Chapter 52

Allison quickly picked out several pairs of expensive tennis shoes, all in navy blue, and was busy trying them on while Taya looked longing at the lovely little girl shoes that would go so well with Allison's new dresses. She was determined that once her daughter's shoe size was established she would slip a few dressy pairs of shoes into their stack.

Once again paying for everything with her credit card, Taya asked where Allison wanted to go next. The Gap was her daughter's choice and they picked up jeans, shirts, and socks. The only argument there was when Taya wanted to buy Allison pink undies and Allison was insisting on blue! So Taya purchased both.

As they left the Gap, Taya asked Allison what she wanted to do next, hoping that it would involve food and someplace to sit down, unfortunately it didn't. Allison said, "I always wanted my ears pierced, but never told daddy that.

"Why wouldn't you tell your daddy that you wanted that done, Allison?"

"Because mommy had hers pierced and when I remind him of her he gets sad, but you have yours pierced and you could take me…please…" the child begged.

Taya was thinking that this was finally something that she could do for Allison that would remind her of the mother that she lost but also give the two of them something in common. Surely AJ wouldn't mind if she presented it to him in that manner?! "Well, I know that Clair's Boutique pierces ears, but if we're going to get it done then I'd like you to have better earrings than they sell there. Why don't we go into the jewelry store and pick something nice out and then we can take them to Clair's and have them do the piercing?"

"Okay," Allison readily agreed. Entering the upscale jewelry store Taya told the clerk that she would like to see some Garnet earrings suitable for a child. When the man showed them a tray of red stoned earrings, Allison said, "I don't like red, I want blue!"

"But Allison this is your birthstone," Taya protested.

"How do you know when my birthday is?" the child wanted to know.

"I asked your father."

"Oh…well I still want blue…Mommy's birthstone was blue, I want that!"

Pretending that she didn't even know when her own birthday had been, Taya said, "There are several months that have blue birthstones. Do you know what month she was born in Allison?"

"March 21st!" she proudly stated, and Taya knew that she was right for it was the date that she had celebrated on for forty-eight years until the CIA gave her a new identity and a new birthday.

"That would make her blue stone an Aquamarine," Taya said and then asked the clerk to see earrings with that stone. As they waited for the earrings, Taya looked around at the other cases nearby and spotted a lovely little golden locket that she thought would be just perfect for Allison. Asking another clerk if she could see it, Taya brought it over to Allison and asked, "Allison do you like this?"

Looking suspiciously up at Taya, she asked, "Why?"

"Because I thought that you might like to have it. It holds pictures," she told her opening it up and showing her where the tiny pictures would go. "You could put one of your father in here and on the other side one of you."

"Or I could put one of Daddy and one of Mommy!" Allison stated, wanting Taya to be sure that she knew no picture of HER would go in there!

Hurt, but knowing that she in the end she would win Allison over, she just wouldn't believe otherwise, Taya softly said, "That is a very sweet idea, sweetie. So you would like to have it?"

"I guess…" Allison agreed, not wanting to show gratitude to this woman.

Taya purchased the locket and the earrings and the two of the proceeded to Clair's Boutique to have Allison's ears pierced. Because she was a child, the clerks at the store suggested doing both of her ears at the same time. The gun worked quickly, but it did hurt a bit, and often times a child would get one done and then not want the other done. It was over in a moment, but Allison wanted to give Taya as much grief as possible, so allowed tears to form and pouting, she demanded to know, "Why didn't you tell me it would hurt SO MUCH!" She began to cry in earnest when she saw the helpless look on Taya's face.

"Oh sweetie, it couldn't have hurt that much!" she tried to convince her. But Allison was going strong now and it took the promise of a special gift and whatever she wanted for lunch to get her to stop. However by that time, everyone in the store was staring at them.

To be continued…..