Lola closed the front door behind Bryon, and turned to head to her bedroom. Gloria appeared at the edge of the kitchen startling Lola out of her thoughts.
âSo, youâre headed out?â she asked.
âI guess I am,â Lola said with a half smile.
âI think this is good.â Gloria said nodding. âHeâs always seemed like a good kid, he was Kyleâs friend and everything. Probably no better person to spend some time with. It might be good for both of you.â Gloria paused. âAndâŠabout what we were talking aboutâŠâ her eyes glistened staring straight into Lolaâs.
âI left them on the table,â Lola said. âMaybe you could hold on to them for me.â
Gloria smiled, wiped her eyes, and drew Lola into a firm hug.
âThank you,â she whispered into her mop of curls. She pulled back and glanced down at Lolaâs right hand. âWhat do you think is in the there?â
âI donât know,â she shrugged. âBryon didnât know either.â
âAre you going to open it?â Gloria asked a tinge of excitement in her voice.
âUh, yeah, maybe in a minute.â she turned it over. â Lolaâ was printed clearly on the front in a sloppy print she didnât recognize.
Lola stepped into her bedroom, set down the envelope on the dresser, and stared at it. She wasnât sure what could have come form the department, but she knew she didnât want to deal with any technical forms. She glanced up at the mirror. Her skin was pale, her freckles faded. Her hair needed to be washed, and her current shirt had a jelly stain right on her protruding belly.
âWell,â she said to herself. âIt could be worse. I could be missing teeth too.â
She rummaged through a stack of maternity clothes resting on a chair beside her bed. Her mom had been adding a few new pieces every week, and the mound was beginning to lean.
She finally picked a plan purple t-shirt with rippled stitching on the side, pulled off the tag then slid it over her head. It was a little too big still, but the shade looked nice against her skin. She pulled her messy curls into a ponytail, then headed to the bathroom to wash her face.
âHey Lola,â Tommy said sticking his head out his bedroom door, music permeating into the hallway.
âWhatâs up?â Lola asked, but something caught her attention on Tomâs computer desk.
âWhatâs that?â she said walking past him into his den.
âOh, uhâŠthatâs just a picture I foundâŠâ
A girl stared bored in the distance with three eyes. Her only clothing looked like blotches of ink stretched from her chest to her collar bones, her elbow resting on one of Saturnâs rings. The earth drawn in the distance eclipsing the sun.
âPlease donât tell Mom.â Tommy said shoulderâs slumped.
Lola snickered. âYou donât think sheâd approve of a mostly naked alien?â
He looked at the ground and rolled a bouncy ball with the tip of his toe.
âYou drew this, didnât you?â Lola asked astonished.
He peeked up to meet her eyes.
âWow, Tom, itâs incredible, but I promise I wonât say anything.â
âThank you,â he mumbled. Lola began to walk away, but he touched her arm. âHey,â he found his voice again. âIs it trueâŠwhat Mom found? She didnât want me to knowâŠbut, well, she was so loud when she called DadâŠand cryingâŠand well, I couldnât not hearâŠbutâŠâ
Lola pulled her little brother into a hug.
âNo, I donât think I couldâŠI thought about it though. I meanâŠwho am I to be a mom?â she said.
âBut God made her yours.â Tommy said tears coming to his eyes. âNo one else would work.â
***
Gloriaâs car came to an idle in front of the coffee shop.
âAre you sure youâre up for this?â she asked. âYou donât have to go in.â
Lola squinted her eyes and nodded. âI think Iâll be alright, itâs only an hour, right?â
âYes, Iâll be right back to pick you up, and you can always text me if you need me sooner. Iâll be right over there at the fabric store.â she pointed in itâs direction.
Lola took a deep breath, grabbed her bag and stepped out of the car. Beautiful spring tulips were growing along the front hedge of the café, and a few bees were busy going from one to the next.
As she entered the shop, brewed coffee filled her lungs as she inhaled deeply. She hadnât been here for months, the last time was just before Valentineâs Day.
âLola!â Maeva called from the front counter. âHow have you been? I havenât seen you in ages, and I hear you have a little one on the way. Well, I could tell from a mile away, you are just glowing! Oh my, well it is so good to see you. Bryon, I mean Officer Pascal,â she said with a wink. âJust came in a few minutes ago, heâs sitting right over there in the corner booth. He wasnât sure if you would make it. But I told him that you would, that these spring airs would get you out and about, and I was right!â
âIs that our Lola?â Maevaâs husband, Lawrence, rounded the corner from the kitchen and came to stand next his wife.
Lola smiled in return.
âThe one and only!â said Maeva.
âHow have you been,â he asked with narrowed eyes. âI know these past few months have not been right to you. Your Dad came in just the other week. Now, donât worry, heâs not going around spreading gossip, he just let us know you were with them, and that youâre doing okay for now.â
His kind voice was resolute, and Lola swallowed the lump that had grown in her throat.
She cleared her voice and said, âMy aunt keeps telling me one day at a time.â
âI bet itâs more like one moment at a time!â Maeva called out.
âWell, letâs let her get to visiting, Maeva.â Lawrence said. âCan I get you anything to eat or drink?â
âSome peppermint tea, pleaseâ Lola said.
âIâll be right over with it.â he said with a wink.
Lola crossed the small café to the table set in the corner, where Bryon took up most of the space.
âYou made it!â he beamed.
âI did.â Lola said taking a seat across from him.
âI was a little concerned you werenât going to make it.â
âWhat wouldâve given you that idea?â she laughed sarcastically looking down at herself.
âOh, you look great, it was the emotional wreck I walked in on that had me concerned.â
Lolaâs eyes widened in surprise, and Byron laughed.
âTo be blunt, I find, is one of my greatest talents.â he said. âSorry if it becomes too much, but I donât see a point in tip-toeing around anything.â
Lola toyed with the leaves on the bamboo plant in front of her.
âYa know,â she said. âWe had one of these sitting in our windowsill once. I really wanted it, and Kyle,â she took a breath, surprising herself at how easily his name had flown from her lips, âhad laughed telling me I wouldnât take care of it, but he surprised me with it anyway the next day when he came home from work.â
âWas he right?â Bryon asked. âDid you kill it?â
Lola winced at his choice of words, but Byron didnât seem to notice.
âYes, I did,â she said after a moment, then smiled to herself. âI forgot to water itâŠmore than once. Eventually the brown stocks were so pitiful that we had to throw them out. I kept the bowl it came in though.â
âYour smile looks nice.â he said.
Lola looked up at him.
âItâs ok, you know, to smile. To live. To have ridiculous amounts of fun.â Byron laughed loudly. âWhen I was sixteen and my Dad died, I thought that was it, that I would never enjoy another moment in my entire life. And for a long time I didnât. I was angry, and I hated everyone. I hated everyone for living and breathing because he couldnât. I even hated the sun for shining and the grass for growing. But then one day, before I could catch myself, I was watching the sun come up, and I took a second to think about how beautiful it was. So, naturally, I hated myself for awhile for that too.â
âWhen did it stop?â Lola asked quietly looking down at her fingertips. âWhen did the hating stop?â
âWhen I decided that my Dad would hate me for hating this world, and for not living it the way he had raised me to. My Dad deserved more than that.â
They sat in silence for moment, until Lawrence interrupted bringing over a hot cup of peppermint tea.
âBryon, would you like anymore coffee?â he asked.
âOh, I think Iâm doing great for now, but I tell you whatâŠLola would you like a piece of Maevaâs famous banana bread?â
âI would love some,â she said secretly hoping sheâd be able to hold it down.
The coffee shop had grown steadily more busy as the morning wore on, but Lola and Bryon sat content in the corner booth. The banana bread, as promised, had been delicious and they each were picking at the last bit of crumbs that were left.
âWow, Iâve never seen anyone eat so fast,â Bryon said eyeing his plate. âAnd you ate pretty fast yourself.â
Lola smiled, unable to stop herself. âIt was just as good as I remembered, and I havenât wanted to chuck it back up or anything.â she laughed at herself.
âSo, I see your peppermint tea is empty, your bread is long gone, what would you like to do next?â he asked.
Lolaâs eyebrows dropped, and she looked at her hands gripping the empty mug.
âOr, I could let you carry on with your day. Iâm sure you have some big plans to get to.â
She laughed a short laugh. âRight,â she said sarcastically. âHuge plans.â
Bryon turned to look at the window behind him. The sun was still bright and high in the sky, and only a few puffy white clouds had moved in.
âWell, I was thinking, itâs-â he glanced down at his watch. â10:20 now. A trolley is due to run through in the next ten minutes or so. My next shift doesnât start until this evening. Would you be up for a ride?â
Lola thought for a moment. She could easily let her mom know her plans, and Bryon would probably give her a ride back home, but there was uncertainty that crept into the pit of her stomach.
âIâll give you a ride home,â he smiled. âI think it only takes about an hour or so to go around town, and then before you know it, youâre back at home doing whatever it is that is making you frown so hard.â
Lola tried to relax her forehead.
âOk,â she said hesitantly.
Bryon jumped up, and extended a hand to help her out of her chair.
âNow, the steady rocking of the trolley wonât make you nauseous, will it?â asked
âEverything makes me nauseous.â she said lightly. âGive me just a sec, I just need to let my mom know.â
She stepped out into the entryway of the coffee shop, and quickly swiped open the screen of her phone.
Hey mom, Iâm hanging in there okay. Bryon asked me to ride the trolley, so I think Iâm going to try it. Is that alright?
Of course thatâs okay, sweetie! You have a good time, and I will see you at home. Did you bring a sweater? I canât remember.
No, but I should be okay.
Lola tucked her phone back into her back pocket, but it immediately buzzed again.
Lola, sorry I havenât been in much contact. Listen, your dad just mentioned Bryon stopped by your house. Please be careful with him, Iâll be in touch later. Delete this text when youâre done.
Lola stood there, the color drained from her face. Mark hadnât talked to her since before the accident. The one time she reached out to a friend, it was him, but he hadnât even returned her phone call. What did he even meanâŠbe carefulâŠcareful of what?
âHey! You ready?â Bryon asked standing behind her. Lola jumped, then tried to recover with a smile.
âUh, yeah.â she said unsure of the steadiness in her voice.
âGreat. Oh, and did you ever get a chance to look in that envelope I gave you?"
âUhhh, no, not yet,â she said thankful she didn't have to lie.
âRight, well I'm sure you'll have plenty of time when you get back home today,â he said with a smile. âOf course, it's none of my business, just curious what it could be.â
They made their way outside, saying bye the Maevas and Lawrence and stepped into the warm sunshine. The walk to the trolley stop didn't take much time. Bryon prattled on about the weather and the 5k he was prepping for, but Lola could barely pay attention.
Before she knew it, the trolleyâs bells dinged as it came to a stop in front of where they stood. He ushered her in front of him, and touched the small of her back for support as she climbed the stairs. It sent shivers down her spine.
Thank you so much for sharing this with me! The picture below was the prompt for part 19! Hope you enjoyed! For more info about freewrites, visit @mariannewest!
If you would like to check out the story from the beginning you can find the previous chapters here!
1 |2|3|4|5|7
To the amazing people that read this story! Thank you!
@cecicastor, @scribblingramma, @enginewitty, @janaveda, and @sirmartinet
Much love,
Stacie D