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“C’mon, let’s just watch the show and eat dinner.”
“Is it really broken?”
I felt a grin cross my face. “What are you implying?”
“That you found a loophole. Hard to play the drums with one hand. Who could argue with that?”
“Not even your sister, it turns out,” I said, her smile matching my own. I was living for these small moments when grief didn’t consume her.
Fifty
The next day, Cee’s improved mood was still present. I was cautiously optimistic that getting her back with Wyatt was the key to helping her focus on moving on instead of dwelling on what she lost, but I wasn’t foolish enough to think she would just magically be better from now on. I knew there would be setbacks.
But I didn’t expect the mess that followed.
We arrived at Mason’s place the next morning. A young woman with long, curly brown hair answered the door. She was cute but looked confused to see us. For a minute, I worried we had the wrong place, but then I heard Wyatt yelling in the background.
“Hey, I’m Catherine. Wyatt’s mom. I’m here to take him for a bit.”
The girl blinked a few times before answering. “Mason didn’t say you’d be taking him out of the house.”
“I’m sorry. Who are you?” Cee asked.
“Oh, I’m Candi. Wyatt’s nanny.” The girl stuck out her hand. Cee shook it reluctantly.
“Nice to meet you, Candi,” Cee said through gritted teeth. “Wyatt talked all about you at Thanksgiving. It seems you’re his new favorite person.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet. He’s mine too.” Wyatt ran up behind Candi and started bouncing.
“Mama!” Wyatt bounced himself right into Cee’s arms. A tear slipped down her cheek. It was nice to see a happy tear.
“How’s my favorite boy?” she asked. He just squealed at her as she kissed his cheeks.
“Come on in.” Candi stepped aside to invite us in.
As we followed her inside, Wyatt made a leap toward me. “Gee!”
I caught the hyper child as he wiggled happily. “Hey, little guy.”
“I’m a big guy now, Gee,” Wyatt informed me.
“Right.”
“Wanna see my toys?” Wyatt wriggled to the floor.
“I thought maybe we’d go out,” Cee crouched to his level.
“Um, I just need to check with Mason.” Candi looked uncomfortable.
“I don’t need Mason’s permission to take my own kid,” Cee said defensively.
“It’s fine,” I interrupted before things could escalate. “I’m sure she’s just being cautious. Not a bad thing, Cee.”
Cee nodded, and Candi excused herself to call Mason. While we were waiting for Candi to confirm that we weren’t kidnapping Wyatt, we let him give us a tour of his room.
Cee was noticeably irritated when Candi came back and explained that Mason must be in a meeting because he didn’t answer her call. Candi didn’t want us taking Wyatt without Mason’s permission. I suggested that she just come with us, and Cee threw daggers at me with her eyes.
Wyatt loved the idea of bringing Candi with us. The two seemed to be the best of friends. Candi reluctantly agreed that this was an acceptable compromise.
