A walk in the park had never been like this before for Rachel. Central Park was huge, and sometimes the chance to find familiar faces wasn't likely to happen.
But it was different this time.
It was a nice spring afternoon and as usual the park was crowded with thousands of people. There were couples, teenagers with skates and bikes, families with dogs… anything.
As said before, usual, especially in a beautiful day like this.
Rachel was walking slowly, trying to enjoy as much as she could of the sights around her. She found herself delighted with the singing birds, the children laughter, the nature… She even smiled when seeing couples together; although that always made her feel sad and empty because most of her relationships failed and she was single at the time.
If only some of her high school old friends knew, they would say it was her fault, for being bossy and self-centered and just being her. Or maybe it wasn't Rachel's fault; maybe there was something in all of her relationships that just didn't work. Yeah, probably that was it.
She kept on walking, when suddenly her eyes grew wide at the sight in front of her.
"Isn't that-?"she wondered "Quinn?" There was a blonde woman who seemed her age and looked exactly like her old glee club friend. Well, not that they were friends per se but, at the very end of high school their relationship had improved.
Rachel wasn't as near to the woman in question to exactly identify her but she was almost sure the blonde had to be Quinn. The woman was running around with a little girl who was blowing bubbles and they were both laughing out loud. In their element, they seemed.
As she grew closer, she was absolutely sure it was Quinn. And the child with her had to be related because they looked alike very much.
"Oh my god Quinn is that you!?"Rachel exclaimed as she practically run to them.
The blonde turned around upon hearing her name to the sound of the voice.
"Who's-?"she wondered "Oh Rachel! I haven't seen you in years!"
"I was just walking by when I saw you. How are you? What are you doing in here, New York of all places?"
"What? You thought I was going to be stuck in Lima for the rest of my life?"
Suddenly Rachel felt out of place. "It's- no, no, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry! It's just-"
"Rachel, relax"Quinn laughed "I live here now"
The diva released a breath she didn't know she was holding. Such a relief…
"Oh. When did that happen?"
"A few years ago. Long story"
The little girl was watching everything, and wondered who this woman was and why she came up to talk. She grabbed the blonde's jeans and pulled the fabric down "Mommy? Wu this?"she said as she hid behind her mom's legs.
Oh, so Quinn had a daughter. Another one…
"Is that your daughter? She looks just like you! She's gorgeous!"
"Yeah, it's been years. I had the blessing of having a child for the second time around" she smiled
"What's her name? What's your name sweetie?"she looked down to the girl "You look so pretty!"
The girl felt scared. Who was this woman she had never seen before?
"Aw, she's shy!"
"She's not used to meet new people, that's why. Honey, say hello to Rachel. Rachel is our friend"
The girl came out and looked tentatively to the diva. Rachel was smiling to her and she liked it. She suddenly wasn't that scared. She looks pretty too, she thought.
"What's your name? I'm Rachel. How old are you"
Hazel eyes were staring intensely to the diva. The little girl seemed to be testing her. "Lucy"she said "I'm frui"
"Oh, such a beautiful name! Like your mommy's! You're three?"
"I didn't just name her after me, you know" Quinn replied "I never really liked Lucy"
"Oh, but I bet it was better than calling her Quinn Jr., isn't it?"
They laughed. So much better…
"Then why did you use that name? There are plenty of other names to choose from"
"I am Sam. It just happens to be one of my favorite movies"
"Oh my God I love that movie!"
"Mommy, more bubbles!"Lucy yelled "Bubbles!"
"Oh, yeah, we were blowing some bubbles. Would you like to join us? Lu, show Rachel how you do it"
"Look! Lots of bubbles!"she was blowing with such strength. She looked so happy it was contagious. They kept walking and running around from time to time, until the sun was setting, the little girl lay limp in her mom's arms, and they were going their own way.
Yeah, it was definitely different. And suddenly Rachel knew she was never going to be alone again.