TWO YEARS LATER
Taylor picked up her eighteen-month-old son, Ian, and placed him on the small slide. Taylor hurried to meet around so that she could meet him at the bottom, while the little boy squealed as he slid down. She picked him up and held him so that they were face to face. "I love you so much!" She exclaimed, smiling at the child. Her child. Her baby boy. He was everything to her. Nothing in the world would change that.
"I wuv you so much!" he repeated. His little repeating stage od talking was her favorite. Anything she would say, he would repeat, almost as if he was mocking her. His minor speech delay was the cause. She accepted any little bit of speaking that he did.
"Can mommy have a kiss?" Ian nodded before placing both his hands on her face and giving her a small kiss. "Daddy's coming home today! Are you happy?"
"DADDY!" He squeaked.
"Yeah, daddy's coming home, and we're going to dinner tonight," she explained, knowing the child didn't understand fully what she was talking about. Taylor put her son down before walking over to the spot near the slide where she sat their belongings. "Yep, we're going to dinner with Daddy, before he leaves again in the morning," she mumbled. She picked up the bag that held all their belongings. After picking up the bag, she watched her son giggle as he threw fallen leaves into the air. "Okay Ian, time to go home."
"Daddy!"
"Yes, Daddy's coming home." They made their way to her car that was parked not too far from the playground area. She placed Ian into his car seat and buckled him in. She left his door opened, while she grabbed her purse from the trunk. Once she was done, she closed his door, then got into the car herself. She turned on the car and looked at the time. It was 3:37. She knew she was pushing it. She quickly backed out of the parking lot. She was on the road, hoping to make it to her suburban home with enough time to get everything done. "Dang it!" She muttered as red and blue lights filled her rearview mirror. She put her right flasher on and pulled over.
***
He shook his head as he got out of his unit car. "Another speeder," he sighed, closing the door. He fixed his uniform as he made his way to the car. "Speeding with a child in the car," he thought after noticing the Baby on Board car shade. She was leaning over, reaching into the glove compartment, when he made it to the driver's window. He just stood there waiting. It was a short wait before his eyes met hers for the first time in a little over two years. She smiled and quickly let down the window.
"Travis," she said, a mix of emotions flooding her instantly.
"Taylor," he replied as if the same thing had happened. Two years. It had been two years since that last phone call they had, where she ended things. The night he told himself that he would get his life together.
"Oh my gosh, it's been forever. How have you been?" She asked as she looked him up and down. He was clearly doing better. He looked better than he did the last time she had seen him. He looked healthy.
"Good," he answered, not wanting to give his melodramatic answer of how he regretted everything he did to lose her. How he still missed everything about her. How he still thought of her almost daily and wanted to call and talk to her.
"That's good. You're a cop now?" She asked the obvious question.
"Yes, yes I am. And what about you?" He asked.
"I'm doing well. I'm a... a... stay at home mother," she replied nervously. Travis glanced into the backseat at the child. He immediately noticed the boy's blueish-green eyes and thick, curly blonde hair. It was like looking at an old home video of himself in the back seat of his mother's car. The only difference was that the boy's hair was definitely from Taylor, and everything else was him. Every feature on the child's face was Travis.
"H...how old is he?"
"He's um... he's one and a half," she told him trying to hold her smile.
"He's very handsome," he said, knowing that the small child was his immediately, even if Taylor wasn't going to admit it. He looked back at her, and he saw it—the diamond ring on her left hand. He wanted to cry in that moment. He couldn't believe the girl he was still in love with was most likely married to someone else. "You're...you're um," he cleared his throat. You're married?" He asked in disbelief.
"Oh no, I'm engaged."
"Well, I'm happy for you," he said, trying to sound as genuine as possible.
"Thank you," she replied, seeing the hurt he was trying to hide. The same kind of hurt she remembered from their last phone call. That she had tried to bury in her memory that still came to the forefront every so often. A voice came through on his speaker, breaking them from their conversation.
"I have to get going. I'm going to let you go with a warning," Travis stated with a smile.
"Thank you, officer," she giggled.
"It was nice seeing you again," he told her simply, before walking off. She watched him get into his police car and turn on his lights. The siren filled her ears, then slowly faded as he drove off. She glanced at Ian, who was quietly sitting in his seat. They hadn't exchanged numbers. They hadn't said anything to each other about their past, but now, somehow, she needed him to be apart of her life again, a part of Ian's life in general.
"Oh my gosh, Joe!" she exclaimed, putting the papers she had collected into the passenger seat and putting her car in drive. She looked at the time and knew she would be late. "Well, at least I can blame it on the cop that pulled me over." She said to herself aloud, then pulled onto the road and headed home.
YOU ARE READING
addicted. (a tayvis short story)
Fanfiction"and i know you'll never change your ways, if I don't give you up now." TRIGGER WARNING: this story contains mentions of substance abuse (alcohol) and domestic violence.
