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Judy wakes to the soft press of Violet’s lips against her temple.
“Good morning.” She whispers, as Judy’s eyes flutter open. “I made you tea.”
“Thank you.” Judy replies. She sits up in Violet’s bed and yawns, watching the other woman fasten her necklace, before checking her hair in the mirror.
“I gotta go, but stay as long as you want, okay? I’ll see you later?” She asks and Judy nods, letting out another yawn. “Bye, sweetie.”
“Bye.” Yawn. “Love you.”
Violet smiles. “Love you too.” And then she’s heading out the door.
Judy takes a sip of her tea, feeling it warm a path to her stomach, and thinks about the day ahead. She makes the bed. She takes a shower. She gets dressed and steals a couple sprays of Violet’s perfume. She heads downstairs and loads the washing machine. She pours herself a bowl of cereal.
“Oh, shoot.” She whispers to herself, realising she’s finished the box, before promptly adding Lucky Charms to the list on the refrigerator.
“Hey.” Josh says, strolling into the kitchen.
“Oh!” Judy turns around, startled. “Good morning, Josh. I– I may have just taken the last of your cereal. Sorry about that.”
“That’s alright.”
“I can make you something if you’d like? Eggs? Bacon? Pancakes? Anything you want.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He tells her, grabbing the box of Pop Tarts from the cupboard.
Judy nods, but something about the interaction has her yearning for more. She and Josh get along just fine so far, but the more time she spends with him, the more she realises her heart has already been making room for more than just Violet. She wants this to feel easy. She wants Josh to feel like he can say yes when she offers to make breakfast. For the conversation to flow without even having to think about it. She wants it to feel like they’ve known each other for his whole life. Maybe she’s hoping for far too much, but she just can’t help it.
“We gotta start buying the family size box.” He says, bringing her out of her thoughts.
“Hm?”
“Of Lucky Charms. Y’know, since we both like ‘em.”
“Oh.” Judy replies, feeling her heart flutter at such a simple statement. “Good idea.”
Josh sits across from her at the kitchen table and they continue to eat in silence. Judy wishes desperately that she could come up with something, anything else to say, but Josh doesn’t seem uncomfortable in her presence, which makes her feel better.
Eventually, she stands to put her empty bowl and mug in the sink and begins running the water. “I was thinking I’d go grocery shopping.” She finally says. “So your mom doesn’t have to when she gets back. Do you have anything else to add to the list?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
Judy nods again and focuses on doing the dishes, which really don’t take long, but once she’s done, she stays there, just holding onto the dishcloth.
“Hey, Josh?” She asks, her heart rate picking up.
“Yeah?” Josh responds, looking up at her, as she turns to face him properly, drying her hands with a dish towel.
“Would you like to come with me?”
“To get groceries?” He asks, looking a little confused.
“You could drive, I mean. You’re practicing a lot with your mom, right? And you have your test coming up?”
“Oh.” He responds, sounding caught off guard but not in a bad way. “Okay, sure. I’ll just go change really quick.”
“Alright.” Judy says with a smile, feeling very accomplished.
Once they’re in the car, the reality of the situation dawns on her. She’s never been driven anywhere by Josh before. She’s never been driven by a 17-year-old, period. And she didn’t even consult Violet beforehand.
“Well, you don’t have to look so scared.” Josh exclaims with a laugh, seeing her panic-stricken look.
“I’m not! Really.” She says, unconvincingly.
“You know this was your idea? You wanna switch seats?”
“No! No. Don’t be silly. Of course I trust you.” She says, now sounding much more sincere, until she adds. “This is– Fine.”
And suddenly Judy is the one laughing.
“I’m good at this, I swear!”
“I believe you!” She tells him, still giggling. “So, are we going or what?”
Josh smiles and starts the engine, and by the time they’ve made it off the driveway and down the street, Judy knows for sure she has nothing to worry about. Not that that’s surprising when he’s had Violet as a teacher, which is why she offered to let him drive without thinking twice about it in the first place.
When they reach the store, Judy pushes the cart and reads from the list, whilst Josh grabs the items from the shelves. It’s an easy system. It feels like something that could become their routine, at least for a little while until Josh gets his license. She makes a mental note to hold onto these moments with him. They’ve barely gotten a chance to even have moments like these and yet she already feels like she doesn’t have nearly enough time. Before she knows it, he’ll be off to college. She hadn’t realised just how sad that thought makes her. She can’t imagine how it must feel for Violet.
“Wanna watch a movie after dinner?” Josh asks, bringing her back to this moment she so desperately wants to hold onto.
“Sure.” She beams and then watches as he dumps four boxes of microwave popcorn into the cart.
-
When Violet arrives home, she finds the two of them in the kitchen putting the food away.
“Honey, you got my groceries?” Violet asks, voice filled with warm surprise.
“Uh-huh.” Judy says, stepping over to greet Violet with a quick kiss. “Actually, we both did.”
“Judes let me drive.” Josh adds, putting a carton of milk in the fridge.
“She did?” Violet responds, voice now filled with a different kind of surprise as she shoots Judy a wary look. “And how did that go?”
“Really great.” Judy tells her with a smile. “You would’ve been proud, love.”
“I don’t doubt it for a second.” Violet says, looking between the two of them with a mixture of pride and affection, before helping them with the groceries. “What are we, a family of ten?” She asks, picking up the family size box of Lucky Charms.
“Totally necessary.” Josh says, as Violet shoots him an unconvinced look.
“They are magically delicious, Vi.” Judy adds earnestly.
Violet shakes her head, but puts the box in the cupboard and Josh heads upstairs.
“Thank you.” She says, once he’s out of earshot.
“I’m happy to do it.”
Violet smiles. “Not just the groceries. It was really sweet of you to let him drive.”
“Really, I was just thrilled he wanted to come. It was fun.”
Violet is sure she physically feels her heart melting.
“I love you.”
“I know.” Judy beams. “I love you too. By the way, we’re watching a movie tonight.”
“We are?”
“Mhm. And the best news is, there’s zero chance of us running out of popcorn.”
“Oh, that is good news.” Violet agrees, now wrapping her arms around Judy’s waist and Judy’s hands come up to rest on her shoulders.
“I’m also making us dinner.” She says.
“Are you trying to get in my good books or something? Because I gotta tell you, you’re already there, babe.” Violet says, making Judy giggle. “Although, I do kinda just want Lucky Charms now.”
“So, now you see why the family box was necessary?” Judy asks with complete sincerity.
And Violet just giggles, before finally kissing her.