Booth Three

10

"You can't be serious," Diego eyes the building before him. "This is where you live?"

"Don't act so surprised. You know I work as a waitress, don't you?"

"There's a hole in the roof!"

"That's my neighbour's apartment. They had a fire last year."

"Last year? And they haven't fixed it yet?"

"We're renters," I tell him. "Nothing gets fixed around here."

"And you haven't sued yet?"

"Hell no," I snicker. "I don't have the time or resources for that."

"Fair point," he nods, realising his privilege. This isn't one of those luxurious high-rises you see in the city. It's only three stories, and run down in every way you could possibly think of. The stairs are rusted, half the windows are cracked, and the only paint left on the building is spray paint, tagging the building with the words 'pussy magnet', which Hayley thinks means the building attracts cats. She's not wrong, though. There's a whole family of stray cats living in the tip outside our door.

"Besides, once you find a place you can afford, you can't mess it up."

"Maybe I should build you a castle."

"Don't..." I shoot him a warning look. The more he says that... the more the girls will hook onto it and get their hopes up.

"It'd be rude not to," he grabs Penny's backpack off the backseat of the car. I already have her in my arms, resting against my hip.

"I regret inviting you inside already," I joke.

"Well, too late to back out now," he snakes his arm around my waist, towering over me with a grin. I like how big he is — like a gentle giant.

He bought a car seat for Penny. He didn't even consult me about it. I went to meet the doctor about managing Penny's asthma, and by the time I returned, he'd gone out to get one and installed it in his car. He didn't have to do that. He really didn't. I hadn't even thought that far ahead. We probably would've had to catch an Uber if he wasn't there.

He's considerate in a way I haven't experienced before. He's thoughtful. And I'm yet to find a single reason why I shouldn't like him. Besides our obvious lifestyle differences, of course.

I lead him through the parking lot towards our apartment on the ground floor. He sticks out here like a sore thumb. His car is a Lamborghini, for god's sake. It's not one of those small sports cars, either. It's an SUV. I didn't even know they made SUVs.

As soon as I open the door, I'm overwhelmed by the scent of burning. Karla's nowhere to be seen, and Hayley is sitting on the couch, munching on a bag of crackers. Her face lights up when she sees us.

"Diego's back!" she jumps out of her seat and lunges towards him.

"Hey, kid!" He lets out a deep chuckle, scooping her up in his arms and setting her down on his left shoulder.

"I'm the Queen!" she calls. "I'm so tall, I can touch the ceiling!"

My heart skips. I love this. Diego is so good with kids. It's nice seeing Hayley have such a good time.

I put Penny down on the couch. She's still half asleep, but I have to sort out where this burning smell is coming from before I put her to bed. It doesn't take long for me to find out, though. Karla walks out of the kitchen completely flustered.

"Your toaster is broken," she tells me. "I didn't know what to feed Hayley so I just gave her crackers. Is that enough? I also gave her crackers for lunch and a banana. You were out of bread so I couldn't make her any sandwiches."

"That's fine," I respond. "Just tell her daycare she doesn't have enough food with her, and they'll feed her."

"Okay, perfect," she grabs her jacket off the back of the chair. "Alright, Hayley are you ready to go?"

"No! I want to stay with Diego!" she protests.

"Aw, come on now," Diego laughs, lifting her off his shoulder. "You have to go to school. That's where you practice your magic powers, isn't it?"

"But I wanna stay and play magic with you!"

"We can play magic when you're back, okay? By then you'll be so good, you'll beat me in seconds!"

"Fine," she complains, setting her feet back down on the ground. "But when I get back, you'll wish I never left!"

"Oh, I bet!"

She throws her backpack over her shoulders and follows Hayley outside, only briefly stopping by my side for a kiss on the cheek. I'll have to tell her how good she did last night next time I see her. Once the two of them are gone, the apartment instantly feels calmer. Diego's still standing in the doorway, but there isn't really anyone else for him to go. There's absolutely no space — just a small sitting area and a breakfast nook. That's all there is. I motion for him to follow me into the kitchen. Karla's made an absolute mess of the place, but I don't blame her. I shouldn't have left her without groceries.

"How long have you lived here?" Diego stands in the entryway of the kitchen, eyeing the cracked tiles and dysfunctional power outlets.

"Three years or so," I tell him. "It was pretty hard to find something affordable so close to the subway."

"If you want, I can call someone to fix some things up around here."

"No, that's okay. It's always been like this."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's part of its charm," I shrug him off, and change the topic. "Shouldn't you be at work by now?"

"I took the morning off."

"Oh, that's easy."

"How about you? You and Karla always work the same shifts."

"I called in sick this morning," I explain. "I want to give Penny a day to recover."

"Are you, uh... going to be able to swing that financially?" he treads carefully. "I know I gave you some money but a hospital stay isn't exactly cheap."

"It's all gone," I tell him. I knew it was too good to be true. I lost the money less than 24 hours after getting it. At least we didn't have to take out another loan, though. That's a relief.

"I would've been happy to pay, you know that, right?"

"I know," I nod. "But it's not your responsibility. You didn't ask for any of this."

"Amelia," he sighs.

"You've done enough for us," I state. "And don't bother arguing with me, because I have cleaning to do."

"You're kicking me out?" he chuckles.

"Yep. I have about a million things to do now that I have the day off."

"Are you sure you don't want any help?"

"What did I just say?" I give him a stern look.

"Alright, I got it," he laughs. "Will you at least let me do one more thing?"

"What is it?"

"Let me take you out tonight — on a proper date."

"Are you saying this wasn't a proper date?" I joke.

"I think we can do better."

"Yeah? What do you have in mind?"

"You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

"Alright," I smile. "But I want to stay home with Penny today. So... tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow it is," he nods. "Do you want to bring the kids?"

"Nope, just us," but I like that he asked.