Our Time (3 page)

"No buts," She said to
him and pointed her finger firmly. "He is a neighbor and you will respect
him. Got it?"

He harrumphed and dropped his
head down on the floor in defiance, but obedience.

Jocelyn turned and looked at me
with an apologetic smile. I couldn't help but smile back. "You talk to him
as if he is a person."

She huffed, "Well, when he
starts acting like a normal dog, I'll treat him like one."

We laughed for a minute while she
put away a few groceries. I watched her move around the kitchen gracefully and
my eyes begged to stray downward to catch a glimpse of… No.
Don't stare,
don't stare, don't stare.

She looked over at me and I
quickly looked away and around at all the boxes."Can I get started on
moving some boxes?"

"Oh um, there isn't much we
can do right now because Olivia is asleep. I don't want to wake her with all
the noise, but she should be up in an hour or so."

I leaned against the counter and
watched her finish putting the food away. "I can fix dinner if you are
hungry," she said. Her eyes widened just after she said it. "Sorry,
that was weird."

"I would love to eat dinner
here," I said quickly before she could take back the invitation. I
straightened and shoved my hands back into my pockets. I was itching to touch
her. "As long as you tell me you are a good cook. All I have is a three
day old pizza sitting in my fridge."

Her face scrunched up into a look
of disgust. "Yuck!" she said and shook her head. "I can't say
I'm a good cook. I like what I make, but I'm biased." She pulled out some
boxes from her pantry and a pot and pan from a box that sat by the fridge.

"So how long have you lived
here?" she asked.

"Just a few months. I used
to live in Portland. Got sick of all the traffic and people. I figured Banks is
close enough for work, but far enough away that I can breathe a little."

"I know what you mean.
That's why we chose this place. It's a nice, clean neighborhood and Olivia can
play outside on grass instead of a sidewalk. Plus, it's cheaper than where we
were."

"Where did you move
from?" I asked and moved closer to her.

She pulled her hair up into a
ponytail with a tie that magically appeared in her hand and I had to hold back
a pout. All that long hair was a haven for my fingers. It's better that she
picked it up. She was starting to wash some vegetables and I looked in the
boxes for a knife.

"Oh, um, we used to live in
Washington."

"I see." I pulled out a
knife block and placed it on the counter next to her. I could tell that she
didn't really want to elaborate and she fidgeted with a few of the dishes in
the sink to avoid looking at me.

"Can I help? I can cut up a
mean carrot."

That made her smile and I wanted
to throw my fist in the air in victory. Her smile was like Olivia's, it took my
breath away.

"Sure. Why don't you cut the
carrots and zucchini and I'll start the noodles."

We stayed busy chopping and
stirring. The sauce that she was making smelled absolutely delicious and my
stomach grumbled loudly. I hadn't eaten all day.

She asked about my job and what
places made me work so late at night. I had worked security for a while and
usually covered concerts and night clubs. She got really excited when I told
her that I covered a Mumford & Sons concert a while back.

Her eyes lit up, "Oh I love
them! I have always wanted to go to one of their shows. I never have a chance to
see when they are coming."

"They are pretty good in
concert. I didn't really get a chance to enjoy the music much since I was in
the back more often than not. Next time they come, I'll let you know."
They were actually coming in a few months, but I didn't tell her that. "It
probably won't be for a long time, though."

Her smile faded, but she turned
back to the pot of boiling noodles before I could see her frown. "Oh,
well, don't worry about it then. I don't know where we'll be. Or if I'll even
have time to go. I'll just keep hoping, though." Her voice was quiet and I
felt a twinge in my chest at her forlorn expression, but she quickly recovered.
"So, what made you go into security?"

We talked a little more about me
and every time I asked her about
her
, she answered quickly and avoided
elaborating on her answer. Our conversation finally took a halt when she
drained the spaghetti and then put the garlic bread into the oven. I finally
got a chance to ask her a question.

"Do you work?"

 "Yeah, I work from home. I
do some transcription, data entry, things like that," she said with a
shrug.

"That's pretty cool. Nice to
be home with Olivia, I bet."

"Yeah it is. She makes it
difficult to work sometimes." She smiled as she stirred the sauce and I
could see a sparkle in her eyes. It was as if her whole demeanor had changed.
Olivia was the light of her life and it showed when she talked about her.
"She likes to push the on/off button on the computer. That or switch off
the power strip. Some days, she just wants my attention and tries to climb all
over me when I'm typing." She chuckled to herself and added, "Now
that I have some extra room, I was thinking of making a little corner for her
to play in while I work. Hopefully it will distract her long enough so I can
get some hours in."

"Mommyyyyyy!" Olivia's
voice came through the monitor that was standing on the kitchen table.
"Mommy, out."

"I'll go grab her, will you
watch the bread for me?" She turned and headed for the stairs.

Monty perked up and followed her,
leaving me by myself in her kitchen staring after her. I heard her soft voice
reach Olivia in the monitor.

"Hey, sweetie. Did you have
a good nap? Oh my, your diaper is full. Mommy made you some pasta."
Then the sound clicked off and
all I could hear were muffled footsteps above me.

I pulled out some plates and
silverware. Jocelyn had more to her than she let on. She didn't like to talk
about herself much, but when it came to her daughter, she didn't seem to want
to talk about anything else. She was a good mother and I admired how she was
able to take care of her on her own. Though, a woman like that, should never be
on her own. Whoever let her go was an idiot, but I was glad they did. I wanted
to get to know her better.

Of course, only to be friends.

Jocelyn

"Hey sweetie! Did you have a
good nap?" Olivia rubbed her tired little eyes and then reached for me.
"Oh my, your diaper is full. Mommy made you some pasta." I clicked
off the monitor and Olivia giggled when she heard 'pasta'. It was her favorite.

"Pasta?" she said.

I changed her diaper and tried to
do what I could to delay returning down stairs. Monty sat at the door and
watched me.

"What are
you
looking
at?"

He tilted his head with his ears
perked up high. I could just imagine him saying
"You really think I
don't know?"

"He is just going to help me
and then he is gone. I swear."

He harrumphed and walked over to
me, planting himself at my feet and looking up at me.
"Yeah, sure. You
like him."

"Well, maybe a little bit.
He's cute," I shrugged. Olivia giggled and said "
toot".

Andrew was not just a 'cute' man.
He was gorgeous. Blue eyes to die for surrounded by thick dark lashes and a
strong jaw that had a hint of stubble. His dark brown hair was thick and hung
over his forehead just enough to make me want to reach out and brush it to the
side. He stood much taller than me and his broad shoulders were wide enough to
encompass both me
and
Liv. His arms were toned, not so thick that they
looked disproportionate with the rest of his body, but strong enough to make me
feel like being in them would protect me from everything that could ever
possibly hurt me.

Protect me?
Stop it, Joss.

"Cute? Really?"
Monty's expression looked like he
had just heard every detail in my mind.

"Okay, so more like incredibly
handsome. Doesn't mean I'm going to do anything about it. Look at me." I
gestured to myself and scoffed. "I don't think
that
kind of guy
goes for
this
kind of girl."

Monty sighed again and started to
grumble,
"You know that's not true. I'll keep an eye out, though. I
don't trust him yet."

"Oh, Monty, you don't trust
anyone until they give you a treat or play with you and you know it." I
looked around to make sure Andrew hadn't come up and heard our imaginary
banter.

Monty gave me the strangest look
like he was offended by my statement.
I swear the faces this dog gave me
communicated
everything.
I laughed at myself for the dialog that was
flowing between us. I had always talked to him like that and he always
responded in one way or the other whether it was in my head or out loud. He was
my best friend. He had been there when no one else had.

I stared down into his caramel
eyes and he stared back. Olivia kissed my cheek and said, "Eat," and
that was it. I had wasted enough time, so I walked back into the kitchen with
Monty hot on my heels.

"Adoo?" Olivia chirped.

Andrew had set the table and was
carrying the food to the table. When he saw us walk in, the smile that lit up
his face was exquisite. The man should smile more often.

"Hey there, Olivia. Wow, you
certainly got some beauty rest. You are even prettier than the last time I saw
you."

Olivia smiled and stretched her
arms toward her chair. His sweet words sent a pleasant warmth through me. I
could see he was unsure of himself around her, but he did a good job of trying.

"I'm surprised she
remembered me."

"You would be surprised by a
lot of things she does," I chuckled.

We continued talking about this
and that. Mostly, I asked questions and avoided his. I don't know why I did it.
I just felt that if he got to know me too much, I would trust him too much. I
had no doubt he noticed I didn't like to talk about myself, so he started
asking more questions about Olivia.

He seemed like a nice enough guy.
Someone I could possibly be friends with. I was attracted to him, though, which
I took as a red flag. After what Dave had done to me, I had vowed to avoid men
as much as possible. Olivia was my priority and I thanked God that she never
had to be hurt by the jerk. As soon as he found out I was pregnant, the divorce
papers were in front of me. He didn't want any responsibility.

Stop thinking about it. It's in
the past and will only make you angry.

Olivia was giggling at Andrew who
had slurped up a noodle that flicked him on the nose and left sauce all over
his face. She pointed her messy hands at him and said, "Nose," in her
sweet voice and was trying so hard to pronounce it correctly.     

Her tray was a mess and her face
was covered in spaghetti sauce. I could have probably prevented the mess, but
she ate better when I let her do it by herself. She was a sponge and absorbed
everything
.
Not only that, but she
wanted
to absorb everything.

After praising my cooking several
times, Andrew helped me clean up and helped get Olivia cleaned up as much as
possible. I had to take off her clothes that were plastered with noodles and
she ended up running around in her diaper for a while as we washed dishes. I
felt comfortable with Andrew in my home. At first, I thought it would be weird
to do so many domestic things with a near complete stranger, but he never
complained and didn't hesitate to help me.

 I started to go through a few
boxes for the kitchen and pulled out the rest of the dishes to add to the
dishwasher. Andrew looked through a few boxes with me and attempted to help put
some stuff into the cupboards.

"How about we get started on
the boxes that need to be taken up stairs. I'm picky with my kitchen so it will
probably be better if I do it by myself." I blushed when he smiled at me,
a little embarrassed that I had pretty much told him to back off. "There
are a few pretty heavy ones. I can empty some of the stuff out before--"

"No, don't do that. If it
all needs to go up, I'll get it up there."

I smirked and started toward the
living room, "Okay Mr. Macho."

His laughter was booming and it
sent electricity shooting up my spine. He had a great laugh, deep and carefree.

Olivia was playing with Monty,
well, I guess she was really just climbing on top of him and smashing his face
into the carpet. "Be careful with him, babe," I said and Monty just
grumbled a bit when she ignored me and sat on his snout.

Andrew was standing next to me,
close enough that I could smell his aftershave or cologne, or whatever that
delightful smell was. It was clean, but spicy and sweet at the same time.

"Wow, he just lays there and
takes it, doesn't he."