This Could Be Heaven….
A girl walked through the park she held that hand of an older woman known to most by just plain Ro. "Mom are we almost home? My legs are numb from the cold wind I can barely feel them."
"Yes come here." Ro picked up the small blonde hair girl in her arms. She still had ten more blocks to go. She wished they hadn't walked so far today. She walked up the steps of the boarding house she lived in.
"Ro is that you?" She smiled as she saw the middle aged man sitting in the den by the fire. She placed her finger before her lips motioning for him to be quiet. She walked over slowly before placing her daughter Jolie on the couch.
"Hard day today." She said with a long sigh. She really needed a vacation but if she started a vacation she was sure she wouldn't want to go back to work for another month.
"I understand." He said nodding. Ro took off her coat slowly hanging it up in a closet.
"How did your day go Strider?"
"Just fine."
"How's Jake doing?"
"Fine he made some friends with some kids at preschool."
"Yeah I feel bad for making Jolie go to the doctor instead of the first day at preschool."
"It will be fine she's just a little shy and she has been sick a lot."
"Yeah sort of cold weather for this time of year no?"
"Yes very cold."
"Jake will introduce her around right?"
"Oh yeah the two of them are best friends."
"Do you want some coffee or hot chocolate Strider?"
"Hot chocolate please." Ro nodded before heading over to the kitchen. She got a kettle and boiled some water. She got two mugs down and looked at Strider who was at the time a single parent as she was but he was divorced with custody of his son Jake. He had a daughter but his wife got her and they never heard from each other again. Ro figured that's why he liked Jolie so much.
He was a hard working man. She had respect for him because she was much alike. Working so she could keep the boarding house she owned and had several people living there. They were good people who paid their rent on time, which was good, but she was flexible if something occurred. She was willing to understand certain circumstances.
She found the water was done boiling. She poured two cups one for herself and one for Strider. She handed it to him carefully. She smiled as she saw Jolie curl up to him. "You know she looks like she could be your biological daughter."
"Yeah I was lucky to get a really close match. I guess they felt like they owed it to me."
"That was a nasty mess they did with the glitch in paper work."
"Well I guess it helped me out in the end. This place is known for people wanting to make a fresh start right?"
"Yes I should know."
"Well I wanted to restart everything when I came her five years ago." Strider couldn't believe that the woman sitting next to him was only twenty-two years old. She looked as if she could be his age of thirty-eight.
"Hmm."
"I was thinking of adopting another kid. I saw this kid I was interested in on the net the other day."
"What's his name?"
"Dominick."
"That's a nice name."
"Yeah he's Jolie's age and I don't know he kind of sounds like me when I was that age."
"Maybe you should ask Jolie first."
"Yeah I will." Ro smiled as she finished her hot chocolate. She went over and picked up Jolie who groaned in protest. She walked up the steps and went into her room. Reliable room number one. She placed Jolie on her small bed and walked over to her own queen sized bed that was still in view of Jolie's bed.
Ro kicked off her high heels and wiggled her toes finally free of their prison. She slipped her pantyhose off and feel asleep not caring that much what she was going to look like in the morning. She woke up to the sound of her daughter giggling. She opened her eye to see her lying next to her.
"Hey haven't you heard you don't get up till the sun gets up?"
"No." Ro smiled as she wrapped her arms around her daughter. Jolie looked up at her mother. "Mommy who are these people in this picture?"
Ro squinted her eyes at the old picture. "Well the one with the blonde hair is me when I just turned seventeen."
"Who's the guy holding onto your shoulder?" Ro smirked as she remembered it slowly.
"It's an old friend. I've almost forgotten about him."
"Who is it?"
"Don't worry about it you'll never meet him honey." Ro said sadly. She sat on the edge of her bed. She stood up. "You need to get ready for school as I need to get ready for work."
"Okay." She ran over to her dresser getting dress by herself. Ro went over to get some of her business dress clothes. She slipped into her personal shower and took a quick shower. She got dressed and put some make up before walking down the stairs. She looked to see Jake sitting on the bottom step.
"Hey Jake ready to go to school." He looked up and nodded. "Okay want some breakfast?"
"No thank you Ms. Rowen."
"Okay sweetie Jolie should be down in a minute okay."
"Alright I'll wait for her." Ro nodded as she went off to grab her daughter's lunch and her vitamins. She got both of those and was now in search of a package of pop tarts. She heard the two children giggle with each other.
"Jolie come here for a minute." She saw her daughter in a pair of white tights and a plaid skirt with a white blouse. Ro smiled as her daughter had found the school clothes she planned for Jolie to wear. She picked her up and placed her on the counter. Ro smirked as fixed her little hat for it was a little crooked on her head. She handed Jolie a vitamin and a pop tart.
"Thanks mommy."
"Welcome Jolie." Ro looked at her daughter bright blue eyes. She was certain she could see a mini of herself. "Jolie do you think you might want to get a brother?"
"I guess so. It could be fun Jake, and him could be all friends with me."
"Well you can think about it for a while. He would be the exact same age as you pretty much so he could be your friend."
"If you want to mommy. If it makes you happy then I'll be happy too."
"Well I'm going to check with the adoption agency first. You can think about it for a while okay."
"Alright mommy." Ro smiled before placing her on the ground. She watched as Jolie ran off to play with Jake.
"Hi Jake."
"Hello Jolie."
"Was preschool fun yesterday?"
"Yeah I want you to meet some of my friends. They're named Ben, Kelly, Mikey, Bryan, and Jared."
"Wow you made that many friends?"
"Yeah I'll show you to them."
"Okay." She said looking shyly at the ground. Jake thought she looked so timid standing there.
"Come on you two we have to get you to preschool and I have to go to work for Mister Mike man." They both nodded following Ro to her car. She opened the door of her all terrain vehicle. She shut the door and started up the vehicle. Heading off down the not so busy streets of the small city they lived in.
Ro parked in the parking lot. She walked them up to the preschool signing both of them in. She walked back out heading to the highway heading downtown to her work place. A Wayne Powers building runned by a guy named Mike Leahman.
She parked after a half an hour driving there. She walked in the building as she did everyday. "Hello Ms. Rowen how's that kid of yours doing?"
"Just fine Ferris. How's your kids?"
"Ah my grandkid just graduated Medical School. Sharp as a knife that kid is."
"Glad to hear it Ferris. Got to hurry though or I'll be late."
"Oh Mike won't mind he has a soft spot for ya he does."
"I'm sure he does Ferris see ya later." She stepped into the elevator pushing back a strand of hair that fell in front of her face. Her boss happened to step in at the third floor when she was to go to the thirteen floor.
"Hello Ro how are you this morning?"
"A little tired but that is all."
"Oh really well after this meeting we are all planning to go to a sports grill, do you want to go?"
"Sure my daughter has preschool anyway till four and I'll have my cell phone."
"Okay great." He smiled as he stood next to him. He noted she looked a little tired out. "Why don't you take a little vacation time to relax?"
"I don't know. I'm not really tired. I guess I was thinking about calling the adoption center about adopting a little boy I saw on the net."
"Oh really a new addition to the family?"
"Maybe I just don't want Jolie to get the impression that I want another child because I don't like her enough which is the totally opposite."
"I'm sure she knows Ro. You're a good mother I've seen you at the corporation picnics. You're probably the hardest working mother I've ever seen."
"Yeah?"
"Of course." Ro smiled as she beamed at the complement she received. She tried her hardest to be everything a mother should be and still work to live a comfortable life one she never had.
"Thanks Mike."
"Yeah sure anytime Ro. We have a meeting with Dr. Selig today and several of his lab personal assistance's."
"Really Dr. Selig he's that famous robotics scientist right?"
"Yes you've heard of him?"
"I've had the pleasure of meeting him one time."
"At one of his lectures? I didn't think you were interested in the science of robotics."
"Oh I know plenty about robotics."
"Maybe you can help then decide whether or not he were are going to grant his research."
"Okay I'll take notes today."
"No that's alright just watch and see if you're interested."
"Okay." She followed him waiting for the meeting to start she thought about that synthoid who saved her so many times.