Love in the Mix

Chapter 1

Diane struggled to open her eyes and groaned as she felt the shaft of pain lancing through her head. It had been a mistake to drink those last two Heineken on a dare from Sheryl from HR and now she was paying for it in spades. It had been the Christmas social at the office and she had gone overboard. Her daughter Jade had gone for the holidays with her mother in Connecticut and even though she loved her daughter like nothing else she knew she was happy for the break. Her life was just sorting out now. She had made so many mistakes in the past, the last one being the doozy! She had gotten involved with a married man at the firm she had worked before and had gotten pregnant. She had believed him when he had told her that he was separated and was leaving his wife. She had fallen for the oldest trick in the book and when she had told him about the pregnancy he had gone berserk and told her to get rid of it! She had not been able to continue working there and had left. Her best friend Camille had come to her rescue with the apartment she had vacated when she had married Michael.

Diane stirred herself and looked over at the clock and realized that it was almost ten and she had promised that she would take the ride down to Connecticut to have dinner with her mother and her daughter. She was wondering if she could skip it and come up with some excuses not to go. She felt as if she could sleep for the entire day! It was Christmas and she was not as dysfunctional as she had been five years ago when she was pregnant with no prospects at all. She stretched languidly and got off the bed feeling herself sway a little bit. Coffee! she needed a gallon of coffee before she started feeling alive again.

Her phone rang as she went into the kitchen to put the pot on. "I hear you drank the rest of the guys under the table." Camille's voice said in amusement.

"And I am paying for it now," she muttered as she measured out the beans for the coffee. "What huge plans do you have for the day?"

"Michael's parents have this enormous party going on with a few hundred of their closest friends." Camille said with a laugh. Are you okay?"
"I am. Seriously and thanks to you and Michael for giving me this opportunity. I owe you big time."
"You were there for me when I needed a friend so we are even."

"Thanks anyway. I have a pretty good feeling that I am slightly inebriated and I have sworn that it will never happen again."

"Good. Okay honey I hear Michael bellowing out my name. I will see you in the New Year."

"Tell everyone hi for me."

"I will. Merry Christmas honey."

The smell of the coffee permeated the air. Diane sniffed it in appreciation and set about to get refueled!

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Leighton drank down his third cup of coffee and stared outside at the bleakness of the weather, his expression mirroring it. He hated the season with all the excitement and the commercialism. And mostly because he was alone. By choice but still it was always the loneliest at this time of the year. his mother had persuaded him to come and spend the holidays with her in France but he had declined. He had his software that had just been launched and was making waves. he had a lot of work to do and a lot of focused to put on filling orders that were pouring in. He had collaborated with Michael and it had been a pretty good idea that had taken off. He got to his feet and went to the window to look out. New York was experiencing freezing weather and it showed. The yard looked desolate and as lonely as he felt. The hedges had been trimmed and the flowers had wilted with the extreme weather. Sometimes he felt as if he would pack up everything and hightail it to Florida, the way Michael did at times like these! But he could not take the humidity. He ran long fingers through his ash blonde hair and blinked his emerald green eyes to get rid of the blurriness caused from lack of sleep. he had been up most of the night trying to work out the glitches in the software he was working on. Now he felt as if his body had taken a beating. His mother had asked him what he planned to do for the day and he had told her that he was going to order take out.
"Leighton Smalling that is no way to spend the season. Find a friend and go somewhere." she had admonished. "I wish you would find a woman and get yourself a family."

"Not right now Mother," he had told her in gentle amusement. Rita Smalling had been married three times and was now divorced. She had told him that after his dad had died she had not been able to replace him but had been trying. Now she lived in Provencal and told him she was having the time of her life. She had left the large five bedroom spread to her son with the advice to fill it up with children. Leighton was twenty-eight and had yet to see a woman he cared about enough to do so. But he had been feeling lonely since recently and could not seem to shake the feeling! He sipped the now cold coffee and with a sigh he went back to work!

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"Mommy you are here!" Four year old Jade screamed in excitement as her mother put away her coat on Delia's strange looking coat rack in the foyer. The smell of apple pie and turkey made a strange mix coming from the kitchen.

"Hey pumpkin how are you?" she pulled the little girl in for a tight squeeze and savored the smell of baby oil and powder which she still used. 

"I am fine. Grandma and I just baked some cookies and made hot chocolate. Do you want some?"

"Do I?" she got to her feet and allowed the little girl with her wild black curls to drag her into the kitchen where her mother with an apron tied around her trim waist was placing the cookies on a tin foil to cool. "Hey Mama."
"We thought you would never get here. Jade has been skipping and jumping and looking out the window every few minutes." she offered her cheek for a kiss. 

"Traffic." she said briefly leaving out the part where she had contemplated staying home and not coming. "Are you feeding the entire neighborhood?" she asked looking around at the mountain of food on the kitchen counter. 

"Mr. Langley is coming over as well as the two sisters from across the road. You know i always cook a lot and carry some to the homeless shelter."

"It smells delicious."

"Sit and have some hot chocolate and tell me all about that party," her mother said indicating a stool. "Jade honey you may go in the living room and open the presents your mother brought."
"Yea!" she said jumping up and racing to the living room.

"You were like that when you were little," Delia said with a sigh as she looked after her granddaughter. "Walking was always an issue."

"I am glad she is like me," Dianne sipped her hot chocolate.

"How are you honey?"

"I am fine, really Mama. Stop worrying."

"I am a mother so it goes with the territory. have you heard from him?"

"I haven't and I don't want to," she looked to where her daughter held the tablet in her hands. Jade was the product of an interracial relationship so she had curly black hair, hazel eyes and a creamy complexion. The little girl was a raving beauty already and got quite a lot of attention whenever she went out. Dianne had no regrets that she had made up her mind to keep her and was intent on giving her all the love she deserved. She had asked about her father once and Dianne had told her the truth. The little girl had taken it into stride and had assured her mother that they were okay without him. And they were!

"Okay tell me about Mr. Langley," Dianne said with a mischievous look in her large dark brown eyes. "Do I smell romance?"

"Go away girl," her mother said fondly as she handed her some cookies. "It is strictly platonic between us." 

"Where have I heard that before?" Dianne said raising tapered brows. "Dad died ten years ago Mama it is time for you to get back out there."

"I have had my love story. It is time you have yours."

"I don't see it happening right now. Which man wants to be saddled with a woman and a child?"

"You would be surprised," Delia looked at her very attractive daughter with her low cut natural hair and flawless complexion. She was a beautiful girl who had been through a lot and she hoped she would find someone who deserved to be with her and Jade! "It will happen."