23. Lydia
23
LYDIA
I could not believe my luck. Miles wasn’t mad. I dropped the news on him that he was the father of my child, and he didn’t once argue with me about it. He accepted it and genuinely seemed excited. And he was staying.
I was almost speechless, except there was so much to tell him, everything about the what was going on with the Historical Society and the resort developer, and then, of course, there were all the changes and everything I wanted to do with the Sweet Mountain Inn, and of course, everything I was going to need for the baby. My head was full of so many different things, and every little piece stressed me out.
There was only so much I could dump on Evie. She was going through the same problems, the same situation with the library. Only, as far as I knew, she wasn’t pregnant or having a secret affair with some man from out of town. But if Miles was going to stick around. He wasn’t going to be a secret much longer.
Pregnant or not, I still had my daily chores around the inn.
“Lydia,” Miles said as he carried another box out from my apartment. He dropped it on the floor with a thump. “I was thinking we should go look at furniture and see what you want to order, as well as pick out your paint colors, the next time Mrs. Griffin is in.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” I said. “Is that another box you’re taking to the thrift store?”
“Yeah, and it’s the last box I have. I’m going to go drop this off and pick up a few more boxes. That room is almost completely empty. The furniture is all that’s going to be left by the time I’m done.”
“Good. That’s all that I want left in there.”
“I know you want to keep the dressers, but what about the bed?”
I had to think for a minute. “Let’s get rid of the mattress. We aren’t going to need it for a couple of years, and it’s old. And the frame will fold up and can go into the basement with the other extra bed frames that are already down there.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He stepped over and kissed me on the cheek before he picked up the box and walked out the door.
He had been here for two days already and spent the entire time clearing out that bedroom for me. I didn’t know how to thank him. He had moved into my life like he belonged here. It was nice. It was something I could get used to.
I was reading a book in the lobby later that same afternoon when Miles stepped out of the apartment. He was all smiles.
“Lydia, can I steal you for a second?”
I put my book down. “Of course. What do you need?”
“I want to show you something.”
“Ooh.” I acted surprised.
I followed him down the short hall into my apartment. He took my hand and led me to the second bedroom door.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he covered my eyes and wrapped his arm around me, his chest against my back.
He carefully walked me forward. “I want you to be surprised,” he said.
I heard the door creak open, and we took a few more steps forward before he uncovered my eyes.
“Wow.”
The room was completely empty and full of light. I had always thought of this room as being so dingy and dark. Aunt Ruth never opened the curtains. Now the curtains were gone and the windows were open, letting in some much-needed fresh air. He had already moved the two dressers into the middle of the room.
“It’s ready for you to pick out colors. I can get started painting. We’ll buy some tarps when we’re at the paint store to protect the dressers and the carpet.”
The walls were dingy and the carpet was worn. This room just looked old.
“How are we going to make this look like a happy nursery?” I asked. I felt like crying.
“You aren’t happy,” Miles stated.
“I’m overwhelmed. It’s baby brain,” I said. “I can’t see past what’s here right now.”
The room had always been dark, and now I could see how dirty the walls were, and the faded spots where pictures had hung, and cobwebs in the corners that I hadn’t bothered to clean out in the months since Aunt Ruth got ill and died. This room had been abandoned, and now it looked like it belonged in an old abandoned building.
I took in a shuddering breath. I really didn’t want to cry about this, but how was I supposed to raise a baby in this room?
“Hey, hey,” Miles said, “It’ll be okay. After we get it painted, we’ll put in some new carpeting. You won’t recognize it as the same room. You said you wanted to paint these dressers. You will bring color and breathe new life into this room.”
He ran his hand over my baby bump.
“We will make this a happy place for the baby,” he said.
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should think about moving into a little house that doesn’t have all of my bad memories in it, so that I’m not giving that emotional baggage directly to the next generation.”
“I think buying a house isn’t a bad idea, but Lydia, you said this was your home. You grew up here. You can make happier memories to replace the old ones. You don’t have to let this beat you. If you want, we can go look at houses. If you want, we can go look at paint chips. You tell me what you want, and I will make it happen.”
I slid my hands around his waist and held on tight. I didn’t know what I wanted. I wanted things to be easier. I wanted to know what my future held. I was tired of having to fight for everything I wanted. I was just tired.
“I think I need to rest right now,” I admitted. “The baby sometimes makes it so that I don’t think clearly. Right now, I can’t get over the past to see the potential of an empty room right now.”
Miles kissed me on the cheek. “Why don’t you go lie down?”
“I’ve gotta watch the front desk.” I felt tears burning behind my eyes. I hated this feeling, and I hated that I was feeling it more and more.
“I’ll watch the front desk,” he volunteered.
“But Miles, no.”
“If anyone tries to check in, I will let them know you’re resting. I can figure out which keys are available and get them in a room. I can have them sign that old registry of yours, and then I’ll tell you if anybody’s here. You can do the official computer check-in for them later.”
I really was about to cry. I was so tired. “Really?”
“Yes. Are you expecting any guests to try to check in or out this afternoon?”
I shook my head. “I don’t have any reservations booked, but I usually get one or two people coming through. Fall in the mountains. You know…”
He shook his head. “You go lie down. I’ll man the front desk, and I won’t let anybody get a free room. I promise. When’s the next time Mrs. Griffin is scheduled?”
“She comes in tomorrow,” I admitted.
“When she gets here, you and I are leaving. You don’t need to do any housekeeping or cleaning or anything. Tomorrow afternoon, you and I have a date to go pick out paint colors and look at baby furniture.”
My heart swelled with emotion. I loved that he wanted to take me away from my responsibilities and do something he knew that I was looking forward to doing.
I slowly nodded my head. “Thank you.”
He took my hand and led me back to my bedroom. I sat on the edge of the bed, and he took my shoes off and helped me to get my legs on the bed before tucking a blanket around me.
“Take a nap,” he said quietly before kissing me on the top of my head and leaving me to sleep.
When I woke up hours later, I wandered out into the lobby. Miles sat on the couch reading something on his laptop, much the way I would sit and read a book while I was waiting for any last-minute check-ins.
“Hey,” I said groggily. “Did anybody check in?”
“Hey, Sleepyhead, are you feeling better?” He closed his laptop and crossed the lobby to me. “I have one couple who checked in. They’re in room twenty-five. I have their information in your handwritten ledger book, and I’ve got their credit card right here so that you can put them into the system. And once that’s done, I told them I would run their credit card back up to them.”
“You are efficient,” I said.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“A little bit.”
“I have pizza in the kitchen,” he announced. “Why don’t I go get you a couple of pieces while you finish putting your new guests into the computer system?”
“That sounds good,” I said.
I was surprised to see how late it was as I logged onto the computer. I slept for several hours.
A middle-aged couple came downstairs as I finished entering the credit card into the system.
The woman approached the desk. “Are you Lydia?” she asked.
“I am. How can I help you?”
“We were told you were taking a nap, and we wanted to see if you had managed to finish getting us checked in.” She gave me her name. It matched the one on the credit card in front of me.
“I actually just finished getting you into the system. Thank you,” I said as I handed her back her credit card. “You’re probably going to want this to go find dinner.”
“That’s exactly what we’re doing. Thank you.”