We entered the church and followed brightly colored arrows to a basement. Only to discover a closed door with a note taped to it.
“Oh no.” Nicky’s face fell. “They’re closed today because the volunteers couldn’t make it. Guess I won’t be applying today. Sorry I wasted your time.”
“Not wasted, because you’re still job hunting.” The right thing to say even as I almost shouted, you don’t have to because I’ll take care of you. That smacked of old-fashioned misogyny. Not to mention, I couldn’t provide for Nicky forever. While I had the dough, she’d eventually want her own space away from my grumpy ass.
“I doubt anyone will want to interview me with a child hanging off my hip,” Nicky pointed out.
“Zaza will come with me to run errands while you apply.”
“You want to keep Zaza?” She blinked. “I thought you didn’t babysit.”
“I don’t. Usually. But I’ll make an exception this time.” To be honest, I kind of liked the toddler. Her excitement over the little things had a way of reminding me of the simpler pleasures in life. Building a snowman so I could hold her up and let her little legs knock it down. Spinning until we were both dizzy.
“What if you run into trouble?” Nicky chewed her lower lip in a way that enticed me way too much.
“I’ll call you.”
“No phone, remember?”
Fuck, I’d forgotten. “Not for long.”
Despite her protests and attempts to pay, I bought her a pay-as-you-go cell phone and programmed my number into it before handing it over.
“I’ll drop you off at the resort district to make the rounds. When you’re done, call me and I’ll grab you.”
“You promise to phone if Zaza gets fussy or makes a mess?”
“Pretty sure I can handle wiping up any slobber and food she throws my way.”
“What of a poopy diaper?”
My eyes widened.
She chuckled. “Exactly. If it happens, let me know and we’ll meet up.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
As I’d suggested, I dropped her on a street with several hotels and restaurants but before I could drive off, she tapped on my window.
I rolled it down. “Forget something?”
“Yes.” She leaned in and gave me a peck on the cheek that came with a breathless, “Thank you.”
Thank me? I should be thanking her. I’d not felt this alive in years, nor had I ever experienced the tingle that brief touch left behind. It baffled, to be honest. A man wasn’t supposed to tingle. I mean, it never happened with my ex. Did I get horny? Yeah. But that didn’t take much. Show me some boobs or a nice ass and my dick was like hello—not that I ever strayed. Just pointing out the fact I knew what attraction felt like. So what the fuck was the tingling about?
Maybe I was getting sick? That had to be it.
After I drove off, the first thing I decided to tackle was Nicky’s car. It had indeed been towed and while the person manning the police desk wasn’t going to let me go through it at first, Zaza saved the day. Apparently wearing a grinning and drooling baby got a man places. Like the locked yard where the cops kept seized vehicles.
In the light of day, the damage done to the car looked worse than I recalled. Nicky and the child were lucky to have walked away without a bruise. I let Zaza crawl on the backseat while I quickly went through the glove box and found a bill of sale made out to a Nicoletta Palumbo but the registration remained in the previous owner’s name. I scooped up all the personal items I found. A stuffed elephant. Some kind of rubbery rattle. In the trunk was a bag of clothing which, judging by the stain on the romper I saw at the top, was dirty. I took all of the personal effects, including the bill of sale. I’d already told the department to scrap the car to cover the towing fee.
Next, Zaza and I went to buy her mother some clothes. While I did like the look of Nicky in my things, she’d need garments for work. Of course, it might have been easier if I knew her actual size.
Usually, if I mimed a woman’s body’s using hand gestures to approximate size, I’d have been called a pervert. Hold a baby while doing it and explaining the airline lost all my wife’s clothes and the salespeople couldn’t be helpful enough. As for the white lie? Much easier to say I shopped for a wife while watching our kid than explain the real situation.
After we’d gotten Nicky a decent wardrobe, we hit the grocery store next. Zaza fussed a bit as we motored around the aisles. Holding her didn’t stop the whining. Asking why she was pissed only made her face crumple harder. It took Enzo handing Zaza a cookie from the bakery for the smile to return.
“She is cute,” Enzo remarked. “I didn’t know your daughter was staying with you at the chalet.”
