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“You need to be careful. She hurt her arm today.” Maddie frowned as she pointed to the dolls elbow.
“How did that happen?” I knelt down and cradled the doll in my arms. “Poor Lily.” I soothed, kissing her arm.
“I dropped her down the steps.” Maddie looked up at me with her big, serious, blue eyes. She looked so upset I wanted to pick her up and cuddle her.
“Tell you what.” I began, handing her back Lily. “You go sit on the couch, I will grab some band aids, and some special healing cream and we will fix Lily right up.” Maddie nodded and smiled. She raced off to the couch. I found the band aids, and a bottle of hand cream.
“Here we go.” I patched Lily's elbow up with the band aids and cream. “Is that fixed?” Maddie reached for the doll and carefully inspected her elbow. Finally she nodded.
“It's fixed.” She agreed, her tone still serious.
“Why don't the four of us watch a movie?” I walked her over to my DVD collection and let her choose one. She chose Aladdin, an old favourite. Soon, both of us and the two dolls were curled up on the couch. I glanced over at Maddie. She was fast asleep, her head resting on a cushion, both dolls tucked under her arms. She looked adorable.
A wave of sadness swept over me. Looking at Maddie now suddenly made me realise what I would be missing not being able to have kids of my own. Did Simon want more children? I had seen how he acted with Maddie, he was a wonderful father. My phone interrupted my thoughts.
Simon.
“Hello.” I spoke quietly, not wanting to wake sleeping Maddie.
“Hey Em, how are things going? I hope she is behaving for you.”
“She has been no trouble. Fast asleep on the couch.” I glanced back at Maddie. Her little curls hung over her face, and her thumb had found its way into her slightly open mouth. “How are you? How is the case going?”
“God, it’s going to be a long night.” He dragged each word out, showing the frustration he was feeling about his case. “Em, Are you okay if Claire stops by to pick up Maddie? If you’re not, please tell me. I know it’s a bit weird, but there is no way I’m going to get away before midnight.”
“Sure, that’s fine.” I fought to keep my tone even. Inside, my mind was screaming. Claire? Here? Was he serious? His ex-wife coming to my house to pick up their daughter? How could he possibly think I’d be okay with that? “Don’t worry about it, it’s completely fine.” I heard myself saying.
“You are wonderful. I will call you later.” Hanging up the phone, I was overcome with fear. What the hell? Why did he think that would be an okay thing to ask? And more to the point, why the hell did I say yes? After texting Cass to tell her no
t to come over, I forced myself to sit down. The ten minutes that passed until there was a knock on the door felt like hours.
“Hello. You must be Claire.” Who was I kidding? I knew this was Claire from the Google pics. She smiled and shook my outstretched hand.
“Emma. It is wonderful to finally meet you. Simon has told me so much about you.” Even after a full day at work, this woman looked inhumanely stunning. Why did she have to be so damn nice? At least I could justify hating her if she was a bitch. But no, she had to be one of the nicest people I’d ever met.
“Maddie is sleeping on the couch. Would you like a coffee?
“Emma, really. I don’t want to impose on you anymore than I already am.”
“Really, it’s no bother. I was just about to have one anyway.” I felt myself liking this woman more as each moment passed, and it was driving me crazy.
“Okay. White with one then, thanks.” She glanced around the apartment. “This is a wonderful place. It’s so quiet compared to the rest of the city.” The tranquillity was part of the reason I chose this area when moving out. I loved that I could be so close to everything, but be so far away at the same time.
“Thanks.” She took the mug I held out to her with a smile. A perfectly white smile complete with dimples. “Emma. This must be really strange for you. I promise I am not in the habit of putting my nose into Simon’s relationships.” I couldn’t help but smile back. She was a really easy person to get along with.
“I’m sorry if I seem a little stand offish. You are right, this is a little strange, but I am glad you came. It really is nice to finally meet you.” I followed Claire over to the sofa. She leaned down and kissed Maddie’s forehead, then sat down. “She is such a sweet girl.” I said, nodding toward Maddie.
“She is. Sometimes she knows it too.” Claire agreed. We spent the next little while chatting about Maddie, Claire’s work, my studies, and Simon. Glancing at the clock, I was surprised to see it was past 11 o’clock. We had been chatting for over an hour.
“Wow, I am so sorry. I really am keeping you up, aren’t I?” Claire declared, gathering Maddie in her arms.
“I guess time flies.” I smiled. “It was great meeting you. Maybe we can do it again.”
Claire looked at me, clearly surprised. She gave me a warm smile.
“I’d really enjoy that Emma.”
After Claire and Maddie had left, I texted Cass, hoping she was still awake. She rang back right away.
