Days crept past. The Littles had enjoyed one weekend sleepover and had met last night for nachos and margaritas. While she enjoyed getting together, Saylor’s thoughts focused on Max. How could she miss someone so much? In a short time, he’d weaved himself into her heart.
Today after teaching her morning class, she’d spent the afternoon at her condo, gathering a few things and cleaning the dust from all the surfaces. She’d already trashed all the fresh food in her refrigerator, but she had some favorite snacks in the cabinets. Packing those in a bag, she’d loaded her car with some additional clothing. Max had already cleaned out some drawers for her things.
They hadn’t talked about her moving in permanently, but Saylor knew Max would welcome her presence. He was the first man she’d ever met that wanted to spend all his free time with her. Sure, they did things with friends too, but together. He didn’t want to play video games online all night. Max focused completely on her.
When she arrived back at his house, a man pushed a lawnmower across the yard. When Saylor waved, he stopped and headed over to talk to her.
“Hi, ma’am. I’m Joe. I live over there.” He pointed to a tidy house two down from Max’s. “Three of us swap lawn care when we’re deployed. What’s your name?”
“Hi, Joe. I’m Saylor. I’m Max’s…” she hesitated a moment before finishing with, “girlfriend.”
“Hi, Saylor. Max said you’d be here.”
“Did you hear from him?” she asked eagerly.
“He’d updated the group a couple of weeks ago. If you get lonely, my wife Susie is at home with our three kids most days. Stop and have a cookie with the mob.”
“Thank you, Joe. I’m lucky that I have work and Max’s team’s girlfriends to keep me busy.”
“That team is super tight. I’m glad you’ve got support. Susie struggles when I’m gone. Three kids keep her distracted, thank goodness, but she’s always ready for adult conversation.” Joe said those last two words like they were in quote marks. Obviously, Susie repeated that phrase often.
“I understand. Thank you. I’ll try to stop by and introduce myself. Thank you for mowing.”
“No problem. We take care of our own. Let me know if you need anything,” Joe said and headed back to the mower.
By the time she’d finished carrying her things inside, Joe had finished and gone home. Max had told him she’d be there. Shewrapped her arms around herself and squeezed. Max took care of her even when he was heaven knows where.
Now with the evening stretching in front of her, Saylor missed him. “Okay. Time to distract myself,” she announced to Tapper. The octopus agreed immediately.
She wandered down the hallway and stopped at a closed door. Saylor had never seen in that room. Twisting the handle, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The walls were painted a beautiful, deep blue color that made her feel like she’d dived into a pool or gone scuba diving.
Several large boxes leaned against one wall. Saylor wandered over to see what they were. The picture on the front of one showed a crib with beautifully curved wooden rails. She sat down hard on the floor and read the box carefully. Adult-sized. Little World. Built for comfort.
This room would be her nursery. She scooted across the thick carpet to check out the next box. The picture showed a woman sitting on a man’s lap in a wooden rocker that matched the crib. A reminder in a bright red square said, “Don’t forget the padding for comfort.”
A bit of plastic bag showed behind the large box. Saylor peeked and found a clear package that contained cushions with a repeating pattern of adorable underwater creatures. Tracing the octopus, Saylor wiggled with happiness. Just wait until Tapper saw it!
Deciding she couldn’t wait, Saylor jumped to her feet and raced toward the door. A shimmer of silver stopped her. She backed up and looked carefully at the wall. Something was there. Moving closer, she scanned the paint for the faintest trace of pencil.
What was that? Max had drawn a figure. She shook her head as she solved the mystery when her gaze reached the bottom and spotted a tail—a mermaid. Smiling widely, Saylor scanned up the body. Now that she recognized what she was looking at, she could see the seashell bra, a crown, and what had to be a pearl necklace. Freezing, she stared at the face. It was her.
He’d captured a look of happiness on her features that illustrated how talented he was. The art teacher inside Saylor celebrated his skill and hoped she’d helped him at least a bit in her classes. Each week, she’d seen his talent grow. He absorbed every new bit of information she shared like a sponge. The type of student teachers dream of having in class.
The little girl inside her celebrated in an entirely different way. She ran for her phone and took a picture. Finding the right angle to capture the drawing was tricky. She’d almost given up when she snapped a good one.
Saylor sank to the carpet, staring at the artwork. He’d made her a mermaid for her nursery. Her nursery. He’d created this for her. Not for the little girl he hoped to meet someday. Max had waited until he’d found her to decide what to do in here.
Wanting to make this room part of him as well, Saylor scanned the space. She turned her back to the mermaid and decided on the wall space directly across from the mermaid. That spot was next to the closet. An idea popped into mind. Rising to her feet, Saylor dashed to grab a pencil from the box of art supplies she’d brought from her condo.
She worked feverishly to capture the way Max looked at her. When a shiver of delight ran down her spine, Saylor knew she couldn’t change a thing. The house was completely dark except for the overhead light in her nursery. She stood back to studyher work. Max, the merman, leaned against the closet trim. His arms crossed over his broad, manly chest. Those thick, muscular thighs she delighted in sitting on formed a powerful tail.
Picturing it in her mind, Saylor knew immediately how she needed to paint Max. On a whim, she added one more figure to the wall. Tapper waved his tentacles to Saylor’s mermaid across the room as he whispered to her daddy. Together, the decorations would be absolutely enchanting. Saylor spun in a circle, dancing with happiness.
“Just what I hoped to find. My little girl feeling better.” Max’s deep voice wrapped around her as Saylor skidded to a stop.
“Daddy!” She ran toward him and leapt into his arms to scatter kisses all over him. About four kisses in, his body odor registered on her. Pinching her nose, she couldn’t stop the “Ewww!”
“Baby girl, I’m surprised you didn’t smell me when I got out of Hank’s truck in the driveway. Let’s go get me clean. These clothes need about four trips through the washing machine.” He set her feet gently down on the carpet. “I thought about hosing myself off in the yard, but I couldn’t wait to see you.”
