Page 24 of Sweet Surrender
Rowyn turned to face Eliza and caught the look that passed her face as she finished speaking. It was a look of surprise, as if she hadn’t meant to share that information.
“My parents were more thekids should be seen and not heardtype, so I guess we had the opposite extremes. Although they didn’t particularly want the seen part either,” Rowyn said with a dry laugh.
Eliza smiled softly, but it held a hint of sadness that Rowyn didn’t want to see.
“Anyway, I think you’re doing a decent job. Eli said what he needed to say, then listened and did what the librarian asked.”
“Elliot,” Eliza said.
The word came out quickly as if on autopilot, and Eliza winced after.
“What?” Rowyn asked.
“Sorry. It’s a habit I’m trying to break. I used to correct people and the kids a lot, because I’m not fond of nicknames. I named him Elliot, and that’s his name, as I would say often. However, my children informed me that they like thenicknames, and since it’s their names, they get to decide. I couldn’t argue with that, so I’m trying my best to adjust and stop correcting.Tryingbeing the operative word.”
Eliza looked annoyed, and Rowyn wasn’t sure if it was at herself for the correction or at having to adjust to the change.
“Well, it’s good you listened to them about it. Why don’t you like nicknames, though? Like, for anyone, or just the kids?”
Eliza was silent for a moment.
“It’s complicated. For one, I named them Elliot and Amelia because I like those names, so I wanted them to be used. But I think I have an aversion to nicknames because my dad used them a lot for me and my siblings as kids and…”
Eliza stopped speaking so suddenly that Rowyn wondered if she had misheard the and.
“And?” Rowyn prompted.
“And I don’t know why I’m boring you with my life stories so much this morning. The story seems to be over, so we should get a move on if we want to stick to Amelia’s all-important plan.”
Rowyn was about to say Eliza wasn’t boring her at all, but Eliza hopped up before she had a chance. She walked toward the kids without waiting for Rowyn, who was left to scramble after her. After the library, they drove to the woods about thirty minutes away and the kids talked nonstop about the library, the story, the wonderful librarian, and all of the fun they had. Rowyn loved the excitement they radiated and made a mental note to find a time to add frequent library trips into their busy schedules.
That was another thing she needed to discuss with Eliza at some point. The kids’ schedules were…a lot. Between hurling, football, performing arts, piano, swimming, and chess club, the kids were constantly on the go. And that was all after school plus the random extra things that came up for each activity. Rowyn had seen it before. Parents who wanted their kids to experienceeverything and learn everything without the realization of what it entailed to be involved in so many different things.
Rowyn wanted to discuss the option to scale some things back now that the kids had had a chance to experience what they enjoyed and leave time for them to go to the library or do more adventures or chill at home. The only reason they were able to do any of this today was because there was a break in matches this week.
“We’re here!” Amelia said as they pulled into the small car park at the entrance to the woods.
They were lucky that the weather was on their side this afternoon, and Rowyn grabbed the picnic bag she had packed with the kids’ help before they set off on their adventure.
“Are those shoes new?” Rowyn asked as Eliza slipped off her sensible flats for walking shoes.
“Yep. I bought them when we were supposed to take the kids camping, which would’ve been a terrible idea because the idea of camping has no appeal to me. Luckily, the weekend was a washout, so we camped in the living room instead and my shoes stayed in the box. I figured they might be required today if we’re out here for a while.”
Eliza was smiling brightly, and Rowyn didn’t want to burst her bubble. Unfortunately, her face rarely kept secrets for her.
“What? Are they not good?” Eliza asked as she eyed Rowyn.
“They look great. It’s just not always the best idea to wear new shoes for the first time when you’re doing a lot of walking. Breaking them in and all that. I have blister plasters in the backpack, though, so you’ll be fine.”
Eliza’s face didn’t change much, but the forced expression of calm was obvious to Rowyn.
“You wear high heels that I can barely look at without getting dizzy often, I’m sure a few blisters from walking shoes aren’t going to make you cry. Come on, we’re lagging,” Rowyn said asshe pointed to the kids who had raced ahead.
Eliza grumbled behind her and Rowyn hid her smile as they followed the children down the hill that led to the start of the first trail.
“Stop running, you two, you’re going to fall.”
No sooner than the last word was out of Eliza’s mouth did she slip on the leaves still wet from the morning’s shower. Rowyn reacted quickly and reached out to grasp Eliza’s arm as she flailed and tried to catch her balance. She held Eliza steady until both of her feet were firmly back on the ground. Her face was devoid of its usual controlled calm, and a red blush crept up in its place.
