“Have you ever noticed how out of place Mr. Hyatt looks here at school until Maisie’s with him?” Mrs. Anderson said under her breath when I finished passing out the juice and stood with her by her desk.
I frowned, not sure what she was getting at.
“Most of the time he looks like a badass, and then when Maisie’s there, he goes all soft.”
I wouldn’t say badass, although there was often something under the surface of Dylan that hinted at darkness. She was spot-on about him going all soft around Maisie though, so I nodded. “He’s a doting father.”
A few moms entered the classroom, and we got the party started. I watched from across the room as Dylan ate brownies and drank juice with Maisie while she showed him the book that she’d made that morning. It was such a shame that he wouldn’t be sharing the love that clearly filled his heart with others. He had so much to give, and it was sad that Veronica had ruined him on love and having a bigger family.
When the party was over, Dylan left along with the other parents, and we finished the day with the children. It was sad to say goodbye to the kids and Mrs. Anderson when the day was over. I hoped that I’d be able to stay in town to finish school in the fall so I could at least see them around town.
After school, I loaded Maisie up in my car and took her to the park. “It’s summer vacation,” I said. “Time to play!”
“Yay!” At the park, Maisie spent most of the time on the swings. She clearly loved the feel of the wind on her face. Or maybe it was the feeling of flying.
When we got home, I went through the kitchen looking for what to make for dinner. “How about spaghetti?” When I didn’t get a reply, I sought her out and found her curled up asleep on the couch.
She was still there forty-five minutes later when Dylan walked in.
“Is she sick?” Worry crossed his face as he saw that Maisie was asleep.
“Just tired from the day. I’ve got spaghetti for you two.”
He knelt by Maisie, brushing his hand over her forehead as if he was feeling for a temperature. Clearly he didn’t believe me, but I wasn’t offended. I found his love for Maisie endearing.
“Hi Daddy,” Maisie’s sleepy voice said.
“Hey lazy Maisie. Do you feel okay?”
She nodded. “I’m hungry.”
“Tessa says she has spaghetti.”
Maisie wrapped her arms around Dylan’s neck and he stood holding her. “Can she stay and eat with us?”
He looked over at me. “If she wants to.”
I often felt like an intruder when he invited me to stay, and yet I couldn’t ever leave when invited. In most cases, I stayed to eat with them a few nights a month, but over the course of the following week, Maisie asked if I could stay every night. She and I spent all day together playing, going on outings, and even making dinner together. I declined to eat with them a few nights even though I wanted to stay. It was probably a bad sign, how attached I was to the both of them, and I’d need to deal with that especially if I was going to leave at the end of the summer.
Even so, at night alone in my bed, sometimes I’d let my mind wander to the fantasy of being more than Maisie’s babysitter. I knew I’d never replace her mother, but I could be more than just the sitter to the both of them if they’d let me. But Dylan had been clear when he said marriage and more kids weren’t in his future. There were some days when I thought I might try to change his mind, but I quickly dismissed that idea. I knew Dylan appreciated and respected me. Maybe he even cared about me, but it was as his babysitter. He’d shown through his marriage to Veronica that he liked gorgeous sophisticated women. I wasn’t ugly, but I wasn’t supermodel material. I was smart and educated, but not worldly. No, he’d never be interested in me.
4
Dylan
Fridays at the gym weren’t as busy as other days out here in the ‘burbs. I guess people started their weekend early. The gym closer to New York City was actually the opposite; it was packed on Fridays. It was one of the many trends I tracked at all five of my gym locations. Regardless of lower attendance on Fridays, all my gyms did well. While I made monthly trips to each location, I spent most of my time at the one here at home, partly because it was the first, but also to stay near Maisie in case something happened and she needed me. Not that I didn’t trust Tessa, because I did. Whether she left this fall or next year, I was going to miss her. I was certain I wouldn’t find anyone as caring toward Maisie. When I watched them together, it wasn’t just a babysitter and a child. The two of them were bonded. I knew it would be hard for me to see her go, but it would be even harder for Maisie.
But as the saying went, all good things must come to an end. My marriage had. In fact, my marriage ended long before Veronica walked out to pursue her dream of becoming a model. She wasn’t suited to domestic life, something that hadn’t been apparent until Maisie
was born. I couldn’t completely resent Veronica, because without her, I wouldn’t have Maisie. But for the life of me, I couldn’t understand how she could so easily flit in and out of Maisie’s life. The truth was, Tessa was more of a mother to Maisie than Veronica ever was. Someday, Tessa would meet a man and start a family. He’d be one lucky son of a bitch. I envied him already.
I shook my head of that idea. Tessa was a hell of a woman, but not for me.
“Counting your pennies?”
Startled, I looked up from the papers on my desk to see Veronica standing in the office doorway.
“Veronica.” I stood and went to her, giving her a hug as I always did. She still smelled like expensive French perfume. Her dark hair was down looking tousled but in a purposeful way. Like she’d paid hundreds of dollars for a slightly messy look that Tessa got naturally.