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Chapter One
Charlotte
Iglanced at my watch, almost tipping my coffee sideways and onto my lap. Another fifteen minutes and then we needed to get moving, or I’d be late for work. I lifted my gaze to the playground in front of me. Marisol was giggling and chasing after a couple of kids as they played tag. A smile slipped over my lips, and my heartstrings pulled tautly.
If it weren’t for that little girl, my life would have little meaning. As it was, she was the only thing that made me smile these days. I was fine with being a single mom, as I’d been just that since the day she was conceived. Now almost six years later, while the schedule of our lives wore me down, I knew that my life would be nothing without her.
“Marisol is getting so big. I can’t believe I haven’t seen you guys in almost six months.” Jersey said from beside me.
“It was a long winter, I’m glad it’s over,” I told her. “I wasn’t sure it would ever end and being cramped in our little apartment for so long was wearing thin on both of us.”
Jersey slipped her brown eyes my way, “You know there are things you can do during the winter months to get out of the house.”
“And most of those cost money, Jersey. You know how strapped I am right now. I’m almost done with my classes, so once I get this certificate, I should be able to get a better job, and won’t have to rely on tips from the deli.”
“I wish you would let me help you out. You know I told you I would have paid for your classes.”
I frowned, “While I appreciate that, Jersey, you know that I’m not comfortable taking help from anyone.”
She shook her head, “We’ve been friends for ten years, Charlotte. If there is anyone that you can take help from, it’s me.”
“Yeah, but what if I did and couldn’t pay you back, it would put stress on our friendship, and that means too much to me.”
Her hand landed on my forearm, “And you know that I have the money. Do you really think that Bruce would have had a problem with helping you out? You know he loves you and Marisol like you are family.”
“I know, but still.”
We returned our attention to the playground, and I watched Marisol zooming down the slide with Adam right behind her. “They have both grown so much.”
“I know, but I bet Marisol is nowhere the little monster that Adam is.” She gave a dramatic sigh, “I can’t wait till he goes to kindergarten this fall. He drives me nuts. Pre-K was only four hours a day, not enough. He needs that full day of stimulation so he will be calmer at home.”
I laughed, “You know that’s not how it works. Adam has a lot of energy, that’s not going to dissipate after a few more hours of school.”
“Okay, so maybe it won’t, but it will give me a few more hours of sanity.” She grinned my way.
For a few minutes, we watched the kids, and I dwelled on how lucky my friend was to have such a great man in her life. He was a doctor and made enough that she didn’t have to work, although she did. She worked from home as an editor for a newspaper, but she didn’t have to work if she didn’t want to.
Me? I went from paycheck to paycheck, some months robbing Peter to pay Paul. With rent, utilities, my classes, and what Marisol needed, I was tapped out almost as soon as the money came in. I was barely holding my head above water, but I was a fighter, and I would keep on treading water until things changed. They had to change. Something in my life had to go right—for once.
Just then a soccer ball flew right into my chest, and the coffee cup I’d been holding exploded all over me. Case and point.
“Oh, shit!” Jersey exclaimed. “Wait, I might have some baby wipes in my purse.
I sputtered, glancing up to see a little boy race over to get his ball. He took one look at me, grabbed his ball, and took off in the opposite direction. He was probably afraid that I was going to yell at him, but I wasn’t. This was my just my luck, no use yelling at someone else.
“Baby wipes are not going to fix this. Crap,” I glanced at the playground, finding Marisol’s soft brown curls bouncing as she ran along the bridge on the jungle gym. “Will you keep an eye on Mari for a moment? I need to go back to my car, I might have my other work shirt in there, if not, I think I have a few cleaning wipes I can try to get the stains out with.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
As I stood, the coffee dripped off my shirt and to the ground, I shook my hands to get the liquid off of them. Luckily, the coffee had only been lukewarm, and I hadn’t been burnt. As I walked to the parking lot, I glanced over my shoulder, keeping one eye on Marisol as I went.
It took me a moment to find her and satisfied that she was still there and safe, I turned back around to watch where I was stepping. If I didn’t, I would have probably tripped over a lump of grass. My luck was that good.
At my car, I unlocked the doors and turned back to check on Marisol. I dug around in the front compartment for anything to dry the coffee stains but didn’t find anything. Another glance to the playground, she was standing near the monkey bars at the top, laughing and pointing at something. I went around to the back of my car, popping the trunk and digging around inside.
Bingo! I pulled out the shirt that I kept in there for emergencies. It was old and ragged, but it would work for today. Luckily, my boss would be okay with me wearing an old shirt. Tamara was a good person and helped me anyway that she could, especially with letting me grab extra shifts when they were available.
I glanced around, damn; I’d have to wait until I got to the deli. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to change my shirt in public. The way things were going today, I’d get arrested for indecent exposure. I closed the trunk and tossed my shirt into the front seat of my little sedan.
