Welcoming of Us

Dates and Nightlights

"So, how are you with children?" I ask the man across from me. He looks up from his steak and potatoes to meets my eyes, "Children? I guess I'm ok with them. Don't you think it's a little early for kids? We are only on the first date." He gives me a small smile in which I return. " No, it's just I have a little girl. I don't really trust her with just anybody. I wanna know if you can handle kids."

"Oh. So you already have a kid?" I nod my head ,"Yeah, that's what I said." "That's cool." He looks back down to his food and picks at the potatoes.

I'm on a date. Maybe the most boring and longest dates of all. My best friend Gabby set it up for me.

She believes in love at first sight and fate and all that other mumbo jumbo. Ever since I've meet her on the collage campus, all she talks about is love. She thinks that of she sets me on enough blind dates I may find "the one". And I have nothing better to do in my life- well , I could stay and play with Aubrey- but I need to get out some. At least that's what Gabby says. But I'm content with staying to myself. I mean Aubrey and I have made it this far, what could stop us now.

Well, the end of the world. Hopefully that doesn't happen soon.

Are maybe it could because this date can't end any sooner. Whenever I'd start a conversation he would put in his two or three words and we would go back to the awkward silence again. The worst part is we are only twenty minutes in and I am ready to fall out dead. Don't get me wrong he's not a bad guy. He just doesn't know how to hold a conversation to save his life.

I have to get out of here.

"So, why don't we meet up some other time. I almost forgot I had to meet my mom with something." I say making up the first thing that came to my mind. "Sure. Here's my number. Call me when you get the chance." He writes his number down on a napkin and hands it to me. "Thanks. Are you paying for this or are we splitting the cost." I point over to our food that is laying on the table. "I got it. The guy is supposed to pay on the first date, right." I nod my head as he goes towards the front to pay the bill. I grab my purse and check the time on my phone. 7:53. Hopefully Aubrey has already taken her bath, by the time I get home it will be her bed time. I head to the front of the store and see Ben, my date, and wave goodbye.

I walk out into the cold night air. I wrap my jacket tighter around me and walk down the sidewalk to my car. I get inside and crank it up, turning on the heater. I get onto the road driving towards my apartment.

After I had Aubrey I had moved into a two-bedroom apartment on the outside of New York. I was the only person paying rent, so I was looking for the safest but cheapest place I could find. After we had got settled in and we felt at home nothing could stop us. Now Aubrey is the cutest and brightest three year-old I know and that would make me the twenty-four year-old mother of the most awesome child in the world.

I park my car onto the curb and cut it off. I grab my purse and step outside making sure to lock the doors. You can never be to safe. I walk up inside the warm building and start up the long flight of stairs to apartment 217. I knock upon the door and wait for my neighbor to come.

"Oh, hey Ms. Scott. Aubrey is just getting out of her bath. She was just getting ready for bedtime. Luckily you are here and she can sleep in her nice comfy bed. Let me just go get her and her bag." says Cindy, my neighbor. She is a seventeen year-old who lives with her dad. But he is always away on business trips so we both taker care of each other. I make sure to bring her dinner and a helping hand, and she babysits Aubrey when I'm busy. "I can grab Aubrey, she weighs like a ton anyways. You can just grab her bag and drop it off for me. And I really want to thank you for looking after her. I'll have to pay you as soon as I get my check." I walk over to the couch and see my sleeping baby laying on it.