A Wish Too Far

Chapter 2
The Birth of a Wish

Chapter Description: Liam has to look after Lucy for an evening, but one innocent little comment could change his entire life.

Hot air blasted over Liam’s head, the blow-dryer’s whine drowning out all other noise. It was going to be a heck of a night, a nice little follow-up on the big party. With any luck he’d meet up with that blonde from the other night. What was her name again? Veronica? No, Monica... maybe. Well whatever it was, she was perfect for him. Liam killed the dryer and immediately he heard the ringing from the other room.

Dropping the hair-dryer Liam sprinted out of the bathroom into his bedroom and started fumbling through his clothes. Finally he felt the solid rectangular form he was looking for and drew his iPhone out of the pants still ringing. The screen showed it was Ben’s cell calling him. Liam wondered if maybe his friend had decided to join him tonight after all. He hoped that was it, Ben was a good wing-man.

Liam thumbed the touch-screen to connect and raised the phone to his ear. “Hey mate, you change your mind?” he answered.

But Liam’s hopes were instantly dashed as he heard the tone of Ben’s voice. “Sorry dude, I’m actually calling cuz I need a huge favour of you,” he said.

“Sure, what is it man?”

“I have to go to the hospital to check on my dad, he had a fall. And Sarah is away on school camp, so she can’t stay with Lucy,” Ben explained.

Liam frowned, not liking where this seemed to be going. “Can’t she go to the hospital with you?” he asked.

“No dude, they don’t let little kids visit patients y’know. I’m so sorry to ask but I can’t find a sitter on this short notice. Can you just watch her for a few hours tonight?”

Liam silently cursed himself for picking up the phone. He could feel the night he’d planned for himself slipping away. This was why he didn’t have kids! They ruined your life, since they always had to come first. He wanted so badly to say no, but he couldn’t just abandon a friend like that. After all wasn’t he the one always saying “Mates before dates!”

“Yeah, okay man, I can do it,” Liam agreed, through gritted teeth.

“Oh thanks dude, you’re a true life-saver!” Ben exclaimed. “I’ll be over with Lucy in fifteen minutes.”

Liam packed away his dressy shirt and pants, he wouldn’t be needing them after all. Dressed in his t-shirt and board shorts he was ready for a boring night in with a snot-nosed little kid. Soon enough the doorbell rang and he opened the door to see Ben and Lucy back on his doorstep.

Ben didn’t look so good this time. His clothes were sloppy and he had a bad 5 o’clock shadow. Lucy was still being bashful, hidden behind her dad’s legs before Liam had even opened the door fully. This evening she was a bright pink t-shirt and jean capris. Liam sighed quietly, wondering what he would do with a girl acting so shy around him. “I’m so sorry to screw up your night man,” Ben apologised again.

“No worries dude,” Liam shrugged.

Ben thrust a DVD case into his hand. It was Shrek Happily Ever After. “She loves this thing, can watch it over n’ over. Just put it on and she’ll be sweet.”

“What about food?”

“Anything but lollies and you’re fine dude,” Ben assured him. “It ain’t rocket science, you’ll figure it out. Okay, I gotta go,” Ben told him, then turned to face Lucy. “You be good for Liam, okay. Are you gonna be a good little girl for me?”

Lucy nodded solemnly.

“What do you say?” Ben prompted.

“Yes daddy,” Lucy replied.

“That’s better.”

Then with a peck on her forehead and a pat on the head Ben was on his way, leaving Liam in charge of the tyke. For a long moment they just stood there in the foyer awkwardly. Lucy’s eyes were on her feet, her bare toes scrunching in the carpet again. Liam frowned, he always had people take off their shoes before entering his house so they didn’t track dirt in, but barefooted little kids like Lucy had none to take off. Pushing his worries for his clean white carpet aside he forced the frown from his face and considered how to deal with this shy little girl. Liam thought a moment then knelt down to be at her eye-level so he could try to break through her shell.

“So your daddy says you can have anything but lollies, eh?” Liam asked, but got no response. “Well,” he continued, rubbing his chin as if in deep thought, “I don’t suppose just a little chocolate could hurt, could it?”

Now he saw a smile forming on the little kid’s face. “Yes, I think a hot chocolate might be just the right thing to start the evening. What do you say Lucy?”

Lucy’s eyes finally met his and she nodded eagerly, though still silent.

“Okay then, let’s get you something to drink!” he announced, heading for the kitchen. As he poured out the milk and got the mix out, Lucy followed him into the kitchen, padding softly across the linoleum floor. Soon enough she was sipping at the piping hot chocolaty drink unable to contain her happiness any longer.

“This is yummy!” she told him between sips that were rapidly becoming gulps.

“I thought you’d like it, I know I always loved hot chocolate when I was little,” he told her.

“Don’t you like it anymore?” she asked, looking surprised.

“Oh sure, I guess. I mean, I never really have hot chocolate anymore. Grown-ups drink different stuff.”

“How come?” Lucy asked.

Liam shrugged. “I dunno, we just do, that’s all,” he told the curious little girl.

“Don’t grown-ups like chocolate?”

“Well sure, but not as much as kids I think.”

“Why not?”

Liam just shook his head. He’d heard that kids could ask a thousand questions but he’d never had first-hand experience with it. It was actually pretty cute, or at least less annoying than he imagined it would be. In just a few moments Lucy was slurping loudly at the last drops of foamy hot chocolate, her cup emptied. Liam smiled as she put the cup down and smiled up at him with a big chocolaty milk moustache.

“Did you taste it?” he chided her playfully.

Lucy giggled sweetly and nodded. “Can I have another?” she asked hopefully.

Liam could see why little girls often got whatever they wanted from their daddies. Who could say no to such an adorable face? Still he knew she’d be up all night if he let her have another round of chocolate so he had to cut her off.

“I’m afraid that was the last of my milk sweetie,” he lied. “But if you’re a good girl for me I promise you can have a treat later.”

Lucy’s eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously. “Promise I’ll be good,” she assured him.

“Okay then, let’s get you cleaned up and then we can play a game or something.” Liam grabbed a paper towel and cleaned Lucy’s face up. She dutifully sat still for him, her eyes locked on his face.

“There we go, clean as a whistle!”

Lucy swung her legs back and forth in anticipation and asked, “So now what we gonna do?”

Liam thought hard about that. He seemed to recall having some board games and cards in the closet. He led Lucy to the living room and told her not to touch anything while he looked. He had to dig through piles of junk in his closet to get to the games but he soon found a whole stash. He figured Scrabble and Monopoly were probably a bit too advanced for the little girl, but some Uno cards would do nicely.

He returned to the room to find Lucy hopping up and down on his couch, though she quickly dropped to her bum and tried to act innocent when he walked in. Liam sighed and thanked goodness he didn’t have any kids of his own. They had no concept of what was acceptable and what was not. He decided he’d better not leave the girl alone again lest she really damage something.

“What you got?” she yelled out, seeing the games in his hands.

“Well, some boring games I don’t think you’d like, but there are a couple cool games for us to play. Have you ever played Uno?”

Lucy shook her head.

“Well don’t worry, I’ll teach you how. It’s really simple and lots of fun!”

Lucy seemed eager to learn from Liam. She sat really close to him on the carpet so he could show her the cards. Liam taught her the game and they spent nearly an hour happily engrossed in it after that. He was surprised by how little repetition bothered little kids. He was bored of the game long before she was. Eventually though it was her hunger that put an end to their play.

He fed her dinner as best he could, though it was much more work than he’d realised it would be. Lucy couldn’t use a fork or knife properly yet so he had to cut up all her food for her. She wasn’t particularly careful about cleanliness either so he had to tuck a paper towel in her shirt like a bib. Liam didn’t recall being so messy and helpless as a kid, but then it had been a long time.

After dinner he put on the Shrek DVD for her to watch. She’d clearly seen it a dozen times before because she could recite the lines before the characters said them. Yet she wasn’t tired of it at all. She grinned and giggled her head off time and again. She also had the annoying habit of yanking at his arm and hopping up and down to insist he watch this part or that because it was just the funniest thing in the world!

Inevitably though, her energy began to run out. Like all kids her age she seemed hyperactive until it hit about 9PM, then she hit the wall. By the end of the movie she wasn’t hopping and jumping about anymore, she was sitting on the comfy big couch next to Liam, her eyes getting droopy. Soon she was yawning out loud and then she curled up even more, cuddling under Liam’s arm and resting her head on his belly. “Looks like someone’s getting a little sleepy. You wanna get to bed Lucy?” Liam asked.

Lucy shook her head and declared, between yawns, “Nah, I’m not sleepy yet.”

Liam chuckled and patted her head gently. “Okay Lucy, you just let me know when you’re tired then.”

“’Kay,” she agreed quietly. She snuggled deeper into him embrace and yawned once more, before commenting, “You’re cuddly.”

Liam chuckled. “Thanks Lucy, you are too.”

Lucy turned her head so she could look up at him. “You think I’m pretty?” she asked.

Liam felt a little awkward about the question, but he didn’t want to hesitate and upset the little girl. “I think you’re cute as a button,” he replied.

Lucy smiled from ear to ear. “You wanna be my boyfriend?” she asked eagerly.

Liam felt very at once touched by the compliment the cute little girl was paying him, and uncomfortable about the awkward situation she was putting him in. He didn’t want to crush her hopes but he had to make her understand how impossible her proposal was.

“Oh Lucy, I wish I could be, but I’m much too old for you. I’m a grown-up honey and you’re a little girl.” Seeing the look of disappointment on her face he added, “A very pretty little girl of course. I’m sure you’ll find lots of little boys who will want to play with you.”

“But I like you,” she insisted, sounding hurt.

Liam felt so bad about having to set her straight. It hurt to be rejected by your love, even if it was just a silly crush. She was too little to understand the very mature world of dating and relationships, to her he was just rejecting her friendship. “It’s okay honey, don’t be upset. Maybe... maybe if you wish really hard you’ll grow up really fast, overnight even. Maybe when you wake up in the morning you’ll be a full-grown adult and then I could be your boyfriend.”

Lucy sniffled as though about to cry, but then she seemed to perk up a bit at his suggestion. “Yeah, that’s it,” he continued, “Just wish really hard, you believe in magic right? You know wishes can come true. Just wish to grow-up. Or,” Liam added with a slight chuckle, “You could wish for me to grow down. Wish for me to be a little boy again.”

Lucy was smiling now, giggling at his joke. Then she yawned again and rested her head back on his belly. Liam brushed her hair lightly as she drifted off to sleep. By the time the movie finished she was completely out of it. Liam managed to extricate himself from the couch without waking her, heading to his office to get another chapter done while the kid didn’t need watching.

As it turned out Ben was back shortly before midnight anyway. He scooped Lucy up off the couch without her waking. “Was she okay for you?” he whispered.

“A perfect angel, no worried at all mate.”

“Thanks so much again. You’re a lifesaver Liam, don’t know what I’d have done without you.”

Liam bid his friend farewell and watched him carry the drowsing girl to the car and set her in her car seat without disturbing her rest. She was a cute kid, but god was he ever glad she wasn’t his responsibility all the time.