Seasons [h.s]

Winter - Part 1

"Good Morning Mama!" I watched as my little one dashed to the kitchen after me.

I let out a chuckle at how wobbly her legs were even at three years old. "Morning, my Mia. " She was instantly taken into my arms.

To say that Mia was my pride and joy was an understatement, she was my everything. It had been only me and her since I became pregnant with her. She had changed my life completely - though things had made a turn for the worse. My parents wanted nothing to do with me after they found out that I was pregnant at 18, and threw me to the wolves. I relied on the father of my child for a short amount of time, but he soon proved to be unreliable. It wasn't long before he got involved with alcohol, and kicked the two of us out. I made the decision to shield Mia from her unpredictable father, and she hasn't seen him since. As all seasons do, that season of my life ended and I learned to fend for myself.

I was forced to become an adult early - I began working as an assistant to the CEO of an advertising  company, and I've been there ever since. It wasn't the best job in the world, but it helped put food on our table. I wanted my daughter to have the best life she could, it was my duty as her mother and I wouldn't let anything stop me.

"What are we having for breakfast, Mama?" Mia asked with glee as she made her way to the table.

"Pancakes." My smile grew as she began to clap her hands in excitement. Mia loved chocolate chip pancakes, and thankfully (after looking in our cupboard) there was still enough ingredients to make her one last batch. I set a plate in front of her and watched her devour them in minutes.

"Mama," she spoke up after taking a sip of her milk, "Emily said that she asked Santa for the new Barbie house for Christmas."

I cringed. "Did she, baby? That's nice."

"I told her t-that my mama said that Santa was bringing me one too, and two barbie dolls." She stated matter-of-factly.

"That's right, honey. We better get you dressed, Santa doesn't like kids who are late for daycare!" I giggled as her face switched from glee to horror. Truth was, I couldn't bare to talk about that Barbie Dream house any longer. Mia had been asking for it since she saw the commercial on tv, and it only got worse when her friends at school found out about it as well. It was all she talked about. Whether I liked it or not, if I didn't receive a bonus at work today, I had no way of getting it for her. Christmas was five days away and I was beginning to panic.

"Mama, I hate wearing layers!" Mia grumbled as I slid yet another long-sleeved top onto her body. New York had always been cold in the winter, but this season's weather seemed to be more treacherous.

"Oh Mia, we don't want Jack Frost to freeze your heart, do we?"

"F-freeze my heart?" She whimpered, quickly taking her snow jacket and boots from me and putting them on herself.

I only giggled before leading her out the door.

**

I was lucky to have found a daycare for Mia that was so close to my job. My boss took no time to fire people who showed up to work late and that was the last thing I needed. I didn't know why, but I hesitated before walking into the building. I wished my boss could understand that whatever he had decided about my bonus would make or break Mia's Christmas, but why would he care?

"Grace! How are you?" Shelley, the receptionist sang from her desk. Everyone hated Shelly. They complained that her bubbly attitude was all for show, and that she was secretly sleeping with our boss. Word is, she was doing it to get promoted.

"I'm fine, Shelley. Good Morning." I replied glumly, heading towards my boss' office door.

"He's waiting for you in his office." She chirped again.

"Mr. Watson?" I knocked on his door fearfully.

"Come in," his voice boomed from the other side.

"Hi, I got an email from Isabelle saying that sh-"

"Grace, take a seat." Mr. Watson's booming voice commanded.

I quickly sank into a chair. "Is everything, okay?"

"Grace, you've been very unreliable lately."

"...Me?" I couldn't help but scoff.

"You've been asking to leave early a lot lately, and I can't help but think that this job has stopped being a priority for you." Mr. Watson was now shaking his head is disgust.

"Mr. Watson, I assure you that's not the case. It's just my three year old daughter Mia, well-"

"Yes I know. You're a single mom, you're doing it all on your own. Blah, blah, blah..." he waved his hand for dramatic effect. "Look Grace, each worker at 'Brand' is responsible for making this place a big part of their life. I would be lying if I said I see that in you."

"I've been here for almost four years now, doesn't that show that this place is important to me?"

"No, it doesn't... which is why I can't offer you a bonus this year. I'm sorry." But by his tone, I could tell that he wasn't.

"Mr.Watson... please reconsider. I need this bonus, it's so close to Christmas and my daughter-"

"Please! Enough with the daughter already, get to work!" He growled. With tears in my eyes, I headed back to my desk.

My stomach churned the rest of the day. Only 5 days until Christmas and I had no way getting Mia what she wanted. What had started at a hopeful day ended quickly in despair. Yet, if there was one thing I had learned from my twenty-one years, it was not to give up. After work, I was going to buy Mia her toy. Money isn't everything, right?

**

Hey GUYS! So new story that I've been working on. I've had this idea in my head for a while and I decided to write it out and see if I like it. So in this story, Harry is not a part a part of One Direction or famous in any way, but comes from a family with money.

There will be themes of homelessness in this story so if that is a trigger for you, please be careful. But homelessness is something really important to me, and I wanted to write a story about it.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

X