#ensavaged

her reply is gone as quickly as it had come to her, a grin spreading her lips in place of the gentle part of surprise that had been there upon adelyn's arrival. a soft exhale of laughter is all that she has to offer, going back to clearing the table that she had left a bothersome mess upon just as she'd left the week prior. natasha glances sideways at her as she removes the hat, admiring the pristine shape of her hair in its absence with a leftover and enduring smile.

maman ! she feels the brush of something smooth against her arm before the gentle but insistent tap of an all - too - familiar finger trying its best to get her attention. natasha turns, coming belly - to - face with the wide brim of a bright orange and velvet hat. she's left stunned for a moment, the hand not occupied with the phone at her ear reaching to tip the brim back, better revealing the bright and beaming face of a girl who's been having far too much fun taking stock of the boutique.

'...natasha?' 'yeah, i'm here -- hey, i don't think i'll be coming back in for another few weeks. i'll call you back later. '

the call ends with a snap of the phone, the device slipped into her pocket before she lowers to a crouch before adelyn, both hands reaching up now to better adjust the hat on her head. to be frank, it's a futile effort ; the child's head is too small, and getting the comically large - in - comparison accessory to balance properly simply won't do. natasha sighs, shaking her head as she removes the thing from her daughter's head and smooths her now static - ridden hair back down. she presses a doting kiss to her crown before standing and easily taking her hand. " come on, let's find you something you can actually wear. "

"nevermind, it suits you." she brings the tray of pastries to the table as adelyn comes to sit at her usual place, waiting for her to settle before leaning to kiss the top of her head, lingering for a moment to pinch her cheek just enough to leave a mark a mere shade deeper than her blush. the grin returns, before she steps to the stove to turn off the heat under the kettle that's just begun to whistle. " now, tell me what i've missed. "

“        i  must  have  missed  the  joke,  then.        ”                her  smile  is  tight,  a  layer  of  ice  lurking  just  below  the  surface.    what  wendy  may  have  once  dismissed  as  being  a  symptom  of  hereditary  reservation  she  now  considers  to  be  beneficial:  there’s  something  about  this  that  doesn’t  sit  right.    she  was  right  to  have  kept  the  young  woman  at  arm’s  length,  she  thinks,  to  treat  her  as  nothing  more  than  an  unusual  neighbour  –  but  then,  maybe  adelyn  is  something  more  than  just  an  unusual  neighbour.    fingers  tighten  around  the  ring  of  keys  that  rest  in  her  palm,  suspicion  burning  away  in  the  back  of  her  mind  all  the  while.

i   didn’t   think  i’d  ever  fully  know  her  ,     &    at  this  point  i  don’t  think  i  ever  will   .   .   .         (    feat      ♡    @ensavaged      )

     𝐚𝐡 , 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 . her comings and going where becoming highly anticipatory , if not more so the latter of things . jacob heugh wonders what it could be that continuously , time after time again , bring her back here . he likes to think , perhaps it’s fondness . she’ll get the benefit of the doubt .     “     adelyn . if i move to hug you will i make it out alive .     “