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“Sure.” She moves past me into the entryway, removes her shoes, and puts them on the shoe rack. When she’s finished, she stands stiffly in the entryway.
“Listen, Marlow, I think I owe you an apology.”
She raises a brow. “You think?”
I suppress a smile, glad to see her cheeky demeanor is back.
“As you’ve noticed, I have specific preferences, especially concerning Lola. I want the best for her, and it’s hard for me not to have control over certain things.” I rub my hand along the back of my neck as I think carefully about my next words. “It doesn’t justify me taking out my frustrations on you last night. You did nothing wrong,” I say with assurance. “I should have explained how I was feeling instead of losing my temper the way I did. Lola enjoyed her time with you, and that’s all that matters.”
The nannies I’ve hired previously adhered to the instructions I outlined in the binder, and my parents have always been willing to adapt to my way of doing things when it came to Lola. So, it was a shock when I came home yesterday to find that Marlow had done it differently.
She wasn’t joking about reading the entire binder. She tabbed every section with the pink and yellow sticky notes I keep in the kitchen and highlighted important paragraphs in a rainbow of colors.
“Thank you for saying that,” Marlow says, her gaze fixed on me. “I admit I was wrong to go against your wishes. Instead of giving Lola that junk food, I should have found an alternative dinner option.” She nervously tucks her hair behind her ear. “When I dropped her off at school yesterday, she asked me what compromise meant. It got me thinking that you and I need to compromise on some things to make this arrangement work for Lola’s sake.”
She’s right. I only wish I had come up with a similar conclusion sooner.
“I’m listening,” I encourage her.
“It would be helpful if you made a list of quick and easy healthy dinner options for me to reference on the days I have Lola after school. While I agree Lola shouldn’t have sugar cereal and Cheez-Its every day, I’d like to be able to give her a special treat on occasion as long as that’s alright with you.
“You mentioned last night cooking isn’t your forte. Why don’t I make some premade options that can be kept in the fridge so all you have to do is warm them up? Would that work?”
Marlow smiles. “I’d appreciate it.”
“I can live with Lola having the occasional sugary snack as long as you tell me about it,” I say. “What else?”
“I shouldn’t have played my music so loud with Lola in the room, but she rather enjoyed the songs, so I have every intention of playing them for her when we’re together.”
“That’s fine. As long as the songs are age appropriate, and don’t have profanity.”
She lets out a throaty laugh. “I can assure you if Lola learns any more curse words, it’ll be because of your bad habits, not mine.”
“Touché.” A subtle smile plays on my lips. I wish I knew why I enjoyed bantering with Marlow so much. “I don’t mind the two of you spending time at your place in the afternoons. I only ask that if I’m running late, you bring Lola back here so her bedtime routine isn’t disrupted.”
“Yeah, okay. Look at us learning to compromise like adults,” she says playfully.
“Compromising, yes. Like adults?” I gesture to her vintage T-shirt with a rainbow on the front, similar to one I bought for Lola when we went back-to-school shopping last year. “I’m not sure you qualify, since I’m pretty sure you bought that in the children’s section.”
I can’t believe I said that.
I silently ridicule myself for putting my foot in my mouth, and I can’t help but notice the way the T-shirt hugs her breasts.
Marlow looks at me with amusement shining in her eyes. “Lola told me that wearing her favorite rainbow shirt makes her feel extra happy, and I couldn’t resist testing her theory when I found this one at the local thrift store.” She points to her shirt. “I think she’s right. It’s giving me an extra dose of happiness this morning despite having to deal with your mood swings. Maybe we should get one for you too.” She winks.
I'm about to tell her that's never going to happen when my phone buzzes in my pocket. A reminder that I have a meeting I can’t be late for. “I have to go, but I’m working from home today, so text me if you need anything,” I say.
She gives a thumbs up. “Will do. Oh, and Dylan?”
“Yeah?”
“For the record, Lola told me that she loves Cheez-Its.” She smirks before disappearing into the living room.
10
DYLAN
I NEVER SHOULD HAVE PUT muffins in the oven before I got in the shower. I’m in the middle of rinsing my hair when the timer on my phone goes off.
