Every day I woke up thinking it would be the day Leo would come home. I expected him to walk through the door, just the way I'd been dreaming of. Then I'd run into his arms and he'd kiss me, and he'd promise to never leave me again. He'd promise to never drink again. Every morning, I woke up with a smile on my face, because I expected Leo to come home that day.
And every night, I cried myself to sleep, because he didn't come home that day. Every night, I cried... because deep down, I knew he wouldn't come home the next day either.
"Wake up, Paige," I called, knocking on the door that Monday morning.
"Up!" she returned.
I returned to the kitchen and continued cooking. I placed Paige's breakfast on the table just as she walked in with her books.
"Good morning. How are you feeling?" I asked.
"Ugh, same old morning feeling. Got one last exam today. Thank god it's almost summer!" she said as she sat down.
I laughed. "Got any summer plans yet?"
She paused. " Me and couple of my girlfriends were invited to stay at the beach for senior week. But I don't think I wanna go."
"Senior week? You must be pretty cool to be invited as a freshman," I said, smiling. "Why don't you wanna go?"
She shifted uneasily in her chair. "Well...I don't wanna just take off..."
"And leave me here alone?" I laughed. "Sweetie, you're only in high school once. Don't worry about me."
"It's just gonna be a lot of noise and partying and drunk people," she said. "I cant stay. Really, I don't mind. I'd probably have more fun with you anyway."
"Paige, I mean it. High school partying is one thing you will miss," I laughed. "Trust me."
She smiled. "Okay. School's out Thursday. We're leaving Friday til next Saturday. That cool?"
"Awesome. Okay," I said, looking at my watch, "I gotta go get dressed and then we'll leave. Finish your breakfast."
"Gotcha," she said with a mouthful of toast.
I tossed my pajamas to the floor and slipped on some jeans and a t-shirt. I didn't bother doing my makeup or fixing my messy ponytail. I never spent too much time on appearances now. I grabbed my keys and returned to the kitchen. Paige was washing her breakfast dishes as I walked in.
"Thanks, sweetie," I smiled.
"No problemo. Ready to go?"
"Yep."
The drive to her school was short, but we still managed to sing along to three good songs on the radio before we got there.
"Okay, my exam is over at eleven. Can you pick me up?" she asked.
"Sure. See you then. Good luck!" I called as she got out of the car.
"Thanks! Love you!"
I drove away smiling. Paige was the very best thing in my life.
I got home just as my favorite soap was coming on TV. I laid back to watch it, deciding to relax for awhile. This episode was about a pregnant girl whose boyfriend was missing. I sighed. So was mine. Except he wanted to be. I clicked the power button, not wanting to watch my own life story on TV.
I had some inventory to do on my laptop, so I worked for awhile to distract myself. Sales were just a little better than last week. Thankfully Dan had been picking up the slack in my final month of pregnancy. I was grateful I had at least some didn't keep me busy for long. After everything was ordered, I decided to head to the shop to see how things were going.
I saw Dan through the window as I pulled up. A huge smile spread across his face as I walked in.
"Piper! Wow, look at you!" he exclaimed, walking around the counter to hug me.
"I know," I laughed. "I'm huge."
"And you look great!" he laughed, still wearing a huge smile. "What brings you here?"
"Just checking up on things. How's it going here?" I asked.
"Everything's running smoothly," he said. "Miss having you around, of course."
I smiled. "I'm glad."
He turned and saw Tony, one of the employees, "Hey Tony, I'm taking a break. Be back in ten!" he yelled.
"Alright," Tony called back.
We walked out of the shop and sat on the bench outside.
"So what's going on with you?" he asked. "Obviously busy preparing for the baby, I'm sure," he looked at my belly again.
"Oh of course," I laughed, placing a hand on my baby bump. "Lots of stuff to do. Less than a month before my due date."
"Got the nursery all ready?"
"Well, we've got the crib set up in my room. We'll be moving after the baby's born, but she'll be staying in my room til then."
"Cool, cool. Leo ready to be a daddy?" he said with a smile.
"Uh...Leo's not really around right now," I murmured, looking down.
Dan looked confused. "But he'll be back before the baby comes, right?"
I looked up. "I don't know," I tried to blink away tears before he noticed.
He put an arm around me. "If you want to talk..."
I smiled, wiping the tears away. "We're just... on a break, I guess... I dunno."
He just looked at me for a few moments, then he looked serious.
"I'm always here. For anything you need. You know that, right? I mean anything at all." He took my hand in his. "You know I've always cared about you."
"I know," I said weakly. "Thank you."
"I care about her too," he touched my belly. He smiled. "I should get back inside now. But, really," he held my hand a little tighter, "I'm always here for you. Anything you need."
"Thanks, Dan," I smiled. He kissed my cheek gently before disappearing back inside.
I sat for a few more minutes on the bench thinking. Leo had been gone two weeks. Maybe leaning on Dan for support wouldn't be the worst thing...
Paige came walking out of school a few minutes after eleven.
"How'd you do?" I asked as she got in the car.
"I think I did pretty good!" she said with a smile. "There were only a few questions I wasn't sure about."
"Great! Geez, I swear Paige, with those brains, you could do anything you want."
"Yeah yeah," she laughed as we drove away.
"I mean it!" I said with a smile. "You're going places."
"I don't wanna go places. I wanna stay right here in LA, and I want to be hair stylist."
"Hair stylist," I repeated. "You want to cut hair for a living?"
"What's wrong with that?" she sounded hurt.
"Paige, you're too smart to do something like that."
I glanced over at her. She was looking out the window with her arms folded.
Deja vu.
"So what if you're good at drawing? Piper, you are not going to tattoo people for a living," Victor scolded as he drove.
"It would be fun," I mumbled, sitting back in my seat, daydreaming.
"Work isn't supposed to be fun," he said coldly. "You're going to go to a good college. You're going to be a lawyer. You'll be financially stable and happy. Don't you want to be happy?"
"Being a tattoo artist would make me happy!" I insisted.
"Enough!" Victor snapped. "I won't hear one more word of that nonsense. You aren't going to waste your life in some bullshit tattoo shop. You're too smart for that."
I folded my arms and stared out the window, watching the trees go by.
Paige sat just as I did, probably feeling the same as I did that day. Hurt and alone.
We came to a stop light.
"But, if it would make you happy," I said, taking her hand, "I think you should do it."
She looked at me, smiling. "Really?"
"Of course. Never forget, your happiness is more important than anything."
I pointed to the locket mom left her, hanging from her neck. She smiled as she opened it.
"Happiness is not in your smile, it is in your heart," she read.
"Dreaming freely is what makes your heart happy," I told her with a smile.
She smiled back at me. "Thanks, Piper. I love you."
"Love you too, kid."
Maybe I could raise this baby on my own. I didn't want to, but I could do it. In a perfect world, Leo would come home and I wouldn't have to.
But this was no perfect world.
