Seasons [h.s]

Winter - Part 3

"MAMA, MAMA!" I was woken up by a pair of little arms shaking me uncontrollably.

"Mia, what's going on?" I moaned turning over.

"Mama, wake up! It's Christmas!"

"Give mommy five more minutes, okay?" I placed my head under my pillow trying to drown out her whining.

"Mommy, please! Santa's been here, and I want to see what he got me." She was now whimpering, and that was something I could not refuse.

"Okay," I huffed, "let's open some presents." Mia was off of my bed in a flash.

I had to admit, I was pretty excited to see Mia's face when she opened her gifts. I turned on the lights of our Christmas tree and told her to begin. She opened her biggest present first - typical child.

"MOMMY! SANTA GOT ME A THE DREAM HOUSE! THE DREAM HOUSE, MOMMY!" She squealed jumping up and down. I couldn't help but beam at how happy she was, this was the way my baby should always be - happy. She continued to yell as she opened her other presents. I had bought her sweaters and dresses a couple of months ago, but they were overshadowed by her excitement over her Barbies.

Once every present was opened, I began to tidy up the living room. It had become a disaster zone after being hit by Hurricane Mia. After throwing away most of the wrapping paper, I felt a tug on my leg.

"Um, Mama?" Mia said shyly.

I bent down to meet her eyes, "what is it Sweetheart?"

She pulled a gift wrapped in crumpled up newspaper from behind her back and handed it to me. "Merry Christmas."

I was in shock. When did this little girl have time to get me a gift? "You're a sneaky one!" I smiled as I ripped off the newspaper. There in my hand was a picture of her and I in a small picture frame with little macaroni noddles glued around it. It said "I Love You" in Mia's hand writing. My eyes began to well up with tears.

"Oh, Mommy, please don't cry!" She quickly wrapped her little arms around my neck.

"This is a perfect gift, baby! Thank you so much." I smiled as she wiped my tears away.

"I l-love you, Mama." She grinned kissing my cheek.

"I love you too, my Mia. Merry Christmas."

**

I thought about Harry for the rest of the holiday season. I felt so horrible about not giving him a proper "thank you". He had made Christmas beautiful for Mia and I, and I wanted so badly to repay him. I even took Mia on a trip to Toys R Us, hoping to find his tall figure in the same place I had left him. But as weeks passed, the anticipation of seeing him again began to fade. It was now January, Harry was long gone.

"Mia! C'mon, Mommy's going to be late for work." I huffed checking my watch once more. Mia always seemed to move slower on Mondays.

"I can't find my other boot." She walked out of her room - wobbling more than usual- with only one pair of her favorite purple boots on. Her mouth drooped in a frown.

I tried to suppress my giggle. "Why don't you go get your backpack and meet me at the front door. Mama will find your other boot." I quickly made my way to her room searching for the missing purple boot. After minutes of throwing Mia's shoes around, I finally retrieved it. We were out the door a second later.

Our apartment was only two doors down from our landlord, Ms. Myers. To say that she disliked me would be an understatement - Ms. Myers absolutely loathed me. I hadn't always been able to keep up with rent each month, and some monthly payments came extremely later than usual. I understood why I wasn't her favorite person, but I was also grateful that she had allowed Mia and I to stay for so long. Still, I held my breath every time I saw her - knowing she would not miss an opportunity to remind me when rent was due.

"Good Morning, Ms. Myers." I gulped as we passed her door on the way to the stairs.

"Rent is due on the thirteenth!" She spat startling both Mia and I.

"G-good Morning, Ms. Myers." Mia waved from behind my leg.

"Morning Mia, make sure your mommy pays me, will you?" She always seemed to be sweeter with my little girl.

"O-okay." Mia nodded and tugged me down the stairs by my pant leg. As we walked to the subway station, I couldn't help but become uneasy. Rent was due, and yet our cabinets were almost barren. I had only so much money saved and I had a feeling that my next paycheck wouldn't cover all of our expenses. But I continued to keep a smile on my face for Mia, the last thing I needed was for her to worry.

"I need to do a bit of shopping after work today so I might be a little late to daycare, alright?" I stated once we found our seat on the train.

Mia nodded with a smile. "Mrs. Erica always brings an extra snack for me when I have to s-stay late."

"I know she does, you tell her I said thank you, okay?"

Mia didn't seem to hear my statement. "Mama?" She spoke hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"When Emily's mommy can't pick her up, her daddy comes instead. Can my daddy come pick me up?"

I breathed as though the wind had been knocked out of me. This hadn't been the first time she had asked about her father, but nowadays it was becoming more frequent. I know it was hard for her - seeing all of her friends leave with both parents, or listening to them talk about their fathers. Yet, I felt as though my hands were tied behind my back in this situation. I couldn't tell her the truth about her dad, it would break her. Though he wasn't the best, I wanted Mia to think of him in the best light.

"Oh, Honey. I'm afraid he can't." I tried my best to console her.

"But why? W-why can't I see my daddy?" Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears.

"Um... because... because he's on a trip."

"A trip?"

"Yes, he's on a trip all the way in Timbuktu and he hasn't finished his mission yet."

Her eyes lit up. "So when he's done with his mission, he'll come back and pick me up from daycare?"

"Yes... yes, he will. But his trip is really long baby, we don't know when he'll be done."

She sat back and face the window in front of her. "Don't worry, I can wait long now because I'm three."

I know she meant for this to cheer us both up, but my heart sank at the thought of how long she would have to wait.

**

After a dragging day at work I ventured over to the grocery store by my apartment. I knew that I couldn't buy everything that we needed, but I wanted to buy as many necessities as I could. When I finally arrived, I found that the store was more crowded than usual. It seemed as though everyone had chosen this Monday to buy groceries.

I was becoming restless from the "pardon me"s and "excuse me"s. I let out a huff once I made it to the safely to the produce aisle. There was still a crowd around me, but it wasn't as tight as when I first walked in. I scanned the racks for the ripest bundle of bananas for Mia. They were her favorite. My hand reached for the nicest bundle I saw, but someone snatched it before I could.

"Hey, those are mine!" I yelped.

"Oh, I'm sorry, love. Wait... Grace?"

I looked up once I heard my name. There they were - the same unforgettable green eyes.

**