Childish

22

Ms. Diane rocked in the rocking chair, holding me in her arms. She had a blanket wrapped around me in an attempt to help me fall asleep. It wasn't working though it was normally something that did work.

I was fighting my nap. I was tired and I wanted to sleep but I couldn't do that when I didn't know what was going to happen. Was Alex going to come get me like he said he would?

The door opened and I turned my head in that direction. A woman stepped into the room with his keys in one hand. She had dark hair pulled into a ponytail.

"Lyla, he'll be here."

I looked back at her. I wanted to believe her and Alex. I wanted to trust that he wouldn't leave me at school or leave someone else to pick me up. But it had been so long since things were normal, that I couldn't control my anxiety.

She picked up the pacifier that was dangling from my shirt. "Do you want your paci, sweetie?"

I shook my head. I knew what she was doing and I wasn't ready to fall asleep just yet. I needed to know that Alex would get me before I let myself fall asleep.

The door opened again and I, once again, turned to see who it was. Alex stood inside the door, his coat covering his work outfit.

I whined and reached out for him.

Ms. Diane smiled and wrapped her arms around my stomach, holding me back on her lap. "Easy, Lyla."

Alex walked over and picked me up in his arms. "Hey, baby. Did you have a good day today? Were you good?"

I put my head on his chest. "Duh. I'm always good."

He rolled his eyes. "You can say that all you want but I know the truth."

Ms. Diane followed us as Alex walked over to my cubby. He pulled out a clean diaper and the baby wipes. "She didn't take a nap today so you might want to have her go to bed early tonight."

I whipped my head in her direction, my eyes wide. "What? No, I don't want to go to bed early."

She knew what she was doing and she was doing it well. "Well, that's what happens when you don't sleep during nap time."

I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest, pouting. She had a point but I wasn't going to tell her that. The thought of going to bed even earlier than I did just sounded awful.

Alex smiled and looked down at me. "I told you I'd be back. You don't have to spend your nap time worrying about me."

I hid my face in his chest and waited for him to walk into the bathroom. I was embarrassed to admit that I missed him.

After he changed me, he helped me put my coat and shoes on.

I grabbed my bear from him as he slung the strap of the diaper bag over his shoulder.

"Bye, sweetie." Ms. Diane said, squeezing my arm. She walked us to the door and waved as we started down the hallway.

---

"Lyla, you played all day at school. I think you've played enough today." Alex said as he knelt down beside me.

I glared at him. "You want me to play and be a baby yet when I do, you tell me I do it too much."

"Well, you can't eat dinner and get a bath while playing."

"That's not true. I can play with my food and you could get bath toys to keep me occupied in the tub. So technically..."

He sighed, seeing that I was right. "Lyla, I'm not arguing with you over this. It's time for dinner."

"Can't I get five more minutes?"

He pushed the blocks I was playing with a few feet away and picked me up.

I whined and pushed on his chest. "Put me down."

"Not when you can't walk."

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. "That's your fault, you know."

"Are you ever going to get over that?"

"No. And I'm not going to let you forget it either."

"I guess I deserve that."

"You think?"

He carried me into the kitchen and set me in my high chair. He slid the plastic table into place around my middle before he loaded a small plate with food for me to eat.

"Are you and Naomi still..." I asked, picking up a piece of steamed broccoli from my plate.

Alex looked up at me, his brown eyes meeting my blue ones. "Still what? Still dating? I guess you could say that."

I furrowed my brows. "What does that mean?"

He shrugged. "We don't always have time to be together. I don't want to gross you out by inviting her over all the time."

"What, because you want to make out?"

His cheeks reddened and I knew I'd guessed right.

I giggled and took a bite of my chicken. Well... as well as I could with no teeth. "Don't you have babysitters around here? Why wouldn't you just call one for the night so you two can have an official date?"

"I didn't think you wanted to be left with a stranger."

I shook my head. "Not really. But... you're the parent so it doesn't really matter what I want."

"I don't want you to be miserable, Lyla. That's not what I want."

"But I don't want you to miss out on something just because of me. What if you and Naomi really... hit it off?"

"You want us to be together?"

I shrugged. "It'd be nice to have another girl around here."

He rolled his eyes. "I'll make sure to tell her you said that."