Exhale

Come a Long Way

"Maggie I think the lip stick is too much?" Leah says. Olivia begins to curl her hair. "No, it looks great." I say. Leah has been invited to attend a huge gala to present an award. She's nervous as hell. "Leah, if you don't sit till, I will burn you." Liv warns her. She exhales and tries to calm herself. "I can't believe they asked me to present. Do you know how many people will be there? Like a lot." She says nervously. I smile at her, Derek knocks. "Hey, are we ready?" He asks. "Does it look like we're ready?" Leah shouts at him. "Sorry I asked." He say backing out and closing the door. "Leah, you'll be fine. Just calm down." I tell her.

An hour later and Leah is all dolled up. "Thank you Olivia." She says and hug her. I stare at Leah, "Um, I helped." I say. She hug me as well, "Yes, thank you too Maggie." She says. We head downstairs where Collin waits for her in his lovely black tux. Derek walks over and hugs me, "She's come a long way." He says into my ear. "Yes, she has. Her mom would be so proud of her." I say watching her adjust Collin's tie. I feel like a proud mother. "Derek, are you guys going to meet us there?" She asks him. "Of course. We wouldn't miss it." He says to her. "Ok, I'll see you guys there." She says walking with her arm looped in Collin's. We walk them out and wave them off.

I start to cry, "She's going to be on TV. She's becoming a little star." I say wiping my tears from my cheeks. Sterling pulls up and waves at us. "Hey, Dad. You ready for these animals?" Derek asks him. Sterling's bright blue eyes glisten as he smiles, "They're not animals. My grandkids are angels." He says proudly. I see Ian and Faith out on their porch. "I'll be right back." I say walking over to them. "Hey Maggie. We saw Leah. She looks beautiful." Ian says as I take the first step onto the porch. "Yeah, she's all grown up. Having her around has kind of prepared me for when Bailey and Alaina get older." I say. Faith smiles, "Just wait until Elijah turns James' age. Teenage boys are a handful." She says. "James doesn't seem so bad." I say. "Oh he has his moments. Huh, Ian." She says nudging him. Ian rolls his eyes, "Oh yes he does." I lean on the post behind me, "Well, I just wanted to see how you guys were doing and to let you know Sterling will be watching the kids." I explain. Ian nods, "I'm glad Derek has a dad again. He seems better having him around." He points out. "He does huh? Well I'll see you guys later." I say waking off the porch. "Give Leah our love." Faith says after me.

I race back over to my house, and head upstairs to change. I open my bedroom door and see Derek in his tux. "Well don't you look handsome." I say and he turns around with a wide smile. "Thank you." He says, "Now get your ass dressed." He adds. I quickly get myself together.

On our way to Atlanta the traffic is terrible. "Are we going to be late?" I ask frantically. "No, we'll be fine." Derek says. I sit impatiently in the van as we creep at a terribly slow speed. My foot begins tapping and I begin tapping the middle console with my fingers. Derek laces his fingers in mine, "Maggie, calm down. We're almost there." He says to me. I take a deep breath and let it out. Finally after what seemed like an hour, we begin moving at the actual speed limit. Derek takes our exit and weaves through the weekend traffic. My phone rings, "Leah, we're just about ten minutes away." I say. "Ok, good. I was getting worried." She says. "No, the traffic is crazy." I inform her. Derek turns into the event center, "Ok, Leah we're here. See you inside." I say quickly as we hang up. I double check my purse and make sure I have the tickets. I do.

"Ready?" Derek asks. "Of course." I say climbing out of the van. We walk in, hand in hand. We hand the usher our tickets and he guides us to our seats. We're at a round table with other people, Leah and Collin are to our right, sitting beside me. I hug her, "I'm so proud of you, Leah." I say. "Well thank you. I wouldn't be here now if it weren't for you and Derek taking me in." She says with a smile. The light begin to flicker as an indication the awards are going to begin. The room falls silent with a few hushed whispers here and there.