Don't You Cry No More

Aurora's eyelids were growing heavy and the bottle of wine was nearly empty from everyone else pouring themselves seconds.

"I think I'm going to call it a night." Aurora sat down her glass and stood on her feet.
"Alright, get some rest." Val said.
"Goodnight." She said as she turned around, heading towards the stairs.

She found Daisy in deep sleep under the covers of the bed. Soon she joined her and drifted asleep. Maybe it was the cushioning of the mattress beneath her, the jet lag, or the rich wine that made her sleep all through the night with no disturbance. But when the morning rays of the sun spewed through the blinds, she woke.

She turned to her side remembering that Daisy was sharing the same bed but she was met with empty space.

She swung her legs over the bed and got dressed. When she grabbed her phone off the dresser, she looked at the time, 8:40 am.

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Daisy woke earlier than her mother and Will was the first to find out.

His slumber was disrupted when he turned onto his back and felt a weight on the bed. He pushed down the covers to see a little curious girl sitting at the edge of his bed. He sat up in both confusion and amusement.

"And who might you be?" He asked, his voice dry and his hair a mess.
"Daisy. Who are you?"
"William but you can me Will. Does your mother know you're in here?"
"No, she's still sleeping."
"Well." Will reached across towards the dresser for his phone to check the time.

8:12 am

"Are you hungry?"

Daisy nodded her head yes.

"Well how about I get dressed and then we can head down to the kitchen for some breakfast."

Will removed the covers from him and got up walking over to the closet to pick out his clothes. He changed in the bathroom and returned back out to scoop Daisy from the bed and carried her downstairs.

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Aurora heard her daughter's faint giggles come from downstairs. She went down the stairs and entered the kitchen to find Daisy sitting on top of the kitchen island counter and Will with his back towards her. She stood in the doorway to watch him. The way his muscles moved under his grey shirt made Aurora bite her lip.

"Mommy!" Daisy snapped her back to reality.

Will turned around sucking the pancake batter from his finger. She cleared her throat before her mind could rush to any thoughts.

"Good morning." He said.
"Morning." She replied.

It kind of surprised her to hear his voice, he hardly said anything last night, she had forgotten what it sounded like. But something about it was comforting.

"We're making pancakes and eggs, you want some?"
"Uh-sure."

He served her a plate of pancakes and eggs with freshly cut strawberries on the side.

"Thanks."

He then served Daisy and finally himself.

"Are Val and your mother still asleep?"
"No, they left early this morning for work."
"Oh really? You all work in the same company?"
"Yeah it's a family business my father kind of forced me into it."
"What kind of work do you guys do?"
"Well I'm an entrepreneur, Val is like our manager and my mother is our spokesperson."
"Do you like what you do?"

Aurora realized that she must have been asking too many questions by Will's sudden change in expression.

"I'm sorry. I should probably just eat before my plate gets cold."
"No, it's fine."

Will didn't know how to answer her question, it wasn't something he could reply with a simple yes or no.

Once they finished their breakfast, Will told them to get ready to go out. He didn't say exactly where they were going but wherever was fine.

Will waited patiently outside in his Range Rover for them.

"I tend to find this place a bit sad." Will spoke as they drove through the city.
"And why is that?"
"Well you're constantly surrounded by politics."
"I guess Paris is a breathe of fresh air then?"
"Yes, definitely."

They pulled into a garage parking lot and got out to follow behind Will. They entered a huge building, it was mall with many people walking around. It was so big it stopped Aurora and Daisy in their tracks.

"Is something wrong?" He said when he realized they had stopped.
"Uh-no." She walked up to him. "It's just this place is huge."

She processed what she had just said and thought Will might have been confused.

"I mean, I know it's no big deal but I don't I've seen a mall so big. And I don't have much."

She scanned the shops seeing expensive stores making her want to walk out.

"Come on." He got a hold of Aurora and Daisy's hand.

Despite the bitter cold weather, when their hands made contact they project a kindle of warmth. Her chest tightened for some odd reason. They stopped in front of a store that showcased clothes that she'd only wished to have.

"I'll go take Daisy to some other store. We'll meet you buy the entrance."
"Wait, Will-"
"It's okay just say it's under Josephine's name, it will be all paid for."
"I can't accept that."
"You have you too. Otherwise we'll never hear the end of it from her and she'll drag you here back again until you do buy something. She and I won't take no for an answer."

With that, Will turned around and walked away with Daisy hand-in-hand. She walked into the store and looked around. She came across a pair of silver pumps that she swooned over. In her mind she debated with herself.

No I can't there way too expensive. . .but then again Josie is probably going drag me here anyways.

She finally decided to take the pair of pumps only because she "had" to. After she felt satisfied with what she had gotten, she came out with three bags, each from a different store but she couldn't help but feel a little bit of guilt.

She walked towards the entrance to find Will with Daisy on his back asleep.

"I guess I lost track of time."
"It's fine, at least Josephine won't nag about you not buying anything."

Will managed to piggy-back Daisy to the car without waking her and put their bags in the of the car. While on their way back to the house, Aurora thought back to Will and Josephine.

Why did he call her by her name and not 'mom'?