Janet
"Janet, stop crying." said Toni.
"I'm not crying." I wiped my eyes.
"Yes, you are. You've reached that point in your pregnancy when everything tugs at your heart."
"I have not." She looked over my shoulder.
"Janet, is an air freshener commercial."
"But the boy is so happy about his room smelling good, and look how he's hugging his mother. I miss my babies."
"We just saw them."
"So?"
"So, you need a break. You work too hard and you're about to work harder with the new baby." More tears left my eyes. "What now?"
"My babies aren't babies anymore." Toni rubbed her forehead.
"Sweetie, I don't want you to think I'm insensitive, but I need you to take your mind off the kids."
"Why?"
"Because you don't make enough time for yourself. I got our mothers to watch the kids so you can be at peace knowing that they're safe. You need to enjoy this time we have to spend together." She wiped my eyes.
"I know. It's just hard. They're my whole world."
"I know. They're mine too, but so are you and I need to make sure that every part of my world is taken care of." She grabbed my hand.
"You don't think I'm taken care of?"
"Not fully. We've barely talked about your emotions lately and you haven't done any of your calming practices to protect your mental health. You cry at night and think I don't know." I looked down.
"You know about that?"
"Of course I do and I was going to give you space but you need some time away."
"Toni, I have..." she grabbed my face.
"I'm done talking nice to you. You are going to relax and I mean it. If you don't take this time to relax, then I will deal with you." I crossed my legs. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes."
"Good." She pecked my lips and pulled away. I felt a different energy take over me. Something about when Toni takes dominance over me and tells me what to do. There are some women who don't like that but for me, it does something.
"Umm..baby."
"Hmmm?" I rubbed her arm.
"I promise to relax for you."
"Good." She wrapped her arm around me.
"You know what would make me really relax right now?"
"What?" She looked at me. "Oh, you're so nasty."
"I know." I stood up and grabbed her hands to pull her up. "Come on." I pulled her to the sleeping area we had on the plane and closed the door. The kids were definitely not on my mind anymore.
Third Person
"Thank you, Tommy." Grace sat down in the chair Tommy pulled out for her. He went to his seat and grinned.
"You're welcome."
"I'm so happy you asked me to go on this lunch outing."
"Well, I figured it was the best time since my siblings
were in school and I didn't have to watch them."
"Yeah, my son's at daycare, so this was more than perfect."
"Yeah." There was a period of silence.
"So what have you been up to? College?"
"Uhhh..no. I followed a bad road for a small period of time and I had to straighten out."
"Bad road? You? The Tommy I knew was kind, lighthearted and a nerd." They laughed as Tommy covered his face.
"Yeah, well I don't know what happened but I started making some bad decisions and luckily gained some common sense before things got too bad."
"What happened?"
"I was disrespectful to my parents, drinking and just trying stupid stuff. They kicked me out not long after graduation after they found out I got hooked up in this gang. The leader actually talked some sense into me and brought me right back to them." Grace chuckled and shook her head.
"I could just imagine Mrs. JB's face when that happened."
"Yeah, she gave me the cold shoulder for a while. Now that I've earned their trust, I'm working hard to keep it."
"That's great. You know, Tommy, making mistakes when you're young is always better in my opinion. It gives you time to fix and learn from it."
"Yeah. I definitely learned my lesson."
"I'm sure you did." The two old friends looked at each other.
"So, where's um..little man's dad?"
"Ugh..him." Grace rolled her eyes. "Well, he signed over his parental rights as soon as he was born. Wanted nothing to do with him. I haven't seen him or heard from him since."
"Wow. That's messed up. How have you been getting along?"
"I have my mom. You know my dad stopped talking to me when I got pregnant, so it's just been her and I with the baby."
"Wow. That sounds like a lot."
"It was a first, but we've gotten the system down pretty good."
"That's good." Tommy rubbed his hands on his pants to dry the sweat off of them.
"Can I get any drinks for you guys?" The waiter asked.
"Umm, sure. I'll just have lemonade." said Grace.
"I'll have one as well."
"Cool. I'll be back with those and take your order."
"Cool." There was more silence. "So, ummm...you seeing anybody?"
"No. Are you?"
"Naw." Grace held back laughter. She never knew Tommy to behave this way. He seemed very nervous. "So, ummm...we should hang out and stuff, you know together and uhhh....yeah." Grace giggled.
"Yeah, we can totally do that."
"Cool. Cool." Tommy smiled. "You want to go with me to dinner tomorrow evening?"
"Sure." The two smiled at each other.
"Cool. Cool."
"You're so cute." Grace shook her head as Tommy blushed. Since when does he blush?
"What you mean?"
"You're just so nervous. I've never seen you like this. It's cute. I like it." Tommy laughed.
"As long as you like it."
"I do."
"Good." The two continued to flirt nervously with each other until their food came. Tommy rest liked Grace and although he hadn't planned on getting into anything with someone, he's noticing that feeling starting to change the more he watched his parents. He wanted that. He desired that.
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Everything in this chapter is cute.
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