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Lexi takes a seat at the table and starts peppering Olivia with questions. And while I’m engaged in a half-hearted conversation with Max and Nadia, I hear my daughter reference Skylar in nearly every response she gives. Who gave you that beautiful bracelet?Skylar. Look at these adorable blond curls! You’re so lucky!I want brown hair likes Skylar’s.This goes on for a few more exchanges before Lexi abandons Olivia and walks over to us laughing. “Who is this Skylar she keeps talking about?”
I answer, “Her babysitter,” at the same time Olivia pipes up and says, “She’s my special person.”
Lexi keeps smiling but her words come out sounding sarcastic when she says, “She must bereallyspecial.”
Max pokes his head into the refrigerator. “So, are you going to offer us a drink?”
“Yeah, sure,” I answer, even though I really want to tell the three of them to beat it. You can’t drop by unannounced on parents with little kids. It screws up the whole nighttime routine. But Max doesn’t know this and neither do the girls. “I have this IPA,” I nudge him out of the way and show them one of the bottles, “or Bud.”
I look up at the clock as I open the bottles, and seeing as it’s only seven o’clock, I know Olivia won’t shut it down for the night just yet. Skylar’s been teaching her the basics of time and numbers, and while Libs doesn’t have anything close to a clear understanding of it, she does know that an eight on the digital clock means bath, book and bedtime, while seven means:Don’t even think about trying to put me to bed.
Two hours later Olivia is hopped up on the cookies Max keeps passing her way, even though I’ve told him to knock it off twice. She’s putting on a show fueled by sugar now, dancing around the living room and singing along to the soundtrack ofOklahoma. Yep, Skylar’s introduced her to the world of musical theater. Meanwhile, the three party crashers are happy and tipsy, egging Olivia on.
When she starts belting outO-K-L-A-H-O-M-Aat the top of her lungs with the letters out of order for the third time in a row, I cut her off. “Olivia, that’s it. It’s past your bedtime. Say goodnight to everyone and let’s go upstairs.”
“Nooo!” Nadia and Lexi whine in unison. Lexi says, “C’mere, Olivia,” and grabs my daughter in a hug while smiling up at me. “Let her stay up. She’ssoadorable.”
I’ve been nursing this one beer all night, so I’m not finding Lexi’s act one bit cute or amusing. “Nope. Libs will be a crank tomorrow if she doesn’t get her sleep.”
“Iwon’tbe a crank!”
Forget using her indoor voice to protest, that shrill squawk is a voice I’m well-acquainted with and one that fills me with dread. Yep, she’s on the verge of a meltdown.
I hoist Olivia over my shoulder as she starts to cry and rain blows down on my back with her tiny fists.
“Aw,” Lexi pouts as Max grabs another round of beers from the fridge and leads them out onto the back deck. “Goodnight, Libs,” she calls after us, and the nickname sounds so wrong coming from her.
Don’t call her that, I want to yell back.You don’t even know her.
I’m just reaching the top of the stairs when there’s a knock on the door.What now?I’m tempted to ignore it when the knocking starts up again, loud and persistent.
“What’s up, Mr. Carey?”
Rob is the most irritating guy on my block. The only irritating guy, really. I like the rest of my neighbors, and we all kind of feel the same way about Rob. He’s the one who not so subtly lets you know if you’re grass is getting too long or if your paint is starting to chip. His house is pristine, and his lush green lawn looks like he cuts each individual blade with a scissors to ensure uniformity. He’sthatguy.
He’s got his serious face on while I’m probably sporting a look that says:Spit it out and then be on your way.I’ve got a feisty little girl trying to wiggle her way out of my hold while screaming, “Put me down!” so I’m running low on patience at the moment.
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but this is the third night in a row.”What the hell is he talking about?I take a step closer to the door to look around my property, to see that my garbage cans are put away and nothing’s amiss. “That car that’s always parked outside of your house?” He’s barely able to hide his distaste when he says the word car, so I automatically know he’s referring to Skylar’s rusty old ride.
“What about it?”
“It’s been parked at the end of the street for the past three nights in a row.” When I don’t respond right away he gets testy. “Last night I walked down to check if it was still there at midnight and there was someonesleepingin the backseat! We’re not running a homeless shelter on the block now, are we, Leo?”
What a dick.“Not that I know of, Rob.” Shaking my head, I add, “Go home, I’ll look into it.”
I don’t trust that my nosy neighborwillgo home, though. In fact, I’m kind of shocked that he hasn’t just gone ahead and called the police already.
What to do? I think about bringing Libs along with me, but I’m not really sure what it is that I’m dealing with. Instead I walk her out to the deck and commit the worst parenting crime imaginable: giving in.
“Max, can you watch her for a second?”
“We’ve got her,” Lexi offers, but when she opens her arms, Libby snubs her and goes to take Max’s hand.
“Donotgo near the pool, Olivia. I’ll be right back.”
“Everything all right?” Max asks.
I nod. “Be back in five.”
