“Where’s Bea?”
“She’s right here. Check this out.” Bea was slowly crawling toward him as he lured her with a new stuffed toy. It was a long rainbow-colored stuffed caterpillar that squeaked.
“Come on, Bumblebee,” he said to her. I loved his nickname for her.
Bea was inching toward him; it was her most impressive attempt at mobility yet.
“She’s crawling toward you!”
“I know. We’ve been practicing all morning.”
“Where did you get that toy?”
“I picked it up for her the other day from the toy shop downtown.”
“So you came inside the room this morning and took her out of the crib?”
“No, she walked downstairs herself, Amelia,” he quipped. “Of course. I peeked in on you because you never sleep that late, wanted to make sure you didn’t pass out from diddling yourself to thoughts of me last night.”
“Not quite. Although you were on my mind.”
“Anyway…she was just sitting there in her crib, looking at me, quiet as a mouse while you were snoring. So, I took her downstairs so you could stay sleeping. You had a pumped bottle in the fridge, so we finished that off.” He looked down at Bea. “She’s my breakfast buddy now.”
“Thanks for doing that.”
“It’s no problem.”
Our eyes locked, and I felt like I needed to break the ice. “Justin, about last night…”
He got up suddenly from the couch. “Don’t worry about it. I was out of line. I went a little crazy, got jealous.”
I was surprised that he’d changed his tune so fast. “Really?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t thinking with the right head.”
“Okay…then I’m glad we both agree.”
“Well, I have a lot of work to get done. So…” He picked up Bea off the floor, lifting her up over his head briefly. “I’ll see you later, Bumblebee.”
He then retreated to his room and didn’t come out for the rest of the afternoon.
More confused than ever, I went about my day, cleaning the house and doing Bea’s laundry.
It was the beginning of September, and the weather was starting to get chilly on the island. A few weeks back, I’d officially notified the school department back in Providence that I wouldn’t be returning to my job this year. It was a tough decision but one that was best for my daughter. My savings would carry me through about twelve months. In a year’s time, I would reassess my situation, either return to teaching or maybe try to find a work-from-home job.
A knock on the door prompted me to place my broom in the corner.
Upon opening the door, my heart nearly skipped a beat at the sight of a familiar leggy blonde with a pixie cut. “Jade. Oh my goodness. This is unexpected.”
“Surprise!” She leaned in to hug me before stepping back. “Gosh, you look great, Amelia. Did you lose weight? Don’t people normally gain weight after having a baby?”
“I guess I got lucky my daughter didn’t let me eat or sleep for the first few months.” Trying to mask my discomfort, I asked, “Is Justin expecting you?”
“No. Not at all. Is he upstairs? I saw his car outside.”
“Yeah. He’s in his office working.”
She took notice of Bea playing in the Exersaucer. “She is so beautiful. She looks just like you. Can I take her out of this thing?”
“Sure.”
An uneasy feeling developed as I watched Jade crouch down to see my daughter.
What was she doing here?
Had he invited her?
Was that the reason for his sudden change of tune?
What felt like blinding jealousy bombarded me.
Jade lifted Bea up to hold her. “She smells so good. What is that?”
“It’s Dreft, the baby detergent I use on her clothes.”
“Maybe I should give you some of my clothes to wash. She smells so fresh and clean.”
I was totally over the small talk. “What brings you here, Jade?”
Sitting down on the couch and placing Bea on her lap, she said matter-of-factly, “I screwed up.”
“What do you mean?”
“I fucked everything up with Justin. This past year, I’d given everything I had to my job and nothing to him. I took him for granted. Did he say anything to you about why we broke up?”
“He just told me that he ended things when he went back to New York earlier this summer. He didn’t really go into the details.”
“It was a misunderstanding.”
“How so?”
“He’d come to surprise me and found me having dinner at the apartment with my co-star, Greg Nivens. Justin jumped to conclusions. Nothing was going on with Greg. It was a business meeting. Things had been rough between Justin and me for a while before that, but I would have never cheated on him.”
“So, you’re here to—”
“Get my man back. Yes. I never fought for him. I never pleaded with him. I was in such shock with the way things ended that I never truly reflected on my responsibility in all of it. It was basically all my fault. I still love him so much.”
No.
No.
No.