The Sun and Her Moon | CHONI |

Four

She definitely wished she hadn't agreed to work when her alarm woke her Saturday morning. She showered and got dressed before waking up Tommy and dressing him in jeans and a white T-shirt with a dinosaur on it. She promised him breakfast at Pops but he had to promise to be a good boy while she worked. She packed up Rory, a couple of his toys and some crayons and a colouring book to keep him busy. Tommy was excited he loved getting out of the apartment and the promise of milkshake led him to be dragging Toni out of the door. It was a lovely day again, she thought about maybe taking him for a walk around the lake after her shift if he behaved himself. The little boy chatted away excitedly the whole way to the diner.

The bell above the door rang as always when they walked through the door. 'Hey little man, strawberry milkshake and pancakes?' Pop smiled at him from behind the counter. 'Yes please' Tommy squealed eagerly nodding his head causing customers to look up from their tables including a familiar redhead. Toni shushed him and led him to a table where she'd be able to keep an eye on him, he climbed into a seat while Toni got out his toys and scattered them on the table. She told him to stay there and be good just as Pop fetched out his breakfast. Toni got on with her job checking on Tommy as much as she could while she was backwards and forwards between customers, thankful that he was being quiet and behaving keeping himself occupied drawing pictures. Saturdays were much more busy than the days in the week so Toni didn't have too much time to make conversation with customers.

'Hi' the redhead was interrupted from scrolling through her phone by a little voice. She lifted her eyes to a small boy climbing in the seat across from her. She could deal with and intimidate grown men and women but the redhead had no experience with children. She looked at him like he was an alien as he sat his tatty teddy bear on the table. 'Are you a Disney princess?' he asked. She gained back her posture and stated a simple 'no'. 'Oh you look like Ariel, your hair is very pretty' he smiled. 'Erm thanks'. She was struggling with talking to him, she never wanted children and thinking back as an adult she can't recall ever interacting with one. Her eyes looked around for the waitress, who she assumed was his mother as he looked exactly like her. 'My names Tommy. What's your name?'. 'Cheryl'. All of a sudden the waitress was stood beside her table. 'Thomas James Topaz what did I tell you about staying at your table' she scolded grabbing his hand 'I'm really sorry' she said looking at Cheryl. 'No problem' the redhead said looking back down at her phone.

'What were you doing bothering that lady' she said as she lifted him back on to his seat. 'I thought she was a Disney princess but she's not she's just Cheryl'. 'Cheryl' Toni thought, the kid managed to get her name in five minutes, typical. She warned him to stay in his seat again before carrying on with her job. Of course now Tommy had met Cheryl he couldn't help but slide back off his seat when his mom wasn't looking and make his way back over to her. 'Hey Cheryl' he smiled again climbing into the seat again. 'Didn't your mother tell you to stay in your seat?' She asked him with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged 'dunno but I've made you a picture' he said sliding the paper across the table 'see that's you and that's me'. 'Oh thank you' she faltered at that. 'Thomas!' Toni was by the table again. 'Sorry Mommy I was just lonely' he pouted. 'Tommy come on now'. 'I don't mind... Toni' Cheryl said looking up at the women's name badge 'he's not bothering me, he's welcome to stay there if it keeps him occupied as you work'. 'Are you sure?'. 'I'm sure, he's fine'. 'Okay well, you behave' she pointed at her son.

'Phew' he shook his head 'I thought Mommy was going to tell me off and not take me to the park'. Cheryl couldn't help but chuckle at the seriousness on the small child's face. 'Who's this' Cheryl said pointing to his teddy. 'This is Rory' he smiled proudly lifting him up so she could see him properly 'I got him when I was a baby!'. 'I can tell' Cheryl said but it was obviously lost on the child. 'Why are you here all by yourself?' Tommy asked, the little boy never liked to see people lonely. 'I came for breakfast and milkshake' Cheryl stated. 'Strawberry milkshake?' The little boy said looking at the half full glass 'that's my favourite' he clapped. 'Mine too' Cheryl replied. 'Mommy's favourite is chocolate' he said scrunching his face up. The little boy chattered away and Cheryl tried to keep up with the quick change of conversation every so often. 'We just moved here' Tommy said matter of factly. 'And what do you think?' Cheryl asked entertaining his chatter. 'I like it here. Mommy doesn't cry anymore because of daddy and I have a new school and new friends' he said not knowing that some things shouldn't be spoken about to strangers. 'Oh' was all Cheryl said not wanting to overstep boundaries. 'Yeah daddy hurt Mommy and then he hurt me so Mommy moved us away'. Cheryl could sympathise knowing all too well what it was like growing up having an abusive father 'I'm sorry about that'. He just shrugged.

'Okay kid, I'm finished go pack up your toys' Toni approached the table again. He slid out the seat and ran over to the table he should have been sat at. Toni looked down at the woman who had kindly sat with her son 'thank you for letting him sit with you, he seems to like you' she smiled. Cheryl looked up 'it's no problem and he's quite the talker'. Toni laughed 'yeah he definitely likes the sound of his own voice'. Cheryl just gave her a small smile. 'Ready' Tommy ran as fast as he could back to his mother. 'Slow down. Okay let's go' Toni said ruffling his curly hair. 'Cheryl do you want to come to the park with us' the little boys eyes landed on the redhead. Tommy was innocent and wasn't interested in social cues, only in making new friends. Toni looked down at her son and then at the redhead 'I mean you're welcome to, I wouldn't mind some adult conversation, if you're not too busy'. Usually Cheryl would say no but the boys wide eyes on her made her feel like she couldn't say no 'okay then'. 'Yayyyy Cheryl is coming to the parkkk' Tommy sang, loud. 'I'm sorry he's... excitable' Toni smiled. That smile made Cheryl feel a way she would rather ignore, she cleared her throat and nodded as she stood up.

Once they were out the door Toni reached down and grabbed hold of Tommy's hand to lead him to the park. When they got to the crossing of the main road to get to the park Cheryl felt a small hand wrap around hers. Human contact wasn't something she was overly comfortable with and her eyes shot to Toni who just smiled at her child's innocence. 'We hold hands when we cross roads to keep safe, right Tommy?'. He nodded at Toni with a smile on his face. Toni held the gate open so Cheryl and Tommy could slip through. 'After you' she smiled. It was obvious that Cheryl and Toni were from different worlds, the redhead seemed well off and well spoken while Toni had struggled her whole life. 'Can I play on the playground first?' Tommy begged. Toni nodded and he ran as fast as he could to the other children. Toni led Cheryl to a bench and sat down, Cheryl following suit.

'So Cheryl, do you have kids?' Toni asked awkwardly trying to start a conversation. 'I don't, I never saw myself being a mother' Cheryl answered simply. 'That's cool, they can be a handful' Toni chuckled 'he's sweet though, he told me he thought you were a Disney princess'. 'He did ask but I've never watched a Disney movie so I was unsure if it was a compliment'. 'It was definitely a compliment and wait you've never watched a Disney movie? Even as a child?'. 'Never. Cartoons weren't a big part of my childhood'. 'Wow, well don't let Tommy hear you say that, he'll want to make you watch every single cartoon he knows' Toni smiled. As they fell silent again Tommy ran back over 'Cheryl could you push me on the swing?'. Cheryl looked at Toni again. 'It's up to you' she smiled. 'Sure' she nodded. 'Yayy' he squealed. This child sure likes to shout the redhead thought to herself. Tommy grabbed Cheryl's hand and pulled her towards the swing. 'Tommy be careful' Toni called after him as he practically dragged the woman.

Toni watched curiously, she had met plenty of people in her life, all sorts of different people but she had never met someone quite like Cheryl. Someone who looked and acted so confident but in the presence of a small child she was so thrown off. Toni could see something else behind her eyes though, the redheads walls were built so high up she wondered if she had much interaction outside of business reasons. She watched as Tommy squealed in delight as Cheryl pushed him on the swing, the redhead obviously not pushing him too hard or high in fear of hurting him. She saw the slight smile on the redheads face as Tommy laughed, that was sweet she thought. She'd definitely try to undo the puzzle that was Cheryl. Tommy skipped back followed by Cheryl. 'Did you guys have fun?' Toni asked. 'Yeah!' Tommy smiled looking up at Cheryl waiting for her answer. Noticing he the pair were waiting on her answer she nodded her head. 'How about a walk around the lake?' Toni stood up, while in the park she allowed Tommy to lead the way but no further than ten foot in front of them.

'So what do you do for a living Cheryl?' Toni asked as they scrolled around the lake. 'I own the Blossom Maple Syrup franchise'. 'Wow that's a great achievement for someone who's what, 27-28?'. 'I'm 29 and not really, it's my family business, I have recently taken over since my parents retired' Cheryl said simply. 'Well still that's really amazing, so Blossom? Is that your surname?' Toni asked. 'Yes Cheryl Blossom'. 'Pretty, I like it' Toni said still looking ahead. Cheryl's eyes widened slightly and looked at Toni but the other woman didn't seem to take any notice of what she had just said.