Intertwined //l.p

Abigail & Audrey

The story begins in a park. It was sunny, warm. Maybe a little too warm to be wearing jeans, but at least she had on a blue loose tshirt. A little too warm to wear a button up shirt and slacks that's for sure, but there he was anyways.

Ten seconds.

That's how long it took both of them to loose sight of their daughter. He looked the other way when a man crashed into a nearby waterfountain on his bike as he swerved to avoid hitting a dog. He debated running up to help him but the woman whose dog he had just swerved to miss was already on bended knee asking if he was okay. When the man turns to look back at his daughter she's on the ground clutching her small knee and crying. He runs.

She looked the other way when someone called her name. Another man. Tall, dark, handsome, the works. But he wasn't calling for her. There was another women. A petite blonde. She looks back to find her daughter sliding down the plastic, slippery slide with a squeal. She smiles.

Ten seconds.

One girl running to the swings the other to the slide. They passed each other by. Both shielded by a small plastic wall covered in the red bulky letters of the alphabet. Both wearing the same floral patterened dress with the white trim. Wearing sandles with worn out soles and their short brown hair flying in the wind as they run. A red barret on one girl, a bow on the other. Small details forgotten in those ten seconds. So as the man runs toward the girl and the woman feels that nagging pain at the back of her heart she calls out to her daughter.

~R o s e~

"Abigal!" I shout as I turn back around to look at the playset. She's climbing the metal blue rings to get to the top of the small swirly slide again. "Come on sweetheart! It's time to go home!" I call out again pushing the hair away from my face as the wind picks up slightly. I sigh and shake my head. She's not listening to me but I guess that's to be expected. She's three years old and spins like a top. I feel almost old chasing after her everyday. Perhaps she just doesn't hear me. "Abby!" I shout as I step over the small plastic black baricade onto the bouncy foam ground that surrounds the entire area of the playset.

It's rather big this playground. Certinly a lot more fun things to do than when I was younger. I was happy with two slides, a set of swings, and that fireman's pole nobody ever seemed to want to go down. Playgrounds now a days have all the bells and whistles. Little playhouses and plastic rolls with numbers on them. There's at least six swing sets and I've counted at least four slides. It almost makes me want to be a kid again. I watch Abby as she pushes off from the platform and down the static cling slide. She giggles as she hits the ground and moves toward the ladder again. I catch her in my arms as she begins to climb again.

"Hey there sweetie! Didn't you hear me calling?" I ask turning her around to look at her properly. Two things set me off. First; this girl who I thought was my daughter but isn't my daughter has a red barret in her hair and not a white bow. Second; she's looking at me like I've just murdered her father. "Oh my goodness." I exclaim setting her on the ground and kneeling in front of her. She's pouting and looking at me strangly. "I am so sorry I thought you were my daughter. You're dressed just like her and..." I pause. I'm explaining myself to a three year old. I purse my lips and look around behind me to see if any parent has noticed that a strange lady has just picked up their daughter and planned to carry her away. Nobody. I breathe out a sigh of relief. But where is Abby?

"Audrey?" A voice says off to my side. It's a man. A rather good looking one in fact. If my girlfriends were here, they would probably call him a "fine piece of ass" or maybe that's just me. He's wearing dark slacks and a light blue button up shirt that is either too tight or he obviously works out. The man looks just about as confused as I feel and he's holding the hand of my daughter who looks like she just cried judging from her tear streaked cheeks and puffy eyes.