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“What are you doing up already?” I hear a voice from behind. I jump and quickly turn towards the sound. It’s Avery, pulled into a parking spot at the curb, with her window rolled down. Busted.
I walk towards her car. “I got woken up at 5:47 this morning by a rooster. He was perched outside my bedroom window, screaming at me. And then, I realized I didn’t go get coffee last night, so I took a walk while waiting for Drip to open.”
Avery frowns. “A rooster? Who in that neighborhood has a rooster? You aren’t allowed to have chickens in town.” She says, as she opens the car door and grabs Juliet’s carrier. “Weird. How was your night?”
I lead her towards the coffee shop and hold the door open for her. “It was nice and quiet. Just what I needed so I could wallow in self pity. I got started on some decluttering, but I have a long road ahead of me.”
Avery places Juliet’s carrier on the floor of the shop and I immediately bend down to the smiling baby to say hello. I’ve decided my first goal during my stay will be to teach Juliet to say my name. “Can you say Aunt Tyler?” I coo to her. “What about Ty-Ty?” I add.
“Hi girls!” Cassidy yells out to us from behind the counter, interrupting my talking lesson. “Tyler, I thought you already left town.” She raises a brow at my appearance.
I stand from my kneeling position and face Cassidy while I search for the right words. “Well… I did and now I’m back. It looks like I’m going to be home for a few months.” I say, hoping this will be enough information.
“I see…” Cassidy responds, wiping her hands with a towel. Her curly blonde hair is held back in a claw clip and she’s wearing a black apron over her t-shirt and jean combination. She looks relaxed, more so than she ever did when I was a kid and she was busy working the corporate life. “Are you staying with your parents?”
“Actually, no. I am staying at Hazel’s. I’m going to get it cleaned up and updated so it can go on the market.”
“Hmm.. I saw your mom on Sunday at church. She mentioned nothing about this.” Cassidy looks concerned.
I shrug. “Yeah, it all happened pretty quickly.”
She raises a brow. “I see. Did your boyfriend come with you?” She presses.
“It’s a long story, but no.” I smile weakly before giving her my order and sliding my card across the counter.
“I have time.” She says with a soft smile.
I’m going to be here for a while.
* * *
I’m just stepping onto the porch with a large iced latte in my hand, as well as a bag from the grocery store, when my phone rings. I set my cup down on the concrete porch and pull my phone from my pocket. Avery’s name is on the caller screen.
“Hey!” I say, answering the call. “Missing me already?”
“Hi, my best friend in the entire world.” Avery says, her voice dripping with the fakest sweetness I’ve ever heard.
“Oh my gosh, what do you want?” I ask jokingly.
“I need you to do me a giant favor today.” She says. “Are you back home?”
“Just got here. I stopped at the store to grab some coffee and some groceries. What’s up? Did you forget to unplug your straightener again?” I ask, finally winning the war against the doorknob and stepping inside. I make a mental note to run to the hardware store and pick up a new one as soon as possible.
“Listen, that was only one time.” Avery says, defensibly.
“But you left it plugged in for an entire weekend.” I recall. “I still don’t know how your house didn’t burn down.”
“ANY-WAAAAY.” Avery says loudly, trying to change the subject. “The babysitter just called. Juliet is running a fever, and she needs to be picked up. My mom has a doctor’s appointment today, and I have a meeting this morning that I can’t afford to miss. Is there any way you can watch her for me until lunchtime? I promise she is fairly easy to deal with. I’m sure it’s just from teething, but the daycare lady has some pretty strict rules about fevers, regardless of the cause.”
“Sure! We will make it work.” I say, wondering if I can pull of working with a baby on my hip. “Do you want me to just stay at your place?”
“Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much.” She immediately says, with her voice full of gratitude. “Normally, yes, I would have you stay at my place, but the bug guy is supposed to stop and set off a bomb under the house today. We have a spider problem. So I’d rather you girls not be there. Can you keep her at your place? You can stop and grab the playpen from my house. Everything else she needs is in her diaper bag.”
“Sure. Send me the daycare lady’s address and I’ll head over there.”
“I owe you big time.” Avery says. “She’s already had breakfast at daycare. She will be ready for a nap around 10. I’ll try to be there before she wakes up.”
“Sounds good. We will be just fine.”
