Wyatt stood up from the floor and jogged upstairs. He went straight to the front door and pulled it open.
“Hey, hey,” he said, before even looking to see who was on the other side. “Did you miss us that much?”
Once the door was open, he was greeted by someone, but it was most certainly not Lily like he had been hoping. Standing in the doorway was Mildred. Her gray hair was tied back into a pony tail and her glass were sitting at the very tip of her nose. It looked like a soft breeze could have blown them straight off.
“You know what? I actually did miss you guys,” Mildred said.
“Oh, hey, Mildred,” Wyatt said, embarrassed. “Sorry. I guess I thought you were someone else.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” she said, with a wink.
“No, no,” he said. “It's not like that. Here, let me get your bags.”
“Thank you, dear,” Mildred said, as she slipped her duffel bag from her shoulder and passed it to Wyatt. He was surprised by how heavy it was.
“Looks like you came back from vacation with your bags more full than when you left,” he said, laughing.
“Well, you know, I had to pick up some souvenirs for everybody,” Mildred replied. “I've got a few fun things in there for Maggie that I think she'll like.”
“I know she'll like whatever you got her.” Wyatt carried the bag in through the doorway and set it on the floor. “She likes any kind of gift.”
“Where is Maggie, anyway?” Mildred asked. “I can't wait to see he
r. I know I've only been gone for ten days, but it has felt like months.”
“Maggie is playing downstairs,” he said. “You should go surprise her. I'm sure she'll be super excited to see you.”
“I'll do that,” Mildred said, setting her other suitcases inside the door. She looked around the front room and drew in a long breath. “You know, as nice as it was to spend some time on the beach and relax, it sure does feel good to be home.”
Wyatt smiled. “Well we're glad to have you back.”
“No troubles while I was gone?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No, none at all. Things went pretty smoothly.”
“So Lily did okay?” Mildred asked. “I was a little nervous about it, just because I'm so used to Maggie being in my care. I felt like an over-anxious mom going out of town and leaving their kid for the first time or something. It was kind of a strange feeling, to be honest.”
“No, Lily did really well,” Wyatt said. “You know how much Maggie adores her, though. All she wanted to do was spend every waking moment with Lily. They did a lot of fun things during the week. Overall, I couldn't be more pleased with how it went.”
“Does this mean I can take more vacations?” Mildred said, with a smirk that told Wyatt she was joking.
“I know you're just kidding, but seriously, you deserve more than one vacation every five years, Mildred,” Wyatt said. “And speaking of vacation, I wanted to talk to you about something really quickly.”
Mildred's eyebrows rose, causing the wrinkles on her forehead to show. “What is it?”
“Would you have any interest in taking weekends off?” he asked.
Mildred looked a bit confused by the question. “I suppose if you wanted me to, then I could.”
“It's not that I want you to, I'm just wondering if it's something you'd be interested in,” he said. “I spoke with Lily while you were gone and she said that she'd be up for working here on weekends if you ever wanted a little down time.”
“You know, that actually doesn't sound too bad,” she said. “I'm not sure what I'd do with myself, though.”
“Mildred, you have twice as many friends as I do,” Wyatt said with a laugh. “I'm sure you'd figure out something fun to do. Only do this if you want to, though. I don't want you to feel like you have to. If you'd rather just stay working here seven days a week, that's totally fine.”
She shook her head. “No, I honestly think having a couple of days off each week would do me some good. It might even keep the last few black hairs on my head from turning gray.”
Wyatt chuckled. “Well I already know that Lily is on board with the idea. So if you're giving me the go-ahead, I'll talk with her and see when she can start doing that. I expect it will be as soon as this next weekend.”