Marissa sighed heavily as she began to climb the stairs towards her quaint little apartment. Her body shuddered as she ran her hands over her arms in an attempt to warm them up a little more, her jacket obviously not heavy enough even for the unheated stairwell. As she reached the second floor she passed a large cracked window and shook her head when she saw snowflakes fluttering down the sky. It was too late for snow as it was fast approaching April. She was never going to get used to the weather here; she would always be a California girl at heart.
Finally she reached the third floor that contained her apartment and opened the heavy door to enter the hallway. It was just as cold, if not colder, than the stairwell. Her land lord was very cheap and wouldnt bother to heat anything other than the rooms, something that made Marissa hate him even more. She stopped at apartment 3C, the one directly before hers, 3D, and tapped her knuckles softly against the door. Slowly it opened, revealing a grey haired, smiling lady in her late 50's.
"Hi Mrs. Richardson," Marissa cooed as she painted a tired yet appreciative smile across her face. The woman went to respond, but was cut off when a small voice from inside screeched out and cut her off.
"Mommy!" A little blonde boy, with shaggy locks and bright blue eyes, ran full force towards the door excitedly. Marissa smiled and knelt down to his level, smiling as she scooped him up into her arms. She brought her body erect again rested the small boys on her hip, placing a kiss on his forehead as she straightened out the hair on his head.
"Did you have fun with Mrs. Richardson?" she asked with a big grin on face as she looked over at her son.
"Yeah, she let me finger paint, and I made you a picture," he told his mother proudly, but frowned when he looked down at his empty hands. He wriggled out of his mother's grasp and she set him down on the ground, smiling at his retreating form as he headed back inside in search of his picture. She turned her attention back to Mrs. Richardson and gave her a apologetic look.
"Thank you so much for watching him last minute like this," Marissa started as crossed her hands over her chest. "The store just called and they had some open hours and I had to take it.."
"Its not a problem. Really," the older woman cooed back with a smile, interrupting the young woman's rambling apology, before turning to look at the little boy. "He's such a sweet heart, probably the most laid back three year old I've ever seen."
"I'm four now, remember?" The little boy called out with a giggle as he approached the door again, picture in hand.
"Oh, sorry, sorry, you're right," Mrs. Richardson laughed out as she ruffled his golden locks with her hand. "You're just growing up so fast."
"I'll say," Marissa said in agreement as she took her sons hand in hers, "Okay, sweetie, we better leave Mrs. Richardson alone now. I'm sure shes sick of us."
"Oh dont be silly," the older woman said as she leaned forward and gave Marissa a half hug before doing the same to the boy.
"Bye Mrs. Richardson," he cooed out as he turned and followed his mother out into the chilly hallway. She let go of his hand and searched through her purse as they made their way to the door. Pulling out the silver key, she looked up just as they reached the door, cursing herself inwardly as she saw the white piece of paper plastered on the door for the third time in two weeks. EVICTION.
"Mommy, whats wrong?" Marissa looked down at her son, who's big eyes stared up at her questioningly. She plastered on a half smile and shook her head as she stuck her key in the door and unlocked it. "Nothing baby," she cooed out as she pushed open the door and held it open for him. Shutting the door behind her, she immediately pulled the latch on the lock closed and pulled the chain across as well. They weren't exactly living in the best part of town. Turning on her heal she almost ran into him, holding the picture up above his head so she could see it. It was on black construction paper, with little white finger prints all over to symbolize falling snow. In the middle of the paper was two small stick figures painted in red; one tall and one short.
"See Mommy," he said pointing at the little people in the middle, "Thats me and you."
She smiled down at the excited little boy showing her his work. Aiden Lee Cooper. He was perfect. His hair was sandy blond and hung slightly long around his face- he had seen a surfer on tv with hair like that and wouldnt let anyone bring a scissors near those golden locks since. His eyes were a deep dark blue and he had the sweetest smile ever. His demeanor had followed much more closely to hers than to her fathers, and for that she was extremely thankful. His skin was rather pale, and Marissa wasn't exactly sure if it was from living in Rhode Island or from something else. Ever since Aiden was born, he was a miracle child. He had been born a month early and they weren't even sure if he was going to make it. But he did. He had been sick with everything imaginable since then; from chicken pox to pneumonia. Every time something would go around, Aiden would catch it and it would lay him out for a week or two. For this reason, Marissa had pretty much avoided pre-school of any kind for him. Plus, it didnt really help that she couldnt afford it.
"Its great sweetie, I love it," she bent down and kissed his warm cheek before taking the picture out of his hand. "How about we hang it up?" Aiden nodded vigorously as he followed his mother the few feet over to the kitchen. The fridge was already covered with drawings he had made, and pictures she had taken of him, ranging all the way from the day he was born until his fourth birthday just a few weeks ago. She shuffled around the pictures to make space, and then mounted the finger painting in the center of the door.
"There," she said with a smiled as she was kneeling next to the little boy. Suddenly she heard his tummy let out a rumble and started to laugh at him. "You ready for dinner Aid?"
"Yes please," he said as he rubbed his belly and licked his lips to make him mother laugh, which she did heartily. She got back up on her feet and headed over to the cabinet, searching through what little they had left. "How about mac n' cheese?" Aiden smiled and nodded excitedly. Mac n' cheese was definitely his favorite, and his mother made it a lot. "Ok, well why dont you go watch tv for awhile until its ready?" He responded to her suggestion by running from beside the fridge over to the small living room and flipping on the tv. Marissa smiled sadly as she listened to the sounds of Ernie and Bert drift through their small apartment.
She couldnt do this anymore. She had been doing okay up until a couple ago, when the clothes store she was working at suddenly decided that she didnt need to have steady hours. They could get people who hadnt been there working there for three years to come in and do exactly what she did, only cheaper. Ever since then, everything had been a struggle. She was missing the last two months rent, and next months was due in a couple days. She knew she couldnt pay it, there was no way; unless her and Aiden didnt want to eat anymore. So last week, she had called her mother and they had had a very long discussion about everything. About them coming to live in Newport; possibly. Julie, who had nothing but free time, could watch Aiden while Marissa worked. And Marissa could get a job and an apartment on numbered streets. Now that possibly seemed to be more of an inevitable.
It had been four and a half long years since she had even set foot in California. During the summer after senior year she had made a last minute application in an attempt to get into Providence College to be with Summer, and miraculously she had been accepted. Summer and her had decided it was time to forget about Chino and Cohen and move on to better and bigger things. She almost never went though, when she found out about the tiny life growing inside of her; but after the reaction she got from the father, she was happier than ever to be headed off to the other side of the country. But then college fell to the wayside, as well as the partying and drinking and dating, and well.. everything. Nothing mattered anymore except for Aiden, exactly like it should. She loved that little boy more than anything and she would do anything for him. Even if it meant having to face a life she wanted to forget.
She pulled a random pot out of the cupboard and filled it with water before setting it on the stove and turning up the heat to let it boil. She pulled her phone off of the reciever and looked over to make sure he was busy and okay before heading in the direction of her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and dialed the long distance number that belonged to her mother. As she listened to the dull ring of the other line, she slowly began pulling off her dull green work vest with the name Marissa embroidered into it. It smelled like rotten cabbage and beef and for some reason it made her want to barf. Her mother's voice on the other end of the line startled her as she took a deep breath. She had to do this; for Aiden.
"Hey Mom its Marissa... You remember what we talked about..."