Page 81 of Operation: Valiant Angel

“Just for a few hours to help cover.” She checked her watch. “I better go. Was nice to meet you Reina.” She pushed through the door into the stairwell after entering her code.

They hit a drive-thru and got meals for all three of them. They ate in the truck in the parking lot of the Super Walmart. Hewas thankful he’d gotten the model with the crew cab when he’d bought his Dodge Ram. Next, they visited the bathroom for Lilly in the store and then toured the store with two grocery carts. Lilly sat in the large basket portion of one. In the other, the first item they loaded in was a proper booster seat for Lilly’s size and age. She’d been riding around in cars, just seat belted in. She needed to be properly protected. They also selected a potty seat that went on the regular toilet.

The housewares section had several items they wanted to purchase. They let Lilly pick a plate, cup, and silverware set. She chose a Disney Princess set. The grocery side was the next section they went through, filling the carts with food that neither Wilson nor Rae usually bought. Several hundred dollars later, they checked out and installed the new booster seat in the backseat of Wilson’s pickup truck before unloading the rest of the bags into the truck.

Lilly happily watched cartoons on the big screen television mounted on the wall in the one room living room and kitchen area as Wilson carried the groceries from the car in the parking garage to the apartment. Reina familiarized herself with his kitchen as she put groceries away.

His condo was small. The main room consisted of the living room and a kitchen with a small round kitchen table with four chairs. A short hallway was on the wall to the left. It had three doors. One a bifold door housed the stacked washer and dryer and a closet. The door to the bathroom was on the same wall and the door to the bedroom was on the other.

“Your place is nice,” Reina told him after he’d given her the short, grand tour.

“It’s small and undecorated,” he said.

There were two pictures in frames on the white walls of the main room of scuba divers in beautiful blue waters. She pointed to them. “Not completely undecorated.”

Teddy, the cat, lay beside Lilly, who stroked him. Reina could see how happy Lilly was to have the cat to pay attention to. And after being alone for several days and shoved in a carrier all day, Teddy looked happy to be the focus of her attention.

“You can sleep in the bedroom with Lilly. I’ll take the couch,” Wilson offered.

“It’s big enough for all three of us,” she said.

“That wouldn’t be right,” he said.

“We’ll see,” she said. She checked the time on her phone. It was nearly six-thirty. She’d probably get Lilly to bed around seven, even though she needed a bath. But she looked tired, so it could wait. And the truth was, Reina was tired. She wanted to get to bed early as well.

True to her plans, Reina had her in bed before seven. One of Lilly’s favorite books was in her backpack. Reina kicked herself for not picking up a few more books at the store. They didn’t have many toys for her either. Reina made a mental note to make a list of what they absolutely needed the next day. But for tonight, the one book would have to do.

Lilly sat nestled between the two of them on the big bed and Reina watched Wilson read the book to her. He’d insisted on doing the reading and he looked like he enjoyed it. After they’d tucked her in and left her in the bedroom with a dim light on, Reina embraced Jimmy after they’d stepped from the room. “You looked like a natural reading that story to her.”

Wilson chuckled softly. He drew her by the hand into the living room and pulled her to sit closely beside him on the couch. Reinashifted in her seat so she faced him. He took both of her hands in his. Lilly had insisted the door be left cracked open, so they whispered. “It’s been a long time since I read a bedtime story.”

“Is it something you’d like to do every night you’re home?”

“Yes, I can see the three of us snuggled up in bed like that as a nightly routine. Like I told Doctor Lassiter today, I would never have envisioned wanting this even a month ago, but now, this just feels right.” He waited a second to see if she’d share anything about her meeting with Lassiter as she hadn’t yet. “What did you think of Joe Lassiter?”

“He’s a nice guy. I was a bit startled by the scars on his face. He told me about getting wounded when he was in the military and his own PTSD. And he really made me think about how what I went through, being left in that hole to die, could change me and make me too focused on my own trauma to be a good mother to Lilly if I don’t get help for dealing with it.”

“He knows how bad PTSD is,” Wilson agreed.

“Yes,” she said. “And he really made a lot of sense. I’ve set up a couple more appointments with him.”

“When we go to find Stella and Henning, I’ll leave you the keys to my truck, so you have transportation. I think you should call that child trauma specialist Lassiter gave me the referral to tomorrow and get her an appointment as soon as you can. Did Lassiter tell you what you should tell Lilly about her mom?”

“He thinks right now what I’m saying is okay until we talk to that counselor.” Reina yawned very deeply. She was exhausted.

“You should go to bed,” he said. “I’ll just come in and get a spare pillow and blanket.”

“That bed is big enough. I could sleep in the middle with you on the opposite side from Lilly. I know you don’t think it’s rightfor you to sleep in the same bed as her, but it’s not like you’d be sleeping next to her. I know there are a lot of pedophiles out there. I’ve known a few, but you aren’t one of them.”

“And it’s not like we’re going to be having sex in the same room with her,” he added, warming up to the idea. “I would like to go to sleep holding you.”

“Not that I feel awake enough to do that tonight, but I’d like that soon,” she said.

Wilson leaned in and kissed her lips. “Yes, soon,” he agreed after he’d pulled back. “Come on, let’s get you in bed before you fall asleep right here.”

***

The next morning, Wilson woke up the same way he’d fallen asleep, with his arms around Rae. She still slept. But on the other side of her, Lilly popped her head up and looked around. He raised his index finger to his lips in the universal shh signal. He pointed to the door. Lilly followed him out of bed. He closed the bedroom door so Rae could sleep.

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