The morning came way too early but that seemed like every morning now. Daniel went and got the baby and it prompted remorseful thoughts from Abigail. Theirs wasn't an unhappy marriage and Daniel was a loving husband and father. It wasn't sex though, she told herself so it must be fine. That simply was it.
The rest of the morning was a bit of a blur as weekday mornings often were between getting her daughter ready and fixing breakfast for everyone. Jillian did come, shorts added to her nighttime attire, and took the baby from Abigail who avoided eye contact though she did try to check quickly if there were any noticeable milk stains on Jillian's shirt. If Abigail was struggling with the thought of cheating, Jillian didn't seem to have any qualms about being the enabler as she was her regular cheerful and helpful self.
Abigail served everyone eggs, sausage for her daughter and Jillian, bacon for her husband and fruit for herself. She had sworn that everyone would eat the same thing every day when her daughter was first born but that went out the window quickly when the realities of parenting changed from some bookish goals she had made. Daniel was reading the news on his phone, JIllian was feeding the baby and her daughter was complaining about being sleepy while Abigail poured drinks for everyone.
Daniel laughed and said "These internet companies must have heard you say your breast pump wasn't working yesterday. There's an ad on my phone."
Abigail brough coffee over for the adults and milk for her daughter "Oh I was googling new ones on the ipad. That's with your Apple ID, I think." she explained reassuring him that their devices weren't that sinister.
"Could I have milk instead please?" Jillian asked, smiling sweetly, as she held the baby in one arm, rocking her.
Abigail looked over, her heart beginning to race, and said "Of course." She walked back to the fridge and poured a glass.
She set it in front of Jillian who smiled and said "Thanks. I just felt like I was craving milk this morning." she elaborated and Abigail froze.
"So do you need a new one?" Daniel asked, continuing to scroll through his phone. "How much do they cost anyway?"
"No...I fixed it." Jillian said, taking a big sip of her milk before turning her attention to Abigail's daughter and began chatting her up.
"Oh good." Daniel said, not looking up. "Kids are like a giant money dump." and then looked at his daughters and Abigail "Love them though!" and laughed.
Abigail nodded, with a half smile and toyed with her food before eating slowly.
A few minutes later Daniel and her daughter were out the door and Abigail walked them out waving goodbye. Jillian followed after putting the baby down and when Abigail turned to come back inside, she saw the teen standing right there with a devious smile on her face.
Finally making eye contact, Abigail said "Look, yesterday was crazy and I know you think it's funny but I don't." Jillian looked hurt but Abigail walked by her and back into the house and immediately got busy getting herself ready to go back to work in another week.
Abigail stayed in her room, sorting and trying on clothes. She was generally pleased that most of them fit, other than one skirt which was always the tightest, but it gave her something to aspire for. A couple of hours had gone by and Abigail wondered if she had upset Jillian. Her breasts filling up were quite the distraction too. She went downstairs and found Jillian playing with the baby.
"It's time to feed her." Abigail announced and readied herself for some kind of drama.
"Oh is it..." Jillian said, tickling the baby's stomach "Somebody's hungry?" she said continuing to talk to the baby.
"Here you go." she said, giving the baby to Abigail. "I'll be in my room." and she went off giving Abigail privacy.
If there was going to be drama it was in the form of a cold shoulder. Abigail nursed in silence feeling guilty for being too harsh on the sweet teen that had only been nice to her. She finished and walked to Jillian's room and knocked. When Jillian opened it, she said "Mind taking her? I'm gonna get changed and then I need to go to the mall. Do you wanna go?"
Jillian smiled and took the baby "Sure. I'll get dressed too."
Abigail felt a bit better about Jillian. It didn't seem like drama but that a line had been drawn and she was aware of it. She went back upstairs to get ready to shower and remembered that she needed to shave too and quickly texted Jillian to let her know that she'd need probably 45 minutes. When she got down to business, she resisted the urge to touch herself and focused on shaving with constant thoughts of her teenage au pair. By the time she was dressed in her goto short denim cutoffs and a white tanktop, and Michael Kors sandals, Abigail felt that the line was either blurry or she was going to cross it herself. She paused in front of the mirror, tossing her hair back repeatedly to try to give it a bit more bounce, her mind still busy over analyzing her own thoughts and actions.
Was she fat? Should she work out more? Did Daniel think she was pretty still? Did Jillian think she was pretty? She wasn't quite sure how thinking about Jillian even became a thing. She admonished herself and with that guilt she stepped away from the mirror.
As she sauntered downstairs, Jillian was there with the baby in the car seat, dressed in short denim cutoffs and a white tanktop with Adidas sneakers. The teen felt some kind of a connection yesterday which solidified the crush she had on her glamorous employer. It was a crush but one that stretched romance and moved into a pseudo mother-daughter bond that she craved. Jillian grinned, nervously, hoping Abigail would think it was pretty.
Abigail took a second glance and wondered if this was some kind of message being sent but she decided not to probe. "You look cute." she said, and Jillian sure did.
"Thanks. I've been taking lessons from your fashion sense." Jillian said and it was true.
The mall was mostly fun and lighthearted, Abigail more on edge or at least thinking that she was.
Jillian on the other hand was also busy over analyzing but perhaps did a better job of covering it. She didn't feel nearly as much pressure as Abigail did even though she did have a boyfriend.
Things were winding down and other than Jillian holding up a large sized bra over her perky A cups and laughing it was mostly a typical visit to the mall. Abigail tried on a few clothes, wondered if they made her look fat, got reassured by Jillian, that she looked gorgeous even if her eyes fixated mostly on Abigail's fascinating rack and bought the baby a few unnecessary items because they looked 'so cute!'
When they got back into the SUV, Jillian turned to Abigail and took a deep breath before speaking "I'm sorry if I upset you this morning but..." she paused, unsure if she should continue and then she did "I know last night was crazy but I'm like not telling anyone if that's what you're worried about."