"What hours at night?"
"Six to ten Monday through Thursday," she answered. "Apparently the salon's trying to be friendlier to working women."
"And here I'd been under the impression working women worked nights," I teased, pulling out the next drawer.
"Who's been telling on me?" Holly threw back, slingshotting a bright yellow thong at my face.
I dodged it before it landed on me. "I bet working those night shifts when you have all those professionals coming in, you'll make a ton in tips."
"Probably," she said with a shrug, "but I'm having a hell of a time finding child care for Jude. It seems every day care in this town closes by six o'clock, and if I can't find day care, then I can't take the job."
I smiled. It was nice to be able to help out. "I happen to know of a certain auntie's child care that's got an opening and is available twenty-four-seven."
Holly froze, right before her face wrinkled. "No way, Lucy. No, no, no way," she said. "You've done about ten times too much already. There's no way I could let you babysit my little man four nights a week plus the entire weekend. No. Way."
I rolled my eyes. Holly didn't understand that I wasn't doing this strictly out of the goodness of my heart. I wanted someone to fill my time so I wouldn't mope around pining for Jude. I couldn't imagine anyone who was more up to the task of distracting me than LJ.
"Yes way," I replied, sliding the drawer closed.
"Don't you even think about arguing with me on this, Lucy Larson," Holly warned, wagging a finger at me. "Because I will win."
I wasn't planning on arguing. I was planning on being victorious.
"Holly, you and LJ are like family. I love you both. Let me do this."
My pleas were working. A little.
"Come on. This solves both of our problems. You need someone to watch LJ and I need someone to keep me company." Holding up a little shirt of his that read, LADIES' MAN, I continued. "It's a win-win."
Holly's mouth had fallen open about midway through my last spiel. Shaking her head, she looked at me like I was certifiable. "Are you serious, Lucy?" she asked. "You do realize what you just witnessed isn't just a sugar high, right? That's the way he is all day, every day. It's nonstop, on-the-top-of-your-game supervision."
I crossed my arms. "Are you done yet?" I asked.
"Are you done yet?" she mimicked.
"No, I'm not. I can go all night long, baby," I said. "I'm not giving up until I get my way, so why don't you save us the time and effort and just cave already."
A few moments passed in silence. Nothing but the sound of that trippy-ass music filling the apartment, before her eyes went a little watery. "Come here, you stubborn, sweet woman," she said, flapping her arms.
I let Holly hug me until I felt like I was going to pass out again.
A couple hours later, the apartment was dark and, other than LJ's little man-snoring, quiet. In two hours' time, we'd managed to get them unpacked, worked out a weekly schedule that detailed when I'd be watching LJ as well as a chore and shopping list, bathed LJ (which was more like what I imagined it would be like to wrestle with a slippery sea lion), and cleaned up not one, but two cups of spilled milk.
Neither LJ nor I cried over it, but Holly was close when spill number two wound up on my coat. I'd sent her to bed, promising I'd send LJ in right after he'd had his third try at a cup of milk.
I added spill-proof cup to the shopping list before tucking him in next to Holly, who was already so deep in sleep she didn't even shift when LJ crawled in beside her.
Until my bed got here, I was camping out on the couch, which was pretty comfortable when you paired it with a couple of cozy blankets and pillows. Almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, I felt myself drifting off to sleep. The day had been exhausting for me, too.
That was when my phone rang.
I snapped awake. I couldn't believe I'd almost forgotten Jude's and my nightly call. Blinking to clear my sleepy eyes, I accepted the Face Time request.
"Hey, handsome," I said, sounding as tired as I felt.
"Shit. Did I wake you, Luce?" His forehead creased, but his mouth stayed formed in a smile.
"If you'd waited another thirty seconds you would have," I said, shifting onto my elbows. "It was one hell of a day."
"Good or bad hell of a day?"
"Pretty great really. Just busy. And exhausting," I said. "Even better now that I get to end it with you." I took him in, letting myself soak up as much of Jude as I could through the phone. This was all I got for another twenty-four hours. He was back in his hotel after finally coming to his senses that we didn't need a ten-thousand-square-foot home for our first one. Jude was sitting up in bed, and he was shirtless.