Taylor left work at the end of the day and drove across town. She got out of the car after making sure she wasn’t blocking anyone in. Friday afternoon, a little after four, and everyone was in a rush to grab their kids and get on with their weekends.
“Hi, Monique, how was Angie today?”
The young daycare worker smiled bright and pushed a stray hair that had fallen out of her braid away from her face. The workers always looked worn out and tired by the end of the day from playing with their charges. “She’s doing good. She made two new friends today.”
“She did?” Taylor asked. Angie wasn’t shy at all, but since they’d picked up and moved here, she hadn’t been her normal outgoing self at all. Even at almost three, Angie was struggling to adapt as much as Taylor was.
“Yes. Micah and Luca. Twins that started today. They’re a few months older than Angie.”
“I’m glad. Did Angie play with any of the other girls today?” she asked. Angie wasn’t into dresses or dolls, but rather trucks, cars, running around and getting dirty. At this point, Taylor had given up buying anything white, frilly, or overly sweet for her tomboy daughter.
“She plays with them, but not for long,” Monique said, grinning.
“She’ll play with them until you go outside or they bring out some dolls?” she asked, knowing the answer already.
“Pretty much. It’s common though. Angie isn’t alone. I’ve seen a lot of little girls that want to play with the boys. Thankfully most of the boys are willing to play with anyone that will grab a truck or a ball with them.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“Mama,” Angie squealed and came running when she saw Taylor standing behind the counter. Parents had to stay there while their children were brought out. No parent was let into the back without supervision, and pretty much never allowed in the back during pick-up or drop-off time when it was this nuts.
She squatted down so that Angie could run into her arms, then wrapped her up tight and lifted her high. Her daughter was small for her age, probably the smallest in the group, but she was tough. Just like her mama.
“Did you have fun today?” she asked Angie.
“I did. I’ve got two friends,” Angie said, bobbing her head up and down, her brown ponytail swinging everywhere. There were a few strands out like Monique’s, but overall her jeans didn’t have any stains or tears on them, so that was a good day.
“I heard. What did you and your new friends do today?” she asked as she nodded her head to Monique, then made her way out of the daycare to her car.
“We played on the slide and kicked the ball,” Angie said, her voice not as loud now, but still excited.
“That’s good. So you like kicking the ball?”
“Yes. Lots of fun. I’m hungry.”
Angie was always hungry, but in this case, it was close to dinner. “I’ll start on dinner when we get home, I promise.”
“Hot dogs?” Angie asked. All Angie wanted was hot dogs or boxed mac and cheese. Two things that Taylor couldn’t stand and wished that Angie had never been exposed to when she was staying with her father. Just another thing to hate the man for. His lazy ass ways when it came to his only child.
“Not tonight, sweetie. How about chicken and potatoes?”
“Carrots?” Angie asked. Her daughter loved cooked baby carrots.
“I can make them too.”
She drove home now trying to plan her night out in her head. She knew there were chicken strips in the freezer and they wouldn’t take long to thaw and cook. A potato in the microwave and the baby carrots that she bought in bulk were in the fridge.
She never realized how hard being a single parent was going to be, not only worrying about bedtime routines and clothing sizes that her daughter outgrew rapidly, but also nutrition on top of it.
She didn’t remember if her parents ever worried about everything like she did now. Maybe that was part of the problem. Her parents probably didn’t focus on any of those things.
Her clothes were hand me downs from her siblings, food was normally a large casserole of sorts that was easy to make and fed a lot, and bedtime was “Everyone go brush your teeth and get to bed.” There were no set times, no storybooks, and no hugs and kisses when lights went out.
Her parents were overworked and outnumbered by the six kids in the house. They had a roof over their head, food in their belly, and clothes on their back. In some parents’ eyes, they were doing what was required.
Taylor had wanted more and realized it wasn’t going to happen. She’d put herself through college by getting good grades and working every hour at any part-time job she could get. Her siblings did the same.
Wanting to get ahead in life had been her primary goal. Being a single parent had not been.
Finding love and raising a family together? Yep, that was right up there as a dream come true.
Smooth-talking rich men that wanted to get in her pants and ignore their parental duties? That’s what she ended up with.
She pulled into the driveway of her rental house, thankful it was May and she wouldn’t have to worry about shoveling or brushing snow off her car in the morning while she prayed Angie stayed in the living room and didn’t get into trouble.
The little two-bedroom home fit their needs well. It was outside of the city of Albany and close enough to work and nightlife—if she had a life to do anything with—but far enough away from crime and giving them a nice little neighborhood for Angie to play in.
It wasn’t anything like Jack’s family home in Loudonville and it never would be. But it was more than Taylor had growing up, and that was enough for her.
She got out of the car, threw her purse over her shoulder along with Angie’s little backpack, then unbuckled Angie from the backseat and set her on the driveway.
They heard barking the minute they got to the front door. Mutt was ready to welcome them home for the day.
She unlocked the door and braced herself for the eighty pounds of mixed breed dog that was uglier than sin, but friendlier than a kindergarten teacher on the first day of school.
“Hey there, Mutt. Have you been guarding the house for us today?”
The loud bark was always his answer and she’d like to think she and the dog had a mutual understanding.
“Mutt,” Angie said, petting the big dog on the back and then taking off to chase him around the living room. Thankfully this house came with a dog door big enough for Mutt and she didn’t have to worry about running home at lunch to let him out.
The dog and Angie were entertaining each other in the living room while she walked into the kitchen to start dinner. The house was old and small, but it had a pass-through window that allowed her to see into the living room and keep an eye on her daughter.
“Dinner,” she told Angie thirty minutes later. Between chasing the dog and playing with her blocks and knocking them over every five minutes, her daughter could entertain herself for short periods of time.
“Hungry!” Angie yelled and made her way into the kitchen and over to the small table with two chairs. She climbed up herself with the little stool that Taylor had left there because Angie was independent and constantly said, “I do it myself.” Wonder where she got that from, Taylor thought, knowing she was looking at her mini me more times than not, but with her father’s coloring. Darker hair and brown eyes.
Once dinner was done, the dog fed, and dishes washed and put away, Taylor got Angie in the tub and cleaned up. Her pajamas were on, she was in bed at seven, two stories read and lights out by seven thirty.
The minute Taylor plopped her butt on the couch to take a breather, her cell phone went off. She reached for it to see a text from her ex: I’ve got plans in the morning. My parents are getting Angela.
Taylor texted back “fine” and tossed her phone on the counter. No use arguing over this again. It never ended. Jack could care less about spending time with Angie and he’d never made a secret about it. He couldn’t even be bothered to call his daughter by the name she preferred.
She and her daughter picked up their lives and moved here because there was no way Taylor could fight the court battle. Jack had money and he paid her a lot of it. His parents wanted to see their grandchild and have a part in raising her. Jack always did what his parents said if he wanted payouts from his trust fund.
She took a deep breath and was already trying to prepare herself for the confrontation with Angie’s grandparents tomorrow.
Just wonderful!