m right behind you.” and together we walked off to the kitchen.

I found eight eggs in the fridge, which should be plenty for the five of us. In the meantime, Em started preparing some glasses and a plate for bread as well.

When I cracked the first egg into the pan, I started a conversation with my girlfriend. “So, mom’s lap pillows, huh?” I said in a slightly teasie tone.

“Shush.” Em quickly retorted.

“Is it not true what your mom said?”

“It is… it’s just… embarrassing…” Em admitted.

“Hey, even though I tease you with it, I think it’s really neat you have such a good relationship with your mom.” I looked over my shoulder while I cracked the last egg into the pan. “I think it’s something Ria and I could only ever dream off.”

“I know…” Em nodded. “I didn’t mean to… sound like a spoiled, rotten brat… or something like that.”

“That’s not what I was insinuating, don’t worry about it. But you shouldn’t feel embarrassed around us. We also love your mom a lot, and you are our girlfriend. Sharing things like this is what people do, right?”

“Mhmm. I suppose that’s true.” She nodded once more. “So you wouldn’t mind telling something embarrassing about yourself?”

“Not at all.” I confidently exclaimed.

“Pray, do go ahead.”

“Although right now I can’t really think of anything.”

“So it’s all talk and no play. I see how it is.” Em smirked and prodded me in the side.

I chuckled. “I’ll think of something by the end of the day, okay?”

“Alright, I’ll keep you to that.” Em agreed and opened the fridge and took a bottle of actual grape juice out of it. It was the same brand of grape juice that I used to fill my decoy bottles with at home.

I looked at her somewhat weirdly.

“Hmm? What? I kinda started liking this brand after having drunk it that much at your place.”

“Well, at least you can’t mistake yourself for its contents with these bottles.”

“That’s very true…” Em then put everything on a little trolley so we could easily roll it out to the living room.

When we rolled the trolley back into the living room with all the plates and food aboard, Karin almost immediately put her book down to come and help us put everything on the coffee table. I could see the slight rattling noise had stirred Ria in her sleep. She groaned slightly, but just loud enough for me to be able to hear where I was standing.

“Looks like Ria’s waking up.” I hinted to Em.

Em’s mom had also noticed and softly patted Ria on her arm. “Good morning once again, Corelia.” She said softly.

“Hmmm?” Groggy Ria replied as she rubbed the dust out of her eyes. “G’morning.”

Ilse gently helped Ria sit up.

“Oh, Em and Rora are back.” Ria looked at us with her eyes just barely open.

“Hey Ria.” I chuckled. “Maybe you should go and throw some water in your face.”

“Hmmmm.” Ria groaned again. “Maybe…” She stood up from the coach and started walking towards the kitchen before she stopped in her tracks and turned around, directing herself towards Ilse. “Thank you for letting me sleep.”

“Don’t worry about that at all, Corelia.” Ilse smiled back. “Now go and freshen yourself up a bit so we can have a nice breakfast together.

Ria nodded back with a big smile on her face and walked over to the kitchen, now a bit faster than before.

As Ria came back, we all gathered around for a nice and filling breakfast, for everyone except for me, mind you. I gave everyone a portion of eggs before getting some bread for myself and filling the glass with a bit of grape juice. It was actually a bit weird to drink actual grape juice for a change. So much so that I actively had to concentrate on the fact that I was. -Maybe I should think of another code name for my… human juice……. Yes, I definitely need to not call it that anymore…-

Everyone seemed to enjoy the food. Eggs and bread weren’t really all that special, especially not for rich folks, but there can be a lot of beauty and taste in simplicity.

“What are you girls’ plans for today?” Ilse asked. She’d already finished her food, as she’d taken a bit less than the rest of us.

“A little bit of studying wouldn’t hurt.” Em replied. “But I do think we are quite ahead of schedule so we can take it pretty easy for now.”

“I’m very glad to hear that.” I replied with a smile.

Em rolled her eyes a little.

“Hey, I’m just not that into studying.”

“I know.” Em smiled. “You’ve done very well up to this point.”

“Do you have any courses that you still have considerable trouble with, Aurora?” Em’s mom asked.

“English still really isn’t my thing.” I replied in all honesty.

“I’ve heard you speak English before, it sounds fine to me.”

“Talking is not the issue.” I shook my head. “It’s grammar and spelling that just kills me.”

“Oh, would you mind if I sat along in your study session then? I might have some tips for you.”

“I would not mind, but I am somewhat of a hopeless cause.”

“There are no such things.” Ilse chuckled. “You’ll see.”

-If she wants to turn my English around that badly, she practically needs a miracle, although it is worth a shot I guess…-