Taking Flight

Olivia

The next day I tried to get up as early as possible, hoping to get some work done before I had to get Molly up. I wasn’t entirely convinced that it would actually help, but I surprisingly got quite a bit done. I even went ahead and made Molly a sandwich for lunch and put it in the fridge so, if things got crazy again, I wouldn’t have to feed her fast food for lunch two days in a row.

I thought it would be like any other day, until my phone rang around three o’clock that afternoon. I groaned when I saw who was calling, but knew that I had to answer anyway. “Hello?”

“Hey.” It was Tyler. I hadn’t talked to him in about a month and a half, which was also how long it had been since he’d seen Molly.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s my weekend with Molly. Can you just bring her over now?”

I tried not to get too furious at the way he was acting. He said it was “his weekend” like it was something I owed to him. He made it seem like I never let him see her, when it was always his decision not to take his time with her.

“She’s napping now, Tyler. Can you at least wait until she wakes up?” I heard him scoff and had to literally bite my tongue to keep from cursing at him.

“Forget it,” he snapped. “I’ll come pick her up myself. I don’t know why you have to act like this every time I try to see her, Olivia. It’s pathetic.”

“Oh, you little shit,” I finally let out. “Don’t go acting like I’m doing you wrong. You barely even take your visitations with her! I’m not being difficult. If you want to see her, that’s fine. It’s your weekend and I can’t stop you. I’m just saying you need to let her finish napping or she’s going to be cranky all night long.”

“Whatever,” he sighed. “I’ll be there in half an hour. Just have her ready.”

He hung up before I could protest again. I cursed under my breath and tossed my phone onto my desk before covering my face with my hands and starting to cry. Molly was almost four years old, and Tyler still hadn’t gotten any easier to deal with. I honestly couldn’t stand him. It was unbelievable to me how he couldn’t see how unfair he was being to his own daughter just to get back at me. It was especially awful since, no matter how Tyler and I felt about each other now, I still wanted Molly to have a good relationship with him. However, I sincerely wondered if that would ever happen, considering the way he acted.

I sighed heavily and forced myself to get up and walk to Molly’s room. She’d only been asleep for about fifteen minutes, and I knew it would be a huge mistake to wake her up. Tyler kind of deserved it, but I wanted her to rest, so I decided to let her sleep as long as I possibly could.

After about twenty minutes, I knew I couldn’t wait much longer because Tyler would be there soon. I lifted Molly out of her bed, and she instantly started whining. I sighed loudly and cursed Tyler under my breath, swearing to knock his lights out if he ever pulled this stunt again.

I sat on the couch with her on my lap, trying everything I could to get her to stop crying and failing miserably. Finally, Tyler knocked on the door. I walked over and yanked it open, sending him the dirtiest look I could manage when I saw him. I handed Molly over first, then went back to get her things.

“Why is she crying so much?”

I glared at him again, resisting the urge to slap him. “Funny you should ask. She’s crying because I had to wake her up. She’ll be crying for awhile. And when she stops crying, she’ll be whiny and grumpy for the rest of the night.”

“Don’t be a bitch, Olivia.”

My mouth dropped open. “Listen, don’t talk to me like that in front of my daughter.”

He rolled his eyes and slammed the door, not even giving me the chance to say goodbye to Molly or anything. I opened the door and stared down the hall, but he was already getting in the elevator. I closed the door so hard that the walls shook, and had to several deep breaths to keep from crying.

I finally calmed down long enough to get back to work, but after awhile I just couldn’t concentrate anymore. I got up and changed, deciding that since Molly was gone, it would probably give me the perfect opportunity to do the grocery shopping for the week. At least then I could do something productive in the middle of my frustration.

Shopping by myself was easier, but it didn’t feel the same. Even though Molly would’ve been ready to leave the whole time and it would’ve taken us twice as long, I missed having her with me. So when I was done getting the groceries we needed, I decided to go over to the toys and buy her a present to give to her when she got back.

I picked out a few dolls and was trying to decide between them, when I saw someone else come into the aisle from the corner of my eye.

“Hey, you’re Olivia, right?”

My head shot up, and I looked right into the blue eyes I’d first seen the day before at McDonald’s. I shifted around nervously and forced my eyes to the floor. “Uh, yeah that’s me.”

“Where’s Molly tonight?” he asked. “Sleeping off some more chicken nuggets?”

I laughed before I could stop myself and looked back up at him. “No, she’s with her dad this weekend.’’

“Ah okay,” he nodded. “You don’t sound very pleased with that.”

“Well, we don’t have the best relationship.”

His eyes went soft and he looked genuinely concerned, which I didn’t need. I saw the small stuffed dog in his hand and decided to change the subject. “So were you just creeping around in the children’s section or do you have a kid?”

“Neither,” he laughed. “I have a nephew, though. Cute as a button. I like to buy him toys sometimes and spoil him like a good uncle should.”

We exchanged smiles and then it grew silent. Neither of us spoke, but neither of us walked away. It was Niall who finally cleared his throat and broke the tension. “So, what do you do? Are you just a stay at home mom?”

“Kind of,” I answered. “I work from home. Data entry. What about you?’’

He looked down and turned red. “Well, I know you’re gonna think this is ridiculous, but I’m in a pop band.”

“Oh,” I said. It was strange, but it seemed surprising, but at the same time it wasn’t surprising at all.

“Yeah. I mean, I know you probably won’t take me seriously now, but I’m not just some kid in a garage band. This is my career, and we’re doing really well.”

“I never said I wouldn’t take you seriously,” I said. “That’s not fair, to just assume that.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just-“

“Don’t worry about it,” I laughed. “It’s not a big deal. But I should really get going. It was nice seeing you again.”

“Hey,” he said as I turned to walk away. “I wanna give you this. I don’t know if you’ll use it or not, but I really hope that you do.”

He handed me a receipt that had been torn in half, and wasn’t surprised at all when I turned it over and found his number written on the back. He was still smiling at me when I walked away without another word.

So he was in a band.
I didn’t really know how to take that. It wasn’t like I could really get involved with him. Even if I wanted to, I had a daughter and that made dating nearly impossible. I hadn’t even been on a date since Molly was born. But Niall was sweet, and when I thought of him, it wasn’t the fact that he’d bought lunch for my kid after she spilled hers on him that came to mind first. It was how kind he’d been when she fell down. How he’d taken her hands in his own and helped her to her feet and made sure that she was okay.

I thought about him all the way home, and as I stepped into my apartment, I know that there was no way I could make it work. I liked him, but Molly came first. And he was in a band, which probably came first in his life. We were too different, and there was just no way it could work out.

I didn’t hesitate as I pulled his number out of my pocket and threw it in the trash.