Page 6 of Audon

When she got out of the shower, she decided to wear something a little more summery. She had moved all her clothing to the new house, and she thought that if she wanted, she could wear whatever she wanted. But today wasn’t a sloppy shorts day. She had a few things to do while in town. This was going to be her first trip with Lizzy alone, and she was both nervous and excited about it. Just as she was pulling on her sandals, she remembered her cell phone.

“This is Audon Hathaway. I got your number from Bruno. It’s about the check. Thank you for being so honest and paying me. I didn’t have any clue it hadn’t been paid yet. I would have by the end of the year but not now.” He cleared his throat. “Would you have dinner with me? I babble when I’m nervous. But I would love to have dinner with you sometime soon. Call me anytime and let me know.” Then his phone number was said twice after the message.

“Well, isn’t that just curious.” She put her phone back down and decided that she’d think about it. He more than likely knew that she’d just had a baby and was fishing for details. As soon as that thought entered her head, she dismissed it. She knew some of the Hathaway men and didn’t believe for a minute they’d care about details on her living arrangements after the death of her family.

She arrived at the doctor’s office right on time. Stripping down Lizzy to her diaper gave her a view of her chubby little body that always made her smile. She talked to her, telling Lizzy that one of them had to be brave for the doctor because she was going to be a mess when she got her shots. As soon as the nurse came in to weigh Lizzy and measure her, she said that she was doing great. That made her feel really good. At least she wasn’t underfed. When the nurse said that the doctor would be in shortly, she waited for her to come in.

This was another thing that she had to thank her sister for. She’d set up this appointment for her before she’d died. She only hoped that she’d be as organized for the little girl as the months and years went by. Doctor Henry came into the room just as Lizzy started crying. She’d had enough of lying on the hard surface of the examining table. Picking her up, the doctor took her from her.

“Excuse me.” She took her daughter back. “She needs comfort right now, not you poking on her. I’ll give her to you in a moment.” It didn’t take long for Lizzy to be all right, and she handed her to the doctor. “Next time ask for her. I’m her mother first and foremost.”

“I’m sorry. Usually mothers are so frazzled by now that they’re happy for someone to take them. I’ll remember that in the future.” After laying her back on the table, the doctor measured her again. “She’s doing really well for her age and bracket. She’s hitting all her markers the way that she should be, and her weight is good. Are you breastfeeding her?”

“No. I wasn’t going to be her mother when she was born, and I had the shot that would take care of that. I didn’t know until a couple of days later that I’d be raising her.” Doctor Henry said that he’d heard about the accident. “I believe everyone has.”

After the exam, she was given her shots. It broke her heart when she cried, and she held her tightly for several moments after the doctor was gone. Telling her how much she loved her, Lizzy looked at her like she’d been the one to have hurt her. After snuggling her under her chin, the little girl calmed down but still didn’t want to be held by her.

“We’re in this together, sweetie. You let me hold you, and I’ll make sure that you have some medicine when we get home.” The doctor said that she might need it for the slight temperature that she’d have with the shots. “Why do they make you sicker if you’re healthy right now? That would be my question for her.”

After a few more minutes, she dressed Lizzy in her sleeper and realized that she was nearly outgrowing the ones that she had on. Putting her in the car seat, the two of them went to the front desk to make her next appointment. She’d be seen in several months from now, and Trin put the time and date in her phone. No way would she miss her appointments, and she wasn’t going to schedule anything for the whole day so that she could be there for her. Maybe she was being overprotective, but she didn’t care. It was her daughter, and she was going to do right by her.

Taking her dry cleaning into the shop wasn’t easy, but she managed to get it done. Then the two of them had lunch together, and as soon as she was finished with hers, she gave Lizzy her bottle. The two of them were doing well, she thought, and she was really proud of herself when she got things going in the right direction.

As soon as she got back to her home, she was exhausted. Having gone to the store for things for Lizzy this afternoon had worn her out. After handing her over to the nanny, she went to her room to take a much-needed nap. She wondered about parents that didn’t have extra help and how they did this and realized she was very lucky. Trin was just lying down when she remembered Audon and his date. She picked up the phone and redialed his number. He answered on the second ring.

“Audon Hathaway speaking.” She said her name, and she heard him release a long breath. “If I’m calling at a bad time, I’m sorry. I had some things to do in town today and lost track of time.”

“That’s all right. I understand about losing track of time. I do that at least several times a day.” The two of them laughed, and then she asked him about the dinner date. “Yes, I’d love to take you out. Nothing fancy or anything. Just a couple of burgers at the Den and then we can go and see a movie.”

“Do people still do that? See a movie on a date?” He said he might well be out of practice when it comes to dating. “Me too. I’ve been sort of off the market for the last few years. I’d love to have dinner with you and see a movie.”

“Great.” He said that like he really meant it, and she smiled. “I’ve got a couple of things going on around here, but I should have it finished up in a few days. How about Friday night? I can pick you up, unless you’d rather drive yourself.” She told him that he could pick her up. “All right. I’ll pick you up Friday around six, and we can have dinner and then see a movie. I’m not sure what’s playing, but we can pick something out when I talk to you. If that’s all right?”

“It’s fine.” They made arrangements for her to be called tomorrow night, and that was the end of the call. However, she found that she just wanted to talk to him and wondered what was wrong with her. “I guess I’ll let you go. Thanks for calling me.”

After getting off the phone, she set her cell phone down on the nightstand next to her bed. Lying down again, she wondered what was wrong with her when she just wanted to talk to him. Rolling to her side, she thought about all the things going on in her life and was ready to chuck it all in favor of not having to deal with people anymore. But she also knew that that wasn’t anything that she could do, what with her having a houseful of people. Closing her eyes, she started to drift off when her cell phone rang again. Not looking at who was calling her, she smiled brightly and said her name.

“I want to take you out. Dad said that we need to be married too.” She asked who it was, just knowing it was going to be Peter Jacobson. He confirmed that in the next couple of seconds. “Dad said you’d be good for me. I’m not so keen on him making me take someone out, but you’re a looker, and I don’t have anything else to do this Friday.”

“I have a date. Not to mention, I’m not going to be dating you, much less marry you. You’re not my type.” He asked what that had to do with anything. “Everything. You’re a person that seems to be in trouble all the time, and I’d rather not have anything to do with you. Not to mention, you’re too young for me. I have a child now, and I’m betting that—”

“You have a kid? Christ, no, I’m not going to date you. Your body is all out of shape and you more than likely smell like baby shit. No way in hell am I going to be burdened with you and some other man’s kid. I have too much pride to be seen with a woman who has let herself go after popping out a kid.” He cursed again, and she smiled. “Christ. What the fuck was my father thinking when he told me to take you out? You can bet I’m not going to be paying him back for the money that he gave me to date you. This is a fucking nightmare.”

“Well then good. We’re on the same page.” He went on again about how he wasn’t going to be taking over some kid and that if she got rid of it, he might want to take her out. But only if her body didn’t look bad. “I don’t want to be seen with you either.”

When he hung up, she lay on her bed and laughed for a good twenty minutes. If that was all it took to get him out of her hair, then she’d have ten kids just to keep him away. As she was snuggling down in the covers again, she was delighted that she’d not have to worry about Peter again. His dad would be a different matter, but at least she and Peter wouldn’t be dating anytime soon.”

She felt great when she woke from her nap. Her body was getting into better shape too, and that made resting seem like a good thing for her. The doctors had told her that when Lizzy slept she should too, but with the extra help around, she could get as much rest as she wanted. Today was no different.

Feeling like she could do something productive, Trin decided it was time to clean out the desk so that she could use it. She was going to keep Robert’s desk just the way it was because it wasn’t as near and dear to her as Milly’s was. Just as she was opening up the drawers to get rid of the things in the drawer, she found the ultrasound of Lizzy. It made her all the more determined to get things cleaned up, and by the time dinner rolled around, she had not just cleaned out the drawers, but she’d been able to set the desk up to reflect her own needs. Of course she’d cried quite a bit, but the desk was ready. Now all she had to do was tackle the bedroom, and she’d feel like she was doing something productive. She supposed she was waiting for them to return and that’s why she’d not done anything. Feeling pretty good about the work she’d gotten done, she went to the nursery to find that Lizzy was ready for her next bottle and that she was awake.

Taking her from Caroline, the nanny, she decided to change her clothing into something cooler and to talk to her while she fed her. As usual, Lizzy looked at her like she knew just what she was saying as she told her about her parents. Deciding not to say that she’d not cared for her daddy, Trin told her of their first date. And how it hadn’t gone as well as they hoped. Trin laughed when she told the baby about how it almost didn’t work out for them, and she was ever so glad that it had. As soon as she drank down her bottle, after burping her, Trin held her in her arms while she spoke of the things that she’d gotten done today.

“Tomorrow I’m going to call someone to come and get their clothing. I think that will make me move on better.” She thought of the closet full of dresses that Milly had and wondered what to do with them. “Your dad’s suits will go to a men’s shelter so that they can be used for interviews. I’d heard of that going on once and had mentioned it to Milly.”

She thought about how she was going to be confusing if she continued to call Milly by her first name and Robert as daddy. She thought that if she called them by their first names it might be less confusing for Lizzy when she was older. She and Robert hadn’t had sex, but he did donate the sperm that had made Lizzy.

“My sister couldn’t carry a baby. She’d tried several times, and she lost them. IVF, in vitro fertilization, was the only way that they could have children. And sadly that didn’t work for her either. Except for me helping them. And I jumped at the chance to help my big sister.” She thought of the day that she’d gone in for the first time. “I got pregnant with you right away. It was great too because the happiness on my sister’s face was worth every time I got sick or hurt during labor and delivery. Just to have you in my life now seems like something out of a dream.”