“That is my name.”Wheeler rolls his eyes.
“Yeah, but like, no one calls you that.Ever.I actually forgot what your first name was.”Liliana snorts with laughter.
“Oh, please!You call Smithy Travis all the time.”
“Which I’ve done since we were in college.”She points a finger in his direction.“Winnie never calls you Chase.”
“Is there anything you need me to help you with, Jamie?”Winnie’s back at my side, blinking up at me with hopeful eyes.
“Could you get Tali some juice?I like to do half water half juice.”
“Of course.”She bounces away from me with a big smile on her face.
“Jamie?Since when do you go by Jamie?Didn’t you refuse to tell Macy your first name last year?You said you only go by Schmidt.”Wheeler folds his arms over his chest and glares at me.
“Oh, calm down.What is wrong with you tonight?”Winnie pushes Wheeler out of the way and places Tali’s cup on the tray to her highchair.“You should stay away from boys, Tali.They’re crazy,” she coos.
Tali smiles up at her and as soon as I place a few pieces of pizza on her tray, she’s shoving them into her mouth.
“One at a time, Tali girl.”I hold up one finger and she mimics me, scrunching up her nose as she grins up at me.“Good girl.”I press a soft kiss to the top of her head.
I turn around to grab myself a plate of food, but Winnie’s placing one in front of the seat next to Tali.She nods to it, indicating it’s for me.
“Thanks.”I tug out the chair and take a seat.
Wheeler’s glaring from his seat at the opposite end of the table.He’s watching every interaction Winnie and I have.It’s a little awkward.
“Oh, I have sparkling water or beer in the fridge.”I push my chair away from the table to grab a few cans, but Winnie jumps up.
“I got it.What does everyone want?Jamie, you want a tangerine sparkling water?”
“That would be great.”
From the little amount of time we’ve gotten to spend together, Winnie’s paid attention to everything.She knows how I like my coffee and what flavors of sparkling water I prefer.She knows how Tali likes to be rocked when she’s tired and what her favorite toys are.I wonder what it will be like in a few weeks or months.I have a feeling it’s going to be like Winnie’s always been with us and I can't wait.
Yet, I’m almost afraid of getting used to her help.What if one day she decides she doesn’t want to work for me anymore?I could get dependent on her help and be lost without her.
Winnie hands out drinks to everyone before taking her seat on the other side of Tali.She places a few more pieces of pizza on Tali’s tray when she runs out and smiles at my daughter.The two of them are adorable together.I can't wait for them to get even closer.For Tali to feel at home with Winnie.It will be amazing to see.
“You seem pretty at home here, huh?”Wheeler takes a bite of his slice and glares at my end of the table.
“I hope so.She’ll be living here.”Smithy doesn’t miss a beat.He’s gotten more and more irritated with Wheeler as the night has gone on.
“Yeah, but isn't it a little fast to be this comfortable?”
“Well, Jamie’s been very welcoming and I’ve been living here all week.”Winnie smiles, but I can see the glint of anger sparkling in her eyes.She’s saying this just to set him off.“He even told me I could use the massive tub in his bathroom when I want to take a bath.I plan on taking him up on that quite often.”Her smile turns into a smirk when Wheeler narrows his eyes.
“Winnie,” he growls.
“I’ll just have to remember to bring clothes into his bathroom with me.”She taps her chin like she’s really thinking about it.“Or I guess I could walk through the house to my room in only a towel.”
“Why can't you just live at my house?”Wheeler slams his fist down on the table, making us all jump.
My gaze snaps to Tali.Her bottom lip trembles before she lets out a loud scream.She’s used to it just being the two of us and I’ve never even raised my voice in front of her.The few times I’ve had heated conversations with someone, I’ve done it in my office while she slept.
“It’s alright, baby girl.”Quickly scooping her out of her highchair, I cradle her against my chest and rock her back and forth.I don’t care if she’s getting pizza sauce all over my shirt or in my hair she’s grabbing onto.
After a few moments of her crying, I excuse myself and head down the hallway.I’d rather console my little girl in my room without everyone else around.I have no clue how upset Wheeler’s going to get, but my daughter doesn’t need to be around for this type of behavior.
