The apartment is unexpectedly quiet when I come back from work. I thought Lake would be here. The lights are out and the only source of luminescence comes from a tiny screen on the living room table. High-pitched sounds of cartoon characters scream from the phone. I switch on the light to find Lake and Paige asleep, snuggled together on the couch. They’re a picture of cuteness and I have to stop myself from taking a photo. I clear my throat and Paige squints her eyes and slowly rises and gently extricates herself from Lake’s embrace without waking him.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” I say to Paige.
“It’s fine. Lake is never a bother.” She gets up from the couch and collects her bag lying on the other chair. I wince.
“I hope he didn’t make it hard for you to do your assignments?”
She takes her phone and turns it off. “He settled once I offered him this. After he had done his homework and ate his supper, of course. I thought it would be better for me to study here than at my place. My sisters can be a handful. I hope you don’t mind.”
“This is your place, just as it is mine. How was he during the weekend? I know I said he was only supposed to stay there for a few days, but work got the better of me and there was a delay.” I wonder if Paige knows about the news that’s spreading. She’s not a social media person, young as she is, but it’s still possibleshe would probably have heard about it. If she has, she’s not letting on.
“It’s fine Ivy. We played games. He enjoyed himself over there and was sad to leave. I told him the twins wouldn’t mind visiting him too.”
“Thanks again,” I say as she goes to the door. I make a mental note to give Paige more than her usual babysitter fee. She needs it after all and as someone who has to take care of a sick mother and two sisters in elementary, while also going to community college, she has a lot on her plate. She has been Lake’s babysitter since he was a toddler and it’s only right that I tell her the truth.
“Paige, before you go,” I say to her as she’s about to open the door, “Can we go into the kitchen for a minute?”
I tell her about my marriage and my family background. Like Sonya, I hadn’t told Paige who my father was before all this. When I told Sonya after news of me and Damien came out, Sonya was visibly surprised. Not to Paige, though. She shrugs as if she already suspected it.
“You have that rich girl look about you?” Paige explains.
I frown. “What kind of look is that?”
“It’s a vibe. I can’t explain it. But I never made the Hawthorne department store connection, though. I thought you were rich and were now poor because you lost it all or something. So you and Damien Sinclair were secretly dating?”
So she must have read the news because I didn’t tell her who I married over the weekend. It feels like everyone knows. I nod.
Sonya and the rest of the team at Antoinette’s were surprised to learn about my background after I told them. My siblings also got to know all about it when Carey posted a Wall Street Gazette article in the family group chat. Nolan called me immediately after asking if I married him because of Lake. I said no to him and all my other siblings even though, technically; I did. Andwhen he asked in the group chat if Damien knew about Lake, I also said no.
She shakes her head. “That part I would never have guessed because you did not behave like you were dating anyone. I would have sworn you were single.” She smiles and then her face brightens with realization. “Wait, is that why you had all those late nights where you had to work?” she makes quotation gestures as she says the word ‘work.’
I nod even though I was actually working at Damien’s club so I could find a way to speak to him. “I can’t hide anything from you, can I?”
“Mom?” Lake waddles in, struggling to keep his eyes open. He’s in his pjs, another mark of Paige being a good babysitter, and looks like he is still tired. But that doesn’t stop him from rushing over to me and giving me a big hug. Seven years and he still feels like he’s two. I embrace him and thank Paige again as she leaves.
“Say thank you and goodbye to Paige.”
“Goodbye and thank you, Paige,” Lake repeats, waving at her and stifling a yawn. She blows him a kiss and closes the apartment door behind her. Hers is the next block to ours, so I’m not worried about her safety. My chief concern at the moment is Lake.
“Did you miss me?”
He shakes his head.
“Liar liar, pants on fire.” I make a whoosh sound and wave my hands at his pants. He giggles. I lift him in my arms. “One more time. Did you miss me?”
He shakes his head at first and then nods. “I missed you all weekend. You should have been at Paige’s. Her mom makes the most delicious cookies in the world.”
“Ooh. Don’t tell Sonya that.” He wiggles out of my embrace and races to his room and comes back with a zip-lock bag filled with chocolate chip cookies.
He hands me the bag. “I saved some for you.”
I feel full even though I ate one meal in the afternoon. It must be the anxiety. I take one cookie from the bag. Damn, he’s right. “Fuck. That is one good cookie.”
Lake tsk-tsks me. “Another coin in the swear jar.”
“Sonya better watch out. Paige’s mom knows how to bake a cookie. Are these all mine?”
Lake looks unsure. I can tell he wants them for himself and probably thought I would simply eat one and give him the rest of the bag. He looks down, twiddling his toes and then says, “Yes.”
