Suddenly

Helping Hand

The flight that Tatiana had booked left exactly five hours later. Grace nervously sat in her first class seat with a wide eyed Ayla in her lap.

The little girl had been on planes before, but this time she seemed to sense the tension in the air. She was exceptionally clingy to her mother and would not have any of the staff even look at her, let alone reach out to touch her.

"Sorry, it's just nap time." Grace apologized for the tenth time as a well meaning flight attendant showered the beautiful  little girl with attention.

Ayla had practically crawled up her mother's body to get away. Grace couldn't help but wonder if it was because so many of the touches that her daughter had witnessed were negative. Josh didn't let them out often. So he and Grace, and Tatiana were really all the child really knew.

"Aylie, love, please calm down." Grace whispered in the child's ear as she situated her back into her lap. She pulled her favorite pink velvet blanket around her in an attempt to soothe her nerves."Mommy isn't going anywhere without you."

The little girl's brown eyes stared up at her mother. "Mama, go?" She questioned.

Grace smiled at her and nodded. "And Aylie too!" She lightly tickled the little girl's tummy.

"Aawee!" The little girl shrieked excitedly, causing everyone around them to smile and laugh at her. Her little cheeks pinked up and she buried her head in her mother's chest.

Grace wrapped her arms around her baby. Her nerves were reaching a fever pitch the closer it got for time for the doors of the plane to close. She was still half expecting Josh to burst into the plane and rip her out of her seat.

When the time finally arrived for the plane doors to close, she let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

If everything went according to plan, Josh wouldn't even know of her disappearance for at least a week. Then, after that, thanks to Tatiana, a trail would lead him on a goose chase to Europe. Surely by then she could have found a decent lawyer in LA.

She must hoped everything stayed as steady as it had thus far.

At this point, she really didn't have anything beyond a rough semblance of a plan.

Her first thought would have been to go to her parents, but that would most likely be one of the first places Josh would look.

California seemed like the safest haven. Though, she wasn't completely sure if Mamrie and Hannah would take her back, she knew the two would help her get out of her current mess.

She really did miss her friends, it had been so long. Both had been excited for Ayla in the beginning. Then, she moved to New York. Calls were left unreturned then the silence started, at Josh's insistence. Grace was so disappointed in the way she had treated her oldest and dearest friends.

Part of her knew Mamrie would be the harder of the two to reconnect with. Hannah had always been such a gentle soul and had never been one to hold a grudge for long. Especially after she saw Ayla, Hannah was a sucker for kids. Mamrie would keep her distance, and Grace could not blame her for that.

"She is just precious," the woman next to Grace whispered into the quiet cabin of the plane.

They had been in the air for a few hours now, Ayla had drifted off to sleep after the first. Grace was lucky in that that little girl always seemed to sleep during plane rides.

Really, Ayla was a pretty good kid to have all the way around.

Grace had worried at first. She had never wanted children in the first place. Then, that stick turned positive and suddenly she was in love with someone she never met. She would do anything for that baby. That is why she was on a red eye across the country without a plan.

"How old is she?" The woman pressed. Grace usually wasn't one for plane small talk but the woman seemed nice enough.

"Thank you," she smiled at the older woman. "She is fifteen months."

The woman nodded happily. "I have a few grand babies her age, it is such a fun stage. I must say, I am jealous of how complacent she is on this plane! My girls scream the entire time! You and her father must he very proud."

Grace felt her face begin to burn at the mention of Ayla's father. She knew the woman had no idea of their current situation, but someone made her feel suddenly judged by this old woman.

"I am very proud, she is one in a million." Was all Grace said, as she fixed the little girl in her arms and turned to look out the window.

Luckily, the woman, catching Grace's need to end the conversation, let things be.

After what felt like another eternity, the plane ride was over. Ayla had awoken during the decent, crying. Grace knew her poor little ears were hurting.

"Shh Aylie, it's almost over. We are going to see Aunt Mames and Hannah." She whispered soothingly as the plane rumbled and shook during it's final moments in the air.

Once they were safely on the ground, Grace used her newly acquired disposable cell phone and called for an Uber. She was suddenly struck with the realization that she had no idea where to go.

Honestly, she had no idea of Hannah or Mamrie still lived in the houses from before, let alone with either of them were currently in town. She began to feel her plan falling apart. Panic started to set in.

She clutched to her baby as her breathing began to grow faster and the world seemed to spin a little. She knew the familiarity of an oncoming panic attack.

In an instant, there was a hand on her back and a comforting voice in her ear.

"Honey? Are you okay?" It took her a few moments to realize it was the woman from before.

She gave Grace a kind smile as she patted her arm comfortingly. She was nice enough not to push her. The three of them sat in silence until the blonde's breathing evened out.

"There," the older woman smiled reassuringly. "Your Mama is all better. We all get a little flustered sometimes."

Ayla gave the woman an apprehensive look before burying her face into Grace's chest.

"I'm sorry! Thank you for your help, it's just been a really long day." Grace was embarrassed the woman had stopped
to help her.

"Honey, you look like you needed someone there, I don't know your story, nor do I need to." She stood and threw her large purse over her shoulder. "Sometimes we just gotta take the hand that's out to help us."