Molly - Sarah Monzon Page 0,7
what came over me.”
I cleared my throat, needing a moment. “It’s completely all right.”
She covered her cheeks with her palms. “I don’t think I’ve embarrassed myself in front of the same person in one day as much as I have with you.”
“Really? Then you’re below the curve, because I used to bring Chloe with me to some of my classes. Projectile diarrhea running down one’s arm tends to draw a bit of unwanted attention.”
Her nose scrunched. “But they were future medical professionals so they shouldn’t have batted an eye at that.”
“Helped more than one decide they didn’t want to go into pediatrics.”
She giggled, her shoulders starting to relax again.
“Of course, that was before Chloe could talk. Oh, how I miss those days.”
The sparkle returned to her eyes. “You do not.”
I forced one of my eyebrows to crawl to my hairline. “Do you know how much trouble a talking toddler can get a person into? Shouting out private anatomy in public places for starters. And since I know your stance on truth telling, let me tell you toddlers and preschoolers are honest to a fault. One time we were sitting next to a gentleman on a park bench—Chloe must have been about three at the time—and she peered up at the man and said, ‘You have white hair, so you’re old. You’re gonna die soon.’”
Miss Osbourne hid her laughter behind her fingers. “What did the man say?”
“He looked at her and shrugged and said, ‘Well, we all gotta die sometime.”’
She lowered her hand and smiled wide. “Chloe is a great kid.”
“She is.” My own smile slipped. “But I’m failing when it comes to her.”
Miss Osbourne tilted her head. “Why do you say that?”
My shoulders slumped. “Because I’m being pulled in too many directions. It’s just Chloe and me, and the hospital demands a lot of my time. I’m afraid I’m not there for her like she needs me to be.”
She nodded her head. “I can see how that could be a concern.”
“I only have a couple more years at the hospital, then I’ll have completed my residency. I plan to start a family practice—regular office hours where I can be home with Chloe. Make sure she gets to school on time and help her with her homework in the evenings. But right now…”
“Right now she’s only in preschool for two hours a day.”
“Exactly.”
“Doesn’t the hospital have a child development center? A place you can drop her off on site during your shifts and then pick her up.”
I stopped my hands from making another trek through my hair. “That’s not an option.” Maybe it was irrational, but I didn’t want my daughter anywhere near that petri dish of a building. I knew only too well how devastating the wrong bacteria could be.
“Oh.” Miss Osbourne’s nose wrinkled as she tried to come up with another solution.
Time to lay my cards on the table. “What if…what if you watched her, Miss Osbourne?”
“Me?”
“I happen to know you’re currently unemployed, and I currently need someone my daughter adores and whom I trust to leave her with. You fit the bill perfectly.”
“But—”
I laid my palms on the table. “Please.”
I thought I heard her mutter something about puppy eyes and hashtags before she harrumphed. “Fine, but I need to know that you know that I won’t lie to Chloe.”
If that’s all she was worried about, then things were settled. “Great. Perfect.”
“You say that, but this isn’t the first time my honesty has gotten me in trouble.”
I held up three fingers. “Scout’s honor, no trouble from me.”
“And you want me to pick her up from preschool and watch her until you get home?”
“My shifts change both in length and times. Would it be too terribly difficult to be available…whenever?” Groan. I was basically asking her to forfeit a life so she could watch my daughter. “I’ll send you my schedules as soon as they’re posted and text any time something comes up and I end up stuck at the hospital because of a case.”
“I would be willing to make that work if you’re fine with me finishing up my online classes while I watched over Chloe.”
“Considering I brought her with me to a lot of my own classes, I don’t see how I could withhold that same pleasure from you.”
Miss Osbourne tapped her chin before extending her hand. “Dr. Ben, I think we have a deal.”
3
Molly
“Mocktails are ready,” a singsong voice called out as I stepped into my house. My roommate, Jocelyn, and I shared a single-family Spanish-style home