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"That's not what I meant," she said, but I could tell she was hiding a smile. "How about this? I send you my budget for things Makayla actually needs. Clothes, school supplies, etc. You can pay for that. As for spoiling her, let's agree on an amount that she can spend when she's with you. She doesn't need everything she wants, and it's not good for her to just get whatever she asks for." She fidgeted with the tablecloth, and I could tell it was a big deal for her to make these concessions. I wanted to meet her halfway.
"Deira, look at me," I said. She looked up, her green eyes big and vulnerable. "You guys have been doing this on your own for too long. I think Makayla deserves to be just a little bit spoiled. You both do. Speaking of which," I pulled the rental keys out of my pocket and put them on the table, "I think you should keep the car from today."
"Your friend's car?" she asked.
"I didn't borrow it. I rented it. It's reliable and safe. If you don't want to let me pay for it, you can pay me back at your own pace. Consider it a no interest loan. It's the least I can do, because it's my fault you don't have a car."
She considered this, glancing toward the bedroom.
"Okay," she finally said, nodding. "Thank you. But only until I'm able to save up enough to get my own."
"Done," I agreed. Then I took a deep breath. That had been easier than I expected, so I moved on to my next proposition. "Next, I think you should move in with me," I said.
"Absolutely not," she said, without even thinking about it.
"Deira," I coaxed, "my place is huge. There's more than enough room."
"I'm not worried about the room. Please, Cassius, try to understand. That puts all the power in your hands. What would happen if you and I had a fight? I have nowhere to go if we're living with you."
"That won't..." I started to speak.
"You can't guarantee that," she said. She looked at me very seriously, and I realized she was right. I could see her point of view. Maybe moving in with me was pushing things too far.
"Okay," I said. "Then how about this? You're making better money now, right?"
She looked me over, and then reluctantly nodded.
"So let me help you find a better place. Somewhere that you can afford with your new salary. Let me help you with the deposit, the broker's fees, and the first few months’ rent. It'll all be in your name; I'll just be helping."
She wasn't looking at me. She was staring at Makayla's bedroom door again. I leaned closer to her so I could lower my voice.
"Don't be stubborn, Deira," I pleaded. "Let me help make your life better. For Makayla."
I knew those were the magic words, so I said them, and then I just let her think. After a long while, she finally looked at me. When her eyes met mine, I could see I'd won.
"Okay," she agreed. "I'll let you help."
I did my best not to show it, but I felt like I'd just won the lottery.
"Thank you," I said, managing to sound normal even though I wanted to grin and celebrate. If she was finally willing to let me help, that meant not only could I do more good things for her and Makayla, but that she was finally opening up to letting me into their lives.
I told her I'd have my broker start looking at places and left before she could change her mind.
NINETEEN
DEIRA
I was feeling cautiously optimistic about life. Cassius had asked his broker to send some apartment options, and amazingly, there were a lot of nice places that were in my budget. Makayla had spent a few more afternoons with Cassius, and she seemed to really like him.
Work was still going well too. The first campaign I worked on had done really well, and I genuinely liked the team I was working with. The only problem was, my manager had just asked me to work overtime that weekend. Makayla and I actually had plans to meet Cassius for another day at the park. If I was honest with myself, I was really looking forward to it. Still, I was reluctant to say no, since I was the new recruit.
I sighed, and texted Cassius to ask if he was okay going to the park alone with Makayla. As I predicted, he replied immediately, saying he was happy to help.
The next day, Makayla and I met Cassius outside the company. She happily skipped off with him to go to the park, and I reluctantly went into the building alone. Cassius had brought me coffee, and I was grateful for that as I sat at my desk, flipping back and forth through project briefs and doing my best to go through the work quickly. I was hoping that if I worked fast, I would be able to finish by lunch and join Cassius and Makayla at the park after I ate.
No such luck, though. I finished the coffee Cassius had brought me and made another cup for myself. Every time I finished a task, there was some other small thing to be tweaked, and as soon as I started looking into it, it turned out to be not so small after all. This was the first project I'd worked on mostly by myself, and I was being a bit of a perfectionist about it. I wanted it to be really impressive. It was a drag to be stuck in the office while I knew Cassius and Makayla were out having fun, but I also felt sort of satisfied. It was kind of exciting to be able to work on something I was good at, and to know that Cassius was taking care of Makayla, so I could concentrate on just this.
It was around noon when I realized I had drunk all of my second cup of coffee. Looking at what I had left to do, I estimated it would take me a few more hours. I stood up and stretched, wondering if I should take a break for lunch.
