Chapter One
Nick hummed along with the radio, even though he didn't hear the words as he drove aimlessly. He just wanted to get away from everything- but mainly escape the pain. He hurt- his heart ached and he could still feel the stinging from the slap of her hand on his cheek when he told her it was over for good.
Without knowing how he got there, he found himself in a park. He got out of the truck and made his way over to a bench under a tree, near the swings. He surveyed his surroundings, watching the kids run around and parents sitting together talking. He wondered for a second if he'd ever have a chance at a life like that- bringing the kids to the park, just hanging out and enjoying life. He realized the problem would be finding the other half to start that life with. He was beginning to feel increasingly doubtful about his ability to find a girl who would be more interested in who he was, rather than what he was.
His attention was diverted from his pessimistic musings by a shriek of delight coming from the swings. He turned his head to see a young woman, about his own age he guessed, with shoulder length brown hair that glistened in the midday sun, pushing a little girl on the swings.
"Hold your breath, baby.. now let it out again!" the woman said. The little girl did as she was told, holding her breath as she swung back, and letting it go as she flew forward- squealing with joy every time she felt the rush.
Nick couldn't help but smile at the scene. It was cute, fun- something he needed to see about now. He watched the little girl- hanging onto the chains of the swing- grinning, her reddish-blonde ringlets flying out behind her. He felt better somehow- reassured that good things still existed in the world- just maybe not in his at the moment.
Just as he was about to let his mind go wondering off again into the abyss of depressing thoughts he'd found himself sinking into lately, a giant black dog came bounding over to him.
"Whoa!" he yelped as the dog crashed onto the bench, landing on his lap.
The woman looked away from the swinging girl to see who'd said that. "COLE!! GET OFF HIM!!" She yelled when she saw her massive black lab practically sitting on a very attractive blonde guy. She grabbed the swing, stopping it, and ran over to the bench, trying to pry Cole off the guy.
Cole finally relented and climbed off, sulking off behind the bench.
The woman blushed, "I am so sorry about that monster."
Nick couldn't help but laugh a little. "It's okay, I'm just glad he was friendly." He was actually glad for the distraction- anything to keep his mind occupied was welcome, even huge slobbering dogs.
"He's very friendly and that's the problem!" she laughed, relieved that the guy hadn't gotten upset.
"I wouldn't really say being friendly is a problem..." Nick said, hoping to continue the conversation. She had him smiling and he wasn't about to let that go before he had to.
"Well, I guess not really- maybe it's just that his ... approach is all wrong. He gets too close too fast... and that's never a good thing..." she said, disbelieving she was philosophizing about relationships to someone she'd just laid eyes on.
"Now that I would have to agree with, " Nick replied. Looking in the woman's eyes, he thought he could see the same things he was feeling- that ache, and the understanding of someone else done wrong. "I'm Nick, by the way."
The woman stuck her hand out to him, "I'm Kerry... and that is..." she turned toward the swing looking for the little girl who'd just been there. "Oh my god!!!"
Before Nick could take her hand to shake it, Kerry was running off, searching frantically for the missing child. Nick immediately felt bad, it was because she'd been talking to him that the little girl hadn't been being watched. He caught up to Kerry and grabbed her shoulder. "Calm down. I'll help you find her."
Kerry quickly pulled herself out of his grip, almost offended he'd touched her. But she was stunned by the firm tone of his voice and his words- he was going to help her find her, not just look. And that was more help than she'd been offered in a long time.
They searched in the pavillion, and through the mazes of playground equipment, the little girl being nowhere in sight. With each passing moment Kerry seemed to become more frantic, calling "Miah!" in increasingly higher pitches.
Nick stopped for a moment and looked around the park- where would he have gone? He glanced across the road that wound through the park, to the creek. Being drawn to water of any sort, that would have been the first place he'd have ventured. He jogged across the street, and looked down the slight incline. There was Miah, up to her ankles in mud, peering into the water.
"Kerry! Over here!" He hollered, waving his arms above his head to get her attention.
Kerry sprinted over to where he was and jumped down the little slope, scooping Miah up in her arms. "Baby, what were you doing?!?"
"Lookin' for tadpoles." Miah replied, giving Kerry a look that suggested she was crazy for having been worried.
"Sweetie, do NOT scary Mommy like that again, okay? You have to tell me when you want to look for tadpoles, alright?" Kerry said as calmly as possible, trying to regain her composure.
'Mommy?' Nick's mind stopped on that word. Miah was her kid?? She didn't look old enough to have a kid- especially one Miah's age, who he thought was about five.
Kerry sighed, and looked at Nick. "Thank you so much. I can't thank you enough, I was so freaked out.. oh god..." Her lip quivered and Nick was afraid she was going to cry.
He instinctively reached out to give her a hug of comfort and was shocked when she pulled away from him.
Kerry looked at him apologetically when she realized what she'd done. "Sorry..." she mumbled quietly.
"It's okay." Nick replied. But it wasn't. Something about the situation- the whole thing, not just Miah getting lost, was wrong, and he intended to find out what it was. He got an idea, "Hey, Miah- you want to get an ice cream?"
Miah jumped out of the creek , "Yeah!! Can we mommy? Can we?"
Kerry looked from her daughter to Nick and back at Miah. How could she say no? "That was evil, Nick." she said, trying not to grin.
"But it worked. I wanted to get you to go out with me somehow, and who can say no to ice cream?" he smiled.
'Who could say no to that smile?', Kerry thought. "Yes, baby, we'll get some ice cream." she said to Miah.
"YAY!"
"But wait- she's a mess, and we still have Cole." Kerry said.
"I'm not letting you get out of this. Take Cole home, get her cleaned up and then we'll meet at Baskin-Robbin's in... an hour?" Nick suggested, hoping she'd agree.
Kerry tried her best to look put out, like it was such an effort, "Fine. Fine. Sheesh." She smiled at him. "We'll see you then."
Nick returned her grin, and helped her and Miah up the muddy hill. He climbed into the Durango and watched Kerry as she helped Miah into the little blue car and struggled with Cole to get him in the backseat. He drove away happier than he could remember feeling in quite sometime.
As Kerry and Miah drove home to get Miah cleaned up, Miah asked, "Who was that, Mommy?"
"That was Nick." Kerry replied.
"Is he your friend?"
Kerry paused for a second, unsure of exactly how to answer that. He seemed nice enough, obviously, or she wouldn't have even considered this ice cream "date"... but he was a guy, and that was an automatic point reduction in Kerry's book. Knowing Miah would have no clue what she was talking about if she said anything else, she went with the gut feeling she didn't quite understand and said, "Yes, baby, he's my friend."
"Your boyfriend?" Miah asked, looking at her mother.
"Where did you get an idea like that little missy?" Kerry asked, caught off guard by Miah's question.
"I dunno." Miah said, confused by Kerry's use of 'little missy' something normally only said when Miah was in trouble.
"Well, it doesn't matter, but he's not my boyfriend." Kerry said, turning into the driveway of her parents home. 'Not yet' she thought. Her own thought surprised her. 'Kerry don't go there', she admonished herself. She wondered why that had even come to her mind, as she opened the back door to let Cole go bounding into the yard, attacking some invisible foe. She helped Miah out of the car and into the house wondering if accepting Nick's invitation had been a good idea or not.