Chapter 12: Ordinary Days
1394 Words
Three weeks later...
Life had started to settle into a routine.
It wasn’t glamorous every day.
It wasn’t dramatic.
There weren’t grand gestures or sweeping romances.
Grocery lists were hanging on the refrigerator with apple magnets.
Dirty laundry that magically appeared overnight.
Soccer practices, spelling tests, and misplaced permission slips.
Four chickens thought they were royalty.
And somehow...
Becca had never felt more content.
Every morning before work, she walked out to the coop with a small bucket of feed.
The girls knew her footsteps already.
As soon as the back door cracked open, they would sprint towards her. Well…
Three of them did. Lavender walked. She had standards to uphold.
Nugget darted as a woman had just announced dessert was ready.
Biscuit clucked the entire way across the chicken run.
And Daisy patiently waited for everyone to settle down before joining her.
Craig swore each of the girls had their own personality.
Becca used to laugh about it.
Now...
She knew he was right.
“Good morning, ladies.”
The girls answered her with a symphony of clucks.
The youngest of her girls popped up behind her. She was carrying a small basket.
“Think we’ll get one today?”
Becca grinned.
“Maybe.”
“I’ve been hearing about maybe for two weeks.”
“I know.”
“They’re trying my patience.”
“I think they are too.”
Just then they turned and started back towards the house...
The middle child yelled from inside the coop.
“Mom!”
“What?”
“I FOUND ONE!”
The First Egg
Everyone bolted towards the coop.
Including Craig, who had just walked out the door five minutes earlier with coffee in hand.
There, tucked inside the nesting box was one perfect light-brown egg.
Small.
Smooth.
Perfect.
Her youngest daughter whispered,
“They did it.”
Craig hovered over the nesting box as she had just given birth.
“I knew they had it in them.”
Her eldest shook her head, laughing.
“I don’t think they lacked confidence.”
The middle child carefully extracted the egg.
“It feels warm.”
Becca reached out and picked it up herself. She held it gently in both hands.
She couldn’t help but tear up. It was an egg. Just an egg.
Yet...
It felt more than that.
It felt like hope.
Waiting.
Patience.
Knowing that growth was occurring even when she couldn’t see it.
Craig reached out and rubbed her back gently. He knew exactly what she was feeling without saying a word.
“You good?”
She nodded.
“It’s stupid.”
“I doubt that.” He smirked.
She looked down at the egg in her hands.
“For so long I thought if I couldn’t see…”
She smiled softly at the egg.
…” progress, that nothing was changing.”
Craig turned towards the coop.
“Guess some of the best things in life happen long before they surface.”
The Bakery
That afternoon Becca walked into work carrying the little basket that now housed the egg.
Her boss Linda looked up from icing sugar cookies.
“Is that…”
“A egg.” Her youngest shouted.
“Our first egg.”
Linda acted like she had seen newborn kittens.
“Oh, this is happening? We’re celebrating.”
“It’s one egg.”
“It is your very first egg.”
Linda opened the break-room refrigerator.
“We have cheesecake in here.”
“You’ve been saving cheesecake?”
“For situations just like this.” She winked.
“This is that kind of situation?”
“It most certainly is.” Linda winked back.
Becca laughed so hard customers looked up from their order.
An Unexpected Customer
Daniel walked into the bakery around lunchtime.
Daniel. The man she had dated shortly after Lee passed away.
The emotionally abusive relationship that had ended only months later.
He hadn’t changed.
Nice shirt.
Expensive watch.
That annoying ass-smile.
Her stomach automatically tensed.
He spotted her tucked away in the corner decorating cupcakes.
“Rebecca.”
She hadn’t heard him say that since...
“Hi, Daniel.”
“You look…”
“Different.” She finished for him.
He glanced around the shop.
“So, this is what you’ve been doing with yourself.”
“I’ve been here for a while now.”
“I heard.” He nodded.
There was an uncomfortable silence between them.
Finally, he smiled.
“You should come out and catch up sometime.”
Becca started to respond, but another voice stopped her.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
She turned around to see Craig.
Craig had stopped by that afternoon to surprise her with lunch.
Daniel looked from her to Craig.
“Oh.” He stood there awkwardly for a moment.
Craig held out his hand.
“I’m Craig.”
Daniel shook it. His smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“I better get going.”
Have a nice day.” Craig said kindly.
Daniel gave a small nod, not making eye contact with either of them, and turned to leave.
No Questions
Silence filled the room for several seconds.
Becca watched him walk out the door long after he was gone.
Craig placed the bag of lunch he brought her on the counter.
“I brought you some chicken salad.”
She stared at him, mouth hanging open.
“You didn’t…”
“Need to ask you questions?” He offered gently.
“No questions?” She finished.
“If you want to tell me.” He promised her.
“But you won’t pry?”
Craig shook his head.
“Nope.”
She took a deep breath.
“He wasn’t nice to me, Craig.”
“I figured that much.”
“I will tell you someday.” She suddenly said.
“I’ll be here.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
“I’m just not ready to talk about it yet.”
Craig reached over and squeezed her hand.
“You don’t ever have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“The Difference
Craig sat beside her on the bench beneath the oak tree that night.
The chickens were scratching contentedly at her feet.
Becca leaned back on the bench, looking up through the branches above them.
“You know what I realized today?”
He glanced over at her.
“What?”
“When Daniel left…”
She paused, smiling to herself.
“I didn’t feel anxious.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah.”
“You know what I felt?”
“What?”
Connected.
“I like that.”
“So do I.” She smiled.
Looking over at the coop.
“I used to think for me to heal…”
She stopped herself, searching for the right words.
“I had to forget.”
Craig shook his head.
“No?”
“I thought healing meant not thinking about that day ever again.”
“What changed your mind?”
“I think healing is…” She reached over and grabbed his hand. “Knowing that you remember…” She squeezed his fingers. “But you don’t want to go back.”
His hand covered hers, linking their fingers together.
“When you’re ready.” He assured her.
Pink and gold hues painted the sky as the sun dipped below the horizon.
Inside the coop, the girls climbed onto their roosts for the night.
The little red door leading inside glowed behind them.
Becca rested her head on Craig’s shoulder.
“One egg.” She whispered.
“One egg can change everything.” Craig kissed her forehead.
“You’re right. It never is.”
Not one egg.
It’s everything that comes after. The person you become while waiting for that egg.
Someone who could wait without worrying what tomorrow would bring.
Someone who could remember yesterday without living there again.
Someone who could wake up each day and greet tomorrow with hope instead of fear.
As the first stars appeared in the night sky, Becca understood that the life she had been waiting for wasn’t going to show up in sweeping moments of sheer grandeur.
It was showing up here. Quiet as could be...
One day at a time...
One egg at a time...
One incredible act of love after another.
- Writer
