“Another one?” she asks, wide eyed. “Are you having a baby too?”
“No, no, honey I— No.” I tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “What would you think about staying here for the whole summer?”
She looks up, her eyes narrowed like she doesn’t believe me.
“With Aunt Laurey getting ready for the baby, I was thinking we could find our own apartment in town to stay for the summer. I can take you by the place I’m thinking about here in a bit.”
She takes a bite, thinking. “What about camp?”
“There’s a YMCA here too. The one Tanner went to. How about we go look at the apartment, then go check out the YMCA and then you can decide, okay?”
She nods, a touch unsure.
When we pull around to the parking lot of the apartment, I help Winnie out of the van and my eyes drift over to the auto shop. Tanner's truck is parked there but I don’t see him this time, no matter how hard I look. However, there are a few guys sitting out back eating lunch. I think I see them nudge each other and point over at me. They look tired and greasy, but all too amused to see me.
“So.” I hold Winnie’s hand as we cross the parking lot. Heat waves rise from the cracked concrete. “Ms. Dollie owns this part of the building. The downstairs is a bookstore, and the upstairs apartment is where we would stay.”
I pop my head into the store and see an older woman restocking the little mugs with the store’s logo on them. She has wire framed glasses and almost white hair.
“Ms. Dollie?” I ask, and the woman looks up. “I'm Hannah, I?—”
“Hannah Dorada. And Winnie, right?” Dollie comes over, eyes as warm as the day is. “Tanny said you might be swinging by today. Go take a look around. If you need anything, you let me know.”
“Tanny?” Winnie giggles. “That’s funny.”
“I’m all about a nickname.” Dollie winks. “My own son is called Ricky.”
“Mommy doesn’t have a nickname. Just Hannah. I guess mommy is her nickname.”
“Thank you, Ms. Dollie.” I smile and gently guide Winnie toward the door.
Upstairs, the apartment is just as Tanner and I left it. Winnie walks around wide eyed, opening cupboards and peeking out the curtains before wandering into the smaller room.
“Is this one mine?”
“Yup. And look, you would have a view of the street below.”She climbs onto the window seat and peers down. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s good.” Her voice is resolute, almost diplomatic.
“Do you want to stay?”
“Well duh.” She shrugs then stands and launches herself from the seat to the bed. “I just wanted to see if I liked it here or at Aunt Laurey’s house better. I don’t want to go home.”
I laugh and lay down next to her on the bed. “You’re a stinker.”
“Will Daddy know I'm here?”
“Uh.” I watch the outdated wooden fan spin above our heads. “If he asks, I will let him know. Maybe I’ll let Uncle Seb know and he can come visit. But come on, I want to show you one more thing.”
I take her through my room to the balcony. Her smile stretches across her face as she walks around the little space. There’s nothing glamorous about it. The flower boxes are empty, the table has four rickety metal chairs around it and the view is nothing but a parking lot and trees. But to Winnie’s wide-eyed smile, it seems like magic.
She spins around to face me. “Could we eat out here?”
“Sure. Maybe we can have a pizza party out here.”
“Can we plant flowers in the boxes? The seeds from Tan?”
“I don’t see why not.”
