by Maine, Miley
“Then I will be here for you every step of the way. As your best friend. Always.”
And there it is, the final puzzle piece in my life, the bit that has been missing. Now I really feel like my circle is complete and I have everyone that I need. Taylor, Jenny, and Maggie as well. This is just another incredible day of my life.
“Right, I’m done talking to you now,” Maggie declares with a cheeky laugh. “I need to go and see the birthday girl. Six years old... can you believe it?”
She races off before I can even agree with her to see Jenny, to wish her a happy birthday, and to get involved with the party. I watched her with a big beaming smile on my face, with the intense sense that everything is right with the world.
“All okay?” Taylor asks me quietly, as he slings his comforting arm over my shoulder. “Maggie seems happy, which is good, right?”
“She’s good, really good actually. I think it might be a good idea for you two to have a chat while she’s here. I’m pretty sure she wants to clear the air at last.”
“Did she say that?” Taylor sounds shocked. “Wow, well I am definitely up for that. I like Maggie, and I would love to make your life easier. It would be much better if we can all be around one another all the time without any tension.”
“Even more so now,” I reply without thinking.
“Huh? Now?” he turns to face me with confusion in his eyes. “What do you mean by that?”
Uh oh. This is something that I have been meaning to tell Taylor, but I wanted to wait until after the party. It isn’t like I’m keeping another secret from my husband, we both promised never to do that again, I just wanted to wait until the time was right. But now it seems like I might have put my foot in it.
“Oh, erm...”
“Your face is already bright red.” He clutches on to my hands fearfully. “If there is something going on, you need to tell me.”
He’s afraid and I can’t blame him. It’s hardly a surprise after everything we’ve been through. Secrets haven’t exactly worked out well for us... but this is a good one and he’s going to see that soon enough.
“Let me tell you after the party, it will be for the best.”
“No way.” he shakes his head hard. “You have to tell me right now before I freak out.”
I dart my eyes downwards, staring at the floor for only a moment before I realize that I don’t exactly have any choice, do I? I’m going to have to tell him everything, even if the timing isn’t right. Just so he doesn’t freak out at Jenny’s party.
“I found something out this morning... Well, I’ve had my suspicions for a while, but I found out for sure this morning.” I bite down on my bottom lip to keep the smile inside as I watch his eyes query everything. “I’m pregnant, Taylor, we are having another baby. And judging by the timing, I think we are having a honeymoon baby. Or a wedding baby... I don’t exactly know what we’re calling our trip to Las Vegas.”
He pauses only a second before he lets out a deep bellowing cheer, one that comes from within his gut. Having another baby wasn’t exactly what we planned, but I did know that he was going to be elated with this news.
“Oh my God, are you serious?” he picks me up and spins me around, grabbing the attention of everyone else in the room. I guess my second baby isn’t a secret anymore. “That’s the best news ever. We’re going to be parents again.”
Everyone erupts into cheers at that moment, including Jenny, who’s reaction I was worried about... but seemingly for no reason because she is as happy as always. She’s just so pleased to have our family back together and our lives back on track. Just like the rest of us.
“You’re my wife again, and now we’re going to have another baby, you really are the perfect woman. I love you so much, Rebecca. You have no idea.”
“Yes, and I love you too. But I think you know that already.”
Taylor kisses me all over, acting like he will never stop, and I really don’t want him to. I want him to keep kissing me like this forever.
And now it seems like that’s what I’m going to get. Taylor, my husband, kissing me forever in our own little happily ever after.
The Perfect Fix
Blurb
They say you should love thy neighbor.
But I know that my neighbor hates me.
I also know that she’s impossible to resist.
Aisha is raising an adorable little boy by herself.
I knew that she was mine the second I laid my eyes on her.
I knew that that my world had changed in an instant.
The only hiccup?
Aisha’s attitude.
Something’s going on with her.
She’s… mean.
Her heart is closed off.
But I can deal with her sassiness, her attitude.
I’ll find a way to tame her, and I’ll stop at nothing to make her mine.
Aisha’s a broken girl with a painful past.
Her scars are mine and so is her heart.
It might take a Christmas scandal for her secrets to come to light but I’m ready…
I’m ready to have a real shot at love with the hot single mother next door!
1
Marc
December 8th
The morning is crisp, winter is definitely setting in. I have a feeling that it’s going to be a very cold Christmas this year. Not that I mind a cold Christmas, it makes everything feel much more festive. I get a shiver down my spine as I imagine what this year is going to be like...
Mind you, spending Christmas alone isn’t the most fun. And I don’t have people here to spend the day with. My mother died when I was younger, and my father now lives in England with his new wife and family, but I’m still a little bit excited.
“Mommy!” the young boy, Travis, who lives next door to me with his mother calls out running out of the house, his cheeks all red with excitement and eagerness to get his day started. He always looks like this, like he’s over the moon to get to school which is so lovely to see. So many kids don’t appreciate the education they have, so to see a six-year-old boy that happy is wonderful. “Mommy, the bus is here. I need to get to school.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” his mother replies. “Get on the bus, I’m on the way.”
Aisha comes blustering out of the door not far behind her son and I’m immediately struck by how beautiful she is. Even this early in the morning, even when she is clearly under stress, even when she barely looks like she has had the time to get ready, she is stunning. She is tall and slim with legs so long they don’t seem to end, curves so incredible I just want to touch her all over, eyes so blue they pierce through my soul... when she actually looks at me. Aisha doesn’t seem to look at me too much, and she hasn’t ever since she moved in six months ago. It’s almost like she struggles with looking at anyone. I hope it’s that rather just me.
I don’t know if it’s something to do with me or her, perhaps she doesn’t have any self-confidence or something, which is why she finds it hard to meet my eyes. I wish she would because I love it when she looks at me and smiles. That smile she has could light up any room, it is gorgeous. I don’t think she knows how stunning she really is.
I already have the post, I could head inside at any given moment, but I wait outside my front door to watch Aisha wave goodbye to Travis. I just can’t help myself; I want to see as much of her as I can. Aisha spends a lot of time in the house, she doesn’t seem to have many friends here, if any at all, so I don’t get to see her as much as I would like to. I have to take the chance every time it comes my way.
As Aisha turns back from the school bus, and she accidentally catches my gaze, my heart actually flutters. My stomach churns, I feel like I might be losing my mind. Dizzy and about to fall over. All because she has looked at me...
“Hey, Aisha,” I call out and wave to her, knowing that I need to catch the chance while it’s here. “Are you okay?” I rush over to her side of the yard to talk to her. “How are things?”
&n
bsp; “Err, yeah, sure.” The closer I get to her, the less she seems to look at me. All of a sudden, her fingernails have been the most interesting thing in the world. “Good, thanks.”
“Great, great…” I smile, trying to get through the awkwardness. It isn’t me who’s awkward, it’s her, which makes it even worse. “Well, do you have any free time? Because like I said to you before, I would like to take you out for dinner, or maybe cook for you and Travis…”
“Err, no I don’t think so.” She shakes her head hard. “I don’t have time for that.”
She always gives this answer. She always makes up some excuse for why she won’t date me which is hard to understand. I’m not used to it, to be honest. I haven’t ever had to work to get a girl’s attention. In high school, I was always Mr. Popular. I basically spent the whole time with a girlfriend on my arm… never the same one, never for very long, but I always had someone throwing themselves at me. Even after high school it hasn’t been much more challenging for me either. I have never been short of admirers. But this one… Aisha doesn’t give me the time of day at all. She always actively pushes me away.
But that isn’t what makes me want her more. This isn’t me needing her because I can’t have her. I actually like Aisha because she’s beautiful, sweet, and mysterious too. There is something so intriguing about her that I can’t stop myself from wanting her, however little she gives back.
Again, I don’t think that she doesn’t want me either. I’m not sure if she’s rejecting me because she doesn’t like me. I can feel there is an intense and powerful chemistry between us, sizzling all the time. I’m sure that she wants me just as badly as I want her. There should be another reason why she’s pushing me away and I want to know what it is. I get the impression that she is afraid to let anyone in which is probably linked to her past. Maybe.
“Oh, well if you ever do have the time…” I offer, not that she will take it up.
“I don’t know about that. I have a lot going on. With my son and my work…”
She turns away from me and heads inside before I can ask her anything else. She doesn’t even say goodbye. But it isn’t Aisha being rude, this is her just being fearful of love.
I will show her that I am a good guy, I tell myself determinedly. I will let her see that I am worthwhile. Then she will let me in, I’m sure of it…
I suddenly jolt to attention, realizing that I have other things to do. I can’t just stand around outside of Aisha’s place like a freak, I need to get to work. I have a lot of people relying on me. I need to take my mail in my house and get in the God damn car already…
I snap in to action, doing everything that I need to do before I jump in to the car and speed off to my office. It is within walking distance, I probably could go on my feet given half the chance, but I might need to head off to a meeting at any given moment. I prefer to have my car for speed, so I’m never late.
Plus, I like the drive and the radio to sing along to. Especially today after seeing Aisha cause now I can have a little daydream about her as well. About the day when she finally decides to give me a chance. I mean, I’m not guaranteeing that things between us will work out. We might not be as perfect for one another than I think we are right now, but I would like us to give it a try. I think that it would be awesome.
Sometimes I wonder if she is scared to let me in her life because she has a son. It must be hard to date as a single mother, but I like kids. I like Travis. I think he is awesome. When he chats with me, we get along really well, and I’m sure he adores me too. Or he would do if we were allowed to talk to one another properly…
Anyway, I can’t think about her anymore. I can’t worry about the moment that Aisha will finally let me in because I am here at work and it’s time to get refocused.
“Hey, boss!” Hayley, my receptionist who has been with the company from the beginning calls out to me and grabs my attention. “Have you seen it? The business news?”
“No, why what is going on?” I walk over to her knowing that this is only going to be good news. Hayley is such a positive person. “Am I in trouble?”
“Nah, you are on the list here as the hottest self-made billionaire of the year.”
“Oh, for goodness sake.” I roll my eyes as I see the page. “I don’t need to know that.”
“You should be proud of yourself. You really are the hottest self-made man around here.”
I don’t know about that, I don’t know what to say, so I roll my eyes and walk off towards my office. Of course, I’m proud of myself, how could I not be? I have pretty much come from nothing, my father just had to keep us afloat since it was just me and him until he met my stepmom, but I was already an adult by that point. That’s why I don’t harbor any ill feelings for him upping and leaving the country to find his own happiness. He deserves it.
“Hey there, Marc.” My personal assistant, Sara, follows me into my office and places a stack of papers in front of me. “Sorry, I have a lot for you to do here. As always.”
“I can’t blame you,” I laugh. “It isn’t like I don’t put a lot on you as well…”
“Speaking of which…” she cocks a knowing eyebrow at me. “I don’t know if you remember Diane Jones from the networking event you went to last month. Well, she has been in touch. A few times actually. At first, she tried to act like it was a work-related thing, but I have worked here for long enough to see through that. Anyway, she has given up the pretense now and she’s basically just asking if you want to go on a date with her.”
I ponder this for just a second, purely because it would give me a bit of a confidence boost which I haven’t had from Aisha, but I immediately shut that thought down. At 28, I want more than just a fling. I want something much more real and also know from the short time that I spent with her I won’t get that from Diane. She definitely isn’t the one for me. There is only one person who might fit that box at the moment.
“Tell her that I am engaged,” I spin off my usual lie. “And that I’m certainly not looking for anyone else. She was nice enough, but not the one for me.”
“I know that it isn’t really my place to say so…” Sara starts.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. You know you can say whatever you want to me.”
“I know, which is why I’m going to point out that my job is much easier now that you are toning down the playboy ways. I don’t have to navigate quite so many obsessed women.”
“I’m sure I’m much nicer to be around as well,” I chuckle. “I’m glad, Sara. Thank you for everything that you have done for me.”
“You’re welcome. You’re just lucky that you are a good boss, or I might have gone years ago.” She giggles to let me know she’s joking. “Anyway, I will leave you to it.”
As she exits the room, I make a mental note to give her a good bonus this Christmas because I didn’t realize it at the time, and I really haven’t always made her life easy. But I am growing up now, I am changing, and it feels good. I like the new me.
2
Aisha
December 8th
This is miserable, I think to myself as I take a two-minute break from my data entry job. It’s killing me, this is not where my life is supposed to be. By now I should’ve been in some high-class office job, the glamorous sort that you see on the television. The sort of job which includes sophisticated business meetings, posh friends who go out on fancy lunches, and a top-notch high-flying boyfriend to boot. When I was in high school, that’s where I always envisioned myself growing up, and I’m sure it’s what my parents wanted for me as well, but I didn’t go along with their wishes, did I? So perhaps this is my punishment.
A miserable job that I have to do at home on my own with absolutely no company, one that bores the living shit out of me, and that doesn’t pay well either. Not even really enough to keep me and Travis going, but it’s all I can get. I have to be around for my son, there isn’t anyone else, and for a drop out like me, no one is going to want to pay enough for me t
o afford childcare either, so I’m stuck. This is the only job I can get; this is the only choice I have to juggle being a mother and work to keep us on top of things as well.
Mind you, as I look at the unopened mail sitting on my table, most of which are bills that I can’t afford to pay at the moment, I wonder how on top of things I am.
We have nearly been here for seven months now, in this nice house, on this comfortable neighborhood. I don’t usually stay in a place this long because I struggle to keep on top of the rent, but I haven’t wanted to leave here because I like it and we both feel safe, but I don’t think I can keep it up any longer. And I think when we finally go from here, it’s going to be another trailer park for us. Travis hates it on the trailer parks, he always gets scared at night and starts sleeping back in bed with me for safety. I’m just trying to do my best on my own and I don’t think we would have any other choice but to go for it. I don’t want to move him out of school again, I don’t want to unsettle him yet another time, but if it comes down to it then I will have to.
We always want the best for our children, and I’m no different in that matter, but it isn’t as easy to give Travis everything I would like to. I just can’t afford it.
“Come on, just get on with it,” I scold myself. “The more work you manage to get done, the more you get paid at the end of the week. If you work hard now, then you won’t have to be up until midnight again.”
Not that I believe myself on that front, I’m always up until the early hours of the morning trying to get as much work done as possible to put food on the table for both of us.
As I start typing, I think about other people in my position, other people who have young children and I wonder if I’m the only one struggling that much. Maybe I’m not the only one but it still hurts. It hurts so much that I don’t like to think about it. The thing is I could have is for my parents to help me, there is no reason for me to be alone like I am. I might not have grown up in the richest environment, but my parents were never as poor as me and Travis are. Even the support and childcare would be amazing, but I have nothing. They have cut me off completely. They don’t even know where I live these days...
