All We Had to Keep Us Safe

After putting Chloe to bed, Bob and I stood in the family room. “I don’t know what to do,” I admitted. “Tomorrow is Chloe’s third birthday, and I was planning on getting her something today and celebrating tomorrow.”

Bob put his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it,” he assured me. “Is all of your stuff packed now?”

I nodded. Even my suitcase for the plane was packed.

“Okay. Try to pack Chloe’s stuff early tomorrow. I’ll be over at ten. We can load the truck, and then we can celebrate. After that we’ll go straight to the airport,” he told me. “Now I have to go home and pack my own things.”

I looked at him gratefully. “Thank you. Again. I can’t believe you’re doing this for me.”

“Me neither,” he replied cheerfully before leaving.

To be honest, I had no trouble sleeping that night. A new sense of peace (or maybe numbness) had taken over me. I no longer felt depressed. I just wanted to get out of there so I could follow through with my decision.

After making breakfast I started to pack Chloe’s things. I put all of her toys and clothes in boxes except for a couple changes of clothes that I kept for her suitcase. I left out her bear, Teddy, so that we could take it on the plane along with her clothes and a few toys. She wouldn’t sleep without it.

I lined up the boxes and suitcases near the door. Just as I was finishing, Bob knocked on the door. “Good morning!” he exclaimed when I opened the door for him. Stepping in, he added, “Where’s the birthday girl?”

In one hand he held a small cake, in the other arm he held a couple of presents, and three balloons were tied around his wrist. Chloe peaked around the side of the kitchen door. Her small smile grew ten times as large, and she ran to Bob. Nothing in the whole world was better than that to me. I took the cake, thanking Bob once again with my eyes. He nodded his head to the side, signaling it was no big deal. But to me, it was huge.

“Happy Birthday!” we both cried at the same time.

“How old are you now?” Bob asked eagerly, already knowing the answer.

“Three!” she squealed, holding up her thumb and first two fingers. “Cake!”

I laughed. “Not yet. We just ate. Bob and I are going to load the truck. Then we’ll open presents, and we can eat cake after that.”

Chloe grimaced unhappily, but she moved to grab the smallest box so she could help. The truck was small and already half full of Bob’s belongings. We managed to fit everything in, and Bob paid the truck driver.

When we entered the kitchen, Chloe was staring at the presents on the table intensely, as if they would get up and walk out the door if she looked away for a second. “Go ahead,” I prompted, laughing. This was just what we needed to brighten our spirits on a day like that.

She tore off the wrapping paper on both presents in record time. One was a beautiful Barbie doll with princess clothing, and the other was a purple stuffed pony that made a different sound depending which hoof was squeezed. She obviously adored them both and played with them for a little bit after we helped her open them. Bob had a satisfied look in his eyes when she babbled on about how great her new toys were.

“What do you say to Bob?” I pressed, smiling at her.

She went and hugged him. “Thank you!” she exclaimed.

“Of course!” he replied, and then he whispered quiet instructions into her ear. She grinned, ran over to me, and gave me a thankful hug too. I smiled at Bob over her shoulder. He smiled back.

We lit three candles and stuck them in the cake, sang happy birthday, and each ate a slice. When we were finally finished, Bob instructed me to leave my cell phone and promised to buy me a new on with a new number so Mark couldn’t track it. I left it on the coffee table by the note I’d left him.

We grabbed our bags and I walked through that doorway fro the last time. I never looked back. I was afraid that I would change my mind if I did.

I got in the passenger seat next to Bob and closed my eyes. I tried to imagine I was somewhere else and he wasn’t turning on the car and driving away. This movement wasn’t a car, and these tears weren’t mine.

However, when Bob put his hand on mine in a friendly gesture, I didn’t want to pretend it wasn’t him. I needed to be aware that my best friend was comforting me in order to be comforted. I wiped away the few tears I’d shed and smiled at him. He nodded back, recognizing that he had succeeded.

We got our tickets and went through security easily. Since it was Sunday, I expected there would be a lot of people at the airport, but I was wrong. It wasn’t deserted, but it wasn’t crowded either. Bob and I sipped at coffees while Chloe played with her new doll as we waited for the plane to board.

Chloe found the plane extremely interesting. At first she demanded to have the window seat, so I sat between her and Bob. After we took off, she got bored of playing with her new doll and looking out the window, so she asked to color.

Somehow she persuaded both me and Bob to color with her, so I switched seats with her so she could be between us. At some point in the flight she kicked the seat in front of her. A big, scary man turned around and glared at us. Bob gave him the death stare back, and the man turned around quickly and left us alone.

I switched seats once again with Chloe. It was about her nap time. She curled up and slept with her head on my arm. Apparently it was about Bob’s naptime too, because he was dozing off. I listened to my ipod and closed my eyes, but I couldn’t really sleep.

I chuckled when the plane started turning for the decent and Bob’s head flopped to the side onto my shoulder. It woke him up after a few seconds, and he blinked rapidly. “We’re landing soon,” I informed him.

He grunted grumpily. I laughed quietly.

After we landed, we got off the plane, got our luggage, and took a taxi to… Well, I wasn’t quite sure where we were headed.