a sound she hadn't heard before

thirty-one.

The next few days go by, and before Taylor knows it, it's Friday. The final day of their workshop performances. Her parents flew in yesterday evening and they're sleeping just a few rooms over, very excited to not only see the show, but meet the man who has been making their daughter so happy.

Ayla is excited about today, too. Taylor decided that she's going to try again- let Ayla skip another day of school to see the performance. So much has happened in the last few days- the run in with Adam feels like an eternity ago.

Nobody knows about London just yet. Levi wants to wait for the offers to come through before committing to one that he knows will be inconvenient for some. All that Taylor can do at this point is hope that, by some miracle, a more local offer comes through.  That she won't have to uproot everything and move to London.

Taylor is the first person to wake up in the house, so she heads downstairs, careful to not wake the others. After pouring herself a bowl of cereal, Taylor sits at the table scrolling through her phone and eating her breakfast. She can't lie- she's really excited for the day. She can't wait for her parents to finally see what she has been working so hard on. Blake is going to come back and meet up with them, too. The girls and Ryan just loved the show, so Taylor pulled a few strings to get her best friend a seat, since she missed the show she was ticketed to be at.

Taylor can just feel that it is going to be a good day. She just has to keep her head up and push through. Not think about all of the overwhelming things that are going on in her life- because today, there are more important things. Things like getting to share her art with her family, or like getting to share the family that she has chosen with the family that she was born into.

It isn't long before the rest of the house wakes up- mostly because Ayla isn't very good at being quiet when she comes bouncing down the stairs, announcing to Taylor that she had a dream that she was riding a unicorn with her three cats, Meredith, Olivia, and Benjamin.

"And," Ayla continues, "the kitties could fly because they were dressed like fairies."

"Wow," Taylor laughs. She would normally tell her little girl to settle down a bit, if she thought that people were still sleeping, but she can already hear her parents' footsteps upstairs, so she doesn't say much. "That sounds like a very exciting dream."

"Do you think I'll ever meet a fairy someday, Mommy?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe someday," Taylor tells her little girl. "Maybe in your fairy garden in the backyard?"

"Yeah!" Ayla exclaims. "Can you make me Lucky Charms for breakfast?"

Taylor laughs. "Can we have something a little healthier today please?"

"Fine. Can I have my special Rice Krispies? With berries?"

"That sounds like a plan," Taylor replies. The 'special' Rice Krispies are just the regular cereal, but mixed with yogurt instead of milk. Taylor prepares the bowl, then places some frozen strawberries and blueberries on top.

As Ayla is happily eating, Taylor's parents make their way downstairs.

"Good morning, girls," Scott Swift says as he enters the kitchen. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Yep," Ayla nods.

"What about you two?" Taylor asks. "Recovered from the traveling yesterday?"

"Yeah, we're all rested up," Andrea Swift smiles at her daughter.

"Go ahead and help yourself to any food that you can find around here," Taylor says. "Just, not the things that are still in grocery bags. That's for dinner tonight." She pauses, and then, "Ayla, do you want to watch a show when you're done?"