“It’s a Lego plane,” she said, and the corners of my mouth tilted up. Willa and I got Luca a Lego Dinosaur for his last birthday, not thinking that the thing came in pieces. Something which was obvious to everyone else who ever bought Legos, since part of the fun is putting it together. It took Luca, Willa, and I three weeks and a lot of sweat to assemble it. A few random pieces were left over but Nora hid them before Luca found out.
I guess that was another point for Mason, since he noticed what Luca liked and had bought him something that made him happy. I just hoped Mason was good at putting Legos together. Because I sucked at it and even Luca was rolling his eyes at me when I helped him with his dinosaur.
“Luca, why don’t you get your pj’s on, and then you can play with Mason and Stella?” Nora said. Luca was excited enough about the prospect of not one but two people to play with, that he raced off to his room to get changed.
I held my arms out, and Nora handed a babbling Lena over. She snuggled into my neck and started blowing raspberries. It made me giggle and kiss her chubby cheek.
I looked up and my eyes met Mason’s; he was staring at me with soft eyes. It was one of my favorite looks on him. As if he wasn’t attractive enough on a normal day, the softness made him irresistible. Lucky there were two kids and another adult in the room to stop me from making a fool of myself again.
“The kids have had dinner already, but they can have some yogurt and strawberries for dessert. I should be home around midnight tonight,” Nora said and put her jacket on. “Call me if there are any problems. I’ll make sure to check my phone regularly.”
“Nora,” I said and raised my brows. “How many times have I watched your kids?”
She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes at me. “Not enough. Never enough. You know how much of a helicopter parent I am. There is just no stopping me. And I promise only to text you a few times tonight. I’m trying to get better.”
And wasn’t that the truth. Before I came along, Nora had a nanny that charged her half her night’s earnings and invited her boyfriend over most of the time. Something that Nora only found out after we became friends, and I noticed her nanny’s visitor.
She fired the nanny, and I offered to help out until she found someone new. As far as I knew, she hadn’t found anyone yet. Not that I wanted her to. I loved her kids and it felt good to be needed.
“Estebella, are you going to puts the airplane together?”
I was sitting on the couch, bouncing Lena on my lap when Luca ran up to me with a few Legos.
“Mason really wants to be the one to build it with you, but Lena and I will watch you guys from the couch,” I said.
“Good. Lena can’ts come down ‘cause she likes to break my toys,” Luca said and went back to his room to get the rest of the box. He dumped the contents on the rug in the living room and started spreading them out.
Mason sat down next to the pile and pulled the instructions out of the box. He read the first page for a while; his forehead creased.
Ha, guess it isn’t as straightforward as he thought. This was going to be entertaining.
“Okay, bud, how about you look for this part here,” he said and pointed to a large Lego piece that looked like it would form the body of the plane.
Lena was getting grumbly, and I walked up and down the living room with her. She was almost ready for bed, but Nora always tried to get her to stay up until seven so she wouldn’t wake up too early. So far, she hadn’t had much success, and Lena’s wake-up time of five in the morning hadn’t budged.
I watched Mason gently coax Luca into putting the right pieces together, without making him feel like he wasn’t the one doing all the building. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. He was sitting next to Luca, sorting through the pile in front of them, smiling and looking carefree.
I gave Lena her bottle and she settled into my arms. She was such a good baby, and I was always reluctant to put her down once she was asleep. I loved holding her, especially when she cuddled. I’d never thought about having kids. Besides the obvious lack of a partner, I also never thought it was something I wanted. Now I cherished every moment I spent with them.
“Lena is ready for bed,” I said when she finished her bottle and got up from the couch. “Do you want to say goodnight to her before I put her down?”
Luca got up and I bent down so he could give her a sloppy kiss and a cuddle and Mason gave her a kiss on the forehead. The gesture was sweet and made my ovaries do a happy dance.
Lena was asleep as soon as her head hit the mattress. I closed her door and went back to the living room. Mason was helping Luca clean up. I stayed out of the way and listened to their easy banter.
“If I was a dragon, I fly Mommy to the Malsidives. She said if she could goes anywhere that’s where she wants to bees,” Luca said and looked at Mason expectantly.
“If I was a dragon, I would watch all the football games in the country. Because I wouldn’t have to pay entry and could fly from one place to another. Like a road trip, but in the air,” Mason said.
They noticed me standing at the edge of the hallway and living room and Luca jumped up and waved at me. “Esteballa, what would you do if you were a dragon?” Luca asked.
I walked over to him and kneeled down to his level. “I would make Rayna bake me everything she could think of and eat it all. Since I would have a big dragon stomach.” What I would really do is fly far enough away so my mom couldn’t find me. The Maldives sounded like a great idea.
Luca laughed at me and told me I was silly. We ended up chasing each other around the living room. Mason watched us, his eyes still soft. I melted a little more.
I caught Luca and tickled him. “Okay, little man, time to brush your teeth. It’s almost bedtime.”
“Can I stays up for ten more hours, please?” Luca asked when I guided him to the bathroom and got his toothbrush.
