Chapter 1

"Momma! It's the morning!" A sweet little voice whispers in my ear. I have been awake for the past 20 minutes, but Samuel loves waking me up. Feigning sleepiness, I rub my eyes and roll over to face him. Disheveled strawberry blonde hair and sweet blue eyes are lying next to me, twirling little fingers in my hair.

I turn to face him and he giggles happily. "Good morning, little man!" I run my fingers through his wayward locks. Nothing will ever be as beautiful as he is to me. Samuel scoots over to my side of the bed and rests his head on my chest. I am so lucky to have you, Sam.

I rub gentle circles across his small, muscular back. He is built just like his father. Just as I start reminiscing on Samuel's father's memory, the doorbell rings. Sam's head pops up with delighted interest. I gaze at the alarm clock sitting on my bedside table. It reads 8:02am. Who is here so early on a Saturday morning?

"Somebody's here! Come on, Momma! Let's go!" Sam's electric blue eyes are light and playful. His abundant energy never ceases to amaze me. Samuel wraps his small hand around my thumb, pulling it until I sit upright. I place Sam on my left hip, holding him close to me. His flannel Buzz Lightyear pajamas hang off of his small frame and over his bare feet.

Displayed in lavender silk pajamas, I switch the padlock and ease the front door open. "Really, Maur? Did you forget we were going running again?" Jane's raspy voice whines. A small smile spreads across her lips as she catches sight of Samuel.

"Jane! I'm so sorry! Please, come in." I observe her apologetically and step back to let her inside. Samuel clings to me shyly, burying his face into the crook of my neck. He does this every time company comes over. Sam loves Jane though, he mentions her quite often.

"Hey buddy, ready to go to the park?" Jane bends down to talk to him. He peeks his flushed little face out between his fingers for a moment. When their eyes make contact, Sam hides behind them once more and giggles. So cute!

"Hey, Samuel, why don't you go show Jane your big boy bed? I'm sure she'd love to see it!" I pat him on the back rhythmically for a few seconds. Setting him on the floor, I glance up at Jane. I wish I were as flawlessly beautiful as Jane. Sam wraps his little hand around her thumb and whisks her away.

Jane turns her head to look back at me. I mouth a silent "thank you" to her and briskly stride to my bedroom and close the door. I strip off my matching nightwear set and undergarments. I feel like dressing myself up, but I don't own any couture sweat suits. Lacey, red underwear will have to do for now.

My limited selection of sports bras makes matching the two impossible. I choose to adorn the brilliantly white one, deciding it goes with the red underwear best. I quickly slide into the thermal, elastic running pants hanging in my closet.

Analytically, I look at myself in the full-length Victorian mirror to my right. The dark circles underneath my tired eyes do not take me by surprise. I have gotten an average of 4 hours of sleep each night for the past 37 days. I am so exhausted…

I wipe concealer under each eye, camouflaging two months of restless sleep. Noticing Jane and Samuel's voices approaching my door, I throw on a light jacket, not bothering to put on a shirt. This will have to do.

A knock at my door tells me the two of them are ready to go. "Momma! I'm ready! Jane helped me put on shoes!" Samuel's voice shouts through the wooden door. I am so thankful he kicked the habit of barging into my room unannounced. Such a good boy...

I grab a pair of socks and guide my feet into their warm embrace. I open the door to find a well-dressed little man and Jane playing with Samuel's plastic toy guns. Grinning widely, I lean against the door frame watching them play innocently. Jane looks up at me and blushes. There is no mistaking her natural beauty and actually, I am so intrigued by it.

"Took ya long enough! What...no makeup?" Jane teases lightly, pretending to be shot by Samuel's fake plastic gun. None that you can see, apparently. Taking a rubber band from around my wrist, I put my hair up into a loose pony tail. Dodging fake bullets, I make my way to the hall closet and pull out my running shoes.

Laughter emanates from the hallway as Cowboy Sam and Bandit Jane fall to the floor, feigning fatal wounds. Jane is unremarkably good with Sam. I lace up my sneakers and grab a granola bar for Sam to snack on later. "Samuel, Jane, are you two ready?" I call out to them and open the garage door to get the stroller for Sam.

"Momma, can I take my gun with us?" Samuel comes running out with Jane in tow behind him. I nod my head in agreeance and he merrily runs out into the garage. Climbing up into the jogging stroller, Sam shoots invisible perpetrators yelling "Gotcha!" Jane and I catch eyes and I smile happily at her. My two best friends.

"Thank you, Jane. Thank you for dressing Samuel and occupying him...it means the world to me!" Wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I hug her tightly. Her long, thin fingers press against the middle of my back. The physical contact feels wonderful.

"Of course, Maur! You know I love the little guy..." Jane pulls out of the hug slowly to look at me once more. I smile and nod in response. Anyone that loves my Samuel deserves my love in return.