“I don’t know,” I replied, stating the truth of the matter, “I don’t know him very well.”
Be that as it may, I had renewed hope that I might have indeed been wrong about him, and Niles “The Nuke” Veek might yet have hidden depths. He seemed good with his little girl, that was for certain sure.
The pizza disappeared slice by slice, a few pieces set aside in case the newcomers got hungry. The sense that it was ‘our place’ as in Gens and mine, was hard to shake. Not least because we’d arrived first. Childish, to be sure, but that was where my mind found itself going.
“First come first served” still lodged in my mind, despite what bullshit it obviously was. One just had to go to an emergency room for evidence of that.
And regardless, it belonged to Ann more than any of us. We were just staying there, out of the goodness of her heart. It was important to remember that. Not least as evidence that not everyone in authority was awful. Some of them were just stunningly talented and horrifically lucky.
“What smells so - oh.”
“Hi.”
It was pathetic, but honestly the best opening I could think of. No point in making the situation any more awkward.
“You’re staying here too?” Niles asked, with an encouraging calm.
“Yeah, I mean, yes. We got here about an hour ago.”
“Us too, well not really. It’s been more like twenty minutes, honestly. Maybe you could give us the tour later.”
“Sure.”
It was doubtful I’d seen much more of the house than they had, but it was nice to keep up the pleasantness. I still wasn’t sure where I stood with him, or how I felt, but it was important to keep things civil, if not friendly, for the sake of the kids.
“And who is this?”
“It’s Lily,” Gen informed me as the other girl stared mutely at the floor, “She goes to my day-care.”
Well, that’s a little bit of a relief. Being a few years apart, they might not have had too much interaction there, but familiarity seems like a good start.
“That’s a pretty name,” I said, trying to put the shy youngster at ease.
“It’s my wife - her mother’s middle name,” Niles says.
Wife? Ever so brief, the word stood out like a hotel sign on a desert highway. He’d definitely said it, at least before catching himself, but as far as I knew, he was raising her alone. Questions popped up like whack-a-mole, answers much more difficult to come by. Was Niles divorced, separated?
It took a while to bring the word up. The last option I could think of with the intel provided. The absolute worst of the options. A widower.
“Would you like some pizza?”
“Please!” Lily enthused.
“Okay,” Niles said, unleashing Lily on the poor, unsuspecting pizza.
Lily ate with comparable intensity to Gen, but considerably more politely. All of it actually made it into her mouth, Lily keeping her mouth closed to boot. If nothing else she might be a positive influence on Gen.
“Kids, hey?” Niles asked, in what sounded suspiciously like good humor.
The kids took to the change in living situation like ducks to water. Within a few hours of our arrival, they were thick as thieves in the living room. Lily contented reading some of the many books provided, while Gen did her best to master Jenga.
The only real tension still in the air was between me and Niles, though it really did seem to be one way. Niles was more focused on Lily than me. A fact which warmed me to him considerably.
“We, uh, should make up a plan of some sort. Just so everyone knows what they’re doing,” I said finally.
“Great idea. Do you think it’s okay to leave them?” he asked.
“Probably not, we can work in here, though.”
“True enough.”
Each armed with our own pad and pen, we took opposite ends of the diabolically comfortable couch, within easy reach of the kids, and got down to brass tacks. It was much easier negotiation with Niles than I might have thought. There were a few moments I worried he was just lulling me into a false sense of security, getting ready to pounce at a moment’s notice, but no such attack ever came.
We each made suggestions, building and adjusting to each other’s ideas. Feeding off each other’s energy. If only my ex had been more like Niles, we might well have still been together. I still couldn’t be sure about him, but surprisingly, I was considerably relaxing into the idea of spending the foreseeable future in his company.
Chapter Ten - Niles
Three-hundred and seventy-nine. The number of spots on the ceiling in the room I’d chosen in the little slice of heaven Ann White was letting us use. Out of the pure goodness of her beautiful heart.
Someone really did need to get the medical research people on that. A lawyer with a heart of gold. Who would’ve guessed it?