Does It Feel Alright To Not Know Me?

3

AN: Part 3! Finished rereading and editing today so I thought I'd publish it! Thanks to everyone reading btw! This is my first-time writing/posting anything tbh. Also, another time jump. 

January 2010

"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Theo, happy birthday to you" Taylor sang as she carried Theo throughout the apartment into the kitchen his giggles filling the small apartment. Abigail and Penny were in the kitchen with the cake set on the counter singing along with Taylor for the birthday boy. Taylor put him on the counter to blow out the candles that we on the cake and when he did the three people in the apartment cheered for him.

"Good job Teddy!" exclaimed Penny as she high fived the now 2-year-old boy. Penny has started calling Theodore Teddy as soon as she met him two years ago, and the nickname has stuck around, almost everyone who knew the boy called him Teddy. Taylor still called him Theo.

"Mama! Dino Ducky!" Theo exclaimed as he turned his head to face his mom and pointed his fingers towards the cake that had a small dinosaur figure on top of it. Dinosaur have been Theo's obsession ever since Abigail had put in The Land Before Time for him and Penny to watch one night while she was taking care of them a few months ago. He became obsessed when he heard the name of one of the characters, Ducky, because that's what his mama called him sometimes. All he wanted was more dinosaurs, toys, bedsheets, plushies, pjs, every time he spotted anything dinosaur themed while they were out of the house, he wanted Taylor to get it for him, and she could rarely say no to him. The one time she put her foot down was when he refused to eat anything but dino nuggets for three straight days. She had to pretend that they were no longer available to buy anywhere. She took to two small grocery stores around their apartment that she knew for a fact don't sell dino nuggets just to prove to him that they couldn't buy them anymore.

"Yeah, baby it's ducky!" she laughed at his excitement

"You want to eat some cake Teddy and then open presents?" Abigail asked the little boy who was still fascinated by the cake in front of him.

"Yay! Presents!" Theo cheered as he turned around and left his hands up so his mom could carry him again.

Taylor laughed as she carried her son to the living room with Abigail and Penny following behind. His presents were set on the coffee table in front of the couch, so they all sat down and watched as he opened the various dinosaur themed presents. Abigail got him a dinosaur bath towel that he wore on top of his clothes right away with the hood up while giggling and an assortment of dino themed bath that he didn't already have. Penny was excited to show him the gift she got for Teddy when she went shopping with her mom a few days before, showing off the set of 4 wooden dinosaur wooden toys that Teddy could play with, take apart and put back together. Theo enjoyed it thoroughly. Taylor got him a huge dino plushie that looked a bit like ducky, she couldn't find an actual ducky plushie no matter where she looked but what she found was close enough and Theo loved it.

"Ducky for Ducky!" Theo exclaimed as he sat on his mother's lap smiling at her while trying to hug the huge plushie that was almost his size.

"Yeah, Ducky for ducky" Taylor laughed.

They had an early dinner, cut the cake and the kids enjoyed eating while watching The Land Before Time for what seemed like the 100th time but there were no objections because it was Theo's birthday and he got to choose the movie. The kids soon fell asleep in the middle of watching the movie and Abigail and Taylor moved them to their shared bedroom. They lived in a small two-bedroom apartment, it was all they could afford with their two jobs and Abigail was still in school, set to graduate in a few months and hopefully will get a better paying job. One bedroom was shared by the two kids and the other was Abigail's room since she paid a larger share of the rent. Taylor slept on the pull-out couch in the living room, and she didn't mind it. They've been living together for the past two years, and they've gotten used to their routine, they loved it, and they enjoyed each other's company. They took care of both of their kids together and they've had a friend to share the struggles they've faced as single mothers instead of being alone.