I pretend to give it some thought. It’s not as if I haven’t imagined myself doing that, saying that I have something going on tonight and bail. But what kind of person does that make me? I can’t be the guy who says I’ll do something and then take it back.
“I can’t.”
Garrett sighs like this is the answer he was expecting. “I know, bud. Well.” He taps the door. “Have fun.”
The drive to Elizabeth’s is shorter than I expect, and I’m there at five forty, enough time for her to give me the rundown and for Aurora to be reintroduced to me. I wonder how she handles being babysat. If this is a normal occurrence for her, maybe it’ll be easy.
I knock on the apartment door. She lives on the first floor, right on the corner by the parking lot. Not the safest unit for a single mom and her kiddo, but I decide to keep that opinion to myself.
A ruffled-looking Elizabeth answers the door, and the moment my eyes catch sight of her, my breath gets sucked from my chest. Holy shit. She’s still the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever met.
“Hi.” Her smile widens brilliantly, and I find myself in a bit of a trance. I blink and smile back. She lets me in before shutting the door behind me. “Thank you so much for doing this.”
“Of course. I brought pizza and beer.”
She pauses and looks back at me, at my hands, where I’m holding a hot cheese pizza and a six-pack of root beer. Her smile hits me again. “That’s amazing. She’s going to love you.”
“I aim to please,” I reply, following her further into the house. “Nice place.”
Elizabeth rushes to the counter and grabs a silver earring off of it, moving her perfectly curled hair out of her way so she can put the earring in. So, it is a date.
I bite back my annoyance and open the oven, placing the pizza inside. I set it on a low temp to keep it warm.
“Thanks, my sister and I live here together.” She grabs the other earring. “I can’t thank you enough for doing this. I thought my sister was available, but she got called out to work, and my parents are on their own date tonight, then I remembered you offered, and, well, yeah.” She seems flustered, like going out isn’t something she does often.
“It’s no problem,” I say, placing the root beer in the fridge. It’s nicely stocked with meats and vegetables and fruits.Some protein shakes and bottled waters were in the fridge as well. “I hope I didn’t overstep by bringing a pizza for Aurora and me to share.”
Elizabeth shakes her head, coming to stand by the refrigerator, bending to open the freezer part. “Not at all, I grabbed this for you both.” She holds up a frozen cheese pizza and laughs. “Great minds, apparently.”
“Apparently,” I agree and have to turn away. “So, where is she anyway?”
“I have her in the bath, and I need to get her out. I figured I’d do most of her night routine, so you don’t have to.”
I nod my head. “Great.”
Elizabeth rushes down the hallway and into a room I assume is the bathroom. I hear giggles, happy chatter, and Elizabeth’s laugh, and I’m pretty sure that should be the soundtrack I hear for the rest of my life.
I wander around the room, looking at everything on the walls and shelves. There were quite a few books on a bookshelf by the TV, some pictures of her and Aurora, of another woman I assume is her sister, and one of a younger Elizabeth with her arm around a younger version of her sister. I squint at the picture, something in my mind saying I’ve seen it before, but that wouldn’t be possible.
Not one single picture of another man.
So where did Aurora come from?
I want to ask but know that it’s not even close to my business, and I head over to the kitchen table. There’s room enough to eat, and then the other side is filled with arts and craft material. Seems little Rora was into art.
The giggling continues and I hear footsteps, smiling to myself at the sound and take a seat at the table, waiting for the girls to be ready.
Man, I really messed up.
I could be the one here to pick Elizabeth up for a date, the one who comes to the door, flowers in hand—and some for Aurora too. We’d go eat, drink, maybe dance if she liked that. Then we would talk for hours because we’d obviously hit it off perfectly. She could tell me about college and life and how Aurora came to be. Then I’d drop her off, but only when our next date was already on the books.
I rub my hand over my face. I can’t keep dwelling on the could-haves or should-haves. It’s done.
I am the babysitter.
“Hi!” A little voice hits me, and I turn, opening my eyes and smiling brightly at the girl standing in front of me. She’s wearing a long nightgown that has a picture of one of those Disney princesses on it. “I remember you!”
“I remember you too,” I reply and nod at her nightie. “I love the pajamas.”
