My Ever After

Chapter Three

Rylan's Point Of View

Daughter? Did she say daughter? She doesn't look old enough to have a child.

"A daughter?"

"Yes. I had her when I was twenty."

"Oh."

"Please don't judge. It was a accident, but adoption and abortion simply were not options. Especially after I saw her and held her for the first time."

"I am not judging. It's just you don't look like you have a child."

"I assure you that if you saw me without a shirt on you would be able to tell pretty fast that I had a child. Stretch marks don't go away."

I stared at her with my mouth open and after a few minutes she realized what she had said.

"Not that you would ever see me without a shirt on or have the chance to. I was just saying. Like giving an example. Oh my god. This is so embarrassing."

I laughed. A deep hearty laugh.

"Ms. Cole, please do not be embarrassed. I understand what you are trying to say."

"Please, I just made a complete idiot out of myself, so you can call me Elizabeth."

The waiter finally came to take our order.

"I will have the big black. No pickles and with cheese and a water please." Elizabeth said.

"I will have the same just with a coke." I told the waiter.

He walked away after writing it down and telling us it will be out as fast as possible.

"So is Emmie the reason that you need the job?"

"Yes. I need to be able to afford to take her to the dentist and doctor and get her school supplies since she starts next year. Also there is clothes and shoes and our other needs for living like food and drinks and furniture. I also need to pay my mother, father, and brother back."

"Pay them back?"

"Yes. After Emmie was born I had to get a degree to be able to get a job to support us and while I was in school my parents and brother usually baby sat her. Even when I had my summer jobs to save up money. And for all the stuff my parents bought for her that they didn't need to. I won't ever be able to pay them back fully, but I have been saving up money to send them on the honeymoon they never got to have and I will be paying part of my brothers tuition for this next semester at college."

"That is very generous of you."

"They have done so much for me that I have to pay them back some how. So what about you? Any crazy ex girlfriends, ex wives, family drama?"

"Well I did tell you about my mother and how she constantly tries to set me up. I always turn the girl down. My father is retired. Passed the company down to me. Him and I are close. I have a brother that I do not talk to and no I will not go into why and I have a sister that is in law school currently. I have not seen her in about eight months."

"I am sorry for the thing with your brother, but it is good to know that you are close to your parents."

"It is. I love my parents."

We made small talk for a little while longer. I am glad she did not ask what happened with my brother and I or about any of my ex girlfriends. Our lunch came out after about fifteen minutes and we ate and made small talk. Before we got up to go pay her phone rang.

"Hello. Mom what happened? WHAT?! Oh my god. I will be right there." She said and hung up the phone. "Oh I am going to beat that little boys ass and rip his parents a new one." She said to herself.