A special πΏππ πΎππ ππππππ Mother’s Day Chapter
Not included in the original The Spy Within novel. Book 1 of the Tame Series.
“Shh!” Smacking his palm on Teo’s mouth, Wyatt darted a sharp glare at his brother.
Wyatt was close to wringing Teo’s throat for nearly ruining their perfect mother’s day surprise. A surprise that took them weeks to plan. Thankfully for Teo and his delicate neck, though, their near-failure was a miss. Vigilant and watchful, Wyatt scanned the hallway one last time. Confident their mother didn’t hear a peep, Wyatt signal Luke to sneak out of his room as well.
“Ouf! That was close.” Tiptoeing down the stairs, Luke whispered.
“No thanks to this one, over here.” Flashing a disapproving glance at Teo, Wyatt berated in an undertone.
Gently and carefully closing the kitchen door behind them, “Hey, it’s not my fault I don’t have the eyes of a cat.” Making sure to keep his voice down, Teo expostulated.
“You don’t need the eyes of a cat to know where everything in your room is in the dark. You just need a brain.” Pulling all the necessities from the fridge, Wyatt admonished in hushed tones.
Subtly keeping the ceramic bowl on the ceramic countertop, “Keep it down you two. If Teo’s stumbling didn’t wake mom up, this stupid argument will.” Once again being the voice of reason between the three brothers, Luke reprimanded Wyatt and Teo in subdued tones.
Holding each other’s glare, Wyatt and Teo silently pondered over Luke’s words, what they were doing, what they were supposed to be doing and for whom. “You’re right.” Pulling what most people would call twin intuition, both of the brothers simultaneously uttered as their annoyance vanished into thin air. Their lips curving up into a smile, their brotherly love once again vanquished the causation of their argument.
“I’ll make the latte macchiato and fruit salad.” Picking up the De’Longhi Nespresso Gran Lattissima Coffee and Espresso Machine, Teo muttered on his way to the kitchen’s private back room.
Soundproof, the kitchen’s private back room was ideal for keeping any noise from reaching the ears of anyone in the house for when there were guests, and food was being made. And, today, it played in Teo’s, Wyatt’s and Luke’s advantage.
“I’ll prepare my infamous homemade whipped cream.” Breezily pouring the heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract in the stand mixer, Wyatt too took the filled stand mixer and walked into the private back room.
Following behind as quietly as possible, Luke held onto his stand mixer filled with a packet of flour, sugar, vanilla extract, butter, eggs and a closed cup of water and milk he had already pre-prepared before heading to bed the previous night. Gingerly keeping the stand mixer on the countertop, Luke went back to lock the door, assuring no noise would make it out of the kitchen area.
Taking his cone of delicious CrΓ¨me Chantilly out of the fridge, Wyatt gandered a quick glance at the clock on the wall beside the door. “Come on, guys, it’s almost time.”
“The garnishes and latte macchiato is ready. I’m just waiting on Luke.” Sitting on the stool, every so often picking at the fruits, Teo informed.
“It’s almost here, just gives it a few more seconds. And Teo, those strawberry are not for you.” Turning off the stove, Luke took the time to wipe the residual of flour from his face.
Putting his hands up in surrender, “Hey, a boy, gotta keep busy. Especially this early in the morning.” Teo countered with a grin.
“Guys, we have less than 10 minutes before mom’s alarm goes off.” Looking between Luke and the clock like it was about to announce his death, Wyatt warned.
Removing a new beautiful blue plate with golden engraving from the middle to the rim for design from the box they hid in this room the previous day, “Don’t worry. It’s done and ready to be garnished.” Laying his infamous fluffy crepes on the plate, Luke affirmed.
Puffing an air of relief, the nerve in his shoulders relaxing, Wyatt motioned Teo to fill his fruit salad inside the crepes Luke had prepared before rolling it up. Garnishing the top with powdered sugar first, Wyatt pumped a good amount of his whipped cream inside and on top of the crepes. For the perfect ending, he topped off the whipped cream with a small slice of strawberry and peach on either side of a cherry as a masterpiece. Decorating the silver tray with pink rose petals, they each placed a single red rose on the side of the plate, forming an asterisk.
Handing Luke the napkin with the fork and knife, Teo took the hot cup of steaming latte macchiato and waited for Wyatt to carefully pick up the tray of deliciousness. Widely smiling at each other, with still five minutes left, pride washing over them, all three brothers were ready to serve their beloved mother the perfect breakfast-in-bed for Mother’s Day.
Tiptoeing back upstairs, Luke stayed in the frontline since his hands were less occupied. “You, guys ready?” Turning his head to Wyatt and Teo, Luke barely audible voice asked.
Nodding their heads in confirmation, they captured each other’s gazes and mouthed till three before Luke proceeded to twist the doorknob and slowly heave the door open. Stealthily sneaking inside the room, Luke assessed the situation, making sure their mother didn’t wake up or feel their intruding before waving his brothers in. Standing only a few feet away from her bed, Luke knew oh-too-well they didn’t have much time before their mom would wake up from feeling their presence. It was inevitable.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
“HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY.” Wyatt, Teo and Luke screamed the instant, Phoebe smacked the alarm clock off and turned towards them.
Shaking off the fog of sleep and confusion, Phoebe rubbed her eyes and refocused on the three grinning intruders in her room. Still, slightly out of it, she gawked at them like they were aliens, not comprehending what was happening, why they were in her room and how the heck did they even wake up so early in the morning.
“What?” Taking in the tray of food, the cup of steaming liquid and the napkin, Phoebe was now curious what her sons were up too.
“Happy Mother’s Day, mom.” All three once again proclaimed.
“Oh, thank you so much.” Cooing, couldn’t believe she forgot about this special day. But she was beyond ecstatic her kids didn’t forget.
Setting the tray in front of Phoebe and taking a seat beside her, “We prepared a special breakfast-in-bed for you.” Wyatt kissed his mother on the cheek and revealed with a beautiful smile. One filled with honesty, pride and love.
Placing the cup of latte beside the plate on the tray, Teo sat on Phoebe’s other side and kissed her on the cheeks as well. Handing Phoebe the napkin with the fork and knife, Luke leaned in to kiss her on the cheeks before taking his sit on the edge of the bed beside Wyatt.
“You guys are the best.” Picking the roses and smelling them, Phoebe was Γ©mu. She didn’t deserve such great and loving kids, but here they were– endlessly loving her.
Taking a small bite of the fluffy crepes filled with fruits and heavy whipped cream, a firework of flavour, sweetness and texture exploded in her mouth. Moaning at the deliciousness, Phoebe eyes momentarily closed as she enjoyed the delicate explosion in her mouth.
“Here, try this.” Handing her the cup, Teo urged his mother to try his new brewing experiment.
“I’m gonna take a wild guess and say, you’ve made this.” Smiling at Teo, Phoebe mused.
Nodding his head in confirmation, Teo impatiently waited for his mom’s opinion on his homemade creation. Carefully observing Phoebe, using his microexpression-detecting skills, Teo watched Phoebe tasting the hot liquid, liking it but unable to pinpoint the name of the drink.
Taking another sip of the drink, Phoebe discerned all the element that makes a latte. But there was something more that she just couldn’t distinguish. Casting a questioning gaze at Teo, “It’s delicious, but I don’t know what it is.”
Grinning like he had won an award, “Latte Macchiato.” Teo proudly divulged. “It’s a somewhat new drink around the school campus.”
“Let me guess one of your girl friends taught you how to make it.” Taking another bite of heaven, Phoebe quipped.
Blushing, Teo chose to keep his mouth shut. A wise choice considering who his mother was and how protective she was whenever it came to Teo.
“Mom, can you guess, who made what?” Once again coming to his little brother’s rescue, Wyatt jumped in the conversation, and masterly stirred it away from Teo and his private life. A life that Phoebe knows nothing about. Yet.
Swivelling towards Wyatt, fully aware of his misdirection technique, Phoebe decided to once again ignore whatever secrets Wyatt and Teo were hiding from her. A part of her wanted to know and ignore their privacy, but the most sensible part of her knew better. If she got to keep secrets from them, they had the right to keep their innocent teenager secrets from her–as long as their lives remain unscathed and dangers shy away from them.
Making the active decision to return to this beautiful moment she was sharing with her kids, Phoebe chose to give her sons some space when it came to their personal lives.
“Easy. Luke made the crepes and you, Wyatt made your signature homemade whipped cream. This leaves the mixture of perfect blends of fruits to Teo. And well, given was impatient about me trying this latte macchiato, he definitely made it.”
Wyatt, Teo and Luke sharing a knowing look, “You know us too well.” They proclaimed with a chuckle.
“I’m your mother, after all.” Taking the last bite of the crepes, Phoebe admitted with her own chuckle.
“We love you, mom.” Removing the plate from Phoebe’s lap, they engulfed their mother in a tight embrace.
“I love you, boys, too.” Returning their bear hugs, Phoebe professed with amour.
Reluctantly getting out of the protective and loving embrace of his mother after what seemed like forever, “You should get ready. We have another surprise for you.” Wyatt announced with a grin.
Curious like a cat, Phoebe slightly cocked her head to the side, “Where are we going?”
Sharing another knowing look between brothers, grinning like a Cheshire cat, “Mountain climbing.” All three promulgated.
Her plan to have an easy-going day and staying in her sweatpants wholly ruined, “I don’t have any other choice, do I?” Battling her eyelashes and using her sweetest voice imaginable, Phoebe tried to get herself out of an extraneous day.
“Not a chance.”
“You’re not getting out of it.”
“Nope.”
Three different versions of her denial for a passive day slapping her right on the face, Phoebe had no choice but to comply. It was, after all, mother’s day. Then again, she wasn’t really complaining. She was a very active person, flexible as heck and had a high level of endurance. Plus she got to spend some much-needed quality time with her sons.
“Okay. Have everything prepared and make sure to eat your breakfast before we leave. I’ll get ready and make some calls.”
“You’re gonna call grandma, I guess?” Picking up the empty cup from the tray, Teo posed.
“It’s mother’s day, after all.” With a playful wink, Phoebe disappeared inside her bathroom.
She may not have her biological mother to celebrate Mother’s Day with, but Alicia Archer has been a mother in all its form to Phoebe when she didn’t have too. The only person who had a commitment towards her in the Archer family was Joseph Archer. But that didn’t stop Alicia from being a part of Phoebe’s life.
Alicia has been here for Phoebe when no one has dared to. She showered Phoebe with so much love she stopped asking herself what the love of a mother would feel like. She was the reason, Phoebe aspired to be a great mother, to take her role as a mother seriously. Alicia was a force of nature who knew just how to break Phoebe’s stubborn when needs be. And Phoebe immensely loved and respected her for that.
As such, in Phoebe’s eyes, Alicia deserved at least a call from her every Mother’s Day wishing her Happy Mother’s Day. If she was lucky enough and Federick didn’t plan to spend a whole day and night with his mother, Phoebe would definitely have Alicia over for dinner. But given how much Federick loves his mother and his wishes to make up for all the lost time when he was away for years, the chances for Phoebe to have some of Alicia’s time was limited. For this reason, Phoebe will satisfy herself with hearing Alicia’s loving and calming voice and once again, thank her for being the mother she never had.
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Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!
My love to you all.
This chapter was written with you all in mind.
And for all of us who has a loving mother, let’s appreciate them and show them we love them.
Have yourself a wonderful Mother’s Day.
Much love,
Your Author,
Lavinia Dasani
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The Crepes Recipe used (with a bit of alteration from my part) is from:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/crepes-recipe-1911037
The Homemade Whipping Cream Recipe used is from:
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-whipped-cream/
The Nespresso Gran Lattissima Coffee and Espresso Machine by DeβLonghiΒ is from:
