Sparta ~Tommy Conlon

Chapter 14: No tackling

Malia's POV:

Tommy has been in basic for 2 months now, I spent the majority of my time at the child care center. I have gotten so attached to these kids and I love helping them in any way that I can. I usually work from 6:30 AM-3:30 PM, I go home for a few hours and then I come back and work from 7 PM-9 PM. I bring home $935 a week for doing something that I truly love, it was a huge change from just my $250 a week that I made in Tacoma. I would work Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. On Wednesday's I would clean the house and do laundry and on Sunday's I would go grocery shopping. It really sucked not having Tommy around and occasionally I would see him training outside when I was taking the kids to the park but that was it. I knew he was working hard though, I love him so much and I knew it would be worth it in the long run. I also got my hair cut back to normal length for me which means it was resting on my shoulders. I didn't realize it was going to be this warm in Texas.

I was playing with my ring while I waited for the kids to wake up. Since it was the Fourth of July weekend, there were only 6 kids here. Danny, Madison, Mariana, Peter, Alex, and Justin. Madison and Peter are twins, they're 9 years old and are some of the sweetest kids I've ever met. Alex, Mariana, and Justin are all related, Justin just turned 1, Alex is 3, and Mariana is 7. Then, of course, there's Danny, he's now 6 months old. I spent a lot of time with Pilar in and out of work. Today she was working with her son and the twins. I was working with the three Diaz kids. After the kids woke up, they would have breakfast and we would go to the park for a few hours.

I kept glancing at my ring and I couldn't help but smile. I heard the slight cry from Justin, I looked up and walked over to where he was sleeping. He smiled at me and I lifted him into my arms. "Hey bubba," He couldn't speak yet but he was trying to talk to me and it made me smile. "You want some breakfast?"

He nodded and I carried him on my hip over to the kitchen. I got him a small bowl of Cheerios and set him down in a high chair. I smiled at him and he had a giant smile on his face while he ate his Cheerios. "Malia,"

I looked up and to my left. Over by his bed, Alex was staring at me. "Hey, Alex. Come here, buddy."

He walked over to me and I picked him up. "What do you want for breakfast lil man? Today we have pancakes, cereal, and toast."

"Pancakes!"

I started laughing, "Ok, let's go get them." I walked into the kitchen with him and there was a bag of cinnamon pancakes. I grabbed one of the bags and handed it to Alex, he started laughing and I smiled at him. I set him down at the table and opened his bag of pancakes for him. I was sitting across from Alex and Justin, I was watching them both while playing with my ring.

"Good morning, Malia." I turned around and saw that Mariana was now awake.

"Hey, Mari. Good morning! What can I get you for breakfast?"

"Just some cereal please." I nodded and stood up, I went into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl of Lucky Charms, it's her favorite. I brought it back to her and she smiled at me, "Thank you, Malia."

"Of course. Eat up, as soon as you and your siblings are done eating we are going to go to the park."

"Yay!" Alex yelled.

"Alex shush!" I laughed. "Danny, Peter, and Madison are still sleeping."

He shrunk in his seat but smiled at me still. Justin started mocking me by holding a finger to his lips. I laughed even harder and when they finished their breakfast. I took care of there breakfast mess while they went to the bathroom, Mariana always loved to help with Justin. I saw a lot of myself in her and it was crazy to me, she's such a sweet girl.