Wake up

Half an hour passed like lightning. Julia still had her hand on Smith’s chest, her fingers moving up and down with each of his slow breaths. The fireplace was now only red coals, but the heat still filled the air.

Juliet stood up and placed a fresh cup of tea on the table, its steam rising like Helena’s morning mist.

Julia leaned down, brought her lips close to Smith’s ear, and whispered in a voice only he could hear, “My son… it’s time to wake up.” Then, with the tip of her lips, she placed a soft, warm kiss on Smith’s forehead—not hard, not hurried, just a warm spot that seemed to transmit the word “wake up” to his skin.

Smith’s eyes half-opened, his eyelashes fluttering. “Mommy…?” The word escaped his lips unconsciously, sleepy and shy. Julia laughed, softly. “No, Auntie. Get up now, hot tea is waiting for you.”

Julia put her hand under Smith’s shoulder, helping him sit up. Smith was still dazed, his hair disheveled, his cheeks rosy from the warmth of the blanket. Julia kissed him again, this time on the cheek, right next to his sleepy smile. “Did you sleep well?”

Smith nodded, his smile growing wider. “Yeah… I felt like I was in heaven.”

Juliet handed him the cup. “Heaven on Aunt Julia’s feet, wasn’t it?” Her joke was gentle, without jealousy.

Julia lifted Smith off his feet—briefly, just to set him down—and then stood up herself. Her pink stockings still gleamed, her high heels waiting by the door. “Now come, let’s sit around the table. "After-nap tea is the rule of the house."

Smith sat between his wife and his sister-in-law, holding his cup in both hands, still warm from their gentle kisses. The fireplace had extinguished its embers, but the warmth of the keep still hung in the air—like Julia's vanilla scent that stayed with Smith into the night.