Spontaneous Layovers (Chaelisa)

xii

"Hello there, little one. I'm your Aunt Rosie." Rosie whispers, trying to keep her voice down so she does not startle the baby too much. "You are such a handsome boy, yes you are."

Lisa smiles as she leans over Rosie's shoulder to glance at the newborn, eyes still barely open but he looks attentive.

Rosie can see Lisa from the corner of her eye so she slowly turns her head towards the brunette and smiles.

Lisa grins and then looks down at the baby again. "Hey, little guy. You're so adorable." She says and she touches the baby's cheek lightly with the tip of her finger. Then she lowers her voice a bit more so that only Rosie can hear her. "Almost as cute as your Aunt Rosie." She says as she chuckles at her own comment.

Rosie rolls her eyes and walks over to the bed so that she can give Alice her son back. The doctor had just finished up the discharge papers, and everyone is very anxious and excited to get home, but none more so than Alice, who seems to be surviving on pure adrenaline. "Are you ready to get out of here, sis?" Rosie asks already knowing the answer.

Harry helps Alice into the wheelchair, and immediately she reaches out for her baby. "Yes, I am. And are you ready to go home, my handsome Reese?" Reese Mason is the name that her and Harry had finally decided on. As it turns out, Harry hates the name "Harold" almost as much as she does. The baby coos as if to answer his mother and it makes everyone in the room smile.

"Why don't you and Harry go home and get a little bit of rest and we can make a run to the grocery store and buy a few things to make dinner tonight?" Claire says as they are all making their way down the long corridor of the hospital wing.

Alice nods. "Yeah, that sounds good, momma."

Rosie agrees. "A nice meal at home does sound really good."

"Lisa, do you have plans for dinner?" Mason asks.

"Um... no, nothing in particular. I was going to just go check into the hotel and maybe order room service." Lisa lies. When she sent a message to Irene earlier, they had actually made plans for dinner, but she is not too sure that right now is a good time to bring that up.

"A hotel?" Alice asks incredulously. "That's nonsense! Rosie, Lisa can stay at the house. Why would you invite her to come with you and then make her stay at a hotel?"

"It was actually my idea." Lisa admits. "I didn't want to impose."

"Well, Lisa, Alice's right. You really should just stay. The room that Rosie uses has a large bed and I don't think she will mind sharing it." Claire adds. "We can cover the cost for your room cancellation."

"Oh, no, Mrs. Park. That won't be necessary." Lisa nervously tucks her hair behind her ear.

"You really should just stay, Lisa. You don't want to waste your time arguing with the Park women. You probably won't win." Rosie finally says with a sly grin.

Mason hums and nods in response. "She's right, Lisa. Take it from an old veteran." He smiles.

Lisa chuckles at this. "Alright. I'll stay. But, I do actually have something that I must do first. Um... I told a friend that I would meet her for a drink. I can just take a cab there, and then meet you all back at Alice's place for dinner. It shouldn't take me very long."

"Oh?" Rosie says as she furrows her brow at Lisa. When the realization of which "friend" Lisa is referring to, she tenses up noticeably. "Well, yes, of course. I'm sure that your friend is looking forward to seeing you." She says a bit harsher than is necessary. "I'll just send Alice's address to your phone."

Lisa nods and smiles awkwardly. She is sure that Rosie knows that she is talking about Irene, and it makes her a bit uneasy, though she is not entirely sure why. Rosie and I are just friends. I should be able to see whomever I want to. "What time do you think dinner will be ready?"