“Fine. Goodnight, baby. Don’t stay up too late.”
CJ wokeup at his usual time, and just as I peeled myself off of the couch to go to him, I heard my mom's voice shushing and saw her rocking him on the baby monitor. I smiled and closed my eyes, ready to drift to sleep again when I heard a knock on the door. Suddenly wide awake and knowing exactly who it was, I jumped off of the couch, ran my fingers through my hair, and checked my breath.
“Hey,” I whispered as I opened the door.
Lisa narrowed her eyes at me, looking around for CJ.
“Hey,” she said. “I just came to see if you needed… Where’s CJ?”
"Oh." I tried to sound nonchalant as if I didn't know that was the only reason she was here. "My mom is here, and she's helping me out with the baby tonight." I stared at her, unsure of what to say next. Her face showed the unmistakable signs of disappointment. "Did you want to come in?"
“No, I shouldn’t,” she whispered. “It sounds like you have everything under control here. I shouldn’t have come.”
“No, I’m glad you did.”
Calm down, Cole.
“I mean, it’s nice that CJ has you looking out for him. And me, too. I really appreciate it.” I knew I was a smart person, but something about being in Lisa’s presence made me incapable of forming a coherent sentence.
“I should go.” She turned and ran down the stairs.
“Hey,” I called after her and followed her to the sidewalk. “What’s wrong?”
"Nothing." She shook her head, which made her long mane of wavy chestnut-colored hair fly around her shoulders. Her eyes met mine and held such sadness that I was overcome by the sudden urge to hug her, but I resisted. She turned away and walked toward her door. I watched her until she slid her key into the deadbolt lock. "I found someone interested in the nanny position," she called over her shoulder. "If you were still looking."
"Really?" For a brief stupid moment, I hoped she was talking about herself.
“Yeah, her name is Theresa. She works with me.”
“Oh.” I deflated. “Okay, you can give me her contact info the next time I see you.”
“I’ll put it in your mailbox.”
Ouch.
“Cool. Thanks.”
She nodded and entered her apartment. I watched her door for a few minutes when I heard a familiar voice.
“Cole, honey, what are you doing outside?”
“Hey, Ma. Sorry. Nothing. How’s the kid?” I kissed her on the cheek as I passed her to enter the house.
“The kid is asleep. Are you going to tell me why you’re outside in your bare feet at three in the morning?”
“Can I tell you later?”
“Fine. Goodnight. I love you,” she called as she ascended the stairs.
“’Night, Ma. Love you too.”
Last night turnedout to be the best night—or morning—of sleep I've had in ages. When I woke up, Mom had CJ dressed, and they were headed over to her house where I'd meet them for breakfast after I showered and changed.
I grabbed Crystal's reports on my way out of the door, and I walked past Kimberly's brownstone and contemplated knocking on Lisa's door, deciding against it.
Dad looked over the reports, agreed that something was very wrong, and also co-signed my decision to wait until I had more information before calling Detective Tan. We hung out at Mom and Dad's for a few more hours, during which I avoided Mom's office, and we left just in time to see Lisa walking up the block in her running gear. I made a mental note to remember that she runs every Saturday afternoon.
“Hey, neighbor,” I called as she approached. She stopped short when she saw us. She was wearing an embarrassed expression that softened into something else when her gaze settled on CJ.
