Love Times Three

In The Beginning...

Lily Beth rode in the backseat of her mother's Toyota Corolla and sighed. Things were bad at home. Really bad. Her father had kicked them out. He just up and called it quits. She didn't understand why, but all her 4-year-old mind could comprehend was that he no longer loved her or her mother anymore. So, now they were getting a new home.

Well, new to her, but original home for her mother. San Antonio, Texas was a long way from Denver, Colorado, but that's where they needed to go. There was nothing left for them in Denver. Her father made sure of that. Lily was worried about San Antonio. She knew the people were different just from her grandmother and her funny accent.

"You're going to love San Antonio, baby." Ella, Lily's mother, said to her with a smile. Lily hoped her mother was right. At 4, she only wanted to focus on her stuffed animals, coloring and episodes of Sesame Street. It seemed like they had been on the road forever. Lily would sleep and wake and they'd still be in the moving box. "Mommy, I'm tired of this car." Ella chuckled at her. "We're almost there. Ten more minutes!"

Lily nodded before taking in the scenery. It was afternoon and the backdrop was quite different from Denver. There were no mountains. Lily did notice there were a lot of trucks though. It was new and interesting. She counted as high as she could go and still there were more trucks. They pulled into the drive way of a nice home and Lily smiled at the fact that the car was finally parked. She struggled to get free of her car seat, but Ella was there to aid her.

"There are my babies!" Lily turned to see her grandmother and smiled. "Madere!" Lily squealed as she ran to the older woman. Mary Beth Johnson scooped her granddaughter up and smothered her in kisses causing the 4-year-old to laugh happily. "Hi Mama." Ella smiled giving her mother a big hug. "Hey baby." She sighed happily. "You leave all that stuff in there. You and me have to catch up. You call me in the middle of the night..."

"Not in front of her, Mama." Ella said looking at Lily who was eyeing the two women with wide eyes. "Lily Beth, you want to make some new friends?" Mary Beth asked her granddaughter who nodded frantically. "Come on!" She said putting her down and leading her around back. Lily noticed that the houses in the neighborhood all looked the same with no fences, so everyone got a good view of everything.

"Hey Mrs. Johnson!" A redheaded woman greeted causing Lily to look at her with a wide smile. "I like your hair." Lily said to her causing the woman to giggle. "I like yours too. French braids are my favorite." She smiled. "I'm Mrs. Cassie Reynolds, but you can call me Mrs. Cassie. How old are you, sweet girl?" Lily stuck out four fingers and cheesed widely. "I'm this many, Mrs. Cassie!" Cassie applauded proudly. "Mrs. Johnson! How are you?" A redheaded man walked up to them. "I like your hair too!!!" Lily squealed. "Mommy, can I have red hair?"

The adults laughed at that. "Baby, when you turn 18 you can dye your hair whatever color you want." They smiled as the 4-year-old nodded with determination in her eyes. "I was hoping my Lily Beth here could play with the boys."

The man nodded his head. "Would you like to make some friends, Lily Beth?" She nodded as he held out his hand. "You're a stranger until I know your name." She spoke up with a face that tickled him. "I'm Mr. Blake Reynolds. I'm no longer a stranger. Let's go meet your new friends."

Lily looked at her mother for confirmation and received a nod. She skipped over to the man before taking his hand. They went inside the sizeable home and Lily took in the decorations and warmness. It smelt like cookies and happiness.

"Boys. I have a friend for you to meet." Lily heard Mr. Blake say but she was still enamored with the house. She turned into the room he had walked in and saw two boys playing with blocks.

One boy had blond hair and seemed to have a scowl the moment he saw her. Lily didn't know what his problem was, but she didn't want any issues. The other boy had a bright smile on his face and his hair matched Mrs. Cassie and Mr. Blake. Lily was obsessed with the color red and she felt she had found her new favorite person. "You kids play nice, okay? I'll check up on you later." Mr. Blake said before leaving them.