Three Years

one

12:37 pm.

She impatiently tapped her foot on the rocky ground, wrapped her brown winter coat around her tighter and checked her watch for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last minute. She was waiting for her little girl to come out of preschool and boy... was she taking her sweet time. She always liked to leave early; that way she could usually dodge the group of meddling mothers who would constantly ask her about who the father of her daughter was or why Pentatonix split up or other topics they could gossip about.

"That is none of your business," the short, blonde woman had hissed at them. But still they continued to pester her so she liked to leave as early as possible - before the mad rush of kids in pigtails and roller-shoes and mothers with faux smiles and Gucci handbags. It truly wasn't their business who she slept with or the reason why the previously famous band broke up or just anything that had to do with her private life.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Kirstin's sweet angel ran out of the school, flashing her a toothy grin and almost tripping over her long, woolly scarf.

"Mummy!" She squealed and ran into the arms of her mother. Being born and raised in London, she had become a true Brit, unlike her American mother.

"Hello, my love, how was your day?" Kirstin asked as the two started to walk home in the bitter cold, the crunch of fresh snow underneath their boots as they stepped, hand in hand to provide some warmth to their icy bodies.

"It was good. We had Art class today so I drew Mummy," The three year old smiled and Kirstin couldn't help but smile back, her happiness was contagious. "And then we played outside and I raced with Hannah and I beat her!"

"That's wonderful, Sierra. I'm so proud of you, sweetie," Kirstin beamed down at her daughter. Even if it was the smallest of achievements, she was constantly proud of her daughter. In fact, even if Sierra didn't do anything, she would still be proud of her because honestly, her daughter didn't have the best life and she still made the most of it. Sometimes, Kirstin ached to be more like her daughter, to have such a positive outlook on life.

"We also got a project from Teacher Lara for the weekend." Sierra continued with her never-ending story, yet Kirstie still listened intently. "Will you help me, Mummy?"

"Of course, my baby," she smiled and kissed the top of her daughter's head. "What do you have to make or do?"

"Teacher Lara said we have to make something called a family tree?" 

And with those two dreaded words, Kirstin stopped walking. Her mouth went dry, palms were becoming sweaty and her heart was pounding against her chest like a sledgehammer. "What's wrong, Mummy? Is it because I don't have a daddy?"

Every single time Sierra brought up the word 'father' or 'daddy', it made Kirstin's heart break even more. Most kids in her class had two parents and somehow Sierra thought it was her fault that she didn't have a father. "Did I make Daddy go away? Did Daddy not like me?" She had asked on her first day of preschool, seeing that both parents were there with their kids.

"No! Of course not, darling. Your father was an absolute jerk. You're actually lucky you never got to know him." Jerk was still a polite word that described her father. He decided to sleep with Kirstin, filled her head with the idea that he loved her and that they had a future together. The next week, he pitched up with his arm around another girl and from that moment on Kirstin despised him.

Although, she couldn't hate him completely, as hard as she tried to. He gave her the greatest gift of all; Sierra. And as much as she hated to admit it, there was still a part of her, deep down inside, that loved him and hoped that there was still a chance for them. 

But that was silly and just plain stupid. She would never be dumb enough to fall for his charm and tricks again. And she would never step foot in America again, for that matter.

"No, nothing's wrong," Kirstin shook her troubled expression away and forced a smile. "I'll help you with your family tree." 

Sierra's pout quickly turned into a grin. "You're the best Mummy in the whole world," Sierra wrapped her small arms around her mother as best as she could and Kirstin took a shaky breath in.

This was going to be tough.