“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, his eyes never moving from the screen. His super hearing must have told him she was awake, even though she hadn’t said a word.
I got up and walked closer, leaving the bowl behind. She’d had enough junk food today to last her a month, and I intended to keep the crappy foods out of sight. She turned her head at my approach and a beautiful smile graced her round face. Her cheeks were red from sleep, her eyes heavy, her hair a beautiful mess. “Hey,Spatz. How did you sleep?”
She sat up and lifted her arms, waiting for me to pick her up. I complied, loving the way her arms hugged me and her head disappeared in my neck. She was still sleepy and needed time to fully wake up. “Do you need to go to the toilet?” I asked, already knowing the answer. We were still potty training, with more or less success.
She nodded and we made our way to the bathroom. Her independent streak demanded she do everything herself, making me stand by the door and wait. Once she flushed, and I made sure she’d washed her hands and her diaper was back on, we went back to the kitchen for a drink.
“What do you want to do for the rest of the day? Hang out here? Or go somewhere?” I asked while getting her a cup of water.
“Probably best if you guys stay in,” Gunner chimed in.
“Wasn’t asking for your opinion,” I said, turning my back on him.
“It’s not safe to go out, not since Anna knows you’re here. Let Rhett sort this out first.”
“Let Rhett sort it out? Are you forking kidding me?”
“Nope. Completely serious. And if you plan on going out, I’m going to have to call in the guys. Believe me when I say you don’t want me to call in the guys.”
“You’ve been fine watching us by yourself so far. Nothing’s changed. Anna might be delusional, but I doubt she’d do us harm.”
“The rules have changed and so have my orders. You’re not going anywhere without at least one other person with you. Which will most likely be me.”
“Overkill much?” He must be crazy if he thought I’d agree to this madness. I was not important. That would cost a fortune. And I was not worth it.
“We could build a fort.” He stood up and looked at Josie who was watching our argument in fascination. “Hey, little bit, what do you think, want to make the best fort ever?”
She dropped her sippy cup, thankfully not spilling it everywhere, and ran up to Gunner. “Fort, fort, fort,” she chanted. “Come, Mimi. We build fort.”
That sneaky little shit. He played me. I took a deep breath and decided to just accept my fate. I didn’t really want to leave the apartment anyway. I walked down the hallway to grab the blankets I saw in the hall closet. “All right, let’s build the best fort ever.”
Gunner was surprisingly adept at the fort building business. He pushed the furniture in a circle, making sure it was all as close together as possible. He directed us on how to put the blankets on top and covered the areas we couldn’t reach. The thoughtfulness in which he interacted with Josie made even my stubborn anger melt and by the end of our project, my brooding was a thing of the past.
We all sat inside the gigantic fort that could at least fit about twenty children. Josie was in fort heaven. She crawled around, unable to decide where she wanted to play first. She’d made us bring all her toys inside, hardly leaving any space on the floor to move around. Once she was settled and had seemingly forgotten our presence, I crawled back outside, careful not to squash any of her precious dolls.
Gunner was busy typing on his phone, apparently done with having fun. It probably meant he was close to his two smiles a day quota.
“I’ve gotta go.”
“What? Now?” He was such a confusing man. “What happened to ‘Emmi can’t be left on her own’,” I said, imitating his deep voice on the last part.
“You won’t be on your own. Bye, little bit,” he called in Josie’s direction.
But wasn’t he leaving? I was so confused. When he walked to the front door, unlocked it and left, I was still confused.
It was almost dinner time and my stomach was doing summersaults from all the sugar. I should probably attempt to eat at least one proper meal today. “HeySpatz, how about Thai for dinner? Or there’s a great Indian place just around the corner.”
“I’d go with the steak house. They do the best kids meals.”
I shrieked at the unexpected visitor. Rhett was standing in the hallway. After a stare off that accomplished absolutely nothing, he closed the door behind him, walking in like today didn’t even happen.
“What are you doing here?” I sputtered, trying to escape. My retreat was thwarted by the massive fridge. That was the last time I had anything positive to say about that monstrosity. He stopped in front of me, entirely too close, and at the same time not close enough. Gah, I really had to sort myself out. Make a decision and stick with it.
“I’m staying here.”
“What do you mean you’re staying here? In this apartment? Or in Denver? Or on planet Earth? Not sure Mars would agree with you. They need their overlord back, I’d imagine.”
“We need to talk.”
