“I know,” I clipped, a warning note in my tone, which didn’t seem to convince him not to open my wounds in front of Maya. “Have you watched Star Wars, Nick?” I changed the subject before he could tell me to suck it up and get back to work.
Maya spun around waiting for Nick to answer, her eyes the size of two-pound coins.
“I did. It’s my favourite movie.”
“Mine too!” Maya exclaimed, losing interest in feeding the ducks. “Remember when Princess Leia’s planet blew up?”
I took the bread from her hands and tossed the rest of it into the water while Nick took Maya inside. It was amazing how a three-year-old girl rid my worries simply by being there. Not once had I thought about Nadia while Maya was around.
Amelia wasn’t exempt from the Star Wars story when she came home an hour later. Maya had endless supplies of energy and could talk until dawn, but it was nearing her bedtime, and I made her say goodbye to Nick and Mel.
“I don’t want to sleep,” she said when we arrived at my house sometime after seven o’clock.
“Who said anything about sleeping?” There was no winning with her on this one, so I didn’t bother trying. “There’s no nursery tomorrow, and your mummy isn’t picking you up for two more hours, so we’ve got plenty of time to play. What do you want to do?”
She ran into the living room and climbed onto the couch, putting a pillow on her knees.
“Do you have Star Wars?”
I should’ve expected that. Maya was like all kids her age; if she liked something, she obsessed over it until something new came along. Not long ago it wasShrek. We watched it so many times that I knew the donkey’s best sayings by heart.
“I don’t, but I can rent it out. Should we watch the first one?”
Maya nodded, making herself comfortable. She kicked her shoes off, and bent her legs at the knees, pulling them under her bum. The white polo shirt she wore was stained with spaghetti, ice-cream and too much chocolate. She rested her back on me when I covered her with a blanket and pressed play on the remote control.
Maya’s commentary was non-stop during the first half hour, but as the time went by, her energy supply ran dry. She held my hand the whole time, squeezing it when something exciting happened.
Somewhere between finding Yoda and Luke learning how to use thelittle light sword, Maya fell asleep. I didn’t dare to move in case I would wake her, but thirty minutes later, a soft knock left me with no choice.
“Hey.” Claudia kissed my cheek. “Where is she?”
“She’s asleep in the living room. She made me watch Star Wars.” I led her into the kitchen, closing the door behind us. “Thanks for letting me have her today. I needed it.”
“I know.” Claudia dropped her bag on the breakfast bar. “Scorpio called me. You look… homeless, Thomas.”
Cheeky son-of-a-bitch.
“So, the story about your boss making you work late was bullshit?”
“Yup. I spent the afternoon shopping and getting my hair done.”
She twirled, showing off her dark locks, and I was about to ask if the hairdressers were closed, but I bit my tongue.
She took a seat, arms crossed. “I agreed when Scorpio said you need a reminder that there are still people you love and care about right here.”
I scoffed, but smiled a little, too.
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure. And I mean, honestly,my pleasure. I needed a break. I can’t remember the last time I tried on a dress without Maya running out of the changing room with my top.”
Her smile slipped, replaced by two wrinkles that hid under…
Ah,that’swhat changed—the fringe.
“You want to talk? I’m a good listener.”
A part of me wanted to tell her everything, get it off my chest and hear an unbiased opinion, but at the same time, I wanted to downplay the pain. At the end of the day, what happened between Nadia and me wasn’t anyone’s fucking business.