“Come by tomorrow,” I tell her. “And I’ll tell you what I found, okay?” I feel badly, though, so I offer a bit of an olive branch. “But I’ll give you my number in case of emergency.”
Why, Samantha. WHY.
He taps my phone number into his phone, then mine buzzes.
A text from an unknown number.
Hey.
“That’s you?”
Another text.
Yup.
He pockets his phone and frowns without even saying thank you.
“Toni.” He reaches his hand out to her. She sighs and shrugs off his hand, but walks with him.
Prince whines a little.
“I know, baby,” I whisper to him. But do I? I don’t know why I feel as sad as Prince watching the two of them walk away.
Chapter 6
Miguel
I thought you could Google shit like how to get a kid to go to bed, but apparently by the time they’re Toni’s age, most people have that all figured out. The only information I can find online has to do with babies and toddlers, and I suspect swaddling Toni in a lightweight blanket and singing her a lullaby wouldn’t work quite the same.
It’s nine p.m., and I do have the vaguest idea that kids her age should be in bed by now.
It’s the first night she’s been in my place, since Winnie offered to handle the first few evenings when I had early morning travel plans.
Her clothes are in the guest room, including appropriately sized pajamas, robe and fluffy socks, and a toothbrush. Raul and Winnie went shopping, and we’re well stocked.
Toni’s wearing soft cotton pajamas with the tags still on them.
“C’mere,” I say, reaching for her shoulder.
She flinches.
Why does she flinch?
Did someone hurt her?
“Okay, so. Go to bed,” I try.
“Now? I’m not sleepy,” she says, “and I’ve never slept alone.”
“Did you share a room with your mom?”
“Yeah. We only had one bedroom. I had my own bed, but I didn’t sleep alone.”
Well, she sure as hell has to start sleeping alone, for obvious reasons.
“You could… count sheep or something.”
“What?”
“Like in your head. You lie in bed and close your eyes and pretend sheep are jumping over a fence. You count each one, until you fall asleep.”
She tips her head to the side. “What? Why?”
“I have no idea.”
“Does it work for you?”
I shake my head. “Never tried it.”
“Then why should I?”
Good question.
Jesus.
Why isn’t there a checklist or something, like when you buy a new pet at the pet store and they give you a list of things you need.
Aquarium, fish food, tank heater, net.
Kids are so much more valuable than pets. So why is this the best we can do? I could be a serial killer or an ax murderer for all they know, background checks be damned.
“Movie?” I have work to do, trying to close a deal on some international chains. I’ve had emails sitting in my inbox since noon that are in desperate need of my attention.
She frowns as I flip through the seven thousand channels I have.
“What do you watch, Sesame Street or something?”
She squinches up her nose. “I’m not four.”
Right.
I let her settle on something that looks fairly innocuous while I fire up my laptop and get work done. I figure I can wait until she falls asleep on the couch and then… do something.
It’s midnight when I look up to see her sprawled out on the couch. I get up and stretch, yawning. I shut off the laptop and stare at the girl on the couch.
Now I have to figure out what the hell to do with her.
It’s way too late to call Winnie. She goes to bed at like nine o’clock. Raul might be awake, but he doesn’t know any more about what to do with a kid than I do.
I don’t know if it’s because I can’t get her out of my mind, or if the stars have aligned for just this purpose, but my first thought is to text Samantha.
Before I can second-guess myself, my fingers move of their own accord.
Me: Hey. It’s Miguel Santiago.
Her response comes back a second later.
Sam: Hello, Miguel Santiago.
My lips actually quirk a bit. I feel like smiling.
Me: Shouldn’t you be sleeping?
Sam: I am. I’m sleep-texting. And anyway, shouldn’t you?
Now that makes me full-fledge smile.
Me: Sleeping’s overrated. I don’t do much of it. Listen, I don’t want to bother you, I just need some help.
Sam: Oh?
Me: I… didn’t know how to get Toni to go to sleep, so she fell asleep on the couch watching… something. I don’t know what. And now I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do with her? Sorry. I don’t know anything about this kinda thing.
Sam: I imagine that’s frustrating.
I blow out a breath. She has no idea.
Me: Yeah.
Sam: So what I would do is see if you can wake her and sort of lead her to bed. Kids can sometimes half-sleep-walk to bed. Or you could carry her up to bed. I’m assuming you have a guest room or something. Or you could just cover her with a blanket and let her spend the night there.