Austin
As we get closer to the festive season, people tend to come in with the flu more often than not. Especially kids. The winter has hit us hard this year and now that I’m hoping things will wind down in time for Christmas, I have a feeling I’ll be run off my feet instead.
I knew today was going to be busy, but this is ridiculous. As one patient had walked out, another three had walked in. Running my own medical practice has been a dream of mine since I was a young boy listening to my father tell me about his job. And now that my dream has materialized, I can’t imagine my life without it.
It’s days like today I forget the hurt and pain Moira caused me when she walked out. She upped and left Chelsea and me without so much as an explanation further than I need to find myself. My daughter has become my life. Outside of the regular patients, she’s the only other thing that’s kept me from depression. From the constant nagging in my mind that I wasn’t man enough to keep my own wife from leaving.
Glancing at the time, I notice it’s five. I better get home. Lily is with Chelsea and I hate when they’re alone late into the evening. Not that it’s dangerous, but… if I was being completely honest, I just want to see Lily.
She stormed into my exam rooms a year ago. She’d fallen on some ice and twisted her ankle. Even then, with her tear-streaked face and those pretty brown eyes, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. When she mentioned she does a few babysitting gigs, I jumped at the chance to offer her a job.
Twelve months later, and Chelsea is as content as if Lily were her mother. Only twenty, the young student has taken a hold of my life and somehow weaseled her way into my mind at every second. Yes, I’ve developed feelings for my babysitter. But, as a divorced, thirty-three-year-old man, she’d probably turn up her nose at the thought of a date with me.
It’s been a while since I even thought of a woman in that way after Moira left. Not to say there aren’t any women who’d agree to a date, just none who caught my interest. Also, when you tell some young woman you have a child, the first thing she’ll do is run the opposite way. Nobody wants to become a stepmother. And I wouldn’t allow them into my life if I didn’t trust them wholeheartedly anyway.
But with Lily, it’s different. She’s different. Each time she steps into my home, it’s as if she belongs there. The way she cares for my daughter it’s alluring. She’s a temptation. One I cannot let myself succumb to.
Even so, it hasn’t stopped my fantasies. I’ve spent nights in bed, in the shower, thinking about her. Finding myself hard as steel. My hand relieves the tension, but only until she bounds into my house with her strawberry-blond hair and those doe eyes.
Her sweet smile sets my life right, but I can’t go there. This is the girl who looks after my daughter. Those dark brown eyes that remind me of a strong black coffee seem to look through me. As if she sees the pain, but also recognizes the man I once was. Before Moira ruined my life.
Shaking my head of the stupid thoughts, I grab my keys and make my way out to my Merlot-colored X5. It’s one of the possessions I bought after becoming a single dad. It has space for Dash, our golden retriever, and the back seat is spacious enough that I can do our shopping and have Chelsea in her car seat beside me.
The roads are quiet. A glance at the time tells me it’s almost six. I don’t live far from the practice, and in no time I’m pulling into the drive beside Lily’s little red Mini Cooper. Killing the engine, I exit the car and push the lock button on the key fob.
Before I reach the door, it swings open and Chelsea comes bounding out. “Daddy!” Her sweet voice stills any tension I may have felt during the day and I can’t help smiling at my little princess. My beautiful girl is my life. She jumps into my open arms and I lift her up, spinning her around, only to be gifted with her squeals of delight.
“Hey, munchkin. Have you been a good girl for Lily?”
She nods her little head up and down, which causes her to bounce her pigtails that she’s probably begged Lily to pin for her.
“Always, Daddy.” She giggles.
“Good girl.” I smile, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. As soon as I step through the door, the scent of food hits me and I can’t help groaning. Setting my little girl down, I shut the door and head toward the kitchen where the smell of spices, herbs, and something delicious is wafting from.