Chapter 8
A few minutes before 6, Taylor came back in the store and sat at his usual table. Jody noticed and took a few more orders before retreating to the back room to put her apron away. While in the back, Jody grabbed her purse and took out her cell phone. She flipped it open and dialed a familiar number.
“Hello?” someone answered.
“Hey Eve, it’s me.”
“Oh hey, Jody. What’s going on?”
“Um, listen. I’m going over to Taylor’s for dinner, so if you wanna call in an hour or so to make sure I’m OK, that’d be great.”
She heard Eve smile. “Going on a date with the guy with the kid. Good job Jody. You sure can pick ‘em.”
“Gee, Eve. Way to be supportive.”
“You sure you’re OK with this?” Eve questioned sincerely. “Considering what day it is and everything, wouldn’t it be better to just go home and go to bed?”
“I just... I don’t want to be alone tonight. And besides, he seems harmless enough.” She took a peek out the door and made sure Taylor was still there. “But if you wanna call to make sure, that would be OK too.”
“OK, fine.” Eve paused. “Just don’t make me worry about you.”
“I’ll do my best, but uh, I gotta run.”
“Talk to you in an hour then. Bye Jode.”
“Bye Eve.” And with that, Jody put the phone back in her bag and went out to go see Taylor.
“Hey stranger,” Jody greeted as she approached the table. “They’re letting me out, so we should probably go before they change their minds.”
Taylor smiled. “Sounds good to me.” He got up and the two started towards the door. They left the store and started down the street in silence. It was friendly as the two were lost in their own thoughts. Jody’s wandered to her cousin and Taylor’s were about how he was going to tell Jody about the unexpected house guest that would be joining them for dinner.
“Hey, um, I know it’s short notice and everything, but, uh, would you mind if Ezra had dinner with us?” he questioned.
Jody looked at him shocked. “Why are you even asking? He’s your son and he comes before anything else.”
“Well, I just wanted to be sure you’d be OK with it.”
“Taylor, I’m fine with it. I thought it was a given that he’d be there.” A small silence settled on them, Taylor obviously being rather uncomfortable. “Besides, he’s really cute.”
Feeling a little bit better, they continued walking until Taylor spoke again. “Right here,” he said motioning toward a brownstone building. “This is home.”
He led her up the steps, took out a key, and used it to open the door. Jody was pleasantly surprised at the warmth of the apartment and the tasteful way it was decorated. The decorating lacked here and there, but for the most part it was very well done. There was a big bookshelf just stacked with books. At a quick glance she was able to spot the staples- Shakespeare, Poe, Whitman, and Faulkner. On the lower levels were books by another master of the language- Dr. Seuss. Jody was able to guess that Taylor had placed the Seuss books at Ezra’s eye-level to encourage the habit of reading. That was admirable of him and it fed Jody’s theory that Taylor was an avid reader.
There was also a comfortable looking couch across from a nicely sized television. Between the two was a rectangular coffee table which had several books on New York City, Marilyn Monroe, and James Dean. All of these books were covered by various children’s magazines and on top of one of them was ½ a bowl of Cheerios. Ezra obviously ruled all that he could reach.
Including the refrigerator. Drawings were held up by alphabet letters. They were scribbles made by crayon and later labeled to help grown-ups decipher the cryptic drawings. Taylor called Ezra his “personal Picasso.”
Taylor watched her as she looked around. She was very observant and he was sure she wouldn’t miss much.
“So, you want to put up dinner now and we’ll eat in 15, 20 minutes or so?” he questioned.
This tore Jody from her thoughts. “Um... yeah. That sounds good.” She followed him into the kitchen. “What can I do to help?”
“The plates are in the cabinet and the silverware is in the drawer if you’d like to set the table,” Taylor reported as he rummaged through a cupboard and produced a large pot. He went over to the sink and started filling it with water. Jody found what she was looking for and set the table so that she and Taylor would face each other and Ezra would be sitting at the head of the table between them.
Taylor came out from behind the stove and dusted his hands off on his jeans. “You want a glass of wine?”
“Sure, but just a little bit. Too much and I’ll fall asleep in an hour.”
Taylor smiled as he put wine glasses on the table, reached for a bottle of red wine and a corkscrew, and opened the bottle. He carefully poured a quarter of a glass for Jody and half a glass for himself. Jody picked up the glass and took a sip. It was a dry wine- her favorite.
“You a fan of dry wines?” Taylor asked as he made his way to the couch after spying her smile.
“Eh, you could say that. My parents always drank it, so that’s really all I know.” She sat on the couch so that she was leaning against the arm and able to turn her body toward Taylor.
“Mmm,” Taylor replied.
“So what do you play?” Jody asked after a silence. He questioned her with his look. “In the band. What do you play?”
Taylor smirked. “You’re not letting this thing go are you? You always ask about the band.”
Jody shrugged. “It’s my musical instinct, I guess.”
“So I take it you play.” She nodded. “What do you play?”
Jody smiled. “Nice try. I asked you first.”
Taylor was caught. There was no way to avoid answering. “I play piano and guitar.” He automatically checked for a reaction. “Your turn.”
“Piano, trumpet, and cello.” Taylor’s jaw dropped a little bit and Jody looked away, embarrassed and blushing hard.
“That’s uh, that’s rather impressive,” Taylor said, still a little shocked.
Jody shrugged and took a small sip of wine. “I just kinda had a knack for it.”
“I’ll say. It’s an eclectic group of instruments.”
“I hardly play anymore. I’ve got a keyboard back on the Island for when I have a spare moment, but I haven’t touched the cello since before high school and trumpet...” Jody took a deep sigh. “I’d rather not think about that one.”
“Bad experience?” Taylor vaguely questioned.
“Huh,” Jody laughed quietly. “That’s putting it mildly.” She thought back to those years and shuddered. “So what kind of stuff do you play?”
Taylor made a mental note of the not-so-subtle topic change and cleared his throat. “Mostly acoustic kinda stuff. Nothing too interesting.”
Jody also noted the touchiness of the subject.
“It looks like you’re into old Hollywood,” she said. Taylor looked at her, shocked that she knew. “Your coffee table gave it away.” Jody motioned toward the books.
“Oh,” Taylor said following her gaze, relieved. “Yeah. Old Hollywood.” She looked at him with curiosity written in her eyes. He shrugged. “Hollywood was based on talent back in those days. It made it so much more...” He searched for the word. “More credible. Movies had plots and actors had talent. It was so much better.” Jody was hanging on his every word- she herself loved old movies. “Take Casablanca, for example, with...”
“Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart,” they said together and smiled.
“So you know it?” Taylor asked.
“Of course,” Jody said as she picked up her wine glass and took a sip. “It’s such a great story.”
“When they’re in Paris...”
“And he invites Ilsa up for a drink and they look at each other...”
Taylor smiled. “What a moment.”
“I get shivers every time.”
They looked at each other in amazement. The awkwardness was gone and the two were really starting to get to know each other.
They were interrupted by a familiar ring coming from Jody’s purse. “Hold that thought,” she said as she reluctantly got off the couch. She checked the caller ID and saw that it was Eve. “Hey babe,” she greeted.
“You need a rescue?” Eve asked.
“Nah. Everything’s fine. Today’s shaping up a little better than I thought it would.”
“He’s not a creep or anything?”
“Not at all.”
“OK, well, I’m just making sure.”
“Call me if you need anything,” Jody concluded. “I’ve gotta run.”
“Alright. Stay safe, Jode.”
“You got it. Talk to you later.” She hung up the phone after that and made her way back to Taylor. “Sorry about that. Eve says hi.”
“Oh, well, hi to Eve.” There was another pause. “Everything OK with her?”
Jody smirked and nodded. “Yeah. Just another random call from her. She’s like that.”
“She really seems like a good friend.”
“Eve’s the best. Anybody who can put up with me for as long as she has needs to be sainted.” She took a moment. “Either that or she needs some crazy pills.”
Taylor smiled. Jody had a slightly wacky sense of humor, and that really intrigued him.
The doorbell rang and both parties froze.
“That’s probably Natalie,” Taylor said as he reluctantly got off the couch. He looked at her awkwardly. He’d never hear the end of it if Natalie saw him with another girl.
“I’ll go and check on dinner,” Jody said as she gracefully got out of the situation. “It’s probably almost done anyway.”
“Thanks,” Taylor said, obviously very relieved that Jody could recognize the situation.
“Hey Nat,” Taylor greeted as he opened the door once Jody was out of sight.
“Hey,” she answered softly.
“Daddy!” Ezra shouted excitedly as he flung himself at his father.
“Hey little man,” Taylor greeted as he bent down to scoop up the boy. “How are you?”
“I’m good.”
“Do you wanna tell Daddy what you did today?” Natalie inticed.
“What’d you do?” Taylor questioned.
Ezra got bashful and tried to hide in Taylor’s shoulder.
Taylor looked to Natalie for an answer. “We went to the pet store and I got him a fish.”
“A fish,” Taylor said to Ezra. “Did you get a fish?”
“Uh huh.”
“What’s his name?”
“Nemo.”
Taylor broke into a wide grin. “Did you find Nemo?”
“Uh huh. He’s at Mommy’s house.”
Taylor put Ezra down and spoke to Natalie. “You doing OK?”
She shrugged. “As OK as I can be,” she answered almost curtly. It stung Taylor slightly.
“That’s uh... That’s good.”
“Are you doing OK?” she asked in response.
“Um... yeah. I’m doing OK.”
There was an awkward silence as the two estranged partners struggled for something to say.
“So Ezra, are you hungry? I’m making spaghetti.”
“Yum!” was the enthuthiastic response.
“Let’s get you inside,” Taylor said as he started to open the door. His attention turned back to Natalie. “It’s good to see you again, Nat.”
“You too, Taylor.” She looked at her feet. “I guess I should be going.”
“Alright. See you on Sunday then.”
“Yeah. See you Sunday.” She turned, walked down the steps, down the block, and out of sight around the corner.
A tug at his jeans brought him back to reality. “Daddy, I’m hungry.”
“Let’s go see what’s cooking.”
The two of them went inside.
“You ready for some sketti?” Taylor asked.
“I could eat an elephant,” Ezra claimed as he pulled Taylor into the kitchen.
“Well we’ll see about that. Go sit down and I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“Really?!” Ezra said, his eyes sparkling.
“Yes, really,” Taylor responded as he ruffled Ezra’s hair. “Wait right here.” Taylor went back to Jody, who had used the strainer to drain the spaghetti. She had also found the spaghetti sauce that Taylor had left on the counter and heated it up and put it in another bowl. He motioned for her to be quiet as he took the bowl of sauce and she took the spaghetti to the table. “Close your eyes, Ezra,” Taylor instructed. The little boy put his hands over his eyes. “Uh uh uh! No peeking!”
Both Taylor and Jody sat down at their places and bit back laughs.
“Alright, you can open them now.”
Ezra removed his hands from his eyes and blinked several times. He looked at the table and saw the bowls of food, then at his dad. “I don’t see...”
“Surprise,” Jody said as Ezra realized what was going on.
“Jody!!” the little boy exclaimed excitedly as he went to climb out of his chair.
“Hi Ezra,” she replied as the little boy ran over and hugged her.
“Are you surprised Ezra?” Taylor asked. Ezra nodded emphatically.
“You ready for dinner?” Jody asked the boy.
“Yup!!” Ezra let go of Jody enough so that he could get back to his chair. “All ready!”
Taylor dove into action, happily serving up mountains of spaghetti while Jody poured sauce on top.
“This is really good,” Jody remarked to Taylor after a not-so-graceful bite of her pasta. She turned to Ezra. “Your dad’s a good cook.”
“Thanks,” Taylor said, easily amused at the fact that Jody was able to relate to both Taylor and his son simultaneously. “You need a refill on the wine?”
He caught Jody with a mouthful of pasta. She motioned no before she was able to answer. “No thanks. You’d have to pick me up off the floor after another glass.”
Taylor smiled. She was a little cooky, but she was really something.
Ezra tapped her arm. “Hey Jody, you wanna play a game?”
“Sure, but only if your dad gets to play too.” She looked to Taylor for some backup.
“After dinner we’ll play,” he replied.
Ezra pouted. “Why can’t we play now?”
Taylor was about to respond when Jody spoke up. “We can’t play now because everybody knows that playing after dinner is much more fun. And you wanna have a lot of fun, right?”
“Yeah...”
“So how about this... We’ll play 2 games after we finish eating.”
“Two games?” Ezra’s eyes were wide.
“Yeah, Jode. Two games might be a little much.”
“Not when the first game is the ‘let’s clean the plates’ game.”
Taylor smiled and shook his head. Leave it to Jody...
“How do you play?” Ezra asked.
“Yeah, how do you play?”
She was stuck and Taylor was enjoying this a little too much.
“Oh Taylor you explain it so much better than I do. Why don’t you explain it?” Jody said.
Talk about a deer in headlights look. He looked completely trapped.
“Well...um... We all go into the kitchen.”
“Then what?” Ezra asked.
“Then we... Jody you explain it.”
This was not good, so she came up with something as quickly as she could.
“Um... Then we,” she looked at a plate and smiled, “we pretend we’re from outer space.”
“Outer space?” Taylor questioned.
“Duh Dad,” Ezra chimed in as he was absolutely enthralled with the game. “Outer space”
Jody almost fell on the floor laughing.
“And we have these spaceships,” Jody said picking up a plate.
“Those aren’t spaceships. Those are plates!!” Ezra said giggling.
“Not when we’re playing the game,” Taylor countered in an attempt to help Jody.
“Exactly. So the spaceships...”
“How can they be spaceships when they’re so small?” Ezra asked.
“Um... I’m getting to that part... So the spaceships are all dirty.” She crinkled her nose. Ezra did the same. “And because they’re dirty, they lose all their spaceship power. It’s our job to clean and dry them.”
“Wow!” Ezra responded. “This sounds like a fun game.”
“And I haven’t gotten to the best part yet!”
“There’s more?” Taylor questioned. “It already sounds like a really fun game.”
“The best part is when the spaceships go and recharge overnight. They go into the cabinets to get all their energy back so they can fly around the next night,” Jody concluded. Ezra and his father looked absolutely amazed. “And that’s the game.”
“Daddy, can we play?” Ezra pleaded.
Taylor looked absolutely stunned. “Sure.”
“Can we play now?”
“Only if you finish up your dinner.”
The little boy dug into his pasta and didn’t stop until he was done. Jody and Taylor snuck glances at each other throughout the remainder of the meal, which was surprisingly quiet. Taylor couldn’t remember another time when Ezra had been so silent.
Before long, all parties had finished their respective dinners and Ezra looked like he was going to explode with excitement.
“Ready to play?” Taylor asked. Ezra nodded quickly, making Jody laugh.
“Let’s go,” Jody said as she stood and gathered a few dishes.
“Which spaceship do I get?” Ezra questioned.
“Um... How about,” Taylor quickly scanned the table for the least breakable item.
“This one,” Jody finished for him as she scraped the sauce off the spoon and handed it to the little boy. Ezra didn’t look too certain. “It’s the most important piece. It’s the leader.”
His eyes were as big as the plates they were carrying. “The leader?!”
“Yup,” Taylor said as he walked into the kitchen. “You get to be the leader.”
With spoon in hand, Ezra nearly ran into the kitchen. “I’m the leader!”
Taylor chuckled. “Easy there Little Man.” He ruffled his son’s hair.
After handing Taylor the spoon, Ezra looked like he was thinking something over. “What are you planning?” Taylor questioned.
Ezra was silent for a moment.
“Can we keep Jody?”
Jody, who was only on the other side of a shelf, nearly dropped the plates in surprise.
“You OK?” Taylor questioned.
“Yeah,” she tried to cover. “I’m fine. They just slipped.”
He looked her over once before turning back to Ezra.
He lowered his voice and knelt down so he was eye level with the boy. “Now what is this about wanting to keep Jody?”
Ezra shrugged. “Can she come over to play again?”
Taylor smiled. “Sure, if she wants to.”
Jody, overhearing this and now slightly uncomfortable, cleared her throat. “So who’s ready for some spaceships?”
“ME!!” Ezra said, raising his hand and rushing over to Jody.
Before long the three of them were washing the dishes. Ezra was in charge of telling Taylor which spaceship needed cleaning next and Jody was in charge of drying the spaceships to ensure that they’d be ready to fly the next night. All ran smoothly and everyone was having a good time. Ezra was jabbering away and occasionally splashing Taylor with some of the water.
“Is that the last spaceship?” Jody asked as she placed the plate in the cabinet.
“I think so. That should do it,” Taylor responded as he looked over to see if anything else was in need of cleaning.
“Well great job with those spaceships, Captain Ezra,” Jody played with a dramatic bow.
Taylor smiled as he threw one of the drying towels over his shoulder and looked at the clock. “Looks like it’s bedtime for the Captain.”
“But Dad...”
“Time for bed.”
Jody also looked at the clock. “Oh geeze, I should be going. The trains aren’t that well lit at night.”
Taylor looked at her as if to say, hold on, I’ll deal with you in a minute.
“Bed time.”
“But we didn’t get to play another game,” Ezra whined.
Taylor knelt down so that he was eye-level with his son. “Why don’t we get you changed and I’ll read you a story.”
Ezra reluctantly agreed, took his father’s hand, and the two of them started off for Ezra’s room.
“I’ll be right back. Make yourself comfortable,” Taylor said to Jody before retreating to the baby’s room. Jody nodded as she watched them leave before she went to the couch.
Although it was only a little past 8, she was exhausted. It had been a very emotional day for her and she wasn’t sure just how much longer she could keep her eyes open. For the time being she rested her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes. It felt good to simply settle down for a moment. Sure Ezra was adorable, Taylor was good company, and work kept her busy, but it was nice for her to just have a moment to herself. It was some much needed Jody-time and she was grateful that she had this moment.
Jody must have drifted off for a second or two because she opened her eyes to the sound of someone clearing their throat. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Taylor with Ezra in his arms. Both were looking at her with soft looks on their faces- Ezra because he figured it was past her bed time as well and Taylor because he simply could not believe how serene she looked.
“I think Ezra’s got a special request,” Taylor said, shifting the child so he had a better grip on him.
He nudged the baby until Ezra shyly asked, “Will you read me my bedtime story?”
Jody looked like she was caught off guard and for a split second, Taylor thought she was going to decline.
She broke out into a big grin. “Sure. What story do you want to hear?”
Taylor inwardly sighed in relief. It didn’t seem in Jody’s nature to be so nice and then suddenly change her mind. Then again, before this morning she didn’t seem like the type to break down and sob into his shoulder.
A tapping on Taylor’s arm brought him back to the present moment. “You ready Daddy? It’s time for bed.”
The three of them went down the stairs and into the bedroom on the left. It looked like a typical little boy’s room with a toy chest, bed with various stuffed animals, a family photo with a very pretty lady who Jody could only assume was Natalie, and yet another small bookshelf.
Taylor gently placed Ezra down in the bed and tucked him in. He chose to sit a little more toward the foot of the bed to make room for Jody. She took her cue and sat down next to Taylor, but a little closer to Ezra. He reached across her and pulled out a well loved edition of Goodnight, Moon from between the bed and the desk and handed it to her.
She looked at him with a puzzled look.
“It’s his favorite bedtime story,” Taylor said with a smile.
Jody returned the smile, opened the book and began to read. Before long, Ezra’s eyes were struggling to remain open and Jody kept her voice low to ensure that he’d be asleep shortly. The plan worked and soon enough, Ezra was out cold. She silently closed the book, placed it back between the bed and the desk, and gently got up. Taylor followed suit and the two of them got to the doorpost of the room. Jody made a full exit, but looked back at the sleeping boy and marveled at the innocence in his breathing.
Taylor caught the look in her eye and smiled shyly as he shut the light and closed the door. The two began to go upstairs. Neither spoke as they reflected on the day.
But once upstairs, and out of Ezra’s earshot, Taylor spoke.
“He adores you, you know.”
“What?”
“Ezra. He really likes you.”
Jody shrugged. “He’s a great kid.”
A small silence settled on them.
“You uh, wanna watch a movie or something?” Taylor offered.
“I was kinda hoping we could continue the conversation we were having before,” Jody said cautiously. “It was really nice to just talk to you.”
“Same here.” Taylor paused. “I’m gonna grab a drink. You want anything?”
“Water please,” Jody said as she went back to her place on the couch. Before long Taylor emerged with a tall glass of water for her and a nice size glass of soda for himself.
The two took drinks from their respective glasses and set them on the coffee table.
“So what do you do for fun?” Jody asked.
“What do you mean?”
She shifted to make herself more comfortable on the couch. “What do you do in your spare time?”
“I go to shows, play with the band. That sort of thing.”
Jody nodded.
“You?”
“I work.”
“Gee that sounds like fun.”
Jody cracked a smile. “Oh yeah. Big fun.”
“Doesn’t seem like you’ve got a lot of time for school though.”
She shrugged. “I’m taking this semester off so I can save some money so I can go back in the spring.”
Taylor nodded, a little unsure of what to say next. “That explains why you’re always in the shop.”
“No kidding. I need to change my mailing address to that place,” she joked.
That broke the ice. From there the two talked about nearly everything from politics- Taylor had the upper hand there, to the City- both adored New York, to art and classical music. Before either of them realized, it was nearing one in the morning. The time revelation was surprising to Jody, who had thought that she’d be in bed by now.
“I should probably get going,” she said sadly as she went to get up. Her body was rather uncooperative. “I’ve gotta be at work in the morning.” She cracked her back and wrists and then rolled her neck.
“You’re not thinking about taking the subway are you?” Jody nodded. “It’s not safe for you to go by yourself.”
“I don’t have much of an option, do I? I’ve gotta get home.”
Taylor looked at her and noticed that she suddenly looked very tired. He couldn’t let her go at this hour. Who knew what kind of crazy people hung out on the subway at night?
“Um, I know this is going to sound weird, but you’re welcome to stay here. The couch doubles as a pull-out bed and I’ve got some extra pillows and blankets. I know it’s not home, but it’s a lot safer than the subway system.”
Jody looked up and smiled at his thoughtfulness. Her thoughts were cut off by a gigantic yawn and she knew that staying at Taylor’s would provide her with more hours of sleep and, like he said, it would be safer that attempting the subways.
She reluctantly nodded. “Sure. I think I’ll take you up on that.”
Taylor smiled, very relieved that his new found friend wouldn’t be putting herself in harm’s way.
“Well let’s clear the coffee table out of the way and get the bed all folded out.”
Jody could only nod. She really was tired.
The two of them moved the coffee table and Jody remembered thinking about how easily he was able to lift the heavy end of the furniture with seemingly little effort while she struggled to get a grip on the thing. They both placed the seat cushions on the floor and unfolded the bed. They placed the pillows back onto the bed, but in the space between the mattress and the back of the couch so Jody wouldn’t lose her pillow during the night.
Taylor had retreated to get some sheets and a pillow, leaving Jody upstairs by herself. She went over to the window and looked out onto the empty streets that had once been filled by so many people. She heard Taylor come back up the steps and turned around to help him make the bed.
The two of them continued in a friendly silence as they put the sheets on the bed. They were nearly done when the sound of little feet coming up the stairs caught their attention.
“What are you doing up?” Taylor questioned gently as he went over to the boy, who was clutching his blanket and rubbing his eye.
“I had a bad dream.”
Taylor sighed and studied him for a moment. “Do you want me to tuck you in again?”
Ezra shook his tired little head. “Can I stay up here with you and Jody?”
Taylor looked to Jody for permission. She nodded.
“Do you want to watch the Micky Mouse movie?” This time it was Ezra’s turn to nod. “Come on. We’ll all sit on the couch and watch it together.”
Jody had already climbed on top of the bed and Ezra followed her lead and snuggled in next to her. Taylor joined them once he put the DVD in and turned on the TV. Soon images of classic Disney films appeared on the screen and Ezra had climbed into Jody’s lap.
Ezra fell back to sleep fairly soon after arriving in Jody’s lap and Taylor noticed that Jody was on her way out as well. Ever so carefully, he pried the slumbering child off of Jody, into his arms, and began to get up.
Realizing what was going on and that she had no idea how to turn any of the equipment off, Jody tried to speak although she was more than half-asleep.
“You’re coming back, right?” she muttered.
This caught Taylor by surprise. “Um... yeah. I’m gonna go put Ezra back to bed and I’ll be right back.”
He carefully went down the stairs and tenderly laid his son down and covered him with the blanket before kissing him on the forehead. Watching Ezra sleep made Taylor aware that he himself was tired and wished he could just go two doors down the hallway and go to his own bed. Jody was probably back to sleep by now and most likely wouldn’t know the difference as to weather or not he actually made it back.
And yet he really wanted to go back and be with her for reasons he could not explain. There was something about the way she carried herself that he liked. He could tell that she was a proud person, but she wasn’t arrogant. Even her quirks made him smile. Not to mention the fact that Ezra adored her.
The fact that she was attractive was a bonus. She had big brown eyes and short, layered, dark brown hair. Her full lips were often parted in a big smile. She was very slight. Jody was slim, but not twiggy. She had small hips, but still looked like she could hold her own. Taylor also couldn’t help but notice her full breasts. She by no means was a Barbie doll, but she had a very nice shape.
With those thoughts in mind, Taylor neared the top of the stairs, peeked around the corner, and spied that Jody had woken up just a bit.
“Hey,” he said as he sat on the bed next to her. “You doing OK there, sleepyhead?”
Jody nodded. “I’m wide awake.” The dopey look in her eyes and her yawn betrayed her and Taylor smiled. “Maybe.”
“Go back to bed. If you need me I’ll be downstairs in the bedroom to the right.”
“What time is it?” she questioned.
Taylor craned his neck to see around the corner. “Uh... Quarter to 5 I think.”
“Where’d Ezra go?”
“I carried him back to bed.”
Jody smiled. “You’re such a good father.”
“Thanks.” Taylor studied her for a moment.
Jody moved closer to him. She was chilly and needed a little body warmth. Ducking under the covers would chase him away, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Taylor was, from what she could gather, a good person and someone she would really like to get to know better.
“I should let you get to bed,” Taylor said, breaking the moment. “You look really tired.”
Jody shrugged. “Stay if you want.” She glanced at the TV. “Looks like the movie’s almost over and I’m electronically challenged.”
Taylor smiled. “Fine, I’ll stay.”
Both of them moved back so they were leaning against the back of the couch.
And just like before, Jody was ready to fall asleep. Taylor watched her as she tried to stay awake, nodding in and out of sleep. She started to drift off and she began to fall over to the side.
Taylor’s side.
He put his arm out and gently tipped her back over, but before long she was tilting again. After 3 or 4 of these, Taylor gave up and let her rest against him. Realizing that there was no way he was going to get out of the situation, he rested his head against the back of the couch and let himself also drift off to sleep.
It felt good to take care of a woman again. He didn’t quite realize how much he missed it until Jody had rested up against him.
Chapter 9
Index
Email: BunchOfFrogs@aol.com
