Now she kept thinking about that touch, and the way Casey had gripped her so tightly when she’d really gotten down to business. That had been awesome, not to mention unexpected. She’d assumed she’d be very gentle, maybe even passive, but Casey had been anything but.
Sadly, none of that changed the fact that Casey had been putting on kind of an act. They hadn’t even kissed, and Casey had refused any reciprocation. Those were not the signs of a woman who wanted to get something going with you.
After going downstairs to make herself a salad, Avery sat on the polyester pod to eat. The room was awfully glum, with nothing on the walls and no curtains on the windows. But it had seemed full of life when Casey had been there. Unwilling to linger on her thoughts, Avery patted the pod and started to walk back upstairs. She thought of the woman in Brooklyn who’d offered up her seat when Avery had flirted with her. Had that experience been more humiliating than having a friend you were into give you an orgasm while refusing even a kiss? She could flip a coin on that choice. Both of them made it abundantly clear that even though it was a huge relief that her body could respond to the right stimulation, she’d lost her allure.
Chapter Eighteen
Avery pulled into her parents’ driveway on Tuesday afternoon, surprised, and a little disappointed not to see Casey’s truck. They didn’t have any kind of schedule, so it wasn’t like Casey was breaking a promise by not being at the house, but it was always nice to see her at the end of the day.
After getting out of her car and racing for the front door, she opened it to relative silence. “Mom?”
“In the kitchen, honey.”
Avery started to unwind herself from all of her winter additions; hat, scarf, and gloves. She was just about to kick off her Uggs when it registered that Lisbet’s stroller hadn’t been next to the front door. “Did Lisbet take herself for a walk?”
“Uh-huh. You know how independent she is.” Her mom stopped what she’d been doing and walked over to give her a hug. “Your cheeks are as cold as ice! Maybe this wasn’t the best day to let Casey take the baby to the library.”
“The library? I thought all of their programs were for toddlers.”
“Oh, they are, but Casey thought it would be nice to get her out of the house for a little bit. She drove over there, but took her stroller in case it was warm enough to go for a walk.”
Avery laughed, shaking her head. “What would we do without her?” She wrapped an arm around her mom, amending, “What would I do without both of you is the better question.”
“I’m related to you, but Casey sure isn’t. She’s just a giver.”
“She is that.”
“Will you stay for dinner? I’m making Casey’s favorite. The girl never had meatloaf until I made it one night, and now she asks for it every time I give her an option.”
“What time did she come over?”
“She was here early. They didn’t brew today, so she snuck out.” She turned to go back to her onion dicing. “I’m glad they like her so much, because she certainly isn’t a workaholic.”
“No, she certainly is not. That’s intentional, you know. She said she found that her bosses respected her more when she set limits for how many hours she’d put in.”
“Really? I can’t see Casey doing that. She’s so…flexible.”
“True, but she’s really good at taking care of herself. I guess the previous brewmaster worked sixty hours a week, and she didn’t want to be doing the same.”
“Does anyone really want to work sixty hours a week?”
“I think some people do, but Casey’s not one of them. She promoted one of her best guys to shut down the plant at night. She goes in two hours before anyone else, and Glen, her assistant, comes in late and stays late.”
“Smart girl,” her mom said. “Most companies will take every hour you’re willing to give.”
“I think that’s her point. Make it clear what you’ll give and see if you can get your bosses to buy in.”
There was a commotion in the living room, and Avery walked toward it to find Casey struggling to get the stroller into the house. “What was I thinking?” she asked, with her cheeks having turned pink. “Lisbet liked being in the library, but she started to cry on the walk to the truck.” She made eye contact with Avery. “I think she’s a cold-weather wimp, just like her mommy.”
The baby was struggling against Casey’s hold, and Avery grasped her and held her up in the air, smiling up at her as she kicked her little legs and gurgled. “I missed my baby girl all day long. Did my baby girl miss me?”
“She did,” her mom said when she emerged from the kitchen. “She’s gotten pretty dramatic when you leave in the morning. It doesn’t last long, but she’s so much more aware of where she is and who she’s with that she’s started to show her preferences.”
“She’s a little weepy when we leave here at the end of the day,” Avery said. “And every time Casey leaves the house she stares as the door for the longest time, obviously hoping she’ll race right back in.”
“Aww, I didn’t know she did that.” Casey was beaming a smile. “Obviously, I hate to think of her being sad, but if she’s going to be sad, it might as well be because she’s nuts about me.”
Avery gave her a poke in the belly. “You know you’re her favorite. So what did you two do at the library?”
“Oh, we just hung out. They’ve got about a million books for little kids, so we read a couple of them. But she conked out right in the middle of one about a goose, so I carried her around while I read all of the posted notices. There’s a lot of stuff going on around here in the winter. Surprised the heck out of me.”
Avery started to pull Lisbet out of her snowsuit, having to put every bit of her focus on removing the suit that was in danger of being too small before winter was over. “So? What’s going on around town that caught your interest?”
“There was a lot, mostly music and crafty stuff. But there’s a woman who’s teaching a six-week class on how to tell a story. They had twenty slots available, and the librarian told me they were filled the first day. Awesome, huh?”
“Oh, Casey,” she said, thrilled at the thought of her wanting to express herself through a story. “See if there’s a waiting list. Or find out if they’re having another session. That would be so good for you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, clearly having already moved on. “But I was thinking about what that meant in general. We’ve got so much going on around here in the summer, but even with all of the city people who spend weekends up here there’s less during the other nine months of the year.” Her eyes were sparkling with excitement when she said, “Why don’t you talk to your boss and see if you could do a Hudson Valley Short Shorts. I’m sure there’s a big audience of people who’d love to hear great stories.”
Avery stared at her for a second. “Not only listeners, but writers. Everyone I know comes up here to get away, and a lot of established writers have moved up here permanently.” She grasped Casey’s hand and pulled it to her chest. “You’re brilliant! We could reach a whole different audience up here, and pull in some of the writers who don’t want to drive to Brooklyn to speak to fewer than fifty people.”
Ideas started buzzing around in her head, and in just a few seconds she had one she knew would be great. “Most of the writers I’ve used in Brooklyn are in their twenties and thirties. If we did the program up here, we could intentionally skew the age range toward the other end. Wouldn’t you love to hear older people tell their tales?” She started to pace, with the baby gazing at her curiously as she was carried along. “I love the concept. Really love it,” she insisted, looking down at Casey who was sitting on the sofa smiling up at her. “I’ve done a good job of making Short Shorts racially and ethnically diverse, but I’ve ignored diversity in age. This could be my shot at fixing that.” Looking down at Casey again, she said, “I don’t know where I’ll find the time, but I’m going to pitch the idea to Helena. Thank you,” she said, be
nding over to place a kiss to Casey’s cheek. “I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. This is a brilliant idea.”
***
Avery had decided that Lisbet’s first birthday should be very low-key. Given the baby didn’t know one day from the next, and had no idea what a birthday even was, she thought it was slightly mad to throw a big party. Actually, she’d been tempted to skip it completely, but her mother had put the kibosh on that. Everyone agreed not to purchase any presents, but Casey had volunteered to buy a birthday cake. She’d been very mysterious about her plans, but she’d mentioned it about six times, so Avery was sure she was doing something special.
After getting caught on a call that she’d had a tough time wrapping up, Avery raced over to her parents’ house, getting a little thrill when she saw Casey’s big truck parked at the curb. She knew she was acting like she had in high school, when her heart would race every time she caught sight of her current boyfriend in the hall, but she couldn’t help it. There was nothing wrong with having a crush on someone, even if that crush wasn’t mutual. If you didn’t let it get out of hand, fantasizing about someone you found devastatingly attractive could give you a spring in your step.
Avery had two aunts, along with three first-cousins, but none of them lived close, and asking people to drive an hour to a baby’s birthday party just seemed a bit over-the-top. When the weather was warm, they’d have a barbecue to get the whole clan together. So it was just the family for the party, which now definitely included Casey. That might have seemed weird to people who only considered blood relatives family, but Avery had grown up with an uncle who wasn’t related in any way, and she’d cherished him. It wasn’t the amount of consanguinity that mattered. It was the amount of effort the adult put into forming a relationship that Lisbet would benefit from, and no one did that better than Casey.
Avery opened the storm door, then pushed the entry door to find Lisbet cruising over to her. She’d started pulling herself up to her feet a little late, but her doctor said she was hitting her targets, so Avery had tried to stop comparing her to other anonymous babies on the internet. Surprisingly, Lisbet had gone from pulling herself up to cruising around, gently holding onto furniture for support, in less than a week. Tonight she held onto Casey’s pantleg, a seriously cute instinct. Both of them were grinning at Avery, with Casey taking tiny steps as she tried to match Lisbet’s pace.
“The birthday girl’s been waiting for you,” Casey said. “Every time a car goes down the street she stops and stares at the door for a minute.”
“My precious one knows my schedule,” Avery said, squatting down to plant a big, noisy kiss to Lisbet’s head. “I’d swoop you up into my arms and cuddle you,” she said, addressing the child, “but I’m certain you want to keep walking. Especially with such a helpful cruising partner.”
“Nana baaa mamaaaa,” the baby said, her little voice projecting quite well.
“I bet you’re saying that it’s very good to see me, aren’t you,” Avery asked. “Do you know it’s your birthday? Just one year ago today, at just about this time, you were…” She stood up and finished her sentence very quietly, so that only Casey could hear. “Making me wish I could jump out a window.”
“But then you got to hold your baby, and all of the pain just evaporated, right?”
Avery pinched her cheek firmly. “I’m very glad I didn’t jump. How’s that.”
“Good enough.”
“Where is everyone? I didn’t see my dad’s truck.”
“I’m in here,” her mom called out. “As usual. Dad ran out for some ice cream.”
“I could have picked that up,” Avery said. She took off her coat and her scarf and placed her boots by the front door. Lisbet grabbed onto her jeans, and they haltingly walked into the kitchen together. “Dinner smells great.”
“Thanks, honey. Did you see—”
Lisbet let go and tried to walk—unaided—the two steps required to get to a big, fuzzy teddy bear that was lying on the kitchen floor, but she didn’t make it. Luckily, the bear provided a cushion, and she didn’t seem to mind doing a face-plant into it.
“Her birthday present?” Avery’s mom finished. “She seems crazy about it.”
Avery wagged her finger at Casey, who had a mildly guilty look on her face. “No presents. You agreed.”
She lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. “It was the softest thing I’ve ever felt. One day, years from now, when you lift the prison regulations, she’ll have something cuddly to sleep with.”
“Thank you,” Avery said, giving her a quick hug. “So far she’s been pretty uninterested in forming an attachment with any of her toys. Maybe this one will win her heart.”
“Avery had a doll she loved so much the body disintegrated on her at day care,” her mom said. “She carried just the head around until she started kindergarten.”
Avery laughed. “I’d still be carrying it if the other kids hadn’t made fun of me.”
“I warned you,” her mom said, “but she insisted on taking it that first day of school. That poor little doll head stayed home from then on.” Her gaze met Casey’s. “She still pulled it out when she was sad or lonely, but by the time she started first grade—”
“Don’t reveal what an insecure child I was,” Avery said, tucking her arm around her mom to give her a rough hug.
“I’ve got a photo of you with that nearly hairless doll head, and I’m not sure if it’s the angle or what, but you look about ten.”
Lisbet was babbling away, talking to her new bear. “Be careful, sweetie. Your grandmother’s vicious when she’s got a camera in her hands.”
***
The adults had salmon, green beans, and a little macaroni and cheese, with Lisbet skipping the fish. She was still eating very small amounts, but she was very fond of mac n’ cheese, and green beans were also favored if Avery cut them into tiny pieces. It continued to amaze her how Lisbet had so much energy from so little food, but her doctor assured her that the baby was still getting over three quarters of her calories from breast feeding. She was down to nursing three times a day now, and showed no signs of wanting to stop. Avery was ready to move on, having been nipped one too many times, but she didn’t want to rush her. As Lisbet continued to eat more solid food she’d slowly lose interest—hopefully.
“I think it’s time to have our birthday cake, don’t you?” Avery’s mom asked, tugging on Lisbet’s foot.
“I can’t wait to see this cake,” Avery said. “I’m not sure how you got one that doesn’t have any food she’s not familiar with, but…” She met Casey’s gaze. “I trust you to pull it off.”
She jumped to her feet and went into the living room, coming back with a big sheet of plastic and a tall cardboard box. “I made her an isolation room,” she said, laughing as the rest of them stared at her. “They call this a smash cake, since the point is that the baby demolishes it, but I didn’t want Kathy to have to clean the walls.” She set the box down, revealing that one side had been partially cut away. “I’ll just tape this plastic to the floor, and we should be good, right?”
“I suppose so,” Avery said. “What do you think, Lisbet?” she asked as she removed the tray from the high chair and picked her up. “Do you want to smash a cake?”
“Want to take her clothes off?” Casey asked. “She’s going to get filthy.”
“Umm…really? There might be a draft.”
“I don’t do the laundry, so it doesn’t matter to me,” Casey said.
Avery laughed as her mom pulled Lisbet from her grasp and undid her lilac-colored overalls. “I had to soak these in stain remover to get the beet juice out. She won’t freeze if she’s in her diaper for a few minutes.”
“Practical woman,” Avery said, slipping Lisbet’s long-sleeved T-shirt from her body. “You probably think you’re getting a bath, don’t you?” she asked as the baby looked around, slightly puzzled.
“You’re getting a cake,” Casey said after she pulled a brig
ht blue creation from a pink box. “Your very first cake.” She met Avery’s eyes. “Although can you still call it a cake when it’s made with bananas and dates and applesauce and oat flour?”
“No sugar?”
“None. No eggs, either. She’s had every single item in this.”
Avery gazed at it suspiciously. It seemed cake-like, but the weird blue color was odd. “What’s the frosting?”
“A little cream cheese, which she’s had, and a ton of blueberries.”
“Mmm.” Avery looked up at her. “All in all, it sounds pretty good. Did your mom make it?”
“Nah. I got it from that bakery on Warren. They’re apparently the go-to bakery for smash cakes. My mom sent a cheesecake for the adults, by the way. She was pretty confident we wouldn’t want to eat Lisbet’s, if there’s any left when she’s done smashing it.”
“Let’s give it a go,” Avery said.
“I’ve got my phone set on video mode,” her dad said. “I’m ready to create a movie that will embarrass her for years to come.”
“I’ve got mine too,” her mom said, both of them kneeling on the floor in front of the box.
“How’s she going to explain to her future friends that her mother stuck her in a box for her first birthday?”
“That will just be one of a hundred things she’ll have to blame you for,” her mom said. “The list is endless.”
“Here’s goes nothing,” Avery said, placing the baby on the floor of the box, then watching as Casey set the cake right in front of her. She added a candle, which Lisbet ripped out the moment Casey took her hand away.
“Good thing I didn’t light it,” she said, laughing a little as she pulled it from Lisbet’s hand.
The baby looked down at the cake, then up at the four people taking her picture. Finally deciding it was worth investigating, she slapped both hands onto it, with her eyes widening as her hands sank into the surface. It didn’t dawn on her to eat it, but she loved the idea of crushing it. She began to laugh as she filled her little hands with bits of cake. Her hands were so small she couldn’t get much at once, but it didn’t take long for the cake to be on her chest, then her face, then in her hair. They all warned her at once when she tried to use the cake to stand, but she didn’t heed the advice. Before Casey could catch her she’d done a belly flop onto it.
Friday Night Flights Page 31
