Micah laughs. “I was asking if you were okay. You kind of zoned out for a second there.”
Oops! “Sorry! Long workday.” I bend to pick up Cleo and try to cover my embarrassment with a smile, but from the wry grin on his face, I’m not fooling him. He leans against the wall by the door and crosses his arms over his chest.
“What do you do for a living?”
I launch into an explanation of my job at the ad agency, hoping I’m not boring him. He listens intently, though, and asks pointed questions when I pause. We chat until the sun starts to go down, and I finally work up the nerve to invite him in.
“Oh, I should get going, actually. Hailey’s sitter has to go in a few minutes, so I should be getting back home. I’ve got packing to finish, and Hailey needs a bath still.”
“Oh.” Buzzkill. “Right. Well, if you ever need anything, I’ll be right next door.”
He flashes another amazing smile and winks. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
I watch him walk away with a sudden hunger that has nothing to do with my interrupted dinner. That man has an ass to die for!
The movie plays, and I eat my food, but I don’t really see the screen, and I don’t really taste the lo mein. Instead, I replay the image of Micah walking down my sidewalk in my mind over and over again. I could watch those glutes on repeat until the end of time and die a happy woman.
After my movie ends, I go upstairs and draw a nice, steaming bath. I toss in a lavender bath bomb and try to let the aroma calm my overeager hormones.
Life in the cul-de-sac has been boring and routine, but I have a feeling it’s about to heat up.
Chapter 2
Micah
“Hailey Ann Lindley! Get back over here!”
I swear, that girl is going to be the death of me. She barrels back down Iris’s sidewalk, her little feet pounding on the pavement. I had just barely turned around to bring another box inside when she saw Iris’s big cat in the front window and ran squealing for the neighbor’s house.
“Daddy! She’s got a kitty cat!”
“Yes, sweetie, I know, but you have to wait to go see it until Daddy can come with you, okay? No running off without me.”
Hailey nods enthusiastically, sending her braids flapping. I haul the box inside and set it down in the foyer before going back to the truck for another load. I make a mental note to remember to take Hailey over to Iris’s after we’re settled so she can meet the cat. My wife, Lisa, was allergic, so Hailey never got to have a cat of her own. She loves the damn things, though, so I hope Iris will let her pet it for a bit. Poor kid’s been through a lot lately, and getting to see the cat might cheer her up.
It’s been a week since the sale finalized. So far, I’ve had no less than three neighborhood Karens—one actually named Karen—come by to get in my business. I guess the housewives of the block have nothing better to do with their time. If I get one more question about my love life, I’m gonna scream.
At least my immediate neighbor, Iris, seems less nosy. She’s waved from the mailbox with that cute blush of hers, but never gotten too intimate with her questions. Just nice, normal small talk, if a little awkward. I get the feeling she doesn’t get out much, which is a shame. She seems nice. Maybe I’ll invite her over for dinner once I get everything unpacked and put away. From the number of times I’ve seen the DoorDash guys over at her place, I bet she’s not one to cook for herself too often.
For a fancy ad exec, she seems pretty cool. We’ve talked a few times now, and she’s always been friendly and open. I dig the way she’s so casual. Some women, especially in this neighborhood, focus so much on appearances that it’s a total turn-off. Iris is just so refreshingly normal. She’s pretty, with straight blonde hair and just enough curves to get my mind going to all the wrong places. She doesn’t flaunt it, though. Her vibe is totally different from Karen and her pals, who all dress to the nines even to take out the trash.
If it wasn’t for the ratings the local school system has, I wouldn’t have shelled out for this place. Everything I researched said this was a great area to raise Hailey in, though, and some of the other neighbors have kids she can play with—older kids, but it’s better than nothing. It just sucks that I have to do it alone. Lisa and I had planned on buying our first home together. Now I have this huge house, and it’s just Hailey and me moving in.
My heart aches every time I think about Lisa. I hope it gets better with time, but her death is still so raw. I remember the sound of the car horns, the jarring crash … it’s
all still so vivid.
At least Hailey wasn’t with us. I’d hate for her to have to live with that memory.
I shake my head to clear it of those morbid thoughts. Lisa wouldn’t want me moping. She’d want me to set up a nice place for Hailey to live. She’d want me to move on. To remember her, but fondly.
Hailey’s sitter, Becky, shows up just as I finish unloading the truck. I give her some money to order them a pizza, then get ready to drive the truck back to the rental place. If I’m lucky, I can get back before rush hour hits.
The trip takes a little over two hours. I could have gotten back sooner, but I catch the start of the heavy traffic, and there are a few times where everything is bumper-to-bumper. I get back just as the pizza’s arriving, and though I technically have Becky till eight, I pay her usual fee and let her go home early. She has a kid brother of her own that she looks after sometimes, and I’m sure their mom could use a break.
After I give Hailey her bath, I sit her down in front of the TV to braid her hair. Lisa discovered that her wild curls did better when braided overnight, with fewer tangles in the morning. It took me months after Lisa died—and dozens of YouTube videos—to figure it out, but now I can wrangle Hailey’s hair into French braids, Dutch braids, fishtails, and more.
“Daddy, can we go see the kitty cat tomorrow?” Hailey asks around her thumb as I put the second hair tie in.
