Don't Forget Me

The weekend was creeping towards the last hours. Dave would be boarding his plane in just a few minutes. I denied the feeling of disappointment that was bubbling in the pit of my stomach. I knew he couldn't stay forever. Truth be told, I was surprised that he was even able to stay the entire week that he did. From what I understand, the life of a uprising movie star was very demanding.

I stood, feeling out of place, in the airport terminal. Alayna had tears in her eyes. She was heart broken, just as I expected she would be. Dave was on one knee in front of the small girl, his eyes level with hers.

"I'll see you again before you know it," he told her in a soft voice for what seemed to be the millionth time. "Promise you won't forget me?" Alayna smiled through her tears, nodding her little head.

"Why can't I come with you?" She whined. That was another one that seemed like a broken record all weekend. Sadness washed over me like a tidal wave, stranding me at sea of guilt. I had allowed my baby to get so attached to someone who I knew wouldn't be staying. That was the precise reason I never bothered with dating.

Dave let out a sigh, dropping his hood from his head so he could look at his daughter. I glanced around nervously. Even though I wasn't quite sure of how these things worked, the paparazzi could pop out of nowhere.

"I have some grown up things I have to do in California," he told her, taking her tiny hand into his own. "But I'm going to fly you and your mommy out to see me in a few weeks." My eyes glared angrily at him even though he was preoccupied.

This was happening more and more each day. Dave would promise something to Alayna before consulting with me for the 'okay' first. It was beginning to infuriate me. Before he decided to jump into our lives, it was just me. I made all the parenting decisions. I hadn't expected it to be so difficult. The co-parenting idea wasn't so half and half when it was still strictly an fantasy in my head.

"Really?!" Alayna cheered, catching some attention from some travelers around. Dave smiled.

"Absolutely. I'll take you to do lots of fun things while you're there too," as the words left his mouth, a female voice sounded over the speakers, announcing it was boarding time. A look of pain swept across Dave's handsome contours. "I have to go, Lane." The child forgot the previous proposition and returned to her slumped, sadden posture. Her frail arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him into a tight embrace.

She kissed his cheek when they pulled away. "I love you," she told him sincerely. I noticed Dave's brown eyes light up before he grinned at her. His entire day had just been made.

"I love you, Laney Lou," he repeated, before standing. "You be good for your mommy."

Dave hoisted his carry on bag over his shoulder. Our eyes met as my daughter returned to my side, her small hand reaching up to fill mine. For a moment, I was certain it crossed through his mind to give me a hug goodbye. But he didn't.

"I'll call you soon," he said timidly. I just nodded, showing that I understood. Dave put his hood to his dark blue hoodie back up.

"Have a safe flight." With one last look at his daughter, he was gone into a sea of bodies.

I walked with Alayna to the doors, but picked her up as we got into the Atlanta heat. Under the blazing sun, I immediately regretted leaving the air conditioned airport.

Sliding Alayna into her carseat, I smiled down lovingly at my daughter. Her fingers worked to latch herself in.

"Do you want to go get ice cream, baby?" I offered, hoping to brighten her mood. But the unintentional pout remained on her lips and her eyes stayed dull.

"No thanks, mommy," she replied politely. "I just want to go home and take a nap."

With a sigh, I nodded and handed Alayna her child sized sunglasses. Wordlessly, I got into the driver's seat and hoped she wouldn't stay in this funk for too long. Maybe when she woke up from her nap, she'd return to her happy, bubbly self.

As I pulled out of the parking space, a large plane flew above us. I wondered if it was the one that carried Dave. Shaking off the thought of him, I focused on driving.

**

After having Dave around for a week, I was dying for adult conversation. I don't know how many times I could take the same conversation about the neighbor's cat, or hear Alayna ramble on about how a girl at daycare taught her how to do a somersault last week.

She seemed to move on from Dave's departure by the next day. I was thankful for this. As repetitive as it was, I would much rather converse about a cat than the man I used to be in love with. And since Alayna's spirits were once again high in the clouds, my life became a lot simpler.

I put one of Alayna's Disney Princess movies on in the living room and worked my way to the kitchen, picking up random toys on my way. The child was a one person wrecking crew. I'd recently dubbed her with the nickname Laney The Destroyer for that very reason.

Losing myself in my thoughts, I pulled out the ingredients for dinner. Absentmindedly, I prepared chicken and broccoli. My head was in Los Angeles. I was finding it extremely difficult to keep Dave Franco out of my thought. He taunted me without even knowing it.

He must have known I was thinking about him. My phone rang, stealing my attention.

"Hey," I said into the phone, pinning it between my ear in my shoulder. We hadn't talked much since he left almost a month ago. He mostly just sent me a quick text every few days to check on Alayna. And that was okay. I was well aware that he was a busy man.

"Hey, Iz, he started. I could hear muffled voices on the other line as I poured the cheese sauce over the broccoli. "I booked you two tickets for Friday afternoon. I didn't get you ones back to Atlanta though... I wasn't sure how long you wanted to stay."

I rolled my eyes at him. The few times we had spoken over the past weeks, we argued about how long the visit would be. He wanted us to stay for a week but I insisted that it wasn't possible for me to take off of work for the week.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there, I suppose," I sighed, feeling defeated. Dave always won. Always. Even if it meant the likeliness that I would lose my well paying job.

"Great," was his reply. I could sense his cocky grin. Even through years of no contact, Dave knew I was a push over. "I'll email you the tickets."

"Do you want to say hi to Laney?" I asked him, pulling the pan of chicken breasts out of the oven, silently cursing when my arm bumped the side of the hot oven.

"Of course I do," he answered in a 'duh' tone. I rolled my eyes again.

"Alayna, Dave's on the phone!" I called to her. She skipped into the room in record time, her ponytail bouncing with every step.

"Davey!" She greeted him happily through the phone.

I raked my fingers through my hair as she chattered away, telling Dave about what the cat did today. I knew Dave wouldn't mind hearing the story. Not that it was even much of one. But he also loved cats himself. Clearly that was just another trait he had passed onto his daughter.

As the phone conversation ended, I plated our dinner and sat down at the table beside Alayna.

"Can I ask a question?" My daughter inquired, looking up at me over her cup of chocolate milk. She seemed hesitant and shy as she twirled her straw in the drink.

"What is it, darling?" I are a forkful of broccoli.

"Is Davey my daddy?" I almost choked on my food. Recovering well, I took a sip of my water.

I knew this day would come eventually. I'd been hopeful that we were ready to tell her before she connected the pieces. Although she was an intelligent three year old, I was sure that she was still oblivious.

"Yes, Alayna," I confirmed, not knowing what else to say. It's not like I could lie to her about this. "Dave is your father."

"I thought so," she nodded. The girl seemed satisfied as she took a bite of her food. I watched cautiously as she appeared to be deep in thought. "Are you in love, mommy?" She asked, her eyes raising to meet mine.

This I wasn't sure how to approach. She picked up quickly at daycare and on television that parents were supposed to be in love. She'd questioned where her father was just a few months before Dave came to Atlanta. I opted to simply tell her he was busy. It was the truth after all.

"No baby, we're not," I answered after a few moments.

"Well I think you are," she informed me before returning her attention towards her dinner. I was thankful that she dropped the subject. But her words burned holes into my brain, making me lose my appetite completely. I set my fork down. She was just a child, what did she know?