Page 3 of Defending A Promise
“I am excited, ya know. When your father surprised me with these tickets…” she holds her hands to her chest, over her heart, “well – I just couldn’t believe it.”
For all the heartache my parents have been through, they deserve this vacation. This will be the first thing they’ve done for themselves in years. A month after River’s funeral, I called them to let them know that their little girl was pregnant with River’s teammate’s child. Nick was a nice guy, and I really liked him, but I’d be doing this parenting thing all alone since Nick was killed at the same time as River. So were three other soldiers that day.
That year was filled with so many emotions from losing my twin brother to getting pregnant to having a son. It was chaotic and draining. But when I looked into Nicholas’ eyes when the nurses laid him on my chest for the first time – I suddenly felt like I had a new purpose in life.
“I’m ready!” Nicholas comes running into the dining room wearing his favorite shirt with a puppy on the front, his ‘fast’shoes which are just some sneakers that light up with every step he takes, and a cape.
“Um, I don’t think you’ll be needing the cape today, Nickels.”
As if I was the dumbest person on the planet, my son all of four years old, looks at me, “Ah, yeah, I do. What if I have to fly out of there and save you, Mommy?”
“Save me from what?”
“Whatever makes you sad.” He starts running around the house making whooshing sounds like he really is flying.
“Well, who can argue with that logic?” Mom laughs.
“I wouldn’t dare to try.” I put my empty mug in the sink and grab my stuff for work. Event planning is a fun job, and I’m so lucky to have been able to purchase a client list from Sydney Winters when she moved to Colorado. She set me up with her clients when I first moved back and now I’ve been able to create my own contacts as well. I’ve been pretty lucky to land this job with Mia McIntosh to plan her grand opening that’s scheduled for this Friday night. I only have a few more days to finish up the details. I check my phone for any messages – work or otherwise.
“Have you heard from him lately?” Mom has worry in her voice.
I shake my head, “Not since that night we left Atlanta in May.”
“Good.”
I nod and then look at my son. “Ready to go, Nickels?”
“Ready!”
“See you tonight after kickball practice, Mom.”
“Have a good day. You too, Nickels.”
“Bye, Nana.”
Once Nicholas is buckled into his car seat, I drive to his new preschool. He’s never been a shy child, and everything seems to be one big adventure for him. During the entire drive to school, he chatted about everything from the puppy on his shirt to whathe plans to eat for dinner when he’s a hundred million years old. I wish I could bottle this energy for myself.
We walk into the Little Tykes School, Nicholas leading the way. A woman who is about ten years older than me greets us at the door.
“Welcome. My name is Miss Rachel.” She kneels down to Nicholas’ line of sight. “What’s your name?”
“Hi. I’m Nickels.”
Miss Rachel looks up to me like I’m an idiot for naming my child after coins. “Nicholas Ashford. His name is Nicholas.”
My son turns to look up at me, “That’s what I said, Mommy.”
I smooth down his hair, “I know you did.”
The teacher smiles in understanding, “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Nickels.”
“Mommy, can I go play?” He points to where there are other kids running around and playing.
I look at Miss Rachel and she nods.
“Nickels, you’ll have to ask Miss Rachel if it’s okay.”
He looks up at her and she nods at him.
