College, Girl ? COMPLETE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: A Day at the Park

When Andrea went home, they just sort of fell back into their lives although; though on most nights they slept in separate rooms. They decided not to do anything until the semester was over and Steven was done with school. They had discussed going to marriage counseling but neither one of them made the move to go find someone to talk too. The winter had turned into spring, as Steven was preparing for the end of the school year.

It was the first real warm day. The birds were chirping. The sun was shining. It was warm enough to go outside without a coat. It was the kind of day that made living through another Midwestern winter bearable. Nate was starting to scoot his way around the living room furniture, not quite ready to walk but using the furniture as his guide. Andrea and Diana were hunched over Andrea's lap top looking at an excel spread sheet filled with numbers.

"The numbers are starting to dance in front of my eyes," Diana said as she rubbed her eyes and fell back into the couch.

"Cup of tea?" Andrea asked her.

"Gosh, it is so beautiful out. Why don't you take Nate and run to the park for a little bit?"

"Are you trying to get out of work missy?" Andrea asked teasingly.

"Me? Get out of work? Never! It's just the first warm day. You should get out and enjoy it."

"I need to get these numbers to the accountant today."

"Just go. We'll finish it when you get back. I need to rest my eyes for a bit. I think I am getting a headache looking at these spread sheets for three days."

Andrea looked at Nate. He was chewing on his shoe.

"Okay, buddy. What do you think? Park? Or spread sheets?"

"Park, mommy! Park! Park!" Diana said in a baby voice.

Andrea scooped up Nate and threw her diaper bag over her shoulder.

"Okay. We are going to that park down the street. We'll be back in a half hour. So rest those eyes in the meantime."

Diana didn't even respond. She put her glasses on the coffee table and lay down on the couch.

Andrea went outside and took a deep breath. She could smell summer. It was fresh cut grass and coconut suntan lotion. The kids on the block were all outside running around enjoying the warm weather. Andrea put Nate in the stroller and started walking towards the park. It felt good to be outside with the sun warming her skin. She felt relaxed. It was a short two block walk to the park. When they got there the mommy network was alongside the nanny brigade was in full force. The mommies all had on their expensive sunglasses, trendy sneakers and their premium denim jeans. Their perfectly highlighted hair seemed to shimmer in the sun. The moms were either complaining about their husbands or chatting into their cell phones. The nanny brigade all stay huddled underneath a tree. They chatted easily in a language Andrea couldn't quite place. They had their super tight jeans and their hair was colored what Andrea coined "Nanny Eggplant." It was the most un-natural color of reddish, purple that provide the dark frame for their pale white skin. Andrea always assumed they were gossiping about the families they worked for. In both cases, the kids ran wild while the mother and nannies ignored them. There was an invisible partition between the two groups they only mixed when their kids forced them to.

Andrea found an empty swing and placed Nate in it. He started laughing immediately. The boy loved to swing. Andrea knew he would be content for the next thirty minutes just swinging and laughing. She checked her Blackberry for the tenth time. It was a bad habit she knew. But she couldn't help herself. Her Blackberry had become like her third hand. She couldn't live without it, especially now that she worked from home. It was her lifeline to her business and it afforded her the freedom to take Nate out to the park in the middle of the day. She stuffed her phone back into her back pocket and started making faces at Nate. When she looked up she saw a man walking across the long grassy field. He was walking towards her. He had broad shoulders, dark hair combed back off his face and dark sunglasses. From the distance, he looked exactly like Nick. He was probably the boyfriend of one of the nannies. Andrea stopped and just stared at him. He started waving at her. She turned around to see who he was waving at, but there wasn't anyone behind her. As the distance closed between them she realized it was Nick.