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“Enjoy it. They grow out of it so fast.” Jay pushed up from his chair, then grabbed his phone off the desk. “Layla has grown up in the blink of an eye.”
Misha considered for a moment what Ciara might be like at that age and realized that she wasn’t ready for that just yet. “Yeah. Time needs to slow down. But for now, I’m going to get my stuff and go enjoy my baby.”
Jay followed her out of his office, then waited for her by the back door, locking everything up before they said goodbye and headed to their cars.
Since she was a little later than usual leaving the clinic, Misha texted her mom to let her know she was on her way home. Her mom didn’t seem as worried as she’d been if Misha was late when she’d worked at the clinic in Atlanta. Though Misha missed certain things about their old life, her mom stressing wasn’t one of them.
A crying baby greeted her when she walked into the townhouse, so Misha quickly dropped her stuff on the couch and moved to take Ciara from her mom.
“Thanks, love,” her mom said, looking as unfrazzled as ever. “She didn’t take a nap earlier, so she’s cranky.”
“Has she had supper?” Misha asked as she bounced Ciara gently on her hip.
“Not yet. I’m trying to get it ready, but she doesn’t want to wait.”
“She loves her food as much as we do,” Misha said with a laugh. “Don’t you, baby girl?”
Ciara wailed, arching her back. It was a move she did frequently, so Misha was ready for it.
“Here we go,” her mom said a couple of minutes later. “Food!”
Misha took Ciara over to the table but kept her in her lap instead of putting her in her highchair. Once she had settled down a bit, she’d move her over.
“Have a bite.” Misha held a small spoonful of mashed sweet potato to Ciara’s mouth. The baby stopped crying immediately, opening up her mouth to take the food. “Yep. Always ready for the food.”
“You’d think we starved her for how much she cries when we don’t feed her right on time,” her mom said with a laugh as she set a bowl of rice and a platter with fish and vegetables on the table.
When Ciara started reaching for the spoon to feed herself, Misha transferred her to her highchair. She used the suction cup on the bottom of the bowl to attach it to the tray, then she handed the little girl the spoon.
Her mom said a prayer for the food, then they settled in to enjoy their meal. Misha shared about what had happened at the clinic, and her mom told her about the neighbors she’d met when she’d taken Ciara out for a walk. And apparently, Cathy had stopped by to visit with her and had joined her for the walk.
“Did you see Jay today?” her mom asked.
Misha chuckled. “Of course, I did. He works at the clinic, just like I do.”
“He’s such a nice man.”
“He is,” Misha agreed. She had a feeling that they were going to have a version of this conversation frequently.
“Does he have a girlfriend?”
“I don’t know for sure.” Though she suspected no, since the kids at the pizza place had referred to her as the new girlfriend, which meant there had to be an old one.
“Maybe you should ask him.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t,” Misha countered. “That’s not what I need to be focusing on right now. No matter how nice of a man Jay is.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t want you to jeopardize your job.”
It was hard to shut her mom down on this because Misha knew that her mom wanted her to find love and have a family. At one time, Misha had hoped to get married and have kids. That had all been put on the back burner while she’d gone through medical school and her residency.
One of the things she’d been looking forward to once she’d landed the job at the clinic in Atlanta was finally having normal hours, which would allow her to have a social life. A social life that she’d hoped would include dating. And it had, for a little while.
After everything had happened with her brothers, she could no longer envision bringing kids into her life. And then Ciara had arrived, and Misha had figured she’d be the only child she raised.
Now, though…
She hadn’t given it a lot of thought, but there were moments when she felt a sense of hope for things she’d let go of. Her biological clock was also clicking loud enough that it was hard to ignore.
