Sweet Like Honey

chapter six

EVER since Lainey found his drawings and showed appreciation for them, Isaac found that drawing was an efficient way to spend his time. He found his passion again through sketching the trees outside as Lainey played with Gavin on the floor.

"Wow, Mr. Walker," Lainey said suddenly, her breath on his shoulder as he jumped and looked up at her.

"God, Lainey, you scared me," he said with a stressed laugh.

Lainey rolled her eyes. "You really need to loosen up, you're always on edge."

"I feel a lot calmer these days, actually," Isaac said in thought. And he did, he felt at peace suddenly.

Lainey was no longer causing him stress - she minded her business and played with Gavin, cleaned the house and helped Amelia with dinner. Though Isaac still found it weird that she was staying with them, he didn't press her on it, because he felt that it was a touchy subject for her.

"Have you ever used a model?" Lainey asked, and Isaac lifted his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, great artists sometimes have models that they can draw... real life models," Lainey responded with a shrug as she looked over at Gavin who was laying on the floor watching cartoons.

Isaac took a deep breath. "I can't say I've ever had a real life model. I guess I never thought about that."

"What does Amelia think of your drawings?" Lainey asked while sitting beside Isaac on the couch. She pushed her golden hair behind her ears and stared at him.

"Well, she doesn't know about them," Isaac responded, and Lainey furrowed her eyebrows.

"How can your girlfriend not know about that?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I kind of dropped sketching for a while... and Amelia doesn't care for art in general, so I never thought of bringing it up," he responded.

He wondered how Amelia would react to his art. She would most likely tell him he could put his time towards something more useful, which was something she said often to him.

"She should see your artwork sometime, Mr. Walker," Lainey said. "I mean, it's mindblowing."

Isaac's heart filled with warmth. This was the first time he'd ever heard somebody truly appreciate and praise him for his artwork.

"Thanks, Lainey," he said softly. "I really appreciate that."

"No problem!" Lainey responded enthusiastically, before standing to her feet and looking down at Gavin.

Gavin's eyes were closed as he fell asleep peacefully on the floor. Lainey giggled and picked him up carefully.

"Silly Gavin," she giggled as she looked at Isaac with a smirk. "Of course he falls asleep on the floor."

Isaac laughed and closed his sketchbook, while Lainey brought Gavin upstairs to the nursery as Isaac followed behind her.

Lainey walked into the nursery, and Isaac walked into his bedroom, sitting on the bed and staring at the trees he had just drawn.

Several minutes passed, and suddenly, Lainey was in his doorway.

"What time will Amelia be home?" Lainey asked, and Isaac looked at the clock.

"She'll probably be another hour or so," he answered. "Why, is everything all right?"

"Yes, of course," Lainey rolled her eyes and laughed, walking closer to Isaac. "God, you really-"