Nothing But This (Broken Pieces 2)

“Oh my God. Alistair’s band is really, really good,” Tina announced after coming into the kitchen that Friday night, her eyes bright with excitement. Tina had been incredibly unhappy since Harris had left town, and Libby smiled, delighted to see her friend so animated.

After their massive opening-weekend fail, the restaurant was now thriving under Tina’s guidance. And they could now count the mayor as one of their loyal patrons. The man’s visits had been exciting for all of them. Tina had fully embraced the concept of Libby’s dessert tasting menu. And they had just launched a Wednesday dessert night. It was such a success that people were making reservations weeks in advance.

And now Tina’s idea to have a live band in on Friday nights was paying off in spades. Alistair was their restaurant manager Ricardo’s new boyfriend, and he and his band were their first-ever live act.

Professionally, both Tina and Libby were doing very well. Personally . . . not so much.

“You’re right! The band’s awesome,” Libby responded. “We’ve been singing along all evening.”

“We’ve got an amazing crowd tonight; they’re loving it.”

“And they brought their appetites, which is great for us,” Libby quipped.

“Yes indeed.” Tina’s smile widened, and she actually rubbed her palms together in glee.

Libby’s phone buzzed in her pocket, and her smile faded when she saw that the text was from Greyson. Immediately concerned that something might have happened to Clara, she sent Tina a panicked look before opening the message.

It was a video clip. Relaxing marginally, she opened it.

“C’mon, angel. Do it again for your mummy.” Greyson’s encouraging voice could be heard as the wobbly camera focused on Clara, who was blowing little spit bubbles and waving her arms excitedly. The baby was lying on her comforter on the floor, surrounded by cushions and toys. Greyson’s large hand appeared in the frame, and Clara’s fist grabbed his finger. She greedily tried to tug it to her mouth for chewing purposes.

Not sure what the purpose of the clip was, Libby watched with a happy little grin on her face. Tina, who was craning her neck to watch, had a similar expression on her face.

“Come on, Clara, up you go,” Greyson said gently while pulling his hand back slightly. Clara, who still had a death grip on his finger, grabbed his hand with her other tiny fist and pulled herself up to follow his hand. Soon she was sitting upright and still trying to drag his hand to her mouth.

“Okay, let go now, angel. Show your mummy what you can do . . . I swear she did this earlier, Olivia.” His voice was a little louder now as he spoke directly to Libby. “Just bear with us.”

The phone wobbled when he set it aside, faceup. And Libby and Tina found themselves staring at nothing but the ceiling and part of Greyson’s face.

“Give Daddy’s hand back, Clara . . . that’s a good girl. That’s my sweet girl.” The phone moved again, and the camera pointed back at Clara. She was still sitting up, but one of his hands was on her arm to support her. He slowly released her, and Libby held her breath as Clara remained upright for about five seconds before listing to the left. The camera jerked, and Greyson’s large hand appeared again to shift the baby back into an upright position.

“Oops, sorry, sweetheart. Daddy let you go before you were ready. Let’s try that again, okay? Three, two . . .” His hand slowly inched away, and Clara remained seated, fully in control, her wide eyes staring at something above the camera—probably Greyson’s face.

Libby’s hand crept to her mouth. “Oh, she’s doing it, Tina!”

“I can see that. Like an absolute pro.”

“Oh, you’re a good girl,” Greyson crooned. Clara chuckled. She waved her arms again. And immediately lost her balance. They heard Greyson mutter an expletive as the baby began to topple. The phone went flying as he made a grab for her, and the video ended a few seconds later.

Libby and Tina were both laughing at the abrupt ending to the clip, and Libby quickly forwarded the video to her parents, Harris, Chris, and just about every other person on her contacts list.

She followed that up with a message to Greyson.

OMG! I can’t believe she did that. Thanks for filming it.

She’s been showing off all evening, keeps pulling herself up and sitting for a few seconds before losing her balance again.

That’s because she’s after the praise and attention she knows she’ll get from you every time she succeeds.

Well such amazing achievements deserve applause : )

Naturally.

Libby looked up from her texting to see Tina watching her quizzically, and she self-consciously tucked her phone back into her pocket.

“What?” she asked when Tina continued her speculative staring.

“Oh, nothing . . . I was just wondering if that soppy grin on your face was still because of the clip or because of the texts you were exchanging with Greyson.”