Page 16

“A lot has changed, Arie. More than you can imagine.” I see a flash of something cross her face — something different than sadness. It’s more like deep melancholy. But she forces a smile.

“Coffee would be nice, but don’t go too far on that Bloody Mary. How have you been, Pierce? I heard a little bit about what happened in the Navy, but not much. You were injured?”

I hand her a cup from my instant-brew machine, and slide over the cream and sugar, which were still on the counter from earlier. “You could say that. A raid went bad, and I took the brunt of it. Now I work for the firm, and walk a little slower on my way to the office. What have you been up to? I looked you up on social media a few times over the years but never found anything. Are you one of those rare sorts that actually keeps their private life private?”

She laughs and starts to say something when I look over her shoulder and notice that Chloe is trying to crawl out of her playpen. She is smiling from ear-to-ear, and waving her hands around, as if she wants to meet this new person in our apartment. Arie turns around, and then spins back around just as quickly.

“Oh, you know. This and that. I’ve been around. I take it that is your little girl? I can’t believe you’re someone’s daddy, Pierce.” Her voice sounds wistful, and it makes me sad for reasons I can’t pinpoint.

“I can’t believe it either most days.”

“How did you end up a father? What happened to her mother, if I may ask?” she inquires with her eyebrow raised. I sigh and lean back against the counter.

&nbs

p; “It’s a long story. For another time. But it’s just Chloe and me at the moment. Arie, I’m going to be blunt. What the hell are you doing here? It’s not that I’m not thrilled to see you. I am. But are you really here applying for a job? Why in the world would you want to work for me?”

Arie hoists herself into a bar stool with a little more effort than seems appropriate given how small she is, and she gives me another sad smile. “Things have been rough for me, money-wise. Life-wise. I’ve been working at Uncle Sal’s shop when I can, but they are having trouble paying me, and I am in… debt. Loan debt. I was never able to finish school and I’ve had an impossible time finding a job. Then I heard from a friend of a friend that you were looking for a nanny for your daughter and I thought, well, you know I’m trustworthy. And I know I will make a great caretaker for your little girl. It seemed liked the perfect solution for both of us I guess.”

I watch her talk, and it feels like she’s been practicing this speech for a while. I may have been an inconsiderate jerk when we were together, but I know her well enough to know when she’s in a state over something. And she’s definitely in a state now.

“I don’t hate the idea. But I can’t pretend I don’t feel a little weird about you working for me. You being my employee… it feels odd, I guess?” I glance over at Chloe again and she’s still smiling, waving to try and get Arie’s attention. “But it looks like the squirt likes you and I’m not going to argue with her judgment. If she wants you to stay, you’ll stay. How does $4000 a week sound to start?”

Arie’s cheeks go red. “That’s a lot of money, Pierce. Maybe you could pay me a little less and… let me stay here with you?”

I choke on my coffee. “You want to stay in my apartment? Here? With me? Like… live with me? Together?”

“I don’t want to get married, Pierce,” she says with a laugh. “Lots of people have live-in nannies. Don’t they? I assume you have more than two bedrooms in this palatial top-floor penthouse?”

“Well, yeah. Of course. But I wasn’t exactly expecting to have someone else living here. I’m not averse to it. I guess the idea of us living together, after all our years as couple, is a little…”

“Weird?” she says with a smile, finishing my sentence. “Seriously, Pierce. If I have my own room, you will barely know I’m here. I’m just in the middle of a bit of a transitional period, and if I could stay here, it would save me the stress of having to find an apartment. You can pay me half of what you were planning, and I will be on hand to watch Chloe day and night. If you think about it, it works out best for everyone.”

I can’t argue with her logic. “All right, you have a deal. When can you move in?”

She holds up her bag. “Yesterday.”

“Wait, that’s it? That’s all of your stuff? No boxes? No suitcases?”

“I travel light these days. Now, why don’t you get dressed and go to work and let me get acquainted with this little beauty?”

I finish off the last of my coffee in a long slug and nod. “That sounds like a plan. And Arie?”

“Yes?”

“It’s good to see you again.”

I don’t think I’ve ever meant a sentence more in my life.

Arie

As soon as Pierce is out of the apartment and I see him leave the building entrance via the security camera, I run over and grab Chloe out of the playpen. When I pick her up and squeeze her to my chest, I burst out crying, unable to hold back the wellspring of emotion that has bubbled over at the sight of my baby girl. I never imagined I would ever get to see her again, so the fact that I am holding her in my arms is almost too much for me to process. When Chloe reaches up and touches my face, as if she is surprised she is seeing me again too, I think I may never recover from the pain of the love I am feeling.

I spend the rest of the morning in the living room with Chloe, just watching her play, making her snacks, and pretending that I hadn’t just missed the last six months of her life. But she looks so different, almost like she’s grown up into a whole new little girl. Her white-blonde hair is sandier now, and her green eyes sparkle even more emerald, with the same air of mischief that Pierce’s have always had. I am so enamored just watching her, I have no idea how much time has passed when my phone rings and startles me.

I look at the screen and see it’s Bailey.

“So? What happened? I’ve been on pins and needles all day!” he shouts into the phone. I can hear the cigar moving around between his teeth, and it almost makes me laugh.