* * *
Supper. Bath. Bed. It was a routine Rafael had been able to implement with Gracie from an early age and had been working very effectively. Until now.
‘Come on, Gracie. We’re both tired. Why don’t you put your pyjamas on and I’ll read you a story in bed?’ He’d given up on the other two stages now when the walls were coated in the supper he’d made and he was soaked from head to toe with bath water while Gracie remained bone dry.
‘No.’ She ran off again down the hall away from all thoughts of sleep when it was all he wanted to do.
He pulled the plug out of the bath and drained away what water there was left in the tub and used a towel to mop up the rest on the floor. She’d got into the bath initially but, rather than sit down and play with her toys as usual, she’d stood screaming and kicking the water until he’d had no option but to lift her out again. Rafael couldn’t stand to see her distressed yet he didn’t know what had set her off tonight.
‘Por favor. Please, Gracie.’ The toddler pulled off her bath robe and streaked away from him, screeching at the top of her lungs.
At the lowest point of his day now, he was tempted to reconsider Summer’s proposal. If he withdrew the inference that he wasn’t being a good enough parent to manage alone, he still didn’t think it a good idea to turn over responsibility of Gracie’s care to someone else merely on their say-so.
Once the red mist had dissipated he could see Summer had meant well and he should’ve been more appreciative of her interest, more gracious in his refusal of the offer. After all she had nothing to gain in making herself available for Gracie except, in his mind, the possibility of undermining his position in his daughter’s life and taking the moral high ground. He knew it was a ridiculous notion but he was so unaccustomed to having people help it made him wary.
The last time he’d felt backed into a corner, forced to ask someone else to share the responsibility, he’d almost lost his daughter and had had his commitment to her questioned. It wasn’t easy for him to swallow his pride and his fears and accept genuine support when it was being given freely.
If Summer could see the two of them now she’d be entitled to wag a finger and say, ‘See? You need me,’ before providing the calm voice of reason his daughter might be more inclined to listen to than her father. He’d worked alongside Summer enough in the clinic with the twins to have experienced that patience she had with the children and the rapport she was able to build with them individually. It was the same with Gracie.
If he was honest about why he didn’t want her involved in his life beyond the clinic, it was that building panic at the thought of letting her get too close to his daughter, or him, on a personal level. She had a sweet smile to match her easygoing nature around the kids and it was impossible not to be impressed by her dedication as well as her beauty, but he hadn’t moved to an island to find himself in exactly the same situation he’d left in Boston.
He couldn’t afford to start relying on her being there for him in case the time came when she decided she’d had enough too. Then he’d end up back at square one, having to fight through his own grief to support Gracie on his own. It had taken this long to get where they were and now they were happy he had no desire to get knocked back down.
They’d been through too much to have to face that kind of devastation again. Unless he was guaranteed to have a partner willing to be by his side for the rest of his days it was pointless even forming an attachment. Eventually even this beautiful young woman would tire of their demands on her time and want to move on.
Too bad that self-preservation seemed to manifest in his grouchy alter ego intent on protecting him from Summer’s charms. His attempt to keep her at arm’s length simply seemed to spur her on to display a dogged determination and passion that did nothing to diminish his admiration for her, even though he couldn’t show it. He had enough on his hands trying to wrangle a three-year-old to bed without debating the pros and cons of getting into another relationship. There simply wasn’t room for another female whirlwind to wreak havoc in his life.
‘Graciela Valdez, will you please come here and put your pyjamas on now?’ It was half command, half plea. He was willing to forget the last few hours of Gracie Armageddon if she would get into bed and finally go to sleep. Then he might get an hour or two to wind down before he had to do this all over again. Obviously, he needed to retire earlier than he had last night to avoid oversleeping again, when they were still experiencing the effects of that slip-up now.
He’d known Summer’s assessment was correct about the disruption to Gracie’s routine setting her off on the subsequent trail of mayhem and chaos. Sometimes it was easy to forget this cute bundle couldn’t be railroaded into things she didn’t want to do for convenience’s sake. Logic didn’t fit into her life the way it did for most.
He heard the handle turning on Gracie’s bedroom door before she emerged, dressed, if not in the night-time attire he’d have chosen for her.
‘That’s what you’re wearing to bed?’ He was resigned to letting her wear the colourful mismatched socks, the princess dress he’d bought for her birthday—complete with sparkly tiara—and fairy wings, regardless of how uncomfortable he imagined they’d be to sleep in. If he could get her to sleep there was a chance he could slip the tiara and wings off at some point without causing too much of a fuss. At this point in time he’d agree to wearing a matching outfit if they could just bring this day to an end.
Gracie nodded, her lips pursed and brow furrowed as though she was prepared to fight some more for her fashion choices. Any such notion of another battle of wills left him feeling drained. ‘Okay then.’
Except she still had no intention of going to bed as she bounced her way down the staircase to the lounge. Rafael had no option left than to leave her to tire herself out. He knew when to pick his battles with her and this wasn’t worth the fight. At least the screaming had stopped and he decided if he wasn’t permitted some time to sit back and chill, he may as well catch up on some paperwork. That was the part of his job he wasn’t enamoured with and if he completed it during working hours, he’d never have a minute to see his patients.
He let the television babysit his daughter for a few minutes to retrieve the briefcase he’d left in the hall beside his bike, thinking he wouldn’t see either again until the next morning. With Gracie sitting happily on the couch, legs swinging and humming along to whatever bright, noisy children’s show she’d found, he seated himself at the dining table. It gave him sufficient room to spread out his notes and files and the open-plan style of the villa provided an unobscured view of his daughter at the same time. Although he would have to try and block out the noise or he’d never be able to concentrate.
He set the case on the table and flicked open the catches. The picture Gracie had presented him with at day-care was laid on top and he set it to one side to stick on the fridge door later, if he could find a space alongside her other artwork. He also lifted out an uneaten orange and a banana beginning to turn brown, leftovers from the lunch he hadn’t had time to eat. His pen, his diary and various pieces of stationery lined the bottom of the bag but there were no case notes.
‘Where are they?’ he asked aloud to the now-empty elaborate lunch pail. His hand connected to his forehead in a slap of sudden realisation. The files were sitting on his desk at work. He’d intended to go back and fetch them from the office but he’d been so preoccupied with picking Gracie up from day-care he’d forgotten. The perfect day from hell.
They lived so close to the clinic it seemed silly not to simply swing by and pick them up, and another glance at Gracie, who was now jumping on the couch, confirmed there was no danger of her going to bed soon. If he could wrestle a coat on her she could accompany him and they’d be there and back in fifteen minutes, tops.
‘Hey,