True to his word, Michael arrived home shortly before seven, carrying a bag from the grocery store.
Lauren glanced over at him as the door opened, and he smiled softly, taking off his jacket.
“Hey,” she said, standing from the couch and stretching.
“Hi,” he answered softly, tossing his jacket over a chair as he walked toward her. He placed the grocery bag on the table and glanced past her into the living room. “How is she?”
“She’s okay. She’s been sleeping for a while now.”
Michael nodded, running his hand through his hair as he exhaled. “Thank you again. I’m sorry you had to give up your evening.”
“It’s fine,” Lauren assured him with a shake of her head.
He nodded, walking past her into the living room. For a second he stood there, looking down at Erin, and then he exhaled a heavy breath, sitting down on the recliner beside the couch and dropping his head into his hands. “You can’t imagine what this does to me,” he mumbled.he corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. , le
“She’ll be okay, Michael. It’s just a virus. It’s almost over,” Lauren said, following him into the living room.
He shook his head, still looking at the floor. “That’s not what I meant.”
He looked totally dejected, and Lauren stood there, watching him but not pressing him further. Instead, she battled the innate reaction she had to cross the room to him, to kneel in front of him and wrap her arms around him, anything to take that look off his face.
“The only reason I’m even going back to school is for her,” he finally said, glancing up at Lauren. “But it means I have to leave her when I could be spending time with her. It means I can’t take care of her when she needs me.”
He shook his head and looked over to where Erin lay sleeping on the couch. “Her mom’s not around. I’m hardly around…” He trailed off before looking back at Lauren. “It’s just, like, am I doing the right thing? Is it worth it? I just…I just wish I knew, ya know?”
Michael sat back against the seat and closed his eyes, sighing heavily.
“Hey,” Lauren said softly, walking toward him. “You’re doing the right thing. You’re building a future for her. Most parents are away from their children during the day. It’s the whole reason I have a job,” she added with a tiny laugh, hoping he would smile in return.
His eyes remained closed, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and Lauren smiled, closing the distance between them and kneeling on the floor next to the chair. “It’s the time that you do spend with her that counts,” she added. “And you’re doing an amazing job.”
Michael laughed humorlessly. “You’re still the same,” he said with a shake of his head.
“But you are,” she insisted. “She’s smart, she’s motivated, she’s so kind to everyone, Michael. She’s a perfect little person. And she adores you.”
Michael opened his eyes fully then, looking at Lauren with such intense emotion that she felt her legs falter under her weight, and she dropped gently from her kneeling position to sit on her calves, her eyes falling to the arm of the chair in between them.
After a minute of silence, she heard him shift in the chair. “You know something?” he said softly, and when Lauren looked up, she saw he was sitting up now, closer to her, his eyes intently on hers.
“That first day I dropped her off…the first time I had to leave her…the only thing that kept me from running back in to get her was that I knew she’d be with you.”
Lauren’s breath left her in a soft rush, her eyes locked on his, and he smiled gently. “It’s true,” he added.
“Miss Lauren?” Erin’s tiny voice called, and both of them whipped their head in her direction.
“Hey baby,” Michael breathed, sliding off the chair and kneeling beside his daughter. Lauren could only watch him, still stunned into silence. “I’m here now. You okay?”
“I don’t feel good, Daddy,” she said with a tiny whimper, and he brushed the hair away from her face and pressed his lips to her forehead.
“I know. You’ll feel better soon.”
Erin pulled her knees up into her chest, lying on her side, and Lauren wondered if her stomach wa muscle flex in the side of his jaw7 shoulders hurting her again. “Is Miss Lauren gone?”
“No, I’m right here,” Lauren said, finally finding her voice again.
“Can you stay with us tonight?” Erin asked softly, closing her eyes.
Michael glanced back at Lauren, his expression startled, before he turned back toward his daughter. “Honey, Miss Lauren can’t stay here. She has to go home.”
“No,” Erin said, pulling her brow together. “I don’t want her to leave.”
“Erin,” Michael began, but Lauren cut him off.
“I’ll stay, sweetheart.”
Michael turned toward her, and Lauren quickly mouthed, “Just until she falls asleep.”
He nodded, bringing his attention back to Erin, and Lauren crawled over to them, sitting on the floor by Erin’s feet. Michael stroked her hair for a minute before he turned, sitting up against the couch by his daughter’s head.
Lauren turned to look at him; he was so close now, the small trash can being the only thing that separated the two of them. Just as he turned his head to look at her, a loud, grumbling sound filled the space between them, and she raised her eyebrows, glancing down at his stomach.
He laughed softly, pressing his palm to his stomach, and Lauren asked, “Have you eaten anything?”
Michael shook his head. “No, I came right home.”
“You must be starving,” she said, standing from her spot on the floor. “Let me make you something.”
“No, you’ve done enough already,” he said, making a move to stand up, and Lauren held out her hand.
“No, stay with her. I’ll throw something simple together,” she said, walking out of the living room before he could protest further, and she heard him sigh in acquiescence as he leaned back against the couch.
Lauren opened his fridge, and after scanning it for a minute, she pulled out what she’d need to make him a sandwich. When she was finished, she grabbed a bottle of water from the door of the fridge and brought both out to him.
He was still sitting with his back up against the couch, but his head was resting against the cushion and his eyes were closed. She stopped, wondering if he had fallen asleep, but then he rolled his head to the side and opened his eyes.
“Hey,” he said softly, shifting to sit up, and she walked over to him, handing him the plate and the water before she sat back down on the floor in front of Erin’s feet.
“Thank you,” he said as he picked up the sandwich and took an enormous bite, making a contented sound in the back of his throat.
Michael sighed around his mouthful of food, chewing slowly before he swallowed. “Sorry. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until you brought this in here,” he said, taking another bite and putting the plate down between them to open his water. He looked back at Lauren and lifted his brow, motioning toward the sandwich, and she shook her head.
“No, thanks. I’m fine.”
He nodded, taking a sip of water and swallowing the bite he had just taken. “Damn, that’s good. What’s in this?”
Lauren laughed. “Whatever was in your fridge. I just used what you had.”
He picked up the sandwich and turned it slowly, his brow furrowed like he was studying an ancient artifact, and then he shruhe corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. , legged before he took another bite. “It never tastes this good when I make one for myself.”
“You’re just hungry. It’s all relative,” she said with a laugh, leaning back against the couch and bringing her eyes to the television.
After a few minutes of silence, broken here and there by the sounds of appreciation Michael uttered as he finished his sandwich, Lauren said, “So, how was your test?”
Michael ran the back of his hand across his mouth, swallowing the sip of water he’d just taken. “It seemed fair,” he said. “I probably did okay.”