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“That may be so, or it might be the start of something amazing. What are the odds of you finding someone who’s so into kidsandyou’re attracted to her?”
“It’s been one week. How can anyone possibly know that?” I asked him, wishing he’d let it go.
“Mmm,” was all Mac said before one of the guys pulled him away with a question.
The truth was, Alice surprised me today. In a good way. I was a little put out that Maggie lied to Alice, and I’d talk to her more about it tonight. But I enjoyed that extra time with them. I welcomed it.
I should set more boundaries between Alice and me. Encourage her to give us our space in the evenings. But I enjoyed her company after being alone with Maggie most evenings. It was nice to have someone else there.
I enjoyed watching Maggie interact with another female who wasn’t her grandmother. It made me long to have Felicia in our lives, which was crazy. As selfish as it was, I enjoyed having Maggie full time. I wouldn’t want to share her with Felicia. Yet there was something about the way Maggie lit up around Alice.
Their relationship seemed good for Alice too. She came out of her shell with Maggie. She was animated and enthusiastic. Watching them interact, I suspected I was seeing the real Alice. The one she kept buried from others.
By the time evening rolled around, I felt differently about Alice. She’d crossed an invisible boundary by coming to the job site. It made me wonder what it would be like to have a family, one that visited me at work.
I didn’t know Alice very well, but I wanted to get to know her better. Why was she content to take care of other people’s kids but not live her own life? She stayed in instead of going out. She was young and had no responsibilities, not even an apartment. She should be letting loose, going out with her friends. Yet it seemed like she didn’t have any outside Elle and Gray.
I was determined to get to the bottom of it. I told myself I was thinking of Maggie, trying to protect her, but that was a lie. I wanted to know Alice.
When I walked in the front door, there was no pounding of running feet to greet me. Instead, it was dark. There were no smells of food cooking. If I hadn’t seen Alice’s car in the driveway, I would have thought no one was home.
Then I saw a small dry-erase easel in the foyer with a small light illuminating the board. There were black dashes, a few filled with random letters. Immediately, I recognized I was supposed to guess the words. “Hide-and-seek?”
There was a muffled giggle from upstairs. I pulled off my boots, letting them drop to the floor so they heard it. Another giggle. “Am I supposed to find you?”
Knowing they were upstairs, I still poked my head into the living room, then the kitchen, calling out for Maggie. Each time, I heard rustling noises from upstairs and the occasional giggle orshhhh.
I wanted to revel in this moment. Coming home to a house where there was life and fun and joy.
At the top of the stairs, there was a piece of paper taped to the banister. I read the message out loud for Maggie’s benefit. “Go to Maggie’s room.”
I paused in her doorway. There was another note taped to the door, telling me to throw the ball into her toy basket, the contents of which had been emptied all over the floor. I picked up the ball they’d provided, missing twice on purpose to prolong the game. I waited to see if Maggie would reveal her hiding place, but she didn’t.
I made the next one and cheered. Then I screamed when the blankets under Maggie’s loft bed moved, and Maggie jumped out. I clutched my racing heart. I knew she was hiding, but I had no idea she was under those blankets.
“You scared me.” I crouched down to her level. “You got me. I had no idea you were hiding under the covers.”
The closet door opened, and Alice came out.
“It was Miss Alice’s idea. She helped me hide.” Maggie attempted to climb out of the tangle of covers. I unraveled the blankets so she could stand. Her hair was mussed, and her cheeks were red from hiding. “It was hard to be quiet, and we weren’t sure when you’d be home.”
I kept hold of her hand while she steadied herself on the carpet.
“Were you in there for a while?” I asked.
Alice smiled sheepishly as she looked out the window, probably noticing it was dark. “I think so. I kind of lost track of time.”
“Miss Alice told me a story of a little girl who went on a TV show when she was a teenager, and she became famous. Everyone wanted to be her.”
If it were possible, Alice’s cheeks burned hotter, turning pink. “She had me on the spot, and we didn’t have a book within reach.”
It was a small opening to find out more about her childhood. “Were you talking about Elle?”
Maggie moved to play with her dolls on the floor.
Alice smiled sadly. “Yeah, the real story didn’t have a happy ending, so I switched it up a little.”
I lowered my voice. “Why wasn’t it happy?”
