“Aunt Wiwee?” Maggie said, still unable to fully pronounce Lily's name correctly. Wyatt didn't mind it, though, because he thought it was the cutest thing in the entire world.
“Yes, Aunt Lily,” he said. “What do you think?”
“I love Aunt Wiwee!” she squealed and the smile returned to her face immediately.
Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, well I'll send her a text in a few minutes and see if she has plans for later this afternoon. I don't know what her schedule is like today, but I'll find out. I'm sure that if she's not working late, then she'd love to come see you.”
Maggie hopped off the chair and began jumping up and down. She was completely unable to contain her excitement. Aunt Lily was Wyatt's secret weapon to making Maggie happy whenever she was feeling down.
“Mrs. Mildred, Aunt Wiwee is coming to hang out with me today!” she said, pulling on Mildred's arm.
“I don't know for sure, honey,” Wyatt said, trying to temper her expectations just a little bit in case Lily wasn't able to make it. “I'm going to ask, though. Let's just hope that she's free this afternoon.” He then turned toward Mildred. “I'll let you know if Lily can make it by. If so, feel free to let Maggie know.”
“Of course,” Mildred said. “I hope she's able to make it. It's always nice to see Lily. It's been a few weeks since she's stopped by.”
“Yeah, I think she's been working a lot of hours at the coffee shop,” Wyatt said. “Rent is so damn expensive in this city any more, I'm guessing that most people have to work overtime just to survive.”
It's almost like you have to be a damn billionaire just to enjoy a decent lifestyle, he thought. It sure does make me feel grateful for what I have, though.
The three finished up their meals and Wyatt stood up from his seat. “Okay, I've got to go take a shower and get changed. I'll say goodbye before I head out the door.”
Maggie was already preoccupied with a new Lego set that W
yatt had bought her a few days before. She had completely ignored it until right then. It was like she suddenly had renewed interest in it. Her face was beaming with excitement. Of course, Wyatt knew that it didn't have anything to do with the Legos. Her happiness was brought on by the fact that Maggie was going to get to see her favorite person in the world that afternoon.
I just hope Lily isn't busy and is willing to come by, he thought, as he made his way upstairs to get ready for work.
Chapter 3
Lily
After working the early-morning shift, Lily finally clocked out at one in the afternoon. She was a bit tired, but there were advantages to working in a coffee shop that helped with those sort of things. One of them was that she was able to make herself as many caffeinated drinks as she wanted for free. She'd already had two mocha lattes and was working on an iced coffee as she left the building and went to her car.
What a long shift, she thought, letting out a slow exhale and relaxing into the driver's seat.
She closed her eyes for a bit, just enjoying the silence. Her coffee shop was one of the busiest in town, which meant that while she was working, she never even had a full minute to sit down and rest. It was nonstop from the moment she clocked in until the moment she left. It was worth it, though, at least for now. The pay was decent and she got full health benefits. Still, it wasn't exactly where she thought she'd be at twenty-six years old.
In fact, she thought for sure she'd have a real job by now. Maybe something in a high rise building or a cubicle, where she could get dressed up a little bit and do her makeup before work.
She applied to different opportunities nearly every day and had been aggressively job searching since graduating from college. It turned out, though, that her bachelor's degree in liberal arts meant next to nothing in the real world. None of the hiring managers seemed to really care that she'd studied film history and modern art.
So, like everyone else in her graduating class who carried a similar degree, she did what she had to do to make ends meet; she got a job that was unrelated to her education, but at least gave her a paycheck at the end of the week.
Before starting her car, Lily reached over and pulled her phone out of her purse. She'd heard it buzz a few times while at work, but didn't have a spare second to check it until now. When she opened the lock screen, she saw a text from a familiar name in her contacts; Wyatt Montgomery.
With a smile of anticipation on her face, she opened up the text.
Hey Lily. How are you? I was wondering what your schedule was like today. If you're not busy this afternoon, would you like to come by and see Maggie? I told her you might be able to and she got so excited. Let me know. Thanks, Wyatt.
“Of course I want to stop by,” Lily whispered to herself. She quickly texted back.
Definitely! I just got off of work. I'll go home and get changed out of my work clothes and then I'll head straight over.
Suddenly, the stressful shift at work became a faint memory. The excitement of getting to see Maggie and Wyatt seemed to erase all of the stressful parts of her morning. She started up her car and pointed it toward home. She needed a quick shower to get rid of the coffee smell that had permeated her skin and clothes. After that, though, she planned on heading directly over to Wyatt's. She couldn't wait to spend some time with Maggie, the cutest and sweetest girl on the entire planet.
Wyatt's mansion wasn't all that far from Lily's apartment complex. This wasn't by accident either. She had wanted to live close by so that she could visit Maggie whenever she felt like it. Even though she technically wasn't Maggie's mother by blood, she did still carry her in her womb for nine full months.
Five years prior, when she'd first been contacted by Caroline and Wyatt about becoming a surrogate mother for them, Lily had asked if she could stay in the child's life. Some of Lily's friends thought that it was strange to stay in contact with the couple in a situation like that, but she didn't feel the same way. Besides, not only were Caroline and Wyatt okay with the idea, they actually had encouraged it. They both adored Lily and thought that it was a positive thing to have Maggie in her life.