AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I looked up and saw Lillian walk into the room wearing my favorite dress of hers. It had a ribbon around her waist tied off into a bow, and the fabric was a beautiful blue and pink and yellow floral print. She had on some blue flats with yellow socks, and she was holding a pink bow in her hand for me to put in her hair.
“Did you pick this out all by yourself?” I asked.
“Do you like it? Daddy taught me that if I wear a color on my body, I can also wear it other places too.”
I swallowed down some of my tears as I held my hand out for the bow.
She looked spectacular for her first day of school. I watched her grab her backpack and stand by the door, bouncing from foot to foot. I took one last look at her before I grabbed my purse and had her hold still for a few pictures for Aunt Nikki.
Then, we loaded ourselves up in the car.
I drove her to school and dropped her off, trying to ignore the humming of the back tires. As much as I hated my nosey neighbor, she was right. There was a humming noise, and it kept growing in volume every time I drove. Of course, something like this would happen at a point where I couldn’t afford much more than what was already on my plate. I distracted myself by dropping Lily off at school, giving her a big hug and an even bigger kiss.
Then, I headed to Nicole’s shop. Nicole’s Novelties. She’d opened her shop a couple of years ago and sold anything anyone could think of. If it was loud, weird, and colorful, Nicole had it in her store. She had become the go-to spot for any crafter or restoration specialist in town, and she was very proud of that.
And I was thankful for the part-time work she had hired me for.
“The pictures you texted me this morning were adorable!” Nicole said.
“I’m glad you liked them,” I said with a grin.
“How did it go? Was it completely painful?” she asked.
“It had its moments, but I think Lily’s very excited to be starting her ‘big girl class.’”
“Oh. That girl is too precious. I love her so much.”
“So do I,” I said. “She’s a good kid.”
“No tears when you left her at school?”
“Only from me,” I said.
“Well, duh. I meant from her.”
“Nope. She took it like a champ. If anything, she was too eager to get rid of me.”
“Every girl always is at some point in time, but she’ll miss you before her lunch break comes around. And speaking of getting rid of things, you’ll never guess how my night went.”
“If this is a segue into another Tinder date, I don’t want to hear this story,” I said.
“Trust me. It’s worth it. This guy I met off there took me across town to that cottage restaurant.”
“The one with the tables and lawn chairs on the front lawn? I like that place.”
“It’s got great food, but I don’t do eating outside,” she said. “But he was insistent. With the bugs. And the grass.”
“Damn those bugs and grass.”
“A beetle landed on my food, Cindy. A beetle. I didn’t even know those things could fly!”
“You didn’t know beetles have wings?” I asked. “Even Lily knows that.”
“Hey now, that girl knows a lot of things.”
“She’s like her dad that way,” I said.
“Freaky shit. Anyway. After I was done freaking out over the bugs, he wanted to take me back to his place. But I wasn’t down for it so he offered to take me back to mine.”
