Lily

Wyatt and Maggie were already seated at the dining room table. Lily had gone all out, even lighting a few candles in the center of the table just to make it look more legitimate. Even though a third of the meal she was serving was macaroni and cheese, the least fancy food in the world, she still wanted everything to be perfect.

“Just a few more minutes on the chicken,” Lily had just finished washing her hands and wiped them on the front of her apron as she paced the kitchen. “Everything else is ready.”

“No rush,” Wyatt said. “I'm still unwinding from work anyway. Feels good to just be able to sit and not have to think about business things.”

“How was your day anyway?” Lily asked.

“It was great,” he said. “Pretty productive overall. How did things go around here today? What were the dance lessons like?”

Lily parted her lips to reply, but Maggie jumped in immediately. “They were SO MUCH FUN!”

Wyatt laughed and ruffled up Maggie's hair. “That's good, honey. What kind of dancing did you do?”

Maggie shrugged. “I don't know.”

Lily smiled and approached the dining room table. Wyatt was seated at the opposite end, with Maggie to his right.

“It looked to me like some kind of hip hop dancing,” Lily said. “Or maybe it was salsa. Actually, I think it was kind of a combination of the two.”

“So basically the kids just ran out and flailed their arms every which way?” Wyatt asked, with a playful smirk.

“Yeah, basically.” Lily laughed. “It was interesting, though. I know that Maggie had fun. She was pretty exhausted by the time it was over. I laid her down for about an hour-long nap this afternoon.”

“That's awesome,” Wyatt said. “She hardly ever naps any more. I'm glad you were able to tire her out.”

The timer on the microwave beeped and Lily's eyes widened. “Chicken is done. I'll go and get it off the grill. Be right back.”

She headed out the sliding glass door and toward the Wyatt's massive grill in the back yard. It was a grill fit for a king, with enough space to cook at least fifty burgers. Her three chicken breasts looked pretty pathetic on it, given its size.

“Alright,” she whispered, placing the chicken onto a plate. “Hope these are good.”

She headed back inside and set the plate down onto the center of the table.

“So, what do we have here?” Wyatt asked.

“Chicken breasts and macaroni and cheese, complimented with a side of broccoli and cauliflower,” Lily said proudly.

“Sounds fancy.” Wyatt smiled. “I'll take all of the above.”

“I was hoping you'd say that.” Lily scooped some generous servings onto Wyatt's plate. “I made a ton of food, so there's plenty to go around. Feel free to have seconds, too. I hate wasting food and I'm not sure how good this will be as leftovers.”

After everybody was served, Lily removed her apron and took a seat across from Maggie. Wyatt was to her right at the head of the table. They were all three sitting together for a real meal and Lily couldn't get over the feeling that she was truly part of the family.

“Cheers,” Wyatt said, holding up his whiskey drink that Lily had fixed him early.

“What to?” Lily asked.

“How about, we cheers to you?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Me?” she replied, her cheeks tingling. “Why me?”

“Because it's been so nice having you around,” he said. “Don't you think, Maggie?”

“Yeah!” Maggie agreed, excitedly.

“Seriously, though, Lily,” Wyatt continued. “You've been a blessing in our lives since the very beginning. Without you, well, a lot of things would be different.” He glanced toward Maggie and Lily knew exactly what he was talking about. “This week has been no exception, though. You staying with us has made life a whole lot easier. It's been great so far.”

Lily shrugged, holding her cocktail in the air. “If you insist, cheers to me.”

Wyatt laughed and the two clinked their glasses together. A moment later, Maggie held up her orange juice and shouted, “CHEERS!” at the top of her lungs. Both Wyatt and Lily started cracking up.

“What a riot she is,” Wyatt said, shaking his head. “I know where she got her sense of humor and it wasn't from me. Caroline was definitely the funny one.”

He picked up his fork and knife and was about to dig into the food, when Lily stopped him. “Hold on. Just so you know, I'm not completely sure how everything turned out. I haven't tried any of it yet. I'm confident that the macaroni and cheese is fine and I'm sure the vegetables are, too. However, it's been a while since I've tried making chicken and I've never done it on the grill.”

Wyatt smiled. “Lily, I'm sure it's fine. It's just chicken, right?”

She exhaled and shrugged. “I'm pretty sure that's the same thing I said about eggplant the other night.”

Wyatt just shrugged and stabbed the chicken breast with a fork. Then he began sawing at it with his knife. Lily watched carefully and it only took a few seconds to see that something was wrong. He was moving the knife back and forth across the top of the meat but had hardly broken the surface.

Uh oh, she thought.

Finally, he was able to cut a bite off and he popped it in his mouth.

“Well, how is it?” Lily asked.

He chewed and chewed, then took a sip of water, then chewed some more. When he was finally able to swallow it, he replied, “I hate to say it, but it's a tiny bit dry.”

Lily sighed. “Seriously?”

He nodded.

“Let me try it,” she said, cutting off a piece of her own.

Sure enough, the chicken was as dry as the Sahara desert. It was like eating a fibrous cotton ball, coated in seasoning. It stuck to the roof of her mouth and took about a thousand chomps in order to grind it up enough to swallow. Even then, she had a hard time getting it down her throat.

“God, that's awful,” Lily said.

“I want to try,” Maggie interjected. She stabbed the chicken breast on her plate with her fork and then held it up in the air. It fell back down, landing on the plate with a bang. It sounded like someone had dropped a ten-pound dumbbell onto the table.

“No, I don't think you want to try it,” Lily said. “It's too hard to eat.”

Lily hesitantly looked over to Wyatt to see his reaction. This was the second time she'd screwed up dinner and she couldn't have been more ashamed of herself. Luckily, Wyatt didn't seem to mind. He was busy eating the macaroni and cheese and seemed pretty happy with it.

“I'm really sorry,” Lily said.

“Don't be,” he replied. “This macaroni and cheese is really good. I'm fine with just that tonight. Had a big lunch.”

Lily knew that, once again, Wyatt was just trying to be nice.

“No, no.” She stood up from the table and walked to the kitchen to grab her cell phone. “This was my fault. How about we order from that Chinese place again? This time, it's on me. Whatever you guys want.”

Wyatt and Maggie looked at each other. They didn't say anything, but it was as though they had a quick conversation with just their eyes. They both finally nodded and Wyatt faced Lily once again. “Alright. Chinese it is.”

Lily smiled and dialed the number. Relief swept over her.

At least they'll let me make up for it, she thought.

After placing the order, she set her phone back down. “They'll be here in fifteen minutes.”

“That's perfect,” Wyatt said, scooting his chair away from the table. “That will give me just enough time to chew another bite of the chicken.” He flashed a wink at Lily and all three of them started laughing.

“No, I think this belongs in the trash.” Lily gathered the plates and pushed the food into the garbage can. She hated to see it go to waste, but wasn't sure who in the world would be able to eat the chicken.

Even a raccoon or a dog would have a hard time chewing that up, she thought.

“I promise you guys that I'll make a really, really good dinner before I leave this weekend,” Lily said, as she loaded the plates into the dishwasher. “I'm not sure what it will be, but whatever it is, I won't mess it up.”

“You shouldn't be so hard on yourself,” Wyatt said. “Honestly. It's no big deal. The fact that you're trying is what matters to me. Besides, I lived most of my bachelor years on a strict diet of Chinese food and protein shakes. A few extra days of sesame chicken won't kill me.”

Lily was sad about the meal, but Wyatt took most of the pressure off of her. He really didn't seem to mind. It was clear that he had much bigger worries than a burnt or over-seasoned meal.

“Even so,” Lily said, placing her hands onto her hips. “I'm not going to go home until I make you guys a miraculous meal. It's going to be perfect. It will be so tasty that you'll talk about it for years to come.”

It was a big promise, but Lily was a confident girl. Somehow, one way or the other, she was going to make Maggie and Wyatt a dinner that was not only edible, but amazing. Or at the very least, she hoped that it would be a dinner that would end up in their bellies and not in the trash can.

“Hey, I wanted to ask you girls something.” Wyatt stood up from his chair and walked toward the kitchen counter. “I saw an ad in the paper today about an event they're having just outside of town. It's a little ways away, but looks like it could be fun.”

Lily's eyes widened and she glanced toward Maggie to see that hers had done the same.

“An event?” Lily asked. “Sounds vague, but interesting.”

Wyatt laughed, grabbing the local newspaper from the counter. He flipped a few pages and then turned it around so that Maggie and Lily could see. “How would you guys feel about checking out the Renaissance Fair tomorrow?”

Without skipping a beat, Maggie shouted, “Yes!!”

The picture on the ad was of a man dressed like a knight. He was covered in silver armor and on a horse. He was holding a giant sword as he rode his trusty steed through the grass.

“Oh, my God,” Lily said, smiling. “I've heard of those fairs, but I've never actually been to one.”

“Me either,” Wyatt said. “Looks like fun, though. I'm sure Maggie would have a blast anyway.”

“So you were thinking about doing it tomorrow?” Lily asked.

“Yeah.” Wyatt closed the newspaper and plopped it back down onto the kitchen counter. “I'm pretty swamped at work, but I'm thinking that I'll just get an early start in the morning and tie up some loose ends by lunch time. I should be able to get back here in the afternoon, then we can head to the fair right away.”

“I think that sounds like a blast,” Lily said, feeling genuinely excited about going. “I'm totally up for it. Do people dress up for these things?”

Wyatt shrugged. “I think the kids do for sure. Maggie has her pirate costume from Halloween last year. What do you think, Maggie? Do you want to dress up as a pirate for the fair tomorrow?”

Her response was priceless. She curled her index finger into the shape of a hook and growled, “Arrrrr, Matey!”

Both Wyatt and Lily started laughing.

“I'll take that as a 'yes',” Lily said.

“Alright, well I'm looking forward to it.” Wyatt made his way back to his seat at the table.

Lily stood by the counter, gazing at Maggie and Wyatt for a moment. In just a few seconds, Wyatt had managed to make Maggie the happiest girl in the world. Her face was beaming. She was so excited about the fair and getting to dress up as a pirate. It was so clear that Wyatt knew what would make Maggie happy. Lily was certain that before he had even mentioned going to the fair, he had known that it was a great idea and that his daughter would be excited about it.

There's one thing for sure that I admire about Wyatt, Lily thought. He's definitely the best father in the world. I don't think I've ever seen anybody love their kid as much as he does.

The thought came into her mind and right after, she had the strangest sensation ever. There was a tightening in her belly, as though her body was speaking to her. She placed her hand down over her belly button, feeling the sensation increase. It was almost as if her uterus was cramping.

That's weird, she thought, lifting her hand away from her body.

She did her best to ignore the feeling and, after a few seconds, it faded away. It took her a moment to realize what had triggered it, but it wasn't like it was the most difficult mystery in the world. She had been thinking about Wyatt as a father and admiring the way he interacted with his daughter. That was all it took for her body to remind her of what she really wanted most in life.

I've never experienced that sensation before, she thought. I mean sure, I've often thought about becoming pregnant, but that was a legitimate, physical sensation.

It was like her womb had called out to her, reminding her of just how badly she wanted to have a baby. It was as though her body was pointing at the clock on the wall, trying to tell her that time was passing by. The hands were turning and each minute that passed brought her closer to a time when she could no longer bear children.

I want a baby so bad, she thought, gently bringing her hand back to her belly. The sensation didn't show up again, but she kind of wished that it would. I want to be pregnant again. God, how I want that.

She gazed at Wyatt as she wondered what it would be like to have a child inside of her again. And, as much as she tried not to, she couldn't imagine having any other child except for his.