“I had Mildred change the sheets on the bed for you,” Wyatt continued. “There's a walk-in closet and you have your own bathroom as well. Feel free to make yourself comfortable and to unpack. These dressers are all empty for you and are yours to use.”
“Wyatt, this is great,” Lily said, walking across the floor and toward the closet. She poked her head inside and her jaw hit the floor. The closet alone was twice as big as her bedroom in her apartment.
“If there's anything you need at all, please just let me know,” Wyatt said. “I'm here to help as much as I can. The next week I've got a lot going on at work, though, so I can't promise a lot of my time. But I want to make this as fun for you as possible, so don't be afraid to ask for something if you need it.”
Lily turned around to face Wyatt, who was standing in the doorway of the room. “I can't think of anything right now.”
“Great,” he said. “Oh, I wanted to ask you. What kind of things do you know how to cook? Like I mentioned on Wednesday, Mildred usually does the cooking around here. I'd like you to take on that role like we had agreed.”
“Of course,” Lily said. “I actually printed up a few recipes at my house that I was going to try. I wanted to make chicken Parmesan one night, maybe homemade pizza another night. Oh, and I was also planning on giving meatloaf a try.”
“All of that sounds good to me,” Wyatt said.
“I'll have to go shopping to get ingredients,” Lily said. “I was planning on taking Maggie to do that tomorrow.”
“Tell you what.” Wyatt crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway. “I'll go with you to the grocery store tomorrow. I've got a couple of hours in the afternoon. Would that work for you?”
Lily nodded. “Yes, definitely. Any time works for me. I'm all yours for the next ten days.”
She felt her cheeks tingle and she knew she was blushing. Something about that last sentence she said sort of came out weird. She didn't mean anything by it, but it came out sounding kind of sexual for some reason. Luckily, Wyatt didn't even seem to notice.
“As far as food tonight, there's leftovers in the fridge from the dinner that Mildred made yesterday,” Wyatt said. “Or you're welcome to order a pizza if you'd like. I'll leave money on the counter, so you can do whatever sounds good. There's a Chinese place nearby that also delivers. I'll put there menu out along with the money.”
“So you won't be around tonight?” Lily asked.
Wyatt shook his head. “No. I have a gala to attend. It's a meeting of the pharmaceutical minds. Should be interesting. I shouldn't be out too late. I honestly hope to be home by midnight if it all goes as I want it too.”
“Okay, well I brought some movies and games to keep Maggie and I busy,” she said. “Anything important I should know before you head out this evening?”
“Maggie's bedtime is eight-thirty,” he said. “However, since it's Friday and also a special occasion with you being here, you're welcome to let her stay up until ten. I'll be surprised if she makes it that long, though. She's usually pretty sleepy before then.”
“Awesome, well I'll let you get ready for your event,” Lily said. “In the meantime, I'll head down to the basement to play with Maggie like I promised her.”
Wyatt smiled and reached forward to place a hand onto Lily's shoulder. He gazed straight into her eyes and she felt her knees turn to rubber.
“I know I've said it a few times now, but thank you a million times over, Lily,” he said. “I can't tell you how much I appreciate you doing this for me. It makes me feel so much better that Maggie gets to spend the time with you rather than some random babysitter that I found online.”
“It's no problem,” she said. “Honestly. I'll do this any time. Don't ever hesitate to ask.”
Wyatt nodded and lifted his hand from her shoulder. “You have my cell phone number, so please call or text if there's anything you need while I'm out. I'll keep my phone on my the whole night.”
“Okay, that sounds good,” she replied. “I don't expect there to be any issues, but I'll of course let you know if there is.”
“Alright, well, the house is all yours,” Wyatt said, as he turned and headed out of the room. “I've got to get changed into something a little more appropriate for a gala. Some how I don't think anybody would approve of me showing up in sweat pants.”
Lily laughed and watched as he disappeared out of the room.
This is a dream come true, she thought, glancing around what would be her bedroom for the next week and a half. I'll get to feel like a rich person, if only for a little while.
Lily headed out into the hallway and back downstairs to the main room. She still needed to get unpacked, but before she could do that, she had a promise that needed keeping. So without any further hesitation, she headed down to the basement to meet up with Maggie.
Maggie and Lily had spent the better part of the afternoon in the playroom. After several tea parties with stuffed animals and playing hide and seek to the point where they'd run out of places to hide, they headed back upstairs.
The rest of the day they were outside on the playground. Lily pushed Maggie on the swings and went down the slides with her. They laughed and had fun the entire time. So much fun, that Lily didn't realize how fast the time had flown by. When she checked her watched, she realized it was already almost time for dinner.
“Hey, Maggie, we should go in and figure out something to eat,” Lily said.
Maggie agreed and they made their way back into the house. The timing was perfect, too. Wyatt was just about to leave for his gala when they stepped into the kitchen.