Too Many Congratulations!
Fiona
The kids just wouldn’t stop today. But the adults were even worse. I need ten hours of silence. “Dash, I’m going to need you to be a good little boy and play on the floor after you eat your supper. Do you think you can do that?”
He grins up at me, waving his toy around.
“I’m going to take that as a yes.” After slipping off my shoes, I grab a bottle and take him out of the stroller.
We settle down on the couch, and he cuddles into my arms with his bottle. “Did you have a good day in the daycare center?”
His little hand slaps the bottle.
“Max was worried about you. He thought you might have been unhappy going to the daycare. Were you?” How would I even know if you weren’t happy? They fed you. They changed your diapers. They did tummy time. They gave you toys.
It all sounds so sterile. So cold.
The people who take care of the kids in the daycare love their jobs. They’re wonderful with the kids. “Were you happy there? Or do you want to come to work with me tomorrow?”
Dash slaps his bottle and gurgles.
Sometimes I can see why they think he can do all those things.
Like understanding coding? A small smile spreads across my face. “Max really intended to teach you to code.” He saw a future with Dash.
Which is foolish.
I take away the empty bottle and put him on top of the burp cloth on my shoulder.
“Max doesn’t understand that you aren’t a permanent fixture. That you can’t be. You need to move on to your real family soon.”
Whoever that might be.
You need a mother and a father who love you.
You need a yard to play ball in with your dad.
You need a kitchen to eat with your family and talk about what you did that day.
What you don’t need is to be here, where people make the best of a bad situation.
This little baby deserves better than that. I’d give every child living on Willow Street that if I could. But the world doesn’t work that way. So, they get the best that I can give them.
You get better. And that’s far away from here. Far away from here.
Dash burps.
“Good job, little man. Tummy time.” But I can’t seem to put him down. Instead, I slide him back down in my arms and stare at his sweet face.
“You get better.”
“You get better.”
The door slams open, banging against the stopper. Daria glares at me as she flings her bag onto the chair.
I’ve never seen her this angry with me.
Even when I told her she couldn’t go to high school out of state. “What’s wrong?”
Her face twists in anger. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? You have a lot of nerve. I thought we told each other everything. That we were sisters.”
What? Why would she say something like that?
“How could you start dating someone for the very first time and not tell me about it first? How could you do that to me? I found out my sister is dating from The Street’s gossip mill. Not you!” Her hands practically bounce with anger as they slash through the air.
“It’s not like that.”
“How? Are you not dating Canyon? Did every one of the forty people who reached out to me get it wrong?”
Forty! The gossip spread that fast. “Sort of.”
“What does that even mean? You’re either dating, or you aren’t.”
If only that were true. I can’t lie to Daria. “It’s a long story.”
She climbs onto the couch facing me and folds her legs under her. “Tell me.”
“Canyon and I told everyone we’re dating, but it’s fake,” I blurt the words out before embarrassment stops me.
“Fake? How can you fake date someone?”
“Like in your books.”
Daria chuffs.
“It’s not funny.”
She keeps chuffing.
“It’s really not funny.”
“Yes, it is. Fake dating is only in romcoms. It’s funny because it never works out like the characters think it will.” She doesn’t try hiding the mirth on her face. “You just made your life into a romance novel.”
“No, I didn’t. It was a well-thought-out plan.”
“Right.”
It was. Everything is going to work out just fine.
***
“Oh good, I caught you.” Maddox stops on the street next to Dash and me.
Caught me? “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to tell you that I’m so excited for you. Though I must say, I’m kind of surprised you’re dating Canyon. You two never seemed at all attracted to each other.”
That’s because we aren’t.
“But I’m so happy for the two of you. We should go on a double date soon.”
A double date.
No.
No.
“I guess it makes sense. In all the years I’ve known Canyon, he’s never dated anyone.
Nor have you. It sort of makes sense that the two of you would find each other.
But I’ve got to say, I always thought you were going to end up with Max, but who am I to understand these things?
Anyway, congrats.” Maddox strides away without another word.
Canyon doesn’t date.
How didn’t I know that? You did. You just didn’t think about anyone else but yourself.
Hope scared you so much that you became thoughtless.
“Fiona!” Paisley shouts, jogging down the street.
This is it. Dash is going away. My heart clenches. Max is about to understand why you don’t get attached.
She comes to a stop in front of us. “I’m so glad I caught you. Today’s going to be a busy day. But I wanted to tell you congratulations.”
What?
“I’m so happy for you and Canyon. I always knew he needed a wonderful woman like you. I know you two are going to be so happy. That’s all I wanted to say. Lots to do. We’ll get together and chat later.”
She didn’t take Dash.
Paisley came and didn’t take the baby.
My heart keeps racing anyway.
It takes a long minute to calm down.
Everything is fine. Dash will just stay with you a little longer. Everything will be just fine.
“Fiona!”
I turn towards where Jacko is running down the street. “Hi.”
“I heard about you and Canyon.”
Of course you did. Everyone did. Literally everyone. They probably sent a message up to the space station and translated it for the penguins in Antarctica.
Jacko comes to a stop next to me. He tickles Dash’s belly.
“Good choice. Canyon is a stand-up guy. You two will be happy together. And don’t you worry about all the men who are feeling disappointed today.
You and Canyon deserve some happiness in your lives.
They’ll get over it and be happy for you two.
See you later.” Jacko starts running down the street again.
What have I done?
“Dash, what have I done?”
He thumps his head into my chest.
“Exactly.” I keep walking to work, seemingly stopping every two feet for someone to congratulate me.
The nightmare keeps growing and growing.
Leaning against a lamppost by the bakery is the man whose life I probably just ruined with my wild idea.
Daria was right. This plan wasn’t well thought out. “Are you getting it too?”
He nods. “Oh yeah. On a positive note, I’m not going to have to buy myself a beer for the next six months. But I’m pretty sure one or more of my best friends are going to beat me up when we break up.”
OH.
Oh no. This is all your fault. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think this through. When we break up, we can do it amicably or make it all my fault.”
“Like anyone would believe that. You’re too sweet.”
But I’m not.
“Was this fake dating thing important to you?”
The revulsion on Max’s face flashes in front of my eyes. “Yeah.”
“Then it was totally worth it.”
“You’re a good man.”
Canyon grins down at me. “And who is this little guy?”
The baby kicks my abdomen as if to remind me to introduce him. “This is Dash.”
“He getting a new home soon?”
My heart clenches painfully. “Yeah.”
“Good.” Canyon glances to the side. “And the show begins again.”
What?
Hope and Max are walking towards us.
That’s what you get for coming to work late because everyone needed to congratulate me. “Hey, Hope.” I give her a wave.
She frowns at us.
That’s odd. Hope always seemed to be in love with the idea of love. “Hey, Max.”
Max’s smile is halfhearted at best. Did he choose not to forgive me?
Is something wrong at home?
Is it Everett?
Is Emilia sick?
Surely, I would have heard something if she were feeling under the weather.
“Hey.”
He definitely sounds out of sorts.
Maybe he’s the one who isn’t feeling good. I turn to get a better look at him.
“You brought Dash to work today.”
Oh no. In the drama of the morning, I forgot to drop him off at daycare. “Yeah. You seemed worried about him.”
“Gotta go, Baby. I’ll see you later for my cupcake.” Canyon interrupts with a weird level of cheerfulness in his voice for our situation.
He’s probably just acting. “Looking forward to it.” I added his cupcakes to the schedule, so I don’t need to worry about forgetting.
“Dash loves being worn, so I figured even if you weren’t in the mood to watch him—“
“I am.” Max holds his arms out for the baby. “We’re going to talk about language in coding today.”
“Fiona.” Izzy walks over.
She’s not usually one to interrupt when other people are talking. Izzy is that combination of super-shy and ultra-friendly. Neither of which serves her well. “Here.” I hand Max the baby and turn to Izzy. “What’s up?”
She glances at Max and Hope, then the ground.
“Why don’t we go around back and talk at one of the picnic tables?” Right now, I wish I had stayed at the apartment and had another cup of coffee. “See you guys inside soon.”
Hopefully.
After we climb up onto the table, I ask. “So what’s going on?”
“You remember that guy I was talking about?”
Do I? Each of these kids seems to be in and out of a dozen relationships. What was Izzy’s — “The guy at your internship?”
“Yeah.” She rubs her foot along the bench. “I think he likes me. No, I know he likes me.”
Izzy’s history is a lot like mine. The only real difference was the pimp. And are pimps who sell kids really any different from each other? Understanding real relationships has got to be hard for her. “Why do you say that?”
“He’s always coming over to my desk to talk. Inviting me to lunch. And…touching my hand.”
Aww. Young love is so sweet. “Do you want him to?”
She shrugs again. “Maybe. No. I’m not sure.”
“You don’t need to be. There’s plenty of time to figure it out. To get to know him better and decide what you want to do.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You never need to rush for a man. They need to give you time. Just like you would give them time.”
She nods. “Of course.”
“Just being friends for a while is good. It gives you a chance to learn what’s important to them. What they value.”
“Ahhh. Getting to know him sounds okay. But what if I don’t want to get to know him? What if I don’t want to date him?”
That simple question is huge for a lot of children around here.
They’ve been trained not to say no. Some have literally had it beaten into them or been drugged to take away any resistance.
“Then you say NO. You can say it kindly. You can say it loudly. You can say it any way you need to. But if a guy asks you to do something you don’t want to do, you say no. ”
“But what if something happens at my internship? I don’t want to lose it. Maybe it would be easier—”
Her even having to ask that question makes me mad.
“I don’t care where you are. You say no.
And if he doesn’t listen, you come to me or someone else for help.
You aren’t alone now. You aren’t without protection.
You scream until help comes and fight him until he bleeds or run.
But you don’t need to do anything you don’t want with your body to keep a job. Do you understand me?”
Izzy nods and brushes a tear away. “I can say no.”
“Yes, you can. I know you can.”
“Thank you, Fea.”
“You’re welcome.” Even though I said exactly the same thing the last time. But kids need reminders. Adults do too.