Love Thy Neighbor

Chapter 45

Lila wakes me up on Saturday morning with some fussy noises. She'd only woken up once during the night, which I am thankful for.

I give her meds to her after she's nursed and is put in a fresh diaper and outfit. She eats a bit of cereal and seems a little better. I get her to play on the floor with me, though she won't let me out of her sight.

Around noon my phone dings.

Shawn: How is Delilah today?

Me: Getting better but not great.

Shawn: Glad to hear she is better.

Shawn: Would you want to meet up tomorrow? Lunch? Delilah, too, of course.

I do want to meet up with him. I'm not entirely sure if I should, though. I decide to think about this and text him later. I feel kind of bad for leaving him on read.

While I am feeding Lila lunch I hear my phone ding again. It's David, replying to my text from this morning about how Lila was doing.

David: Glad L is getting better

David: Thoughts on if Perri and I could come by tomorrow?

David: I was thinking 10-2

That's actually pretty good timing. They'd have to feed her lunch, but David has done that before. She naps after nursing at 2:00, so I'd be back in time for that.

Me: That would be great. If she seems worse tomorrow I will let you know.

David: If she is worse I will come alone so you can have a break.

Me: Sounds good. And thanks.

I finish feeding Lila and put her in her saucer and I curl up on the couch. She jumps and spins and plays with the various noise makers. I am so happy to see her full of energy again.

I make my decision about Shawn.

Me: As it happens, Lila's dad is coming over at 10 tomorrow for his visit with her.

Me: Want to do brunch?

Shawn: That sounds good. Where?

I text him the location of a diner about five blocks from both of our houses that has a good brunch. I tell him I will meet him there at 10:15 AM.

The next morning, Lila is almost 100% so I text David the good news. He says he and Perri are taking the subway since it's easier than driving.

They aren't here at 10:05. Or 10:10. I text Shawn that I am running late. David texts me that the train is stuck on the tracks.

At 10:25, my doorbell rings; I assume it's David and Perri.

Nope. Shawn is standing there. I really want to avoid Shawn learning that David is Lila's dad, so I start to stress a bit.

"Is everything okay? I was waiting at the diner," he says, concern in his voice.

"Yes, sorry, still waiting for Lila's dad."

I pick up my phone to see if David has texted and I see that my text to Shawn never sent.

"Oh shit, I texted you and didn't send it!" I say.

"That's okay. I was just worried something happened to Lila."

Lila is on the floor. When she hears Shawn say her name, she lifts her chubby arms up to him. She loves to be held.