“When’s dinner ready, Ma? I’m starved.”
“Now! Let’s eat,” she said enthusiastically. They began to walk to the dining room, but Olivia placed a hand on Alyssa’s arm stopping her.
Looking her straight in the eyes, Olivia said, “I know we don’t know each other very well, and I hope that changes one day, but I need to say something.”
“Okay …” she trailed off.
“Don’t question why John does what he does, Alyssa. It’s clear as day how he feels about you and Brooke. Hopefully you’ll see it one day, but just in that small interaction in the kitchen he’s head over heels in love with you and your daughter. It’s really sweet. Sometimes we don’t see what’s right in front of us … Don’t make the same mistake I did and shut him out. The Jackson brothers are good men. Just roll with it,” she said, squeezing her arm and then walked away leaving Alyssa speechless.
After dinner, Brooke bounced joyfully on Olivia’s knees while Alyssa helped clear the table. John walked outside with his father and Luke to talk. Being in John’s home with his family made her long for a family of her own. Sadly, that would never happen. Her father was long gone and her mother had disowned her. She’d been abandoned by her only family. Even with John and Luke out of the house now, they were still one whole unit, not broken apart or fighting. It was gratifying being among them.
“Alyssa, John was telling me that you work a double every Saturday. So you have a sitter that whole day?”
Handing another dish to Diane, she said, “Actually, I have a regular babysitter every Saturday and during the week it’s someone else. I found a girl who is getting her degree online and needed extra cash. She comes to my house to watch Brooke and when she sleeps she’ll work on her school work. I work two doubles, Fridays and Saturdays, and then a few nights. That way during the day I’m with Brooke. It works out pretty well for all of us.”
Diane looked at Alyssa from the corner of her eye. “Except when she’s sick and can’t come in.”
“Yeah … then I’m kind of in a bind. Luckily, that doesn’t happen often and my boss understands.”
“Have you considered going back to college?”
Of course she had, but having Brooke meant putting herself on the back burner.
“I have, but I also need to put a roof over my daughter’s head so that kind of takes priority right now.”
“What about your mother? Doesn’t she help?”
This wasn’t an easy topic for her and she was kind of wishing John had told his mother so she didn’t have to.
”She still refuses to speak to me. So, no.”
Diane spun around, soapy water dripping from her hands. “What do you mean, sweetie? I thought she was passed that.”
Alyssa shook her head. “She was a teen mom, so I guess I messed everything up for her when she got pregnant? I’m not sure, Diane, and honestly, I never asked. It’s like saying she wishes she never had me, and that’s hard to take.” Alyssa looked over her shoulder at Brooke with a sad smile on her face. “I could never feel that way about my daughter, but I also don’t regret her either so maybe there’s a difference,” she said quietly.
Diane’s eyes softened, her heart pouring out through them. “I’m so sorry she made you feel that way.”
She shook it off. “It is what it is.”
When Diane didn’t respond, Alyssa just shrugged. She suspected Diane had more to say but was holding back. Call it intuition, but she knew something was on the tip of her tongue.
“You’re a good girl.” Diane dried her hands. “How about you take a break and I’ll do the rest.”
She just had Alyssa over for dinner. As if she would just sit there while she cleaned up. “Oh, no. I could never sit while you do it all. I don’t mind helping.” Alyssa grabbed a dish and towel dried it before Diane could say no, and then did another.
Once they were finished, Alyssa checked on Brooke, who was now sleeping peacefully in Olivia’s arms. A full belly and some play time would have her napping for at least an hour or so. Walking back in the kitchen, it was just Diane and Alyssa.
“Do you need help with anything else?” Alyssa asked.
“Oh, you’ve been such a dear. I think everything is pretty much cleaned up. All I need to do is stick the pie to heat up in the oven. However, I want to ask you something.” Diane poured two glasses of sweet tea and handed one to Alyssa. “Come sit down.”
Anxiety rolled through Alyssa’s stomach. There were so many things Diane could bring up to talk to her about. One being how she unintentionally hurt John … the paternity …
Diane took a sip of her tea then pulled Alyssa’s hands into hers. Her dainty fingers curled around and she squeezed her hands softly. “Now I want you to hear me out and think about what I’m going to say before you say no.”
“Okay …” Alyssa’s eyes narrowed.
“How would you feel about allowing me to keep Brooke on the weekends so you could work? Clark and I gave it a lot of thought last night and it’s something I would really like to do for you. I can only offer one weekend a month right now until I see how I can handle a baby all day with MS, but maybe down the line I could take on more for you. We miss having babies around and would love to have Brooke.”