“It was great,” he said. “Pretty productive overall. How did things go around here today? What were the dance lessons like?”
Lily parted her lips to reply, but Maggie jumped in immediately. “They were SO MUCH FUN!”
Wyatt laughed and ruffled up Maggie's hair. “That's good, honey. What kind of dancing did you do?”
Maggie shrugged. “I don't know.”
Lily smiled and approached the dining room table. Wyatt was seated at the opposite end, with Maggie to his right.
“It looked to me like some kind of hip hop dancing,” Lily said. “Or maybe it was salsa. Actually, I think it was kind of a combination of the two.”
“So basically the kids just ran out and flailed their arms every which way?” Wyatt asked, with a playful smirk.
“Yeah, basically.” Lily laughed. “It was interesting, though. I know that Maggie had fun. She was pretty exhausted by the time it was over. I laid her down for about an hour-long nap this afternoon.”
“That's awesome,” Wyatt said. “She hardly ever naps any more. I'm glad you were able to tire her out.”
The timer on the microwave beeped and Lily's eyes widened. “Chicken is done. I'll go and get it off the grill. Be right back.”
She headed out the sliding glass door and toward the Wyatt's massive grill in the back yard. It was a grill fit for a king, with enough space to cook at least fifty burgers. Her three chicken breasts looked pretty pathetic on it, given its size.
“Alright,” she whispered, placing the chicken onto a plate. “Hope these are good.”
She headed back inside and set the plate down onto the center of the table.
“So, what do we have here?” Wyatt asked.
“Chicken breasts and macaroni and cheese, complimented with a side of broccoli and cauliflower,” Lily said proudly.
“Sounds fancy.” Wyatt smiled. “I'll take all of the above.”
“I was hoping you'd say that.” Lily scooped some generous servings onto Wy
att's plate. “I made a ton of food, so there's plenty to go around. Feel free to have seconds, too. I hate wasting food and I'm not sure how good this will be as leftovers.”
After everybody was served, Lily removed her apron and took a seat across from Maggie. Wyatt was to her right at the head of the table. They were all three sitting together for a real meal and Lily couldn't get over the feeling that she was truly part of the family.
“Cheers,” Wyatt said, holding up his whiskey drink that Lily had fixed him early.
“What to?” Lily asked.
“How about, we cheers to you?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Me?” she replied, her cheeks tingling. “Why me?”
“Because it's been so nice having you around,” he said. “Don't you think, Maggie?”
“Yeah!” Maggie agreed, excitedly.
“Seriously, though, Lily,” Wyatt continued. “You've been a blessing in our lives since the very beginning. Without you, well, a lot of things would be different.” He glanced toward Maggie and Lily knew exactly what he was talking about. “This week has been no exception, though. You staying with us has made life a whole lot easier. It's been great so far.”
Lily shrugged, holding her cocktail in the air. “If you insist, cheers to me.”
Wyatt laughed and the two clinked their glasses together. A moment later, Maggie held up her orange juice and shouted, “CHEERS!” at the top of her lungs. Both Wyatt and Lily started cracking up.
“What a riot she is,” Wyatt said, shaking his head. “I know where she got her sense of humor and it wasn't from me. Caroline was definitely the funny one.”
He picked up his fork and knife and was about to dig into the food, when Lily stopped him. “Hold on. Just so you know, I'm not completely sure how everything turned out. I haven't tried any of it yet. I'm confident that the macaroni and cheese is fine and I'm sure the vegetables are, too. However, it's been a while since I've tried making chicken and I've never done it on the grill.”