Newfound routine

It was another unusual morning with Lillian being busy in the kitchen. She had gradually improved her cooking skills and was now frying the hash browns with utmost care while keeping a careful watch at the toaster as well.

The time was now half past 7 in the morning, and Lillian got used to waking up this early. It gives her enough time to brew coffee rather than ordering one. Lately, she has been experimenting with her coffee brew, which kept her distracted from feeling lethargic. Frankly, she had never seen herself using the kitchen except when Jenna borrows it. Other times, the kitchen looked abandoned without life. The toaster finally alarmed, and Lillian ran to check. She then switched to the frying pan where the hash browns were cooking at high heat, almost passing the golden-brown test.

Just as she worked hard preparing breakfast, Lillian heard the approaching voice from a distance. And the little girl came running to greet her.

"Good morning to you too, Lia! You look pretty today as well!" Lillian replied as she grabbed a plate to serve Lia her breakfast.

Lia jumped onto her seat and was waiting to test today's menu. It became a routine for her to review Lillian's cooking and rate the meals energetically. Scrambled eggs, crispy golden hash browns, and the last contender, the toast.

Lia studied the color of the warm toast first even though Lillian purposefully served it the last, hoping that the scrambled eggs and hash browns would keep her distracted. Seeing how it failed, Lillian confessed she did her best today to reach that color without burning the toasts. She had a toaster at home, yet she never used it. The toaster was sitting alone until its need was required.

Lia admitted the color is far from perfect, yet she prefers a crunchy toast over a perfect one. The little girl started eating her breakfast cheerfully while Lillian walked over to the refrigerator, which is also now fully stuffed with essentials.

There were a variety of options available for Lia, and Lillian chose chocolate milk for today. She then grabbed the regular skimmed milk for her use. The little girl's face lit up from Lillian entirely spoiling her. Even so, Lillian was an adult responsible for taking care of Lia. She was cautious of the time, and they had a schedule to follow.

"It's going to be 8 AM soon- your mother isn't calling!" Lillian grumbled while checking the time.

"She must be busy or tired," Lia replied indifferently.

It was a surprise to see Lia act calm, considering how she reacted the exact opposite before.

***

Although it was a difficult decision to make, Giselle ended up accepting Lillian's appeal. She had no reason now to live separately, not anymore. As promised, Giselle was looking forward to the move-in with Lillian Grey. But to her misfortune, she had to join Jayce in his book tour. It was expected, but her initial plan was foiled. Still, Giselle risked leaving Lia under Lillian's care, hoping that the two would use the time to bond over. Lillian got thrilled by the turn of events and strongly vouched to take care of Lia. Prior to the book tour, Giselle had a few days, which she used to move her and Lia's things to Lillian's place.

It was all happening fast, by the time Giselle had left for the book tour- that first night, Lia cried to sleep, and the following morning, she kept asking if her mother had called or not. Lillian pleaded with Giselle to call her daughter every day without fail.

With the help of Giselle and Jenna, Lillian was able to come up with a schedule that wouldn't interrupt her work. Over the weeks, Lia got accustomed to living with Lillian to the point where now she acts cool if her mother doesn't call. Lillian is glad to see Lia getting comfortable living with her.

The time was now 8 AM sharp, and Lillian heard her alarm go off. She looked over at Lia and saw her finishing the breakfast. She signaled her the time, and Lia got off of her seat, grabbing the chocolate milk carton. She can drink it on the way over to the school.

"Wait, Lillian!" Lia screeched as soon as she stepped down.

"What?"

"My hairclip- it fell," Lia exclaimed.

"What, no-"

"No, see-"

Lillian checked and saw the broken clip down on the floor. She didn't notice it while picking Lia's outfit.

"I need a new clip now!" Lia demanded.

"Alright, what are we looking for today?" Lillian asked right away.

"Hmm, our math teacher is on leave. Therefore, we will have two music periods today."

"So, are we happy?"

"Oh- we are very happy because we might get a chance to watch the recorded live concerts," Lia answered, all excited.

"So cool, so we are feeling excited today!" Lillian remarked as Lia revealed. She then went on to announce choosing the right accessory for the occasion. Lillian declared immediately to rush, but Lia stopped her happy train. She knew the reason behind Lillian's elated demeanor.

"Lillian, wait, I don't want the feather one!" Lia pleaded.

"But the feather one is so good!"

"I know!"

"It makes you look like a wild princess," Lillian hinted with a wink.

"I know, and I love it. I love that you bought it for me, but I can't wear that to school," Lia begged.

"Why not?"

Lia sighed from having to convince the adult here.

"Lillian, I don't want the other kids to get jealous of me," Lia finally spoke in Lillian's language.

"But…"

"Leave that, and you can pick whatever you want- except the other bird one and that sunflower too- that's it! Don't pick anything sparkly that would make my classmates stare at me. You can pick anything else," Lia advised.

Lillian looked down wearily and left to return with another boring hairclip. She did not seem impressed, yet Lia beamed to welcome her choice happily as she received it from Lillian. She wore the hairclip, and they both left together.

***

It is somewhat a long drive from Lillian's place to reach Lia's school when Giselle and Lia could comfortably walk to school every day.

Besides, the first-day experience of dropping Lia at school had deeply convinced Lillian strictly to follow her schedule.

Having not used to waking up early, Lillian almost missed the timing on the very first day. She arrived late with Lia and got caught by the public attention. Thankfully, Mrs. Beth was there to help Lia get to her classroom without any trouble. Lillian couldn't blindly refuse or act rude to the people, but Mrs. Beth strongly advised her to be early next time to avoid the crowd. Since then, Lillian settled to drop Lia early at school.

Thus, reaching a deserted school with only a few kids and teachers, Lillian dropped Lia and wished her a good day. Despite going through the trouble of waking up early, Lillian still gets recognized by those few teachers. She couldn't disregard them and reacted to their cheerful greeting.

"You are slowly getting popular, Lillian!" Lia remarked from noticing Lillian receiving attention every day.

"I know! I should be happy, right?" Lillian groaned as she wished to leave before she drew in any attention.

Nevertheless, what bothered Lillian aside from getting noticed was Lia's school life. Lillian had been the one to drop and pick her up at school every day for a while now. And there wasn't a day where she returned home without receiving any attention. It isn't bothering Lillian to handle her fame, but she hoped that the little girl wasn't getting dragged into this mess. She wanted to ask Lia, but seeing her never express any distress, Lillian didn't want to trouble Lia unnecessarily. She said goodbye and then returned to an empty home.

Lia's presence had settled in pretty easily to her anticipation. She knew the kid was lovable and that they already had established a bonding between them. Considering how she had lived before Giselle re-entered her life, Lillian no longer felt alone inside the house anymore. The smell of toasts from getting burnt to almost nearing perfection to the mess around the house, Lia's toys, books, her little notes with drawings- Lillian knew she had to clean them up now, but it can wait until a coffee break. This repeated scene for a while now made her chuckle. She never lived like this and having Giselle agree to live with her only increased her expectations. Every day, Lillian wakes up to live her life with all the love she had locked inside her.

Right now, life doesn't seem too dull to mess around anymore. Lillian was ready to look forward to her future.