Chapter 21
After a long evening of scrolling through Netflix and not finding a single thing she was interested in watching, Tinley decided to call it a night. Not even a rerun of Friends could hold her attention and she brought out the big guns with The One with All the Thanksgivings. That one is her absolute favorite, but alas she slumped off to bed instead hoping that she could fall asleep and shut her brain off. She’s been tossing and turning every night, and with the uncomfortable silence of being the only person in the apartment, it’s been hard to function in general. She’s never lived alone before, and she didn’t have any time to prepare herself for this new experience. It’s not one she likes one bit, so when her phone vibrates with a text message, she welcomes the distraction.
Marek: Can you do me a huge favor?
Me: Oh so you want a favor, do you? What happened to you doing anything and everything for me?
Marek: I know, I’m sorry. Normally I wouldn’t ask, but I’m desperate.
Me: I was just giving you shit. Seriously, what do you need?
Marek: Can you come stay with Luna while I go to London?
Me: Wait, what?
Marek: I was just told an hour ago that they’re sending me to a leadership training in London. I wasn’t really given an option. My parents are leaving on the cruise I gifted to them and I try not to leave Luna with Giselle for long periods of time.
Me: Why’s that?
Marek: Let’s just say the last time I trusted my sister, Luna wouldn’t stop demanding sushi and kept quoting lines from Pitch Perfect. You can only hear the phrase aca-scuse me so many times before it goes from being fun to old.
Me: I’m sorry but that’s hilarious.
Me: Is she going to call me a basic white girl again?
Marek: She did have a point. Ugg boots and Starbucks…come on.
Me: Seriously? You’re going to give me shit too? Find someone else to do it.
Marek: I was kidding. Do you really think those words have ever crossed my lips before?
Me: I hope not. You’ve used those lips in inappropriate ways on my body, and I don’t want to think that same mouth would use such language. I shudder at the thought.
Marek: Like that would really make a difference to you.
Me: You’re right. I love that mouth and its expert skills.
Marek: Are we turning this into naughty texting now?
Me: In your dreams. I’ll see you in the morning.
Marek: Good night Tinley.
Knowing she’ll be spending the next few days at Marek’s house rather than alone in this apartment is enough to help her find her way into dreamland.
* * *
“Ugh, it’s been a month week since my daddy took me to the playground. I don’t even remember the last time I got to ride my bike either. It’s pretty frustrating.”
Tinley arrived at Marek’s house bright and early so he could catch his flight to London. Although she would have loved to go with him, she doesn’t even have a passport to make that possible. She’s pretty happy getting to spend time with Luna and get to know her better, and that’s definitely what she has done. The little girl says anything and everything as it pops into her head, providing some much-needed entertainment for Tinley. Like now, for example—what the heck is a month week?
“A month week?”
Luna sighs and leans back on the couch, fully stretching out. “Yeah, like forever.”
That’s not a length of time Tinley has ever heard of or used before, but she anticipates using it again in the future. In fact, she feels like her entire vocabulary is going to be more and more altered the more time she spends with this little girl, and she doesn’t really see that as a bad thing.
“I’m sorry your daddy has been so busy with work lately, and I know he would much rather be here spending time with you than at a boring training. I know it’s not quite the same thing, but I’d love to take you to the park sometime if you’d like.”
That instantly perks her up, and Luna sits up with a giant smile on her face. “Can we go down the slide and climb the spider thing?”
She’s lost her again. It’s like she needs an entire dictionary for child speak. “Yes on the slide, for sure, but you’ll have to tell me what the spider thing is.”
Her exasperation shows through as she sits up and sighs yet again. This little girl does nothing but sigh when she’s frustrated. “You know, the spider thing. It’s tall and has holes in it, with bars and stuff.”
Tinley is totally confused but knows Luna will just get even more frustrated with her if she keeps asking questions. She racks her brain thinking of what would be at a playground that she could be talking about. A spider thing? It makes absolutely no sense to her. Taking a stab in the dark, she asks, “You mean a jungle gym?”
Luna shrugs her shoulders and seems to move on from that particular topic of conversation. “My daddy lets me go down the slide as many times as I want to. When we go to the playground, he helps me climb the rock wall so I can go down the slide. It’s so much fun. And then I run and run and run. When I get really tired, I run lots to get more energy.”
Only in the mind of a kid does that kind of logic make sense. Just thinking about walking has Tinley feeling exhausted, let alone running. Then again, she’s ready to pop at this point, and just going from the living room to the bathroom leaves her feeling winded. As much as she’d love to take Luna to the park right now, she’s feeling much more content lying here on the couch together. Maybe they’ll get to spend more time being active after she delivers her baby.