“Nothing. I was just thinking that I really should go and check on the cats. They’re awfully quiet and Doc’s about to open the container with the shrimp and snow peas.”
As she pushed back her chair and headed down the hallway, Hannah experienced a very strange feeling. She loved the new carpeting. It would have been exactly what she’d chosen for herself if she’d been able to afford it. But there was something strange and unsettling about someone else buying it for her, even as a wedding present.
What was it? She tried to clarify her thoughts as she approached the bedroom. Perhaps the reason it disturbed her was because it was too much, too soon. She would almost rather have waited until they could afford to buy it for themselves. But that was terribly ungrateful, wasn’t it? Shouldn’t she be overjoyed that her family loved her so much that they’d done all this for her?
As Hannah stood in the bedroom doorway, the bedroom that no longer resembled hers, she heard a soft snore from the bed. That was when she gave her first spontaneous smile of the evening. Moishe was stretched out on her pillow, the pillow he always tried to steal from her in the middle of the night. And Cuddles was stretched out on Moishe’s pillow, the one she’d bought to wean him away from stealing hers, sleeping the sleep of an angel kitty.
Hannah stared at them for a moment, smiling. Moishe and Cuddles appeared to be comfortable with the new furnishings. They didn’t seem to find the changes upsetting in the slightest. Perhaps she should take a lesson from the wisdom of the animal kingdom and accept what had been given to her with a grateful heart. Then again, that could be a little ridiculous.
*
“I didn’t think you’d be going to work today,” Ross said, appearing in the kitchen doorway in his bathrobe the next morning.
“I thought I should. Lisa’s not just an employee. She’s a partner and she’s been without me for over a week now.” Hannah turned to smile at her husband from her seat at the table. “I made coffee if you want some.”
“Later, honey. I never have coffee before my shower. I’ll grab a to-go cup when I leave and get more at work.” Ross walked over to kiss her on the cheek. “Do you want the shower right now? Or can I use it? I promised the boss at KCOW-TV that I’d be in early.”
“You go ahead,” Hannah said quickly, even though she’d been about to get up to take her own shower. “I’ll just sit here and enjoy the rest of my coffee.”
When Ross left the kitchen, she sat there for a moment, her morning peace disturbed. That was when she realized that she missed Michelle. It was so nice when Michelle stayed over and made coffee for her the next morning. And there was usually something wonderful to eat, a new muffin that Michelle was trying out, or some kind of new breakfast dish.
She heard the shower begin to run and she sighed. This was going to take some adjusting on her part. She was used to taking her shower whenever she wanted, but now there was another person added to the equation. Ross needed a shower before work. And they used the same master bathroom.
It shouldn’t be that difficult to work out their morning schedules, Hannah told herself reassuringly. Their honeymoon had been different because neither of them had needed to leave for work at a specific time. It would be different now that they were home and both of them worked during the week. They would have to develop a routine so that they wouldn’t inconvenience each other. Andrea and Bill didn’t have a problem using the same master bathroom. And if her sister and brother-in-law could do it, there was no reason why she couldn’t manage it with Ross. Either she’d get up earlier and take her shower first, or Ross would get up earlier. They’d work it all out. All it would take was time until they were used to living together.
As she sat there, another problem occurred to her. She wondered if she had a responsibility to make something for her husband’s breakfast. Then again, perhaps she didn’t. How could she know? She’d never been married before. If she made breakfast, it would have to be something quick and easy because Ross had promised to get to work early.
Hannah jumped up from the table and hurried to the refrigerator to take stock of what was on the shelves. Michelle had mentioned that she’d shopped for a few things and put them away.
There was a loaf of white bread on the second shelf of the refrigerator. She hadn’t bought it so Michelle had put it there. There was also a carton of milk on the shelf in the door, another of Michelle’s purchases. On the bottom shelf, Hannah found the six eggs she’d bought before she had left. The expiration date on the carton still had a week to go so she could use those. Of course there was sugar in the canister. There was always sugar in the canister. And she had nutmeg that she could grate, cinnamon she’d just bought two weeks ago, and maple syrup that hadn’t even been opened yet. Those ingredients added up to one of Hannah’s favorite quick breakfasts. She would make Oven French Toast for Ross and it would be ready for him when he returned to the kitchen, showered and dressed for work.
The first thing Hannah did was to open the oven to make sure that no pans were inside. She’d failed to check once and ended up incinerating two pieces of leftover pizza she’d stuck in there, intending to clear a spot in the refrigerator, but becoming distracted by a ringing phone.
Once she was certain the oven was clear, Hannah preheated it to five-hundred degrees while she gathered up the rest of the ingredients she needed. Then she got out a wide, flat bowl and began to prepare the Oven French Toast batter.
Hannah smiled as she measured ingredients, mixed them in, and found the perfect pan to use to bake her creation. She would like to cook breakfast for Ross, she thought. Since they never knew whether they could get together for lunch, and dinnertimes were equally uncertain with their fluctuating schedules, breakfast might be the only meal they could share every day. She was looking forward to researching breakfast menus and planning the meals that they could enjoy together.