I was on my way home to prepare for Mihai and Laura coming, when Andreea called me inside for food she had saved after her son's visit. While munching on the pork-filled cabbage rolls of sarmale she had, I sat next to her.

A soft breeze passed my legs, coming from the swaying net curtains that brushed against the cabinet, packed with figurines. It was nice and quiet, with the dim light flickering and the TV off.

"Are you enjoying it Mona?" Andreea asked, her dimples deepening into little moons that creased her cheeks.

I quickly nodded with a mouthful. "Da, thanks so much for letting me have some."

"Your welcome," She smiled like it was no problem. "Its my pleasure, I just thought you might like some after a long day."

"I really did. Thank you so much," I said, swallowing another cabbage roll and licking remnants of tomato juice off my lips. I glanced down at my plate and saw Lalea peering over from the ground, staring dead at me, like it was her food I was eating.

Her tongue hung out as she wagged her little tail towards me. I ate another sarmale roll as she sniffed my plate, making me edge it away in case she would snatch one and run off.

"Lalea, leave Mona alone, let her eat," Andreea said. But Lalea started barking in protest and pressed her little paws against my chest. She licked my chin with a wet, insistent swipe.

"Vino Lalea," Andreea commanded her over. "You've already had your food," she then patted her lap. Lalea looked at her and back at me, still sniffing towards my plate. She whimpered, so I ended up giving her a small piece of meat.

"I'm sorry if she's bothering you." Andreea sighed as Lalea quickly ate the piece and barked happily. She sat down on my lap, so I stroked her snowy white fur.

"It's alright. She just reminds me of my Bunica's dogs," I smiled, thinking of my dear Grandma while twirling the collar. "My cousins and I used to share our food with them when we visited her on the weekends."

"Serios? That sounds so sweet."

"Da..." I murmured, "Sometimes I found it difficult speaking to them because they would always make fun of me for wetting the bed, so I would just be playing in the corner with the dogs half the time." I said, my voice drifting with a wistful smile. I never knew why I kept wetting the bed as a child, but at least my strict Grandma would never get angry every time I woke her up, just quietly cleaned me up.

"Aw, well at least you had them to keep you companie," she said as Lalea climbed off me and went into her arms.

'"Da..." I murmured, '"And I will never forget the time when they once saved me from being chased by dogs."

"How did that happen? Did you do something to upset them?" She now shifted closer and warmly patted me on the shoulder.

"I can't really remember what I did. I think it's because the balloon I was playing with popped and I guess that must've startled them." I bit my lip, silencing my chuckles when the memory came to light.

"So how did you manage to get away? I hope you didn't get bitten," Andreea said, pulling her floral headscarf closer to her eyes that sparkled with curiosity.

"Nu they didn't thankfully." I sighed with relief. "But I thought they were going to, since I made the biggest mistake by running away while screaming."

Her jaw dropped as her eyes filled with concern and horror. I stared at the ground because of how crazy it sounded enough to make her face fall off.

"You screamed and ran?" she finally let out.

I shamelessly nodded and brushed a hair behind my ear. "I did. It was really embarrassing, and they chased me until I got back to Bunica's house and ran up a tree like a frightened cat."

"You poor thing..." she looked at me while shaking her head. "So did they ever leave?"

"Not until Bunica's dogs came and scared them off," I giggled, "They came to the rescue and sent them running."

"That's good. I'm glad you didn't get hurt."

"Multumesc, me too," I said and finished off the remains of my food. I put my plate down and wiped my mouth. "Anyway, thank you so much for sharing your food with me. I have to go home now, but I hope you have a lovely evening."

"You too Mona. Do you want to take some home for your children?"

"Nu nu it's fine," I quickly declined, "I don't want to shorten your food."

"You sure? I don't mind." She then picked up the plate and headed to the kitchen.

"I'm sure but thank you for the offer," I said and made my way to the door.

"Alright." I heard the plate being dumped into the sink and she appeared in the hallway to see me out.

"Pa Doamnă Andreea." I waved goodbye. "See you tomorrow." I stepped outside and the crispy wind crinkled round my eyelashes, and blew my cardigan around. carrying with it the lingering warmth of Andreea's home and the quiet comfort. My phone had been buzzing so I got it out to see new messages from Ștefan.

Ștefan: Hei Prințesă 😘 how are you?

- I hope your having a lovely evening.😇

- And I hope your enjoying your bracelet :)

- I hope I can see you again. What about tomorrow?

- I'm missing you already.

- That sweet face of yours❤️

I stared at the messages and slowly typed out a reply, while my face scrunched up in awkwardness. Why were there so many in such a short time...

Me: Hei I'm good, I hope you are too.☺️

- I'm busy tomorrow, but I can do Tuesday after work if you like?

When I returned, I closed the door behind me and sauntered through the darkened hallway. Except the moonlight path of sapphire that led to the dining room where my kids were at.

"Hei sweeties, have you finished your homework?" I went and caressed their hair.

"Almost..." Raiden mumbled and moved his head away. He nibbled his pen and brushed his hair back in place.

"Okay. Make sure you're done soon and then go to your room."

"But Mami why can't we stay when your friends come?"

"Because I don't want you to." I glanced up at their pouting faces which made me laugh as I cleared up the table. Since Mihai and Laura were coming soon, I cleaned everywhere and brought out snacks and drinks.

"Is it because your boyfriend is coming?" Raiden asked suddenly while scribbling something. I choked on my saliva, almost dropping the bottles.

"Are you embarrassed of us?" He looked at Reina, and they started snickering while looking at me. I held the bottles tight as my face grew hotter like balls of fire.

Why do these kids love being in my business so much?

"Nu, I just need some me time," I said and quickly cleared up all the scraps of paper. before adding, "Anyway, when you go to your room, make sure it's clean. I want it to be clean as the moon."

Their blank stares made me laugh as I continued bringing out food and setting it on the table.

As soon as they finished and went upstairs, the doorbell rang. So I threw on a blanket and opened the door. Laura squealed when she saw me as Mihai stood behind with a box in his hand.

"Bună!" We said and exchanged cheek kisses. I pulled them into a hug and shut the door. They took off their shoes, and Mihai flipped off his hood, facing me.

"We brought you this just before coming," he said, handing me a box of chocolates.

"Mulțumesc." I took them and placed them on the side.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked, noticing how I was tightly clutching my huge blanket.

I slipped past them, still bundled in my blanket, and waddled away. They followed me to the table, and I brought out the game Ticket to Ride, its colorful box depicting a vintage train map.

"So do you guys want to play this?"

"Oh, I love that game, but I'm so bad at it," Laura giggled nervously, her arm snaking around Mihai's.

"I'm sure you're not that bad Iubita," Mihai said and bopped her nose. He then stepped forward and extended his hand towards me.

"Can I deal out all the pieces?" Mihai asked with a shining smile. "That's my favourite part."

"Sigur, go ahead." I said 'sure' and handed it to him, and watched as he spilled all the colored train cards out with the tickets cards. He quickly gathered them from the floor, so Laura and I sat down.

"So Mona, did that guy like the outfit you wore?" Laura asked, leaning forward expectantly. Laura asked.

"Oh, he did! Thanks for helping me out," I said with a grateful smile. Then I grabbed the board and set it out for us. The map of America was sprawled out, a vibrant tapestry of colored train routes crisscrossing the continent, with numbers scaling across the sides.

"Cine?" Mihai asked 'who', standing there dumbfounded while looking between us. "Who are we talking about?"

"O, I met someone!" I said, my gaze falling to the floral bracelet still on my arm.

"O since when?" He asked. He stacked up the cards and gave them out to us along with the train pieces. I got red. Laura had yellow, and Mihai had blue.

"Just a couple of weeks ago. We've gone out a couple of times!" I exclaimed. I fiddled with the petals of the bracelet, their softness tickling a sweet sensation in my chest. Once Mihai gave me the ticket cards with the routes, I was deciding on which ones I wanted to keep.

"Is that where you got the flower bracelet on your arm there?" Mihai smiled as he sat opposite me. I quickly nodded, took a raisin cookie, and felt a blush creep onto my cheeks..

"That's so sweet!" Laura said, beaming at me. "I'm glad you two are getting along.""

When we all had our cards set up, Mihai went first in setting his trains on the board.

He pulled a bowl of sunflower seeds towards him, the faint crunch echoing as he popped them into his mouth while thinking.. We all took turns and soon the table became filled with train routes becoming longer and crawling around. I really enjoyed having these two over while chatting as it kept me happy and distracted.

"So have you two done anything lately?" I asked, flicking my piercing while I collected three more map cards since I finished my train routes.

"We went to the cinema..." Laura mumbled, scratching her head and looking down at the board.

"And there was no one sitting in front of us so I got to put my legs on the seats in front," Mihai chuckled to himself.

"That's what Raiden does sometimes," I started, chuckling as I grouped my train cards into the same colors. "I'm always putting his feet down," I said and then crossed my legs together while leaning back on the chair.

"I was afraid someone was going to come and sit on those seats," Laura said, taking another two train cards. She sighed and laid back. "I keep getting other colors instead of the one I need. Teddy Bear, are you sure you shuffled the cards right?"

I snorted at the nickname, as Laura turned slightly to face him. His head started sinking into his sweater like a turtle. But I could still see his cheeks flushing pink. "Don't worry Laura, I'm sure you'll get the cards that you need soon."

"Mmm okay," Laura giggled and kicked her legs up. "Also, maybe if things go well with your new man, we could all do a double date one day," she said and shimmied closer to me.

"That does sound like a good idea. What do you think of that Teddy Bear?" I asked, smirking at Mihai, which earned me a kick under the table.

"Da it's alright. But I just can't believe I'm so late to the news." He sulked while shifting through his cards."It's been 24 years... 24 years I've known you, and I'm finding out about your new relationship through a follow-up question," he sniffed dramatically and shook his head. He then looked at me, and Laura started snickering, her blonde hair flicking across her shoulders.

"Scuze Mihăiță, it wasn't on purpose. You're being dramatic," I said innocently. "I just simply forgot." I giggled.

"Sure, sure you forgot," he mumbled. "Next thing you know, I'm going to be a forgotten best man, and instead just the plus one at your wedding," and now Laura is fully cackling.

"Poor man is afraid he's about to become background furniture," Laura said between giggles, "So what's the guy's name?" while Mihai was now laser-focused on his cards.

"Ștefan!" I said with a spring of confidence.

"Ooh that's nice name!" Laura said.

"You know what," Mihai said suddenly and sat a bit up. "I just thought of something. I can interrogate him on the double date."

"Ce?" I exclaimed 'what' and he just started laughing and placed down his trains.

"Relax, I'm joking," Mihai said, then smirked. "Or am I?" And continued laughing to himself as we all joined in and continued playing.

****

Reina's POV

I stared at the planets that orbited around the ceiling light and sighed. Me and Raiden were watching Disney movies on some bean bags and now he was sleeping while I was wide awake.

I tucked in my knees while shaking. I kept staring at the wall which was Mamă's room on the other side. I heard her walking past, and had been listening to her voice, making sure she was still up while crying.

What if she starts vomiting uncontrollably again and we wouldn't know?

I cried even more and coughed when my throat tightened. I felt frozen seeing her like that, just vomiting so much that she might faint and never wake up. And there was almost nothing we could do to stop it.

I sobbed loudly into my arms as I didn't want to lose my Mamă again. Otherwise me and Raidan will be all alone again like last time.

I got up and stepped over him to go to the door. I haven't heard her for ages, so I sped to her room and opened it slowly, hoping that she was just sleeping.

I saw her in her bed, so she was probably sleeping but I wanted to make sure. So I crept in and stood above her face, staring at her while hidden in the dark, but she didn't move. So I waited while clutching my fingers tightly.

Please move, please move, please move...

I jumped when she let out a loud snore and turned inside the sheets. But I sighed with relief that she was just sleeping.

I ran to the other side and climbed in. She continued snoring like a bear which made me giggle as I cuddled close so we can sleep together.

I looked over her shoulder and saw her wet cheeks on her teddy Daisy. It looked so cute, but she would not be happy if she knew I saw this. So I just went back on the pillow and held onto her pajamas while scooting away.

"Noapte bună Mamă," I said and went to sleep.

A/N: Hey I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

I remember when I played an online game of rummikub to get the sense of it and I got so frustrated 🤣🤣🤣