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Chapter Fourteen
Hadley
I didn’t realize how crappy my body felt over the last year until I spent the past few weeks actually getting sleep. Having days off—let me repeat that having days off—was amazing. Lucy, Eli, and I lazed around in our pj’s on those days until we got bored. Then, I’d take them to the park by the lake if the older kids were outside the apartment, or we’d go to my parents’ house. We’d even Facetimed with Olivia—I appreciated being able to talk to my sister more.
I was nervous about starting at the hospital, but everything turned out okay. I was still getting to know everyone, but so far, everyone seemed great. I could see myself getting close to Rosalee, an RN a few years older than me. We clicked immediately on the first day.
Two weeks passed, and it was my first payday. I felt like a millionaire when I checked my account last night. CNA’s barely made more than minimum wage—in a nursing home you had to work a long time to build up better pay. The pending amount was amazing. I even called Mom, and we cried together. Reality hit me. School was over. I didn’t process it all until the stress from worrying over money finally fell from my shoulders. Well, almost. There was still the credit card to pay off, but other than that, things were looking up for my family.
At that moment, I was making good on the promise I had made Lucy. As soon as I got off work at seven, I picked up Lucy and Eli from my parents and headed to Walmart. We grabbed random stuff we only dreamed of buying because of my previous budget.
Before going to the food aisles, I took Lucy to pick out a toy. It wasn’t a surprise when she picked up a box of Hot Wheels cars. I picked up a new outfit for Eli, and then, headed to the makeup department for a few items and skincare products. It had been a long time since I purchased anything for myself—maybe since sophomore year. A lot of the nurses I worked with dressed nice and looked beautiful. Would it be wrong for me to want to be pretty again? It wouldn’t take away from me being Lucy and Eli’s mom.
After a few minutes of standing around, trying to figure out what to buy, Lucy looked up to me with a smile and asked, “Will you do my makeup too?”
She made my life easier, no matter what anyone said.
I’d been feeling a little lost, but slowly, the stress of nursing school and money lifted. Scott’s betrayal and absence in my life felt simpler and somehow less important. The only things that were significant were right there with me, happy with me.
Finally, we made it to the food section. We were content tossing items into the shopping cart like we’d never done before. I didn’t notice him at first since I didn’t know the man. At all. I was too busy with Eli in my arms and Lucy yelling for everything, but now I couldn’t stop glancing back at him. Was he following us? I couldn’t be sure, and I didn’t want to be one of those women who overreacted, but something seemed off about the older man. I didn’t want to be rude, but he seemed like a major creep.
Lucy brought over a half-gallon of chocolate milk and asked, “This?”
Placing a hand behind Eli’s head, I bent down toward Lucy and grinned. “How about a full gallon?”
Her eyes lit up as she ran to switch it out. Next, we hit the meats. We grabbed everything possible. Lucy was busy making plans for me to cook tacos when we got home even though it was already so late. She wanted BBQ ribs tomorrow and just mac and cheese another night. She was really thorough about what she wanted as she tossed everything in the shopping cart.
“Can I get some candy?” Lucy asked as I grabbed a loaf of bread.
I held up one finger. “Just one.” I searched around for the older man every so often, feeling better when I hadn’t seen him as we headed toward the front of the store. The shopping cart was overflowing, and I was mentally drained thinking about what came next—taking everything out of the cart, checking out, loading up the trunk, and driving home.
Ugh.
Right before we reached the registers, I saw Elijah. Not really him so much as his tattooed arm plucking a bag of Funyuns from the chip aisle. My gaze wandered over his dark jeans and black shirt, appreciating the familiar way they hugged his muscles, before landing on his face. My cheeks did a slow burn, and I quickly averted my eyes even though Elijah didn’t see me. Or did he?
What was that heated sensation in my chest coming from?
“Mommy is that Elijah?” Lucy mumbled and tapped my hip with her fingers. I was grateful she didn’t scream his name like she normally did.
“I think so,” I whispered even though we stood at a distance from him.
Eli grunted and stretched against my chest. I knew my beast boy would eventually squirm, especially when he’d been good for so long.
Slowly, Elijah turned our direction. I felt awkward and flushed, so I glanced down at Eli while running my fingers over his head.
From the corner of my eye, I caught Lucy waving. “Elijah!”
I counted to three and then looked up. Elijah walked toward us, a hint of a smile crossed his face as he stared at my daughter.
“Hey,” I murmured when he stopped in front of Lucy.
“You guys grocery shopping?” He glanced my way.
I nodded, gripping the cart with one hand and holding Eli’s head as he wiggled with my other.
“Can I have some Funyuns too?” Lucy blinked up at me.
“Yeah, let’s grab them and go,” I told her.
