Hang Up [Unedited]

Epilogue 1

24 December, 2019. 4:26pm.

The plane touches down just before she has a chance to close her eyes. She wasn't able to get any sleep on the short flight, because the baby wouldn't sleep either. Although the flight was only eight hours, it felt like twelve, when you aren't able to sleep. The only good thing that happened about this plane ride is that it's over.

Stiffly standing up, Jewel begins to gather her's and the baby's things. A lady in a blue tank top helps carry the baby into the terminal, and then to the luggage conveyor belt. Jewel holds small conversation as they make their way through the airport. She couldn't help but gush about how excited she was to be back in Chicago. There was so much she wanted to do while she was back home, but there was someone she was practically itching to see as well.

"Jewel, are you listening," the woman implores.

"Sorry, Mercy, just a bit lagged," she replies.

Mercy rolls her eyes as she moves the baby from one hip to the other. She was telling Jewel about her new Internet friend, who actually lives near her old apartment, but the darker girl wasn't listening. As they finish checking their luggage, Mercy begins to look around the airport frantically. Where was a bathroom when you needed one?

Jewel doesn't seem to notice her friend's frantic glances; she's a bit preoccupied with deciding on what to eat from the food court. Suddenly the baby starts to wail, and instantly she reaches out for her. Mercy gently hands Jewel the baby, but is hesitant to do so, as she's grown quite fond of the little bundle.

Easily the baby quiets in her mother's arms, and her eyelids begin to droop with sleep. Jewel cradles the small girl against her shoulder, yet still managing to pull her two totes with her. They need to get a hotel, and fast, because now that the baby is sleeping, she can as well. Picking up her pace, Jewel strides toward the nearing glass doors. Soon they'll be relaxing in a nice hotel, and hopefully in their own home as well.

When she had left the city almost four years ago, she decided that there was no use in paying rent for the apartment, especially if she wasn't going back to it. Now that she's back, Jewel wishes she would have kept the lease for it. Sure she wouldn't have used the place often, but at least she would have had a place to stay whenever she visited. Even though she no longer has her old residence, Jewel is ready for a new start.

"Will you slow the fuck down," Mercy calls.

"I'm not even walking that fast," Jewel counters.

"Bullshit, those short ass legs of yours are moving faster than I can keep up with."

Ignoring her ginger friend, Jewel hails a taxi for them. No house, no car, and a four month old baby, what a great Christmas Eve this has turned out to be. Readjusting the baby in her carseat, Jewel leans her head against the taxi window. This has been the longest day of her life, and it has barely grazed five o'clock yet. So much time to waste doing absolutely nothing.

Inadvertently, she begins to dial up an old number(which she hasn't called in quite some time), but quickly erases it. It's been years since she last dialled that number, they've probably changed it by now. Glancing over at Mercy, she watches as the ginger woman traces letters into the foggy window. A distant memory flashes through her head, of herself tracing the letters of a tattoo on tanned skin. Shaking her head, Jewel tries to clear away the memory by thinking of something else.

Her mind starts to wander, and Jewel finds herself thinking of all sorts of things. What's it going to be like to be a single parent, will her parents treat her any differently, or will she even be a good mother? Sighing lightly, she looks at the small girl swaddled in a purple blanket, and she can't help the smile that crosses her face. Bringing a hand up, Jewel softly runs her index finger across the smooth skin of the baby's face; she's beautiful. No matter what anyone says to her, she will never believe that this gorgeous baby girl is a mistake.