September 18th, 2022
The short few weeks left of Lily being eleven months old flew by, and I woke up that morning with excitement filling me.
Today was Lily's first birthday. She was asleep when I went over to her crib, and I noticed that my bathroom door was locked.
The shower was on; Josh must be up already.
I got Lily up and dressed in a pink sparkly dress that Sofia and Matt bought her two weeks ago and put on a headband to match; she squealed happily as I kissed her cheek.
Josh came out of the bathroom, a shirt and khakis on and smiled. "My favorite girls," he said. He kissed Lily's forehead and grinned at me.
"You look nice," I commented.
He smiled. "Thanks. You can get ready if you want. Your parents are shopping for the party so I'll take Lily and go start breakfast."
I smiled and shut my bedroom door, taking off my pajamas and hopping into the warm shower.
I sighed; nothing like a warm shower on a crisp September morning.
Once I got out, I picked out a cream colored sweater, black jeans, and white converse and curled my hair.
Lily greeted me with a bashful smile as I came downstairs into the kitchen.
"It smells good!" I breathed.
I smiled at Lily; her face was covered in blueberry pancake.
"Your pancake should be done by now," Josh said and handed me a plate.
I thanked him and sat at the bar and began eating.
Josh finished cooking and sat beside me, and began eating his pancake too.
"I had a crazy dream last night," he said.
I swallowed my last bite and put the plate in the sink.
"What about?" I asked, getting a wipe and wiping Lily's face.
Josh swallowed a bite before continuing. "It was about you and me. We were older. Lily was in first grade, so she'd be six."
"Uh huh," I replied while cleaning her high chair.
"We were married," he said. I stopped what I was doing. I just stared at him.
Tears brimmed his eyes.
"We had a newborn son. You called him Matthew. And he..." Tears were falling down his face.
Tears brimmed my eyes; this child didn't exist. He was fictional. So why was I on the verge of tears?
"...died when we woke up that morning to get Lily ready for her first day of school. He had suffocated in the crib."
He was done now, holding his fork with such great force I thought it'd break in half.
"It was terrifying," he said. I came over and hugged him from behind, leaning my head into his shoulder. I squeezed his hand.
"It was just a dream, Josh. If there is a possibility we get married one day, our children will be okay. And, Matthew? That's Matt's name. Why would I name our baby his name?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. But that was his name. When are they getting here?"
I looked at my phone. "In the next ten minutes. Sofia had an ultrasound earlier this morning and Matt had to fly in from Arkansas where he was visiting his parents."
He nodded and picked Lily up before sitting on the couch, and turning on the tv.
I joined them on the couch, sitting awkwardly next to Josh just so that I could see Lily.
YOU ARE READING
Lily: a Jolivia story
Fanfiction"I'm passing Pasadena; do you still live in LA?" In which Joshua Bassett doesn't know he has an almost one-year-old daughter with his ex-girlfriend, Olivia Rodrigo. But that's not what he's worried about. Oh, no. He has his own life to worry about...
