No Strings Attached

Chapter Ten

Amazingly, he settled into a comfortable routine that childcare offered. Suddenly, it was a wonderful sense of security to only have to drop her off somewhere at the same place and at the same time for five days a week. It made his mornings that much easier and, finally, it gave his work schedule some stability. 

Apparently, his performance had improved to such heights that his manager took notice and offered him a promotion from out of the blue. 

And so he quit. 

Being a waiter, Louis reasoned, was something meant to accommodate a lifestyle that included a little girl he had to watch over constantly at home. It was meant to be a starter job, one that would pay the bills and keep his little family going for as long as he needed the job. But when Rosie started going to childcare and Louis found himself with freer, more stable time in his day, he decided that he could pick up a job that he might actually love doing. 

It took a week or so into the second month of Harry’s absence before Louis really felt comfortable with his new job at a preschool working with children that were only a few years older than Rosie. He always had dreams of being a drama teacher, and though this wasn’t exactly that, he was at least a step closer toward that dream and a step further away from serving food to unrelenting customers. He had quit school a year before finishing because of Rosie’s arrival, leaving him several credits shy of a credible teaching degree. 

He found the preschool position that needed to be filled right away, and they had made the gracious decision to fill it with him. He didn’t need to be there every day of the week, which actually worked out well for the other activities that found their way into his schedule. This way, he could still earn money while working toward completing his degree by taking classes on the days he didn’t have work. He hoped that within a year, he would be able to work with older children, that much closer to realizing his dream. 

Of course, that meant he didn’t see Zayn nearly as much as he usually did, but that only made the time that they spent together that much sweeter. Zayn felt a new urgency to quit his job as well and focus on realizing his own dream, if only he knew exactly what his dream was first. 

On weekends, Louis came over with Rosie more often than not. Zayn always commented on how much she had grown in the span of a week, and though Louis thought he was being ridiculous, he also realized that his best mate didn’t see her as much as he used to, back when Louis needed sitters like he needed air. He couldn’t repress his affection at seeing the little girl practically jump into her godfather’s lap, running across the room with irrepressible joy and excitement. 

“How’s Harry?” Zayn asked one Saturday, stroking Rosie’s hair like he couldn’t get enough of it. The little girl didn’t seem to mind; she reclined comfortably in her godfather’s lap and reveled in the attention she had missed so much and was finally receiving. 

The question surprised Louis, perhaps a little more than it should have. Truthfully, he didn’t know all that much. The two kept in contact through text messages and the occasional email, but Louis was so caught up in his new schedule and he figured that Harry must have been preoccupied, as well. Still, it didn’t keep him from glancing over at his phone like a new text message would appear with new information that would miraculously answer Zayn’s question for him. 

“I – I don’t know,” Louis said after a while. “I’m guessing he’s doing alright. Must be busy though.” 

“Harwee!” Rosie squealed under Zayn’s attentive hand, and Louis’ heart sunk a little. She had always called Harry’s name whenever the younger boy watched over her, but she rarely ever did it now, understandably. 

Zayn understood the effect Rosie’s exclamation must have had on Louis because he patted Rosie’s back and gave her a quiet little shush, encouraging her to relax and remain quiet for her father’s sake. It seemed to work because she folded her arms and pressed her back to Zayn’s stomach, closing her eyes and soaking in the calming effect of his fingers running through her hair.