Page 7 of Down the Aisle
I refused to open myself up to another potentially harmful situation. I won't ever put myself back into a vicious cycle of domestic violence. I couldn't. I had Asher to care for, and Irefused to expose him to an environment where he could grow up thinking abusing women, or anyone, was okay.
His heartwarming chuckle of amusement put a stop to my mental walk, making me tuck it away for later. "If I had a girlfriendthatobsessed with me, then I'd never leave her side." Was he insinuating something with his answer? "I only have my work to go home to and my sister and my niece, but that's about it." Or maybe I was thinking too much into it.
But why am I relieved that he's single?
I shouldn't, and I definitely shouldn't feel hopeful. After all, I was probably never going to see him again. Also, it wasn't as if there was anything for him and me anyway. I wasn't some hot model; I was an average plain Jane.
Well, I was probably a little worse than average. I was a twenty-eight-year-old single mom with no college education—correction; no college degree—and no positive projection in life anytime soon or ever. Career-wise, I was stuck. Sure, being a house cleaner paid okay, when paired with my nightly gig as a delivery driver, but the dream of working some nine-to-five or being a pharmacist was galaxies away.
Most of my earnings went to rent, bills, and necessities for Asher and me. What little extra I had was split between savings for Asher and our emergency funds. I didn't have enough to pay for daycare or babysitting; I took him to my job sites, and I always had him in the car. Besides care for him being out of the question, the cost of college was way beyond my means. Financial aid existed, but it was too risky to apply. Eve might have gotten me a new identity and background, but I didn't want to risk things coming apart if the government ran my information through the system.
Forcing my thoughts away with a smile, I averted my eyes from him as I reached up and pinched Asher's smiling cheek. "Well, I'm just about done, so let's head to the checkout?"
Was this where we parted ways? Or was he going to follow me to my car, too?
Smiling at Asher, Adam tickled him a bit before talking to him. "Alright, buddy, it's almost time for me to go bye-bye for now."
Did I hear him right?
Chuckling awkwardly, I looked up at Adam quizzically while doing my best to keep my hope at bay so I didn't seem like some lonely and desperate woman. "For now?" I inquired with a slow raise of my eyebrow.
Leaning close to Asher with a cheeky grin, he spoke to him in an upbeat voice, "Do you think we can convince Mommy to give me her number? Think a big smile from you will be enough while I make puppy dog eyes at her?" His playful eyes flicked to me as he spoke to Asher and made funny little noises to get him giggling.
Adam's playfulness and natural flow with Asher had me smiling uncontrollably and giggling as I watched. It was too adorable and heartwarming of a sight to not appreciate. Especially since Asher seemed to have taken quite a liking to Adam in a very short amount of time. Usually, it took my son a good few minutes of sweet talking and urging from me before he would even let go of me to go check another person out. So, the fact he grabbed onto Adam and even went as far as lunging for him was a huge surprise to me.
Giving me his full attention, Adam leaned in close to shine his bright, pleading eyes right in my face. "What does the beautiful Miss Eliza say?" The eager grin on his face stretched wider when Asher hugged his face. "May I have your number?"
Though eager, he kept himself pretty calm and collected, sounding rather charming. "We can set up a playdate for Asher and Adelaide. Then my sister can watch the two while we go on an adults-only date," he suggested, his face softening with hope.
Is he serious?
I was tempted to whip my head around to see if I could find some kind of hidden camera or crew because surely this had to be a prank of some sort. But the longer I studied his patient smile, the more my resolve chipped away.
I don't know what it was about him, but he was quite irresistible. And, I mean, it wouldn't hurt me in any way to give him my number. Worse comes to worse, he ghosts me, and I get a bout of disappointment before moving on with my life.
I should probably prepare for that anyways, since there’s no way he’s actually serious about me.
Relenting with a small smile, I nodded my head. "Only because you asked so nicely," I snarked at him playfully with a giggle.
Grinning victoriously, Adam looked at Asher and did a small fist pump. "Yeah, you hear that, buddy? I just hit the jackpot," he playfully squealed. Whisper spoke? Something between a manly squeal and over-excitement.
He honestly did look like he'd won a billion-dollar jackpot with how much he beamed. His joy even managed to infect me, and I found myself smiling uncontrollably back at him.
Carefully, he held Asher in one arm and used his free hand to pull his phone out of his pants. "Come on, let's get in line while you do that because it looks like it's getting long." Grabbing my cart, he began to push it toward the checkout lines while I followed behind with his phone in my hands.
"Oh, hey, Eliza," the cashier greeted me with a friendly smile. "How are you and Asher today?" The cashier was an old lady who'd been working here since the dawn of time—her words, not mine.
"Mary, hey, we're doing just dandy. Same old, same old and all," I replied with a warm smile of my own as I made my way past the cart to the card reader. "How are you and Rob? Notpartying it up too much are you?" I asked with a chuckle at the end.
Laughing in response, she shimmied a bit in her spot. "Hey, as long as these hips can sway, then we will dance away." She was such a lively person, and I kind of envied her, not gonna lie.
After many trips throughout the year and regularly having their house on my delivery route, I learned that she and Rob, her husband, have been married since their late teens after they ran away from their parents. I was kind of jealous of how she seemingly led a perfect life. Well, it more so made me disappointed in my own life with my failed marriage.
Where did I go wrong?
James and I were the perfect couple in high school. We had known each other our whole lives because we grew up together. We initially met through church, and we ran around in the same friend group ever since I found out he lived only three houses down from me.
Sighing softly, I forced a smile on my face as I kept my eyes trained on the card reader's screen. "You and Rob are going to be waltzing up those stairs to the pearly gates one day instead of just flying up," I teased her with a soft chuckle. "Does Rob want any more sticky rice buns?"
