Accidentally on Purpose

Chapter Thirty

I waited outside the car with Daisy in the baby stroller in front of me as Jonah locked his car. He then turned around and pocketed the keys, and then we were walking toward the town park.

The air was cold, and I was glad that I was wearing my coat, but the sky wasn't too cloudy and the sunshine was bright enough to make a nice day. A lot of people came to bask in what could possibly be the last ray of sunshine until spring came. Kids were playing mini soccer in the middle of the field, the adults preparing for a lunch picnic around, some others walking their dogs. Some couples were also hanging around with their young kids, and they smiled (albeit in a puzzled way) when they saw me and Jonah with Daisy, but I quickly shook my head mouthed, "Baby project," to them before they started to think that we were teenage parents, and  I moved along without seeing their reaction.

"So," I started, glancing at Jonah who was stuffing his hands into his pockets, "what should we do today?"

He turned his head to me and shrugged. "I don't really know. Just thought we'd hang out a bit. What do you wanna do?"

"I have no idea," I said sheepishly. "Maybe we can just walk around and watch all these people until we find out what we should do?"

He cracked a small smile. It still amazed me to see the way his face lit up with his rare smiles. "Alright."

So we just walked in silence, breathing in the cold air and watching all the fun around us. At one point, Jonah offered to push the stroller for me. I let him take Daisy and the stroller, and it was my turn to stuff my hands into my coat pockets.

"How much of a trouble is she?" he suddenly asked, his nose turning up as he looked at Lily.

I groaned. "You have no idea. Her cries are even worse around midnight and no matter what you do, she won't stop crying."

"I can't just bury her under my pillows or something?"

I chuckled. "No, Jonah. She has everything logged. Neglect would give you a bad mark."

I took out my phone from my pocket and turned the video recorder on. Jonah immediately turned his face away when I aimed the camera at him, and I laughed.

"We're currently at the town park," I said to the camera. "It's pretty cold, but not too cold to have a nice day out. Baby's still 'sleeping' inside the stroller. Oh, and Daisy is the name we gave the fake baby girl."

Jonah pretended to gasp. "What do you mean fake?"

I laughed and shoved him in the shoulder. "Shut up, loser." Then I turned to the camera again, turning it around so it was shooting me. "Today is his first day of baby duty. I can't wait until he feels the torture that is a crying baby doll."

We stopped once we spotted an empty bench, and he immediately sat down. I gave him my phone, telling him to still aim it at me, and I turned to pick Daisy out of the stroller.

"Here's Daisy," I said to the camera, making sure that it captured the fake baby. "She may look like a cute little baby—if you're into creepy baby dolls—but wait until she cries."

"I'm sure she's not that bad," Jonah scoffed.

"He's never heard her cry," I said to the camera.

I sat down next to Jonah, putting Daisy in my lap and making sure that the blanket was wrapped around her snugly. I was afraid that if she "sensed" the cold temperature, she would start crying in the middle of the park. I fixed the knit cap on her head, making sure it covered most of her hair.

"Jonah, say hello to baby Daisy."

There was a grimace on his face. "Hello baby Daisy."

"Come on, you'll be living with her for the next seven days. Can't you be a little bit friendlier?"