Chapter 9 – Thank You
They chatted as they ate their lunch, Amanda entertaining Liv with stories from her academy days back in Atlanta. Noah was thrilled when the women let him feed Frannie her pup-cup, which was essentially a cup of whipped cream. The little boy held the paper cup sideways so that the dog could lick inside it. All three humans laughed heartily when the canine, in her eagerness to consume the delicious treat, shoved her nose right in the cup then sneezed as the cream went up her nostrils, spraying the white foam everywhere.
When the blonde finished wiping the white flecks from her pit bull's face with a couple of napkins and Frannie had cleaned out what was left in the cup with her long pink tongue, they decided it was time to head back to the apartment. Liv knew that her son would soon be ready for a nap. Sure enough, she got him settled in the stroller and before they reached the end of the block his eyes were closed, head lolling to one side.
"He's out for the count." Amanda observed, an affectionate tone in her voice as she watched her lieutenant's son sleeping.
"Thank you for tiring him out, Manda," said Liv, warmly, "I might actually be able to get some work done now". She felt strangely peaceful as she saw the soft expression on the younger woman's face. Anyone passing by might take them to be a little family out for a walk, two parents, their son and their family dog. The idea sent a pleasant shiver up the older woman's spine, if only, she thought. Then she reminded herself it was unlikely ever to happen, given her suspicions about Amanda's current condition, Liv could only conclude that the blonde was straight.
"I don't mind watching him if you have stuff to do Liv." Amanda said, bringing the brunette out of her reverie. "It's the least I can do seeing as you are putting me up." She added, shyly.
"He should sleep for at least an hour," Liv said, "hopefully my paperwork won't take much longer than that. Are you sure you don't mind?"
"Of course Liv," the blonde reassured her, "I'm sure I can keep him busy for an afternoon." They got back to the apartment then. Rather than disturb the little boy's sleep, Liv left him to nap in the stroller which she parked next to the couch in the living area. The three females then went their separate ways, Liv hung up her coat and collected her work bag from the front closet, Amanda went to fetch her book from her bedroom and Frannie made a beeline to the water bowl in the kitchen. When the dog had drunk her fill, she returned to the living area, sniffed at the toddler still snoozing in his stroller, then hopped up on the sofa beside him, resting her head on the arm of the sofa so she could keep an eye on her little human.
Liv and Amanda returned to the room at almost the same time. "Frannie!" Amanda exclaimed in a harsh whisper, not wanting to wake Noah. The pit bull raised her head, ears twitching on high alert. "Get off of there," the blonde commanded, "you can't just go crawlin' all over Liv's furniture!" Frannie made no effort to move, just simply stared at her owner as if to ask, 'why not?'
Liv put a placating hand on the younger woman's shoulder, "it's fine Manda," She smiled. "I'm not precious about it. Noah has made his fair share of messes on that sofa. Let her lay there if she is comfortable."
Seeing that her boss was genuinely not bothered by her pet making herself at home, Amanda relaxed a little, "if you're sure, Liv." She smiled gratefully.
"It's fine." She reiterated as she moved past the blonde to set her work down on the kitchen table, just behind the sofa, fondling the dog's ears as she passed. "Would you like something to drink?"
"I'll get it, Liv," the blonde hurried toward the kitchen, "You're busy, and you said it yourself, I can get my own damn tea." She laughed at the amused expression on Olivia's face as she set about making tea for the pair of them.
When she went to the fridge to retrieve the milk, she spotted a grocery list written in Olivia's elegant hand stuck under a magnet on the door, and an idea struck her. Remembering what Liv had said earlier about needing to go shopping, she glanced over her shoulder at the brunette. Liv was engrossed in whatever she was reading on her laptop screen and wasn't paying any attention to her. So she slipped the list into her pocket. She finished making the tea and took a cup to Liv who murmured a distracted word of thanks, then made her way to the armchair adjacent to the sofa where Frannie was still snoozing.
Glancing at the table to check Olivia was still busy, she took the list and her cell from her pocket and got to work. After a while she put down the cell phone with a satisfied smile and picked up her book from the coffee table. She had just sat back and cracked open the thriller novel when she saw Frannie raise her head out of the corner of her eye, and heard the sound of stirring from the stroller.
She quickly dropped the book back onto the low table with a quiet thud and moved to crouch in front of the stroller where Noah was beginning to wake up. She unclipped the seatbelt and slid his arms out of the straps. "Hey little man," she said softly, not wanting to startle the sleepy boy, "did you have a good nap?"
Noah looked around him with a confused frown on his face, his curls flattened on one side where his head had been pressed against the stroller seat. It took him a minute before he focused on the blonde woman in front of him. He let out a small whimper and held his arms out to her, "cuddle Manna?" he croaked, voice still heavy with sleep.
Feeling her heart melt with love for her lieutenant's son, she carefully lifted him and stood, bringing him into her chest, where he snuggled close to her, his warm weight was oddly comforting. Noah laid his head on her shoulder, his forehead pressed against her neck and his small fist holding tight to the collar of her sweater. Leaning back slightly, she kept one supporting arm under his butt, while she rubbed soothing circles across his small back with her other hand. Swaying gently where she stood, she was surprised to feel tears prick the back of her eyes at the connection she felt to the little boy in this moment. She closed her eyes to keep them from falling, and buried her nose in his hair, breathing in his redolence. He smelled clean, like laundry detergent and baby powder, with just a hint of the vanilla spice scent that reminded her of his mother.
"You're a natural with him," came a soft voice to her left. She turned to see Olivia watching from her seat at the table, one elbow resting next to her laptop on the table, her chin resting casually on her hand as she peered over the top of her reading glasses at the two in the living room. Amanda's breath caught in her throat at the sight of the brunette's dazzling smile. Not sure how to respond to the older woman's compliment, she smiled back shyly, her face turning a delicate shade of pink.
Noah had come round a little now and he wiggled in her arms, wanting to be put down. The blonde lowered him to the floor where he ran over to his toy box in the corner. "Manna you pay da cars wid me?" He called over his shoulder, brandishing a toy police car and a tractor at her.
She smiled indulgently at the toddler, "sure buddy, I'll play." She sat cross legged on the floor beside the coffee table, where Noah proceeded to fill her lap with countless toy cars, trucks and vans. They spent the next half hour or so racing the cars up and down the coffee table, until the door buzzer sounded. She stood up and looked across at Olivia who had her eyebrows knitted together in puzzlement. "I think that might be for me," Amanda said, "do you mind if I answer it?"
"Sure," Liv said, still looking confused, "go ahead." She gestured towards the intercom on the wall by the front door.
After a brief conversation Amanda went to the front door and returned a few moments later with three large grocery sacks balanced in her arms.
Liv jumped up from the table, where she had just been packing her work stuff away for the day, and hurried towards the blonde, taking the middle bag from her just as it was about to fall. "What's all this?" She asked as she looked into the bag, seeing a variety of fruit and veg, orange juice and a box of crackers.
"Well, you said you needed to go grocery shopping," Amanda explained, leading the way into the kitchen and putting the two bags she was holding down on the counter. "So I went grocery shopping for you, online." She finished with her hands on her hips, wearing a self-satisfied grin.
Olivia put down the last bag and began pulling items out and putting them away. Amanda helped by passing things to her, the blonde still being unfamiliar with where everything was kept in Liv's kitchen. "Amanda you didn't have to do that," Liv admonished the younger woman gently, before a thought struck her. "How did you know what I needed, anyway?" She looked at the refrigerator, where her list had been stuck earlier, then back at the blonde, although she was smiling, she narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "you stole my list didn't you?"
"I plead the fifth," she smirked, emphasising her southern drawl as she put the bags down on the kitchen counter and held her hands up in mock surrender. "I wanted to make you dinner as a thank you for your hospitality," she grabbed a bag of tomatoes from one of her lieutenant's hands, and a pack of chicken from the other, putting both items down on the counter. Then she took hold of the brunette's upper arms and turned her, giving her a little shove towards the sofa. "Go sit, relax, and spend some time with your boy while I show you some real southern style cookin'!"
Olivia stared in fascination for a few moments, as Amanda tied her hair up in a messy ponytail, washed her hands at the sink then took Liv's rarely used apron from the hook on the wall. Fastening it around herself she began to look around for the things she would need. With a smile and small shake of her head, she took Amanda's advice, and went to play with her son.