Chapter 5 #2
It was probably for the best. Rose, the oldest Parker sister and owner of Bloom, had vision that far, far outstripped her own.
Allison wanted to make beautiful things that made people happy and then come home to her family at the end of the day.
Plus, she got so much inspiration working with Lily, the third Parker sister, an amazing artist who challenged Allison in the best ways.
Allison set the box of donuts on the checkout counter. It was an early morning shoot, and she thought people would like a pick-me-up.
Violet walked through Bloom in a gorgeous sage-green, romantic ball gown.
“Violet, you look stunning,” Allison squealed.
“Thank you,” Violet said sweetly. Violet’s curves were a knockout in the low-plunging neckline and corseted waist. “Thank you so much for babysitting Frank. I cannot get anything on this rented dress. His bag is over there.”
Violet’s toddler was one of Allison’s favorite humans, and she loved babysitting whenever they needed a backup sitter. Tiny, toddler-sized sunbeam-patterned rain boots sat next to his diaper bag.
Allison sighed in deep, unyielding envy. Good thing Violet is the sweetest human on earth; otherwise, I’d probably hate her.
“Where’s my favorite little guy?” she asked.
A belly laugh burst out from the back of the store, and she saw Frank, all twenty-five pounds of him being tossed in the air.
Ah, his dad has him.
As Allison walked around the large lights of the photo shoot, she saw that it was Wells zooming Frank around as he giggled, not Violet’s husband.
Allison felt that twinge of want, of the craving of having that giggling toddler experience for herself.
And why on earth did Wells seem so good with him? Why was he encroaching on her babysitting time?
“Ahhhya,” Frank said, with a bright smile at Allison as she walked over to him. That was “Allison” in Frank.
“Hi, Frankie,” she said in a sweet singsong voice, holding out her arms.
Wells zoomed him around like an airplane in between belly giggles. “I told Violet I’d hold him until Lily was done with the thing I ordered. You can go do…whatever it is you do.”
Allison grabbed Frank’s chubby little hand. “I can take him. I was going to take him to the loft since there’s a crib up there.” She pitched her voice to be singsong again. “We’ve gotta read our cuddly stories so we nap and don’t turn into a little monster who grows up to be a divorce lawyer.”
“She thinks she’s so funny,” Wells said, hopping around like a pony with Frank belly giggling.
Allison clenched her jaw but still spoke in a happy, toddler-friendly voice. “I insist. I told Violet I would help out this morning while she’s busy with the shoot.”
“It’s clearly not needed because I’m here ordering flowers for my parents anyway, and Frank likes me better. Bet you can’t even be a horsey.” Wells neighed and Frank scream-laughed.
“I’m shocked you’re so good with kids, given that you’re the worst,” Allison said with a fake sugary smile as she tickled Frank’s chubby belly.
His beaming four-toothed smile and wispy baby curls made her heart twinge.
“Hey, sweet pea, do you want to go read Ballerina Bunnies? It’s his favorite,” she added, feeling superior to Wells for having this critical piece of info.
“Or do you want to play horsey?” Wells said. “Brrr,” he neighed like a horse.
“Hore!” Frank yelled loudly, sounding suspiciously like a swear word.
They both burst out laughing, and Allison didn’t love that their eyes lingered over it.
“The s is an important part of that word, buddy,” Wells said with a laugh.
It would be nice if he wasn’t a giant asshole and I hadn’t already learned the error of my ways of lusting after him.
Wells tossed Frank up on his tall shoulders, and Frank screamed with laughter. Wells slowly galloped around the showroom.
Her ovaries squeezed at a man entertaining a toddler so competently. It radiated under her skin.
Allison growled at herself.
No. Nope. Don’t feel nice because of this. He is an asshole. This store could have been yours, but instead, he encouraged your ex-husband to aggressively divide your assets in such an excruciatingly long way that now you can’t even buy a house if you want to.
But still, the roll of muscles over his forearms and beefy biceps in his sweater and button-up combo, looking absolutely delighted with his friend’s baby, made her wish, for a split second, that things were different.
“Ooh,” Lily said, biting into a powdery vegan donut as she slid Wells’s arrangement on the counter. “Who brought the donuts?”
Allison rang up Wells’s purchase automatically, giving a casual shrug. “I picked up some. Thought you all could use a pick-me-up after a busy morning of this chaos.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Lily pinched Allison’s cheek. “You always take such good care of us.”
Allison preened. She liked it when people noticed that she went out of her way for them.
Allison’s best friend Pearl walked in, catcalling Violet and Jack in their photoshoot, and grabbed a donut.
“She lives,” Pearl said with a pointed look at Allison. “How are you feeling? Pregnant?”
Allison had been open with the Parkers and with Pearl; they all knew she was trying for another round.
Still, she wanted to keep the embarrassment to a minimum. “I think I’m going to take a break actually.”
“What?” Lily and Pearl both said, looking sad.
“Are you okay?” Lily asked.
“You didn’t even tell the Hot Girl Group Chat. I thought everything went fine. Do I need to kick somebody’s ass?” Pearl said in her sweetest voice.
Allison put on a smile. Don’t be too much. Handle it. People like you better when you smooth everything over. “The fertility clinic just wasn’t a good fit.”
Another shriek of laughter bounced through Bloom as Wells peeked in and out of the photo shoot with Frank, making his mom and dad laugh. The photographer egged it on, knowing it would make for great photos.
“I’m sorry,” Lily said with such kindness that it made Allison’s skin crawl. She braced herself for what might come next.
But that’s just years of my mom making everything about her.
Allison smiled confidently, not wanting either of them to worry. “It’s fine. I’ll pour myself into work for a while. Work on the designs for the Forrest-Horrowitz wedding.”
Pearl didn’t look convinced but nodded, not pressing her. Which is why she’s my bestie.
Wells appeared at the counter, and he handed Frank to her. “I need to head out, and I think this gentleman left you a present.”
Allison didn’t need to even take a sniff to know what the present was.
“Say bye-bye,” Allison said, waving Frank’s little hand. “What do we call him?”
“Hore!” Frank yelled loudly and made everyone, including the photo shoot team, laugh.
“That’s right; he is. He’s a big, old”—she turned Frank around on her hip–“horsey,” she said and galloped to the diaper bag, feeling victorious at the belly giggles that were music to her ears.
She grabbed the bag and headed upstairs. “Don’t you like Auntie Allison’s horse better?” Frank shrieked with joy, which she took as a good sign.
She turned to angle a victorious eyebrow at Wells, only to see that he was staring at her with a lingering, strange expression as he walked out the door.