Chapter Four

Wyatt

“Okay, are you ready to try my french toast?” Wyatt asked, as he topped off the meal with a generous supply of maple syrup. “I've added extra strawberry jelly and syrup to the top, just like you like it.”

Maggie was waiting eagerly. She was seated on one of the stools that surrounded the center island in the kitchen. With orange juice in one hand and a fork in the other, she looked as ready as she'd ever be to try Wyatt's first attempt at homemade french toast.

“I can't promise that it will be as good as Mildred's,” he said. “But just know that I did my best.”

“It looks good,” Maggie said, in the cutest little voice he'd ever heard. “It smells good, too.”

He set the plate down in front of her and stood by eagerly as she took her first bite. He watched her face go from a smile, into more of a frown. It was like gravity had taken an extra toll on her lips right then, pulling them down into a look of disappointment.

“Well?” he asked.

“It's tastes like burned,” she said, washing down the bite with orange juice.

“It tastes burnt,” Mildred corrected gently. She stepped into the kitchen, wearing a red robe. Her gray hair was pulled into a bun on the back of her head. “Wyatt, you know that you shouldn't try to use the stove. Remember the last time you did that? What was it? Chicken Parmesan? You almost burned the house down.”

He sighed, looking back toward the oven where a layer of dark smoke still lingered from overcooking the French toast. At least he hadn't set the smoke detector off this time.

“I know, Mildred,” he said, with a grin. “I just thought I'd give cooking another try. I'm just afraid we'll starve to death if you ever decided to quit working for me. I figured I should practice in case that ever happens.”

She smiled warmly. “First off, you don't have to worry about me quitting this job. I'm far too old to go stand in the unemployment line to try to get some other job. Plus, I love it here. There's nobody in the world I'd rather take care of than Maggie. Besides, I'm just giving you a hard time about your cooking, Wyatt. I'm sure the French toast is great. Little Ms. Maggie here is kind of a picky eater anyway. She's rather tough to please. Aren't you, honey?”

Maggie giggled and her cheeks turned a bit red. “A little.”

“I personally prefer my French toast with a little char on top,” Mildred said, grabbing a few pieces for herself and placing them on a plate. “It gives it that extra flair that normal French toast is missing.”

Wyatt knew that Mildred was just trying to be nice. She was sweetest old lady he'd ever known. He and Caroline had hired her four years before, right after Maggie had been born. They figured it would be nice to have someone around the house to help out with the baby. The added bonus was that Mildred was an amazing cook and she also kept the house as clean as a whistle.

Needless to say, Wyatt wasn't the best at either of those things. He was only half kidding when he said that he feared he'd starve to death without her.

“Daddy, we still need to find my swim suit,” Maggie said, between bites of food.

“Oh, right,” Wyatt said. “Mildred, have you seen her swim suit? She has swim lessons at noon.”

Mildred shook her head. “I haven't seen it, but I'm happy to go look.”

“No, no,” Wyatt said. “Eat your breakfast and relax. I'll go see what I can find.”

He left Mildred and Maggie in the kitchen and headed upstairs. It only took a few minutes of digging through Maggie's laundry to find her little red swimsuit.

Thank God, he thought, tossing it over his shoulder. I'm not sure that was worth waking me up so early, but at least she has it now.

He made his way back down to the kitchen. Mildred was busy in front of the stove, making another batch of French toast. Her batch was flawless, though, unlike his. It was cooked perfectly, with just the right amount of golden brown on the edges of the bread.

“Wow. You're making me look bad, Mildred,” he said, with a playful smile. “Look at that. Perfection.”

Mildred laughed, placing the toast onto a plate for Wyatt. “I've got many, many years over you. The only reason I'm a better cook is because I've had quite a bit more practice.”

The three of them sat down around the center island and ate breakfast. Wyatt checked the clock a few times and started eating a bit more quickly.

“In a hurry?” Mildred asked.

Wyatt nodded. “Yeah, the morning has slipped by. I've got a meeting here in about an hour. It's an important one, too. Could be a big contract coming my way.”

“You seem excited about it,” she said. “I hope that it all works out.”

“I've got a good feeling that it will.” Wyatt took a sip from his coffee after speaking.

“Daddy, you're leaving?” Maggie asked, giving him that painful puppy dog stare that did nothing but pull at his most sensitive heart strings.

Wyatt smiled softly. “I'm sorry, baby. I have to go to work today.”

She pouted out her lower lip a little further. “But I don't want you to go.”

“I have to,” he said, wishing that his words weren't true.

Ever since Caroline had passed away, Maggie had become extra sensitive to him leaving. Every time he had to go to the office or even run to the store, it was the same thing.

She put up a fight every single time, begging him not to go. She never wanted him to leave her side and she'd do whatever she possibly could to make him stay. Sometimes that included creative bribery, like when she promised Wyatt could have half of her Skittles. Other times she'd just use the always-effective puppy dog face. Many times it worked in her favor. This time, though, he couldn't stay no matter how badly he wanted to. He had to get to work for this meeting.

“Don't be sad, Maggie,” he said. “I'll be home before you know it. In fact, I'll be waiting for you here when you come back from swim lessons.”

Her face didn't lighten up. She just sighed and went back to eating her breakfast.

It hurt his heart to see her like this. Her mother had been pulled from her life at a very young age. Maggie had only been three years old when Caroline lost her battle against the cancer. It had been a long and exhausting battle, too. Not just for Caroline, but for the whole family. He didn't like thinking about it.

“I don't want you to leave!” Maggie shouted from across the table, shaking Wyatt back into reality. Maggie was sitting there with a scowl on her face now. Mildred was seated nearby, affectionately rubbing her back and trying to calm her down.

“Honey, your Daddy has to go work today,” Mildred said softly. “If you want, we could go to the zoo or the museum for a couple of hours before your swim lesson.”

Maggie didn't respond. She just sat there, staring at Wyatt, until her lower lip began to tremble.

I have to do something, he thought. I can't just let her cry. I hate seeing her cry.

“Hold on, Maggie,” he said. “I've got an idea.”

Her lip stopped quivering and her eyes seemed to lighten up, if only a little bit.

“How about I call Aunt Lily and see if she'll come hang out with you this afternoon?” he asked, hoping and praying that the suggestion would be enough to make his daughter happy.

“Aunt Wiwee?” Maggie said, still unable to fully pronounce Lily's name correctly. Wyatt didn't mind it, though, because he thought it was the cutest thing in the entire world.

“Yes, Aunt Lily,” he said. “What do you think?”

“I love Aunt Wiwee!” she squealed and the smile returned to her face immediately.

Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, well I'll send her a text in a few minutes and see if she has plans for later this afternoon. I don't know what her schedule is like today, but I'll find out. I'm sure that if she's not working late, then she'd love to come see you.”

Maggie hopped off the chair and began jumping up and down. She was completely unable to contain her excitement. Aunt Lily was Wyatt's secret weapon to making Maggie happy whenever she was feeling down.

“Mrs. Mildred, Aunt Wiwee is coming to hang out with me today!” she said, pulling on Mildred's arm.

“I don't know for sure, honey,” Wyatt said, trying to temper her expectations just a little bit in case Lily wasn't able to make it. “I'm going to ask, though. Let's just hope that she's free this afternoon.” He then turned toward Mildred. “I'll let you know if Lily can make it by.”

“Of course,” Mildred said. “It's always nice to see Lily. It's been a few weeks since she's stopped by.”

“Yeah, I think she's been working a lot of hours at the coffee shop,” Wyatt said. “Rent is so damn expensive in this city any more, I'm guessing that most people have to work overtime just to survive.”

It's almost like you have to be a damn billionaire just to enjoy a decent lifestyle, he thought. It sure does make me feel grateful for what I have, though.

The three finished up their meals and Wyatt quickly dressed and got ready for his meeting.

Maggie was already preoccupied with a new Lego set when he came back downstairs. She had completely ignored it until right then. It was like she suddenly had renewed interest in it. Her face beamed with excitement. Of course, Wyatt knew that it didn't have anything to do with the Legos. Her happiness was brought on by the fact that Maggie was going to get to see her favorite person in the world that afternoon.

I just hope Lily isn't busy and is willing to come by, he thought, giving Maggie a kiss on he head. She grinned up at him before going back to her Legos. He took the moment to escape, giving a wave to Mildred as he headed out.