The number that flashed on his screen was unfamiliar, and normally he wouldn’t take it, thinking it would be a sales call, but he thought maybe it was Tyler calling from an unfamiliar phone.
“Hello?”
“Is this Marcus Feldman?” a harassed-sounding woman queried.
“Yes. Who is this?”
Few people had access to his personal cell phone, so if the call wasn’t from Julian, Zach, and now Tyler, it was likely not good news. A sense of foreboding arose within him.
“This is the nurse at Playtime Academy. Lillie is okay, but is there anyone who can come pick her up? We have no water in the building today, so we are asking all the parents to come pick up their children. We tried calling Mr. Reiss, but he isn’t picking up his phone.”
Panic set in. Him? Pick up Lillie? A thought sprang to mind.
“Can you send her home with Faith? She’s the babysitter for Dr. Steinberg’s children.”
“I’m sorry, but the children aren’t in today. They had doctor appointments. How long before you can come pick her up?”
Fucking hell. What was he supposed to do with a little girl all day? If he had normal parents, he could’ve called his mother, but that wouldn’t have worked anyway as she was still in Paris.
“Uhh…” His mind worked furiously, but he couldn’t come up with an excuse not to get Lillie. Then Marcus thought of how frantic Tyler would be if he knew no one would be there for Lillie, and gripped the phone tighter in his sweaty hand. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
On his way out of the club, he texted Julian and Zach cancelling their plans and the reason why. It didn’t take but two minutes before he spotted a cab with its light on, and he flagged it down. He gave the cabbie the address, and they were soon winging their way over to the preschool.
If anyone would have told him a few months ago he’d be picking up a four-year-old girl and spending the day with her instead of working at Sparks, he would’ve told them they were fucking crazy and laughed in their faces.
Yet when Marcus ran from the cab and finally found the nurse’s office only to see Lillie sitting there so forlornly, his heart squeezed in his chest with an unfamiliar emotion.
“Hey, Lillie-bug.”
A smile of pure delight broke over her face. “Marcus.” She dropped the crayons she’d been coloring with and ran to him, giving him a hug around his legs. “You came? Where’s Uncle Ty?”
He froze for a second, then bent to speak to her at eye level. “Your uncle is teaching a dance class, so I came. Let’s go.” As he waited for Lillie to collect her things, he signed the form the nurse gave him that released Lillie to his care, and almost as an afterthought, he mentioned the teasing incident of a month earlier to the nurse.
“I hope those kids who picked on Jacob and Rebecca were spoken to about intolerance and bullying. The earlier you start the better, don’t you think?”
Instead of agreeing with him, she pursed her lips in a disapproving line and folded her arms. To Marcus she looked like an evil version of Mrs. Claus.
“Children have a right to express their opinions, especially about things that aren’t normal to them.” She narrowed her gaze at him, muddy-brown eyes turning crafty and fox-like. She checked her notes, and Marcus swore he could hear the sneer in her voice. “Exactly how do you fit into Lillie’s home life, Mr. Feldman?”
Bitch. Before he met Tyler and learned to temper his anger and cursing in front of Lillie, Marcus would’ve backed this woman up against the wall and flayed her with every curse word in the book. The uptight old harridan probably hadn’t gotten laid in years. But he’d discovered that sometimes putting his needs second wasn’t such a bad thing, and Lillie was too innocent to hear the words he itched to say.
“I’m a good friend of the family.” He bared his teeth in what he hoped was a semblance of a grin, then felt a tug on his jacket and looked down. “Ready?”
“Yes.”
Without saying goodbye to the nurse, he walked out with Lillie into the sharp cold air. There was nothing like winter in the city, and even though Marcus never bothered to celebrate any of the holidays, secretly he enjoyed the decorations and the overall liveliness it brought.
“I’m hungry.” Lillie gazed up at him. “We didn’t eat our snack or lunch today.”
Marcus had no clue what to do with a little kid, so he did what came naturally and texted Zach for help.
What do I do with a four-year-old girl? She’s hungry, and I haven’t a clue.
Within a minute, Zach answered.
Take her someplace fun. Here’s a list.
Marcus could’ve kissed the phone. He scrolled through what Zach sent him and deciding on a place, hailed a cab and beckoned Lillie.
