by Lily Foster
“Sky?” I gesture to the kitchen so we can speak privately. “The weather is pretty bad. I don’t think—”
“Don’t worry. I was totally going to stall until this lets up.”
“It’s not going to let up.”
“Oh.” She looks disappointed. “We can’t go tomorrow…Garth’s older brother is coming with his family.” Turning to see Olivia coming into the kitchen wearing a frown, she says, “Maybe Tuesday? I could check with Sienna.”
With that, Olivia collapses into a heap on the floor. I’d tag her as being melodramatic, except for the fact that she’s shedding what looks like a bucketload of tears within a minute.
“No worries, Olivia.” Skylar crouches down to her level. “It’s just raining really hard out there. I promise we’ll get there this week though, ok?”
That does nothing to cheer her up, so I join in and make it worse. “Olivia, crying and carrying on like this won’t make me change my mind. It’s not safe for Skylar to drive in this weather. You hear me?”
The wails just get louder and the tears don’t stop. She actually says, “You’re mean,” before she starts hiccupping and making sounds like she’s hyperventilating.
Skylar picks her up off the floor and takes her over to the couch, rubbing a hand over Olivia’s back as she whispers soothing words into her hair.
I should be able to calm her down and take control of the situation, but looking over at the two of them, I decide that Skylar has a way better handle on this than I do at the moment. I’m not too proud to admit defeat. But it does worry me, this close attachment she has to Skylar. What happens when Skylar goes back home this summer? What happens if she doesn’t come back to school in the fall? What if she finds another job?
I look out the window to see that the downpour has let up some, but if the weathermen are right then it’s going to be raining off and on all day. I make a split-second decision before I can think it through. I was planning to get a ton of shit done today, but whatever.
“You can go, but only if I do the driving.”
Olivia looks to me, wiping her eyes and still barely able to talk through her tears when she asks, “We can go?”
Her face is all blotchy and wet and her nose is running. Jesus, she must have been looking forward to this way more than I thought.
“If Skylar’s all right with me driving you two.”
“Of course I’m ok with it! I just don’t want you giving up your day. I know you probably have work to do.”
Olivia is already wiggling out of Skylar’s lap and making her way to the stairs. “I be right back,” she says.
“It’s no big deal,” I tell Skylar. “I’ll bring my laptop and find a Starbucks. I can work anywhere.”
“Well, there’s no Starbucks but there is a diner about fifteen minutes from their place.”
“No Starbucks?”
“Not one,” she says laughing. “And if the diner isn’t up to your standards then you’re out of luck. The pizza shop doesn’t have wi-fi and the sub shop doesn’t have seats.”
“I’ll manage.”
“Let me go up and help her wash her face. From the looks of the dress she picked out, Olivia’s looking to make a good impression.”
Ten minutes into the drive, I check the rearview mirror and see that Olivia is passed out cold. “I guess this morning’s drama tired her out.”
“I’ve never seen her like that. Minor meltdowns sure, but this morning was like…apocalyptic.”
I nod my head and smile, relieved that it’s behind us. “Apocalyptic is a good word. I like that one.” Skylar turns to look at me a moment later when I say, “She’s very attached to you.”
She sees the worry on my face and shoots me a soft smile. “That’s a good thing. Healthy attachments are necessary for us primates. And that’s not just my opinion, that comes courtesy of every expert on developmental theory from Darwin to Piaget.”
I lower my head and nod, embarrassed for some reason.
“I feel sort of responsible for this morning. I’ve just been so excited about James. Maybe me talking about him all the time and showing her pictures hyped this visit up too much.”
“Don’t go taking credit for her temper tantrum. I’m not and I’m the one who started her off. That was one hundred percent Libs. And you should be hyped up about becoming an aunt for the first time. A new baby in the family changes everything. Holding a baby for the first time…”
She picks up where I trail off. “Oh, I wasn’t ready for it. You think Olivia was bawling back there? I spouted like a faucet the first time I held James in my arms.”
“I think I was speechless for a full five minutes when I first held Olivia.”
“Aw, so under that grumpy exterior you’re really just a mush like me. I knew it.”
“Grumpy? That’s how you see me?”
“Well, you made some first impression when you barged into the office that day.”
My eyes go wide. “Are you serious? I was worried out of my mind.”
“And that help wanted ad? Brutal.”
“Direct and to the point is the way I’d describe it.”
She laughs and nudges my knee with her hand. “I was scared out of my mind walking into your house that first time. I was expecting you to blow a whistle like that father in The Sound of Music…Captain Von Trapp.”
“Never saw it.”
“Yeah,” she smiles my way and teases, “I don’t suppose you’d like it. Might hit too close to home.”
“Jeez…Who knew you were such a wiseass.” I don’t say it with a smile but I am smiling on the inside. I don’t get much of a chance to talk one-on-one with Skylar, and I’m liking this relaxed and playful side of her.
She rests her head back against the seat. “I had a rough couple of months there, but I finally feel like I’m getting back to my old self.”
“And your old self was a wiseass?”
“Sometimes.” She looks back to make sure Olivia is still asleep. “But I meant that I finally feel like I’ve found my footing again. I feel more confident and I’m happy most of the time…More like I used to be. Leaving home to come to school was harder than I’d anticipated.”
I wrestle with whether or not to go there for a moment, but she’s opening up to me and the temptation to know more about her is too strong. “You suffered a tremendous loss, too. I’m impressed that you even had it in you to tackle college after what you went through.”
“Don’t be impressed. College was my way to escape from all that hurt. I got a perfect GPA for the fall semester because I was basically running on auto-pilot.”
“I call bullshit.” She looks to me, her eyes wide in surprise. “I mean, you’re completely engaged when you’re with my daughter. I see it. I’d never in a million years describe you as running on auto-pilot.”
Skylar turns and smiles at Olivia’s sleeping face. “I think she kind of saved me these past few months. It’s hard to wallow in grief when you’ve got someone depending on you.”
“I can relate to that.”
She clears her throat before asking, “Feel free to tell me to can it if this is too personal, but how old was Olivia when her mother died?”
“It was just before her first birthday. She, uh, her mother died in a car accident.”
I hear her breath catch. “Leo, I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.”
“No…I mean, yes, I am sorry for your loss, but I’m sorry about today. And I’m sorry about making fun of your want ad. You must be worried anytime Olivia gets into a car with anyone but you.”
“I wouldn’t have let you two drive today even if that never happened.”
“But still, I should have been more sensitive.”
“No way you could have known.”
After a moment of silence that for some reason doesn’t feel one bit uncomfortable, she says, “She asks about her. More frequently these past few weeks.”
“Think maybe all the baby talk has so
mething to do with it?”
“Probably. But I also think it has to do with school.”
“How so?”
“I watch her at pick-up time. She looks for me and smiles when she’s running towards me, but in those few seconds before she spots me, sometimes I see her focusing in on the other kids. There aren’t a lot of other babysitters picking up. A few fathers, but it’s mainly moms.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that too.”
She nods her head knowingly when she says, “I’m sure you have.”
I don’t get it, and tell her just that.
“Let’s just say a few of them look very disappointed when I get out of the car. I think you’ve got a few fan club members.”
“What?”
Now she’s full on belly laughing. “There’s one, little Sarah’s mom? She asks about you all the time. It’s like she’s a CIA agent digging for intel.” In a more quiet voice she adds, “I think she kind of hates me because I basically answer I don’t know to every question. And really, I don’t know.”
“What does she ask?”
“Oh, she’s just a pain. She asks about Olivia’s mother.” Skylar pretends she’s sucking on a vape pen and switches over to an annoying, nasally voice. “What’s the story there? Like, is he single?” Looking to me, she adds, “Mind you, she is not single from what I’ve gathered, so her interest in you makes her all the more heinous.”
“How do you answer her?”
“It’s not just her that I have to contend with. I’d say there are three or four thirsty ladies in total. And I don’t tell them squat.” She looks mildly offended. “I’d never.”
“There’s really nothing to tell.”
She looks away, gazes out the passenger side window. “I don’t know about that. I’d say you’re a pretty interesting person.”
“Are we there yet?” a groggy voice calls from the back seat.
Skylar looks at her phone. “Ten minutes, angel.”
“You got my cup?”
“Of course, mademoiselle,” Skylar answers as she rummages through her bag.
“Olivia, maybe instead you could try saying something like, ‘Skylar, may I please have my cup?’” And for some reason they both find that very entertaining. “What? Is it wrong to start teaching her better manners?”
Olivia ignores me, taking the cup from Skylar and slurping the contents down, while Skylar is still wearing a teasing smile. “That’s what I’m talking about. That was a total Captain Von Trapp move.”
She smiles all the time, but for some reason it feels different today. Maybe it’s because we’re sitting side by side talking in a way that’s more personal than we have before, maybe it’s because her smiles are directed at me and no one else. Whatever the reason, it’s affecting me more than it should. I like this connection, this warmth and familiarity—I like seeing her happy. Doesn’t matter that she’s only smiling because she’s making fun of me. Let her. Even when she teases it’s good natured. I just don’t think she has it in her to be unkind.
I find that I’m smiling when I look away from her and back to the road. “We might have to schedule a movie night.”
“Totally! Olivia’s seen it before. She loves it.”
“Love what?”
“I was just telling your dad that we love The Sound of Music. He wants to watch it with us one day.”
In the rearview mirror I see Olivia’s eyes light up when she says, “Yes!” But then she breaks out into song, and I’ve never been so happy to see that the GPS now reads only three minutes to our destination.
“I am sixteen, uh, uh, seventeen,” she belts out.
“See,” Skylar’s grinning from ear to ear, “it’s educational too. Olivia can count to twenty because of that movie.”
“Twenty? Hah, she already knew how to do that. Nice try, Obi-Wan.”
“Obi-Wan? How very predictable, the engineer is a Star Wars geek. And I’m sure you already know this, but naming numbers to twenty is vastly different from pairing the appropriate number of objects with a number. From one geek to another, I’m the one who taught her that.”
“A geek, huh? Bet a certain someone’s mother wouldn’t call me that,” I tease, referring to our conversation from before.
“No, she probably wouldn’t.” She shakes her head. “Please swear to me upon pain of death that you won’t ever talk to her, let alone date her. You should hear the way she snaps at,” she moves her lips to form the girl’s name silently. “She’s not a good person.” When I don’t respond she turns to me with a worried look. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought up the d-a-t-e thing.”
“D-a-t-e. Date!” Olivia exclaims.
As we pull up in front of the address, Skylar answers my shocked expression. “Yeah, her reading skills are going through the roof. She’s like a sponge.” Turning to Olivia, she high-fives her and says, “Way to work that silent E!”
I drive off after Skylar gives me the name of the diner and I see a younger guy, early twenties, walk outside and wave to Skylar as she’s getting Olivia out of her seat.
She asked me to come inside but I made up an excuse. Just felt like I’d be barging in on her life without really being invited. Today was supposed to be about Olivia meeting her family. I was just a last-minute, unexpected addition to this outing.
I drive back to the main street, thinking there must be somewhere closer than the diner one town over. It’s nothing like what I expected. Skylar mentioned once before that she grew up in a small town, but this is more than small, it’s desolate. Main Street has more shuttered store fronts than open businesses, and most of the homes I pass aren’t well maintained.
I make it to the diner and settle in at a corner booth. I power up my laptop, order some coffee and an egg sandwich, but I’m useless as far as getting work done goes. I have this heavy weight on me, a sorrow that I can’t immediately define. But it doesn’t take much soul searching to know that it’s Skylar who has me feeling this way.
I knew she had it hard, what with losing her parents so young and the circumstances surrounding their death, but seeing first-hand where she comes from has me feeling her pain as if it’s my own.
Chapter Twenty
Skylar
“Whose rich prick-mobile is parked out front?”
Ah, he always did know how to make an entrance.
My cheeks flush as I look to Leo, whose brows are creased as he takes in Tyler, the guy who just introduced his daughter to a fabulous new word.
“Come on in, Tyler,” Garth says as he gets up from the table, shooting me a nervous look in the process.
I stay in my seat but feel as jumpy as a jack rabbit. “Hi, Tyler.”
“Hey, Sky.” He looks around, pauses when he sets his eyes on Olivia sitting on the floor next to James’s little cushioned mat, and then again when he looks at Leo sitting next to me at the table. “How are you?” he asks once he finishes taking an inventory of the room.
“I’m good, how about you?”
“Same…You know,” he answers absently.
“Tyler, that’s Olivia over there with James, and this is her father, Leo. I, um, work for them. I mean, uh, I’m Olivia’s babysitter.”
Fixing his eyes on Leo he says, “And you made the trip down here all together to see the baby? That’s nice.”
Leo stands and extends his hand. “Leo Hale.”
Tyler takes it and gives it one firm shake, sizing Leo up as if they’re rivals. They’re the same height and their builds are similar, but they are no match. Leo exudes power, along with an air of confidence that’s hard for someone in Tyler’s state to come by.
Leo’s probably having a laugh at Tyler and his juvenile show of jealousy right now, even though he’s doing an admirable job of hiding it. And all the while I sit like a stone, paralyzed by my discomfort.
Sienna makes her way over to Tyler and gives him the hug that I should be offering. “Sit down, Tyler. I’ll make you a plate.”
“No, thanks.�
� He pats his middle. “Just ate.”
Leo shifts his chair back and stands up again. Looking to me he says, “I’ll start getting Olivia ready to go and meet you out in the car.” He looks to Sienna and Garth. “It was nice to meet you both, and congratulations on James again. And thank you for lunch, Sienna. It was great.”
“Anytime. And I should be thanking you…I think I may have found myself a new babysitter.” Reaching down to lift the baby, Sienna says, “Olivia, I’m so happy you came and helped us with James today. He’s about to go down for his nap now. Can you bring the little lion you got for him? I think he’d like you to put that with the other toys in his room.”
Sienna’s good. She’s got those diversion tactics down to a science already. Instead of protesting, Olivia hops up and follows my sister inside with the stuffed animal and then comes back out smiling a minute later. “James is taking a nap.”
Leo has gone out to the car with Olivia’s dress and sparkly shoes while I busy myself gathering up the rest of our things. Garth takes two beers out of the fridge and hands one to Tyler.
“Libs, let’s take our stuff out to the car.” I look back to the guys. “Tell Sienna I’ll be right back.”
It takes just a few steps to get to the car, but in that short time I get soaked because I’m using my coat to shield Olivia. The rain has picked up again and the cold, biting wind seems fitting. I can’t even look at Leo as I strap Olivia in. “Be back in a second, ok?”
“Take your time,” he answers.
Tyler is waiting for me when I come back inside shivering and Garth has disappeared.
“Can we talk for a minute, Sky?”
“Sure, and I’m…I’m sorry that was so weird before.” I peel off my sweater and throw a spare flannel over my damp t-shirt. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
He lets out a sad laugh. “I keep coming by hoping to catch you but my timing has been for shit lately.” He shakes his head and then fixes his sad eyes on mine. “Are you with him?”
“No! He’s my boss, that’s it. He just drove today because Olivia was looking forward to it and the weather was terrible. No…Leo? No.”