Page 135 of ICED
Lila’s out cold before we hit the main road. She’s still clutching the foam finger in one hand, cheek smushed against the side of her carseat.
Maya brushes a stray hair from her face, distracted. Her eyes are on the window, but I can feel the tension rolling off her, like she’s bracing for something, even in the silence.
I flick the blinker and clear my throat. “Hey,” I say softly. “I’ve been thinking.”
Her head turns. Just enough for her to glance at me, wary. “That’s never good.”
I huff a laugh. “I want to take you out. Just you and me.”
She blinks. “Like… on a date?”
“Yeah. A proper one. Not takeaway containers after bedtime or pizza on the couch while we fold laundry. A real night out. Food, drinks, maybe dessert that I didn’t bake.”
Her laugh is faint but real. “You want to go somewhere you don’t control the kitchen?”
I grin. “Risky, I know.”
She shifts in her seat slightly to face me, the movement careful. “And who’s going to watch Lila?”
“I already asked Ollie.”
That gets her attention. She twists to face me properly now, brow furrowed. “You what?”
“Don’t worry. I ran it by him first. He said he’s in. Reckons they can build a pillow fort and watchMoana. He’s bringing snacks.”
“Ollie?” she echoes, uncertain. “To babysit?”
“Yeah. Look, I wouldn’t trust just anyone with her. You know that. But Ollie’s solid. She knows him. He’s gentle, and he once cried duringFinding Nemo. The man’s got a squishy core.”
Maya exhales, tension held in that breath. “It’s not that I don’t trust him. I just… I don’t leave her. Not with anyone really.”
“I know.” I reach across the console, let my hand rest lightly on her knee. “But I want this. Just a couple hours. You and me. Nothing complicated. Just time.”
She’s quiet a moment. I can see the argument forming behind her eyes. Fear. Guilt. Habit.
Then she looks at Lila, soft and safe in her arms. And back at me.
“You’re sure he’s okay with it? You sure Lila will be safe?”
“Yeah. He said, and I quote, ‘Tell Maya she’s overdue for a night off, and Lila’s overdue for the Ollie Experience.’ He’s already picked a playlist.”
Her lips twitch.
“I promise, if she so much as yawns weird, he’ll call us.”
Another pause. Then she nods, slow and small. “Okay.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” she says, turning to check on Lila in the rear of the truck. “But I’m texting him a six-page emergency protocol.”
“Sounds about right.”
I glance at her again. This time, she’s not looking out the window. She’s looking at me. And there’s a softness there that makes something in my chest ease.
I turn onto our road.
Coming home never felt like this before.
