Chapter Six – Liam
Liam
When I returned to the kitchen after putting Winnie to bed, Aurora was loading the dishwasher. After dinner, we took Winnie for a walk and stopped at the park for the second time that day. Winnie would be exhausted from her day, which was good for me. Hopefully, she would sleep through the night.
Aurora looked over her shoulder. “All tucked in?”
Smiling, I replied, “She is. I can’t tell you how happy she was to have you here, Aurora.”
Turning, she leaned against the counter and grinned. “It was good to spend some time with her.”
I let out a breath. God, it felt good to have her back. The feeling of peace I felt when she was near was something I could never understand. Aurora simply had a way of calming me, unlike anyone else. “You didn’t have to clean up, but thanks.”
“No problem.”
“How about I pour us a glass of wine, and we enjoy the nice evening on the back porch while we talk all things nanny?”
She chuckled. “Sounds good. Do you have a notebook I can make some notes in?”
“Yeah. I’ll get the wine and glasses; you can grab one from my office. The cabinet behind my desk, the last drawer on the right will have some notebooks in there.”
“Got it.”
I watched as she walked out of the kitchen.
It was so damn nice to be talking to her again.
To be talking to an adult, if I was being honest. Of course, I spoke with Mary while she was here, but she was like a younger sister to me, and half the time she was in her room.
Winnie adored Aurora, and I truly enjoyed having her as a friend.
I pushed away the guilt creeping back up and walked over to the small wine refrigerator.
I pulled out a bottle of shiraz and grabbed two glasses.
The cool breeze hit my face as I walked out onto the back porch. I set the wine and glasses on the table and looked at the orange-tinted sky. The sun had set but had left a beautiful night sky in its wake. Moose Lake was in the distance, its waters reflecting the last of twilight.
“Looks like it was a beautiful sunset.”
I nodded. “Yes, it was. I can’t believe Winnie was up so late. I hope she sleeps in tomorrow.”
Turning, I saw Aurora pouring the wine into the glasses. She held mine out for me.
“Thanks. Find the notebooks?”
Holding up a yellow notebook, she replied, “Yep, got it.”
Kicking off her sneakers, she sat down on the outdoor sofa and tucked her feet under her body.
“Are you chilly? Do you need a blanket?” I asked.
“Nope, I’m good. Okay, what are some things you’re looking for in a nanny, first of all?”
I sat down and thought about it. “Someone reliable. Caring. Experienced. I think someone younger, not that I don’t trust anyone older. Or I don’t know, maybe I do want someone older. Someone experienced with children.”
“They need to keep up with Winnie, so young makes sense, and someone, maybe not too old, needs to be able to keep up with a two-year-old.”
“Am I missing anything?”
She read over the shortlist. “Dependability.”
“Yes!” I said, pointing to her.
“Genuine love for children with references that back that up. Strong communication skills. They must be able to adapt to different situations, such as when you need to arrive early or will be late, so they may have to stay overnight on occasion. I think a degree in early childhood education would be a plus, but not necessary.”
She looked up from where she was writing down everything she was saying. “You get off pretty late, Liam. Won’t they have to stay the night anyway? Maybe you should think it over, about the live-in part.”
I shook my head. “Hope wouldn’t like that.”
Aurora stared at me momentarily before saying, “Liam, Hope isn’t here. You have to do what will work for you and Winnie. Do you honestly think someone will want to wake up at one in the morning and head home after you get home from work?”
Frowning, I shook my head. “No, that would be silly.”
I dropped my head back and cursed. “Fuck. I wish I had a normal nine-to-five job.”
“Unless you want to sell The Muddle Moose, you’re going to have to adjust your schedule so that you get off earlier. You have reliable managers, don’t you?”
“I do. I wouldn’t have been able to take so much time off if it hadn’t been for them and your brother Nathan. But you mentioned selling.”
Her head jerked up from what she was writing down. “I was kidding, Liam.”
Setting my glass down, I stood. “Sell The Muddled Moose.”
“Did you hear me? I was kidding.”
My mind started to spin as I paced the back porch.
“Liam?”
I stopped and faced Aurora. “Did I ever tell you what I went to school for?”
She shook her head.
“I was in marketing. I ran advertisements for major corporations. I was the one who came up with marketing plans.”
Her face crinkled up. “Sounds boring.”
I laughed. “It was boring.”
Aurora set the notebook down and leaned forward. “Hope told me that The Muddled Moose had been your dream for years. Don’t give that up because you don’t think you have a typical nine-to-five job. Liam, we can make this work. Just sit down, drink your wine, and let’s brainstorm.”
“You’re right. You’re right,” I said as I lowered myself back onto the outdoor sofa and grabbed my wine.
“What time do you need to get to The Muddled Moose each day?”
“Well, we open at five for our first dinner reservations, so I usually try to get there around three. That gives me ample time to prepare the bar and restaurant, ensure we have the necessary supplies, and address any pre-opening tasks or concerns that the other managers or staff may have. Since we close before the bar, the night crew cleans the restaurant and kitchen, so that isn’t an issue.
I do like to have a short staff meeting before we open, just to make sure we’re all on the same page, no concerns, things like that. ”
“Okay,” she said, picking up the notebook once again. “You need to be at The Muddled Moose by three each day. Do you ever take days off?”
“I never did until Winnie came along. I used to take Tuesdays and Thursdays off. It’s important I’m there on the weekends, since it is our busiest time.”
She nodded and kept writing. “Okay. So you want to stick to those two days? Have you ever thought about taking Sunday off?”
I shrugged. “I could. If it means spending more time with Winnie.”
“Let’s put that down on the side for more consideration.
The good thing is your nanny wouldn’t have to be here all day, since you leave probably around two thirty to get to The Muddled Moose.
She would have a good chunk of her day to do what she wanted.
Let’s talk about what time you would get home. ”
I thought about it. “If things were going well, I could leave earlier than I have in the past. Maybe between eleven and midnight, most likely eleven.”
Aurora looked up in thought. “So, she would be leaving to head home around eleven thirty, but she wouldn’t have to be back to work until two the next day. That gives you time to address anything with her about Winnie.”
“Correct.”
Smiling, she jotted notes down. “I think that would work, especially if we found someone younger. The only thing is, their weekends would be entirely taken up and they wouldn’t be able to make plans.”
I sighed. “That’s true.”
Aurora tapped her pen against her chin, and I couldn’t help but smile.
I hadn’t noticed her little quirks before, most likely because my mind was always on Hope and getting her better.
Or Winnie. “It would be easy enough to give her a break. I could always plan on staying with Winnie either on Friday or Saturday. I close the bookshop on Sundays now, so they can do most of the renovation work without bothering my customers. This way, I can always stay with Winnie on Saturday evenings. Maybe we could make it a tradition of some sort.”
My heart felt like it shattered into a million pieces, and I turned away so Aurora couldn’t see the instant tears in my eyes.
“Liam?”
“I’m okay,” I managed to get out. “Give me one second.”
And she did. That was one thing about Aurora, she gave you the space to deal with your thoughts and emotions.
It was one of the things that had first attracted me to her.
When Hope had first become friends with Aurora, before she knew about the cancer, she had told me Aurora had a way of just being there for you.
She would listen to you and focus on your words, like you were the only thing that mattered at that moment.
She didn’t need endless conversation and was comfortable with silence, which I had found grateful during the last six months or so of Hope’s battle with cancer.
Clearing my throat, I looked back at Aurora, who patiently sat there, notebook in hand, with a soft smile.
“Hope wanted to start a tradition with Winnie once she got old enough. She wanted to spend one day a week together doing girly things. Shopping, getting their nails done, working on a craft project together.” I let out a soft laugh.
“That was one thing Hope looked forward to after she found out we were having a girl. She couldn’t wait until Winnie got old enough to go and get her nails done. ”
I closed my eyes. Winnie would never know her mother the way she should have. What would life be like for my daughter without a woman in it? To teach her all the things a mother teaches her daughter.
“I’m sure Cadie, Harper, and Brystol would all love to take turns spending Saturday afternoons with Winnie.”
When I opened my eyes, I looked at her and smiled. “I’m sure Winnie would love that.”
“I can talk to them, see if we can get on a schedule. With Brystol being a new mom, it might be harder for her.”
I shook my head. “I like your original idea of you and Winnie having the day. Maybe the other girls can give you a break from time to time. Especially if you’ll be dating…what was his name?”
“Gary, and it was just one dinner. I’m not even sure how we’ll get along or if it will go anywhere.”