The morning sun slipped gently through the tall glass windows of the dining room, painting the long polished table with soft streaks of gold. The air smelled of toasted bread, fresh coffee, and fried eggs, a mix that made Lucy’s stomach grumble even before she sat down.
She had tried to sneak out to the garden first, her little basket of flowers already waiting by her door, but Julia had caught her halfway down the stairs.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Julia asked with a playful lift of her brow.
Lucy froze like a guilty child caught red-handed. “I was just… going to check the flowers outside. They need water.”
Julia shook her head, looping her arm through Lucy’s and steering her toward the dining room. “Breakfast first. Flowers won’t wilt in the next thirty minutes. Sit. Eat. Th
