Page 28 of Matteo

“All right, we have this soft throw blanket I got for Christmas. I’ve taken a nap with it already, and I must admit it was a pretty good nap. Here are two more pillows for you. Let me take Layla while you get all comfy.” We trade, and Layla goes to him eagerly.

“While you’re getting sorted, I’ll get you something to eat. What sounds good? For soup, there’s more chicken noodle, potato soup, tomato basil, a very tasty butternut squash?—”

Hm. “Butternut squash?”

He nods. “It’s kind of like sweet potato but lighter.”

I hesitate. “It sounds good. Can I get soft bread with it?”

His smile makes me glad I’m lying down because my knees couldn’t take it. “We have just the bread. It’s a good thing my mother bought it in a two-pack. She warned me it was addictive, and she was right. I had half a loaf with goat cheese. I’ll get some cut up for you. Do you want it warmed and butter on it?”

“That sounds good, thank you.” I snuggle down into the cloud of the already soft mattress and all the pillows around and under me.

Matteo sets Layla down on her hands and knees at the foot of the bed. “Want to show Mommy what you did today?”

She laughs as she crawls to me.

“Layla, my big girl. You’re crawling?” I sweep her into my arms.

“There was a toy she wanted, and she wasn’t willing to wait for me to give it to her. I managed to catch it on video.” Matteo offers me his phone.

My heart expands and then sinks as I watch the video. I'm glad he captured it on video, yet sad I wasn’t there when it happened. She’s getting so big. I look up to find him gone.

I’m surprised he left me with his phone. Danny got upset if I even looked at his. He never set it down—it was always in his hand or pocket. When he bought me a new one and added me to his plan, I thought it was a sweet gesture. Only later did he admit it was so he could see my location and all my calls and texts. It’s why I left it behind after sending all my photos of Layla to my email address as a way to back them up.

Danny constantly accused me of cheating. Especially after I tried to read some spicy books to be better in bed. It was only because he told me often I was bad in bed. When I explained why I did it, he laughed at me. It was a mean laugh. From then on, I just laid beneath him and prayed he finished quickly—which he usually did.

Holding Matteo’s phone I have no doubt I could go through it and find he is exactly who he said he is.

Matteo is back carrying a tray and a small lunch box. He sets it down out of reach of the curious Layla.

“Okay, we have the butternut squash. The big bowl is because even when it’s cold, it’s good. We have a half dozen slices of bread, three with butter for the soup and three to try with the goat cheese I have in the cooler. In this dish are cucumbers and strips of red pepper to go with the goat cheese or the hummus in the cooler.” He points them out in a glass dish.

His grin leaves me breathless. I’ll eat everything for another grin with both dimples.

“The cooler is so you have a choice at all times. Since you have a hard time asking for things, I thought this might help. If there is anything you want more of or if you want something not on the tray or in the cooler, I want you to ask me for what you need.” His eyes catch mine and refuse to let go until I nod.

“All right. Let me go get some toys for Ms. Layla. How about I get your activity center?” He’s talking to Layla.

I swear she nods like she understands him.

“Be right back, sweetie.” He tells her.

I get the tray settled over me, then remove the extra bread and put it on the nightstand. There’s plenty of room. It only holds a lamp, tissue in a marble dispenser, an alarm clock, and the lidocaine.

Matteo is back with a basket full of toys. Curious, Layla is instantly in the basket. She gives a little cry of joy at seeing her toys. “This should buy you at least a half hour. Now let me get this television on for you.”

The huge flat-screen television is swivel-mounted on the wall. He works the remote and enters a code. A selection of streaming services appears on the screen—there’s even two for music.

He’s beside me without me noticing. “It’s easy. There’s only a code to bring this up. You can get into any streaming you want, and you can also do cable. I believe you now have access to a hundred different series and a thousand movies. Hopefully, something catches your attention.”

His phone rings. It’s beside my leg. “Layla has been changed and fed. But if you also want some alone time or to take a nap—let me know. I can take her. It’s the clinic so I better answer. I’ll be right back.”

The clinic… Wait, it’s Monday. Shouldn’t he be at work? Did he take the day off because of me? What if it’s causing problems at the clinic? I need to tell him that I can take care of myself and Layla—he doesn’t have to stay. Except a few minutes stretch to ten, and my stomach begins growling. I give in and eat. As soon as he comes back I’ll tell him.

Layla is content with the toy she and Matteo had at the dinner table and isn’t trying to eat my food with me. It’s an interesting toy, almost like an activity center in a ball.

I’m poking around the streaming services out of curiosity. A cute fuzzy series about a preteen girl and figuring out the world has me settling into the pillows. Matteo wasn’t kidding about the bread—I could eat a whole loaf of it.

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