Sitting down while she could, letting out a long breath, Helena closed her eyes and relaxed into the sofa, her body still radiating the sun’s heat. She could hear the children playing upstairs, or rather Leah’s rambling monologue as she played with her dolls and Nicky making ‘crashing’ noises and wailing as his toys fought against one another. Sinking further into the sofa, eyes still closed, she could feel herself slipping. Her breathing became heavier, and that passage to sleep rolled out before her, all she had to do was take one, tiny, little step onto it and she would be cast off into a land of flying ships and talking alligators. 

The chiming of a bell was what first startled Helena, causing her to sit up quickly and glance around. She could still hear the children playing upstairs, though it took her a few seconds to untangle her almost-dreams from the reality she was hearing from above. Remembering that the door bell had actually gone off, however, Helena dragged herself up off the sofa and hurried to the front door. She was quick to pull the door open and, to her surprised, was greeted by the slightly tanned face of a woman. The woman before her looked equally as surprised and Helena felt herself frowning a little before she remembered her manners and quickly threw out a greeting, “Hello.”

“Hi,” The woman answered, seemingly a little dazed, “you must be Helena.” Confused now, Helena nodded and allowed the woman to clarify, “I’m Dylan.” She gestured to herself then, and Helena couldn’t help but look. She was tall, smaller than herself, but still tall, and slim, with short, slightly curly dark hair that rolled just past her ears. She was wearing casual clothes, a tank top and a pair of jeans, and an exotic fragrance seemed to emanate from her. All in all, she was not exactly what Helena had been expecting. She knew the name ‘Dylan’ was gender neutral, but for some reason, in her mind, she had always imagined Dylan to be a man. 

Vaguely trying to remember all the little bits of information she had heard of the woman before her throughout the years, and feeling close to mortified that she had had such a distorted view of her, Helena quickly stated, “It’s nice to meet you,” and thrust out her hand. Dylan’s hand was warm and soft, and her smile appeared to grow as she took the outstretched hand before her.