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As I place Charlotte's lunch—two sandwiches and her favorite strawberry yogurt smoothie—in her school bag, she sprints through the door.
"Mom, I'm ready." She sits down at the table and grabs the toast, eating it like she is starved.
"Hungry?"
"Yep, I think I grew an inch last night." She smiles.
"That wouldn't surprise me; you're growing up fast."
"Will we visit Giant's parents soon? I love the treehouse. Can we build one in our garden?" she asks, pointing towards the oak tree in our backyard.
"I don't know, sweetie. Not every tree can hold a treehouse. And I know nothing about building one. You should ask Nick when he returns from his business trip."
She nods her head and continues to eat her breakfast.
"Mom, are you going to marry Nick?"
I choke on my sip of tea and spit it out over the counter. When I recover and clean my mess, I focus my attention on Charlotte. "Sweetheart, I will not marry Nick anytime soon. Maybe never."
"Why not?" she asks now, furrowing her brows.
"Because we've been together for such a short while. Getting married is not something both of us are thinking of."
"Is it possible he will leave?"
I sit down next to her and grab her hands in mine.
"Sweetheart, I don't know, and I can't promise you anything. If things stay good between Nick and me, we will stay together. But if in the future one of us isn't happy, we might separate."
"I hope you two stay happy forever because I like him, Mommy." A tear escapes her eye. I pull her into my lap and hug my little girl.
"I do too, sweetheart. But you know, you can always count on me. No matter what happens between Nick and me, I'll never leave you. You will always have me."
"You promise?" she says with a soft voice.
"I promise."
"You're the best mommy in the world."
My eyes tear up, and I bask in the love as her little arms keep hugging me. After a while, we continue our morning routine.
Charlotte finishes her sandwich. Then combs her hair, and after she puts on her shoes and coat, we’re ready to go. We sing along with the radio the entire drive to school. And when the song "Dance Monkey" comes on, she turns the volume up, and sings even louder while making funny moves.
"See you later, cupcake," I say while waving to her as she makes her way to school. After seeing her walking through the doors, I grab my phone, and on an impulse, I take a quick selfie of myself with the text. Miss you, Mister Brown. See you Friday and send it. I pull out of the parking lot and make my way home.
The sun shows itself, and I smile as it lights up the duller clouds and the rest of the sky. I'm glad I leaped faith with Nick. The talk with his mother helped. Now it feels like my life flows the way I always hoped it would. There are no obstacles between us.
As I arrive at my house, I notice an unfamiliar car parked in front. I place mine in my spot on the driveway, and while I step out, I gaze into the parked vehicle. Empty. When I turn, I see a person standing by my front door. Maybe a new client. I make my way over to the porch, but since I'm too far away, I see nothing more than a dark figure.
"Good morning. Can I help you?" I say as I come closer.
My heart suddenly stops, my feet freezing in their tracks when the person turns to me.
The keys fall out of my numb hands and my body trembles when my eyes meet a pair of familiar blue ones. The sun shields itself behind a cloud, turning the sky darker. Please, please don't do this now. Please let this be a bad dream.
"Hello, Emma."
An icy shiver shoots through my body, hearing my name coming from his lips in that smooth, silky way. Cautiously, he makes his way towards me, his action pulling me out of my stupefied state, when a tsunami of old pain arises out of the depths of my soul. I squat and grab hold of the keyring that's lying in the driveway, my mind going one mile a minute. What is he doing here? When I stand up, he's closer. I can’t deal with this now.
