Life As We Know It

Chapter 3

Riley's POV
(Present Day)

I sign my signature once again to make it official. Delilah was going to ballet class. I knew she was going to enjoy it and I couldn't help but smile at her.

Her bright blue eyes. Her beautiful blonde hair. God she looked more like Luke everyday.

She squeals as she twirls in her tutu. I have no choice but to take a picture of her. I try to savor precious moments with her. As a single young mother I have no choice but to be both a mother and a father to her.

She never asked about her father so I was okay when it came to that subject, for now. I could never look at her and not think of Luke and what he did.

I shake those thoughts away and pick her up. She was going to the best ballet school in my opinion. Heck I should know, I went there.

We stroll to the car and I put her in her car seat. I buckle her up and make my way to the driver's side. I drive off and make our way to the school.

MISS TEA'S BALLET SCHOOL

I smile as I read the sign. There was still that smudge off the l in school so it always looked lowercased.

We head inside and make our way to the front desk to where I see Aliya.

"Hey there stranger" I say while smiling.

"RY!" Aliya screams hugging me.
We end up hugging for about 3 minutes until I hear her sniffling.

I pull away to wipe her tears. Aliya and I were in the same dance class when we were about Delilah's age. I feel tears forming in my eyes and I let them fall freely.

I step to the side to introduce Aliya and Delilah. Delilah just cocks her head to the side as if she was trying to figure her out. Her facial expression turns from confusion to a bright smile. It reminded me of Luke. Oh gosh

She waddles over to Aliya and hugs her leg. She holds on and refuses to let go. Aliya was there when I gave birth to Delilah and for some reason she felt this great connection to her.

"Okay Del, its time to let Aunty Ali go" I say chuckling while prying her off of Aliya.

"Li Li" Delilah manages to say.

"Yes babygirl that's Aunty Li Li" I say laughing.
Aliya chuckles softly and strokes her hair.

"So how is she?" I ask referring to Miss Tea.

"Not so good. She's barely managing to keep this place going. And she insists to teach some classes." Aliya says slightly frowning.

My expression changes into something similar to Aliya's. I grab Delilah and take her through the double doors and into her dance class. Then I see her. Miss Tea. I can't seem to control the tears that form around my eyes.

She makes eye contact with me and we both run to hug each other. We both are crying. Crying of joy and sadness. I know Miss Tea's time was short but I wanted to spend every time she has left on this Earth and make sure she leaves happy. We continue to hug for about two minutes until I feel a tug on my pants.

I pull away to see Delilah. She's giving me a toothy smile and is bouncing. Obviously she wants a hug too.

"Miss Tea. This is Delilah. Delilah, this is Miss Tea." I say while wiping my face dry.

"Hello there sweetie" Miss Tea says picking Delilah up.

I have no choice but to smile. This just warms my heart. My body began to tingle. This was pure happiness.