Chapter 17—Willow #2
“You’re staying?” Ivy asks with more glee than I can describe.
I didn’t know how much they missed their babysitter until now.
Makes me think I need to contact Mrs. Carlton and look in on her too.
The last few weeks have been so busy that I haven’t had the time to make sure she’s okay after the fire.
Even though it didn’t touch her building, it would still be good of us to talk with her.
“Only if I can have a donut too. And maybe some Halloween candy if you have any left over.”
“We have tons,” Ivy replies as she pulls Payton into our home. “We went down each floor, and everyone had something to give. Come see.”
Payton doesn’t look back as the girls drag her through the apartment, leaving me with Bobby’s brother as he waits for the elevator.
I’m not sure if I should stay or not. But it feels weird to just let him stand here on his own for some reason.
He’s a grown man; he can wait for an elevator.
But he’s also Bobby’s brother and part of the family.
The family. I almost feel obligated to see he’s safely inside the elevator before going into my home.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Frazzer. Bobby has everything in hand. With the fire and with your girls.”
He nods and walks into the elevator as it stops on our floor.
He knows my last name. Yeah, I didn’t tell him that part. Or anything else, for that matter. But he knows. He knows it all.
Bobby is definitely talking about me.
I can’t hold back my giggle as I walk into the kitchen with the donuts.
The weekend went by quicker than I expected.
After the surprise visit from Payton, the girls and I decided to just have fun.
We did that by exploring the building, which took the whole weekend.
Not that we went floor by floor, but there was just so much we didn’t know about.
I suspected they had a pool, which I was right about.
But had no clue it would have a water slide that the girls were obsessed with, along with a special kids’ splash zone.
I enjoyed the hot tub, and they were ecstatic about all the water sprays in the inside pool area.
That was Saturday. On Sunday, we went to the spa.
An actual spa. I’m talking massages, fancy robes, and we even got our hair and nails done. It was amazing.
Though Lily said she didn’t like how they kept tickling her feet with all the brushes when they painted her toes, and that she would only let me do her toes at our spa nights going forward.
I wasn’t going to complain. I kind of like that she prefers my “spa” over the fancy one. The one that should have probably cost a ton of money but was surprisingly just “part of living here,” or so I was told when I called down that morning to see if I could book something for the three of us.
At first, I was thinking of just a regular manicure.
Just a little nail polish that would last longer than the cheap kind we had.
But when they said that we could get the exclusive package for living on-site, I said yes, not knowing what it entailed until we were down there.
We even had a tea party of sorts. No tea, but finger sandwiches and milk. It was exactly what we needed.
That night, I didn’t know how to tell Bobby thank you once more. Even if I hadn’t seen him since we hugged on Friday night, and it was only for a brief moment before I tucked tail and ran back to the girls, I thought of him often.
So I sent him a picture of us cheering over cucumber triangle sandwiches with fancy hair, polished pink nails, and comfy robes on.
His response was a heart to the image. That heart made my heart pound so hard when I saw it.
I might have looked at it a few times. Including right now as I sit in the back seat with the girls as we make our way to their school.
I know Bobby said he took care of it, but I still want to see that it’s done. Part of me questions if I can trust what he says. The same part that’s been locked away for a very long time because it was betrayed constantly by my ex. The part that belongs to my heart.
We exit quickly when we stop, thanking Mary as we go. I march the girls inside this time, not just dropping them at the front. We all go to Lily’s classroom first, but before we get there, the principal blocks our path.
“Oh, Ms. Frazzer. I’m so glad I could catch you this morning.”
“You are?”
“Yes. An email will go out shortly, but I wanted to speak to as many parents as possible this morning to let them know beforehand. There’s been a change in staff last-minute, and Mr. Weaver will no longer be teaching physical education.
But don’t worry, we have Ms. Hopper stepping in.
She has an incredible background both working with kids and teaching.
She was even an alternate in the Olympics a few years ago for snowboarding.
I think she’ll be a lovely addition to our team. ”
I smile and nod, then let the older woman scurry down the hall to share the news with another parent.
I squeeze my daughters’ hands, and everything I’ve held in since Friday eases.
I drop the girls off, giving each of them an extra hug before going back to the car.
But as I exit, it’s not Mary I see, but Marco.
“Hi. What are you doing here?”
“We didn’t get to our meeting on Friday, so I was hoping you’d accompany me this morning to go over what was found last week.”
I turn—and there’s Bobby, standing tall and sharp. How I missed him a moment ago, I’ll never know.
I nod at his words, even if the last thing I want to do is talk. Not when I feel the need to hug him once more, and maybe even kiss him in thanks.