Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Mila stood on the porch, her finger poised above the doorbell. Once she pushed it, there would be no going back. Either she walked away now, her heart intact, or she rang it.
And hoped she was making the right decision.
Taking a deep breath, she braced herself and touched the doorbell, pushing hard, hearing it chime. She heard a faint squeal and determined it was coming from inside. From Lily.
While she was guarding her heart when it came to Carson Andrews, she had already fallen headfirst for Lily.
The sprite was a cute, clever child, and she had gotten along beautifully with Gina and Bobby.
In fact, no matter how tonight went between Carson and her, Mila had decided to ask if Lily could come for a playdate this weekend while she kept the kids.
She heard the lock turning and swallowed her nerves. The door opened, and both Carson and Lily stood there. She ignored the thumping of her heart and smiled brightly.
“Hello, you two.”
“Hi, Miss Mila.” Lily smiled up at her. “You brought Daddy pizza. He likes sausage and pepperoni, but I like cheese.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I brought sausage and pepperoni.” She had taken a chance since she had forgotten to touch base with Carson and ask him his preferences, going with standard toppings, and was glad now of her selection.
“Come on in,” Carson said, taking the pizza box from her. “I’ll go put this in the oven. I have it on low now.”
She leaned down and retrieved the sack she had placed by her feet as Lily took her hand.
“Come see my room.”
As they went up the stairs, Lily said, “I saw Bobby today but not Gina. Bobby and I colored, and I played a tambourine and had bananas and peanut butter for a snack.”
“Sounds like you visited Happy Hearts.”
“That’s my new school,” Lily said matter-of-factly. “I like orange, and I’m in the Orange Room. I wish they had a Pink Room. Pink is my favorite color.”
They arrived at Lily’s bedroom as Mila said, “I certainly like those pink pajamas you have on. Is that Sleeping Beauty?”
“Well, her name is Aurora, but she went to sleep for a long time. This is my room.”
“I see Binky.”
The dog was curled up by the pillows on the bed, in the middle of a dozen stuffed animals. He raised his head hearing his name and looked at her in curiosity.
Lily scrambled onto the bed and kissed the beagle’s head. “This is Miss Mila, Binky. She’s Daddy’s friend. She’s a coach like him.” Lily frowned. “What do you coach?”
“Volleyball,” she reminded the child. “It’s where a net is put up in the middle of a court, and each team stands on one side of it. One person serves the ball, which means it goes over the net to the other side. Then players hit it back and forth, over the net, until someone misses.”
“Can Binky come sit with me when I go to your game?” Lily pleaded.
“I’m afraid animals aren’t allowed in the school gym. Binky will have to stay home and keep your stuffed animals company.”
The little girl sighed dramatically. “All right.” Then she looked at the sack Mila had placed on the bed. “What’s that?”
“Your daddy said you like to read, so I brought you a book.”
“Yay!” Lily stood and began jumping on the bed.
Mila wanted to correct her but didn’t think she should get on to a child who didn’t belong to her.
“Lily Angeline! Stop that right now,” Carson barked from the door.
Lily got in a final bounce, landing on her bottom. “Sorry, Daddy. I forgot.”
He came and sat on the bed. “Did you really forget? Or did you try to do something you knew you weren’t supposed to do?”
“I was excited. Miss Mila brought me a book!”
“You can find a better way to show that you’re excited. I hope you thanked her.”
Lily thrust out her bottom lip. “No. I’m sorry.” She looked to Mila. “Thank you for my book. Can I see it?”
She pulled the book from the sack and handed it to Lily. “These are two characters that Bobby and Gina like to read about. Their names are Gerald and Piggie.”
“Gerald is the elephant,” Lily said. “He’s gray. I like Piggie because she’s pink. What’s the name of this book?”
Mila climbed onto the bed, pushing aside a few stuffed animals, and Lily snuggled next to her.
“Mo Willems is the author of all the Elephant and Piggie books. That means he wrote the book.”
She read the title page, and Lily insisted on turning the pages for her. Mila’s voice moved into the rhythm of the book, and soon Lily was laughing aloud at the adventures of the two friends.
“Again!” she cried once they had reached the end.
Knowing how Bobby and Gina liked the repetition of reading a book several times, Mila turned back to the beginning and read it from start to finish. Lily began joining in on the repetitive parts. So did Carson.
After she had read it a third time, Carson said, “Okay. That’s enough Gerald and Piggie for tonight. Time to say your prayers and hit the sack, Peanut.”
Lily scrambled from the bed and knelt beside it. Carson did the same. Both closed their eyes and bowed their heads. She sat quietly, watching and listening.
“God bless Mommy. God bless Daddy. God bless Binky,” Lily said. She paused and then added, “God bless Bobby and Gina and Miss Andi. And Miss Mila.”
She was touched hearing her name, and a warmth spread through her limbs.
“Amen,” Lily said, and Carson echoed the word.
They both rose, and he began moving stuffed animals so that he could turn back the covers.
Mila set the book on the nightstand beside the bed and helped remove more of the stuffed friends.
Lily climbed into bed and pulled the covers up as Carson replaced the plethora of stuffed animals.
Binky, who had gotten up during the process, now settled himself against Lily’s leg.
Carson went and kissed his daughter’s brow. “Goodnight, Peanut. Sleep tight.”
“Goodnight, Daddy. Goodnight, Miss Mila.”
“Sweet dreams, Lily,” she replied, going to the door and stepping through it as Carson turned on a sound machine and clicked off the light. A nightlight was visible now, glowing faintly.
Carson blew Lily a kiss and closed the door. He raked his fingers through his hair.
“Another day in the books.” Then he grinned. “Thanks for bringing Lily a book. I think.”
“Why do you say that?”
He chuckled and parroting a line from the book, said, “We need a map. Map! Map! Mappy-map-map!”
She couldn’t help but laugh as they went down the stairs.
“It’s a real earworm, I know. When I first read that book to my niece and nephew, it seems I turned every one-syllable word into the same sing-song for a week.
Walk. Walk. Walky-walk-walk. Wash. Wash.
Washy-wash-wash. Sorry. I know it’ll probably drive you crazy. ”
“I don’t mind. Lily learns with repetition. I can tell she’s crazy about the book. Thanks again for bringing it to her.”
They entered the kitchen, and he went to the oven, donning mitts to remove the pizza.
“I think it’s important to encourage reading,” she said. “Naturally, with my dad’s line of work, education was big in our household. How about yours?”
She saw a slight frown cross his face before he said, “Yes. Education was emphasized.”
Mila decided not to push the issue now, but she believed there was a story to be told about Carson’s childhood.
Opening a cabinet, he removed two plates and set them next to the pizza. “Fork?” he asked.
“Please. I start out using one, and then as I eat closer to the crust, I abandon it.”
He plated two slices for each of them and then asked, “Would you like a glass of wine to go along with it?”
“Yes. That sounds good. And some water, too.”
“Bottled water is in the fridge. I’ll open the wine. Let’s eat in the den.”
She grabbed two waters, napkins, and forks and took them to the den, returning for the plates of pizza. Carson joined her, balancing the wineglasses in one hand and the bottle of wine in the other. He poured each of them a glass and took a seat on the sofa beside her.
“Lily was a bundle of energy,” she remarked, taking a bite of her pizza.
“She always is. She crashes pretty fast, though.”
“Does she sleep through the night?”
“She does now. Right after Angie died, she would get up a couple of times during the night. Needing a drink of water or to go to the potty. She was restless as she slept. Finally, that all calmed down as she adapted to our new normal.”
“It had to be hard for her, losing her mommy and not really understanding why. How much does she know about what really happened to Angie?”
“Not much. Back then, I just told her Mommy had gone to heaven and would watch over us. She was too young to remember the carjacking itself. We look at pictures from back then on my phone, and I also display a few of Angie.”
“I saw one on her dresser.”
He smiled wistfully. “That was from Halloween. Angie always wanted us to dress up to take Lily trick or treating. I don’t want her to ever forget Angie, but I think it’s good we’ve come to a new place.
It’ll help me distance myself from what happened.
Houston held nothing but bad memories, and I always suffered through the whispers of being the guy whose wife was murdered. ”
She placed a hand on his thigh. “It’s okay to feel sad.
It’s also okay to live your life, Carson.
From everything I’ve seen, Angie did a great job raising Lily, and you’ve stepped up and kept things rolling.
You won’t ever forget Angie and what she meant to you, but you have to keep moving forward. ”
Mila removed her hand, self-conscious about having touched him. She took another bite of pizza and chewed thoughtfully.
“Tell me the Mila story,” he urged, changing the subject. “What was it like growing up in Driftwood Bay?”