Fate

10 years earlier

"What would you name your kids?" I asked him, snuggling up to him on my large bed.

"If it's a boy, Ender. If it's a girl, Valentine."

"Evan, Valentine is a boys’ name." I laughed.

"I like it for a girl. Ok, what about you?"

"I like Greyson. But I like Ender now that you mention it. And Adia for a girl." I told him.

"Adia..." he said, taking it in.

I never found out what he thought of the name. His alarm on his phone suddenly went off and I knew he had to go. I leaned up from where I was lying to give him a soft peck. He drew back from me, looking straight into my gaze and grabbed my neck, bringing me into another, deeper kiss. I melted as any other teenager would do. I truly loved this boy, and he loved me as well. But I would all end about a month later.

Present day

I ran to my car which was parked oddly in the street. Being a busy woman, I don't have the time to properly parallel park. I was running late this morning, due to the fact that my son's bus was late.

I pulled my Jetta around the small building that I called my bakery and hastily got out. I may own the bakery, but even I know that doesn't give me the freedom to come and go as I please. I walked inside without locking my car and found my assistant sitting at the counter.

"Hi, Audrey. Sorry I'm late." I quickly apologized.

"Don't worry. I understand." and I knew that she did. She'd been my best friend since culinary school. I'd met her on the first day and fell in love with her personality. She was there when no one else was. She was there when I met and married and divorced Ben. She was there to pick me up whenever I fell. She was my best friend. She understood why I was having a hard time. Having a child takes a lot out if a single woman who runs her own business. Especially in the city.

Having been born and raised in a small town in Tennessee, I surely wasn't used to Chicago. I'd visited once, after my parents' split and I'd moved with my mother to Indianapolis, Indiana. After I went to culinary and business school, Audrey and I decided to open a shop up in Chicago where we could hopefully share an apartment until the both of us were financially stable enough to live on our own. Luckily for her, I met Ben, a fantastic man who was a car salesman. We hit it off and a few months later, he was living in the apartment, paying half of the rent and giving us a little break. He was an amazing guy, but I he would never hold a candle to my first love. I don't think anyone could ever. Soon, the business was booming. We'd been featured in a local newspaper as the “best new thing”. People were flocking to the bakery to try our famous desserts. It was extraordinary. I never dreamed that it would turn out this way. Before that, I had accepted Ben’s proposal to be his wife and we had a small ceremony at the courthouse.

Unfortunately, once I began to get busier with the bakery and had less time to spend with my family, the fights began. Ben and I slowly drifted apart. We finally filed for divorce after only about a year and a half of marriage, leaving me to raise my son on my own. I never heard from Ben again and I don't blame him. I could have salvaged our marriage, but I didn't. Maybe it was because in the back of my mind it was what I wanted. Maybe I was waiting for something better to come along.

"Sky, please, please tell me you didn't forget." Audrey began to whine. What did I forget this time?

"Uh, I'm sorry Audrey." I apologized again.

"Dave wants you and the kid to go on a picnic with us and his folks." I stared at her. "At the park." I continued to stare. "Tomorrow."

"Oh, babe, I don't know. I have a lot to do,"

"Please enjoy your day off tomorrow. You work to hard and your son is the one who suffers. Make him happy. I'll bring the puppy and he'll have the time of his life. Please." Audrey begged. I knew she was right, but being the person I'd become, I wasn't going for it.

"No."

"Yes." she wasn't going to give up without a fight.

We argued back and forth about it all day and finally...

"Fine! You win!" I surrendered. I was tired if it. Tired of everything. "What time?"

"3 in the afternoon. Thank you baby!" she squealed and kissed my cheek.

"Don't kiss me." I swiped my face with a rag on the counter.

"Hi baby, how was school?" I asked my son when he walked in. Audrey and I make sure that at least one if us is here when he gets home from school. Today was my day. It was a Friday.

"It was ok. Mommy, are you ok?" he asked. He rarely calls me mommy anymore and it hurt me a little to hear that.

"I'm fine baby," I replied. "Aunt Audrey wants us to meet her and Uncle Dave at the park tomorrow. Does that sound fun?"

"Will Gus be there?" he asked, taking a seat on my lap. He was getting a little too big for it.

"Yes, she's bringing the puppy," I told him.

"Then yes, it sounds fun." he leaned back so that I could play with his hair. We sat there for a few minutes until he told me that he was hungry. Our regular routine followed that and soon we were both getting ready for bed.

"Goodnight, Mom" he said.

"Goodnight, Ender." I replied, turning off the light.