Kaiya’s mouth formed an O, for she was dumbfounded at the suddenness of her mother’s trip. It was also quite strange because she had made it known that she wanted to be there for the birth of Kalilah’s baby.
“What about Kalilah’s baby?” she couldn’t help asking as she was still trying to process her mom’s news.
“I’ve already told your sister that I’m leaving. Although she’s disappointed, she accepted it. Besides, I might even be back before the baby comes, who knows?” Katherine replied shortly.
Kaiya’s forehead scrunched into a frown. It was rather shocking that her mom would just up and leave without giving any reason. Things she knew weren’t fine between her parents, so she wondered if that played a role in the woman’s sudden decision to take a trip to Europe.
Since she might likely be told it was none of her business, she kept mute. Although she and her mother had drawn closer after the loss of her son, there was still that gap between them that years of neglect had caused.
“Alright, Mom. Have a safe trip.”
“Thanks, darling, one more thing. I know I wasn’t always the best parent to you girls, but I want you to come out of your head and step out on faith like you use to. Tyler being back could be what you need to heal and move on. Don’t shut him out.” The call clicked off.
Kaiya stared at her phone, surprised by her mom’s sudden trip and surprising advice. Her mom, Katherine, had really been trying since she separated from their father, Richard, but this one piece of advice her mom gave her would be ignored. She was done with Tyler and had no interest in anything he had to say. Everything good she felt about him had been cremated in her mind, just as their son was.
Shrugging off her dark thoughts, she strode to her office. The small office was done in shades of cream and pale yellow. A small desk and chairs occupied one side of the office while a chaise lounge covered one part of the wall which she laid on whenever she wanted to get her feet up. On one side of the wall were pictures of several ballet dancers, including kids in the school. Another side held her school and registration certificates. There were several paintings on the wall which served to beautify the room.
Kaiya treaded the carpeted floor to her table, where she settled down on the swivel chair and stared at the ceiling as she mentally prepared herself for the day.
A knock sounded on the door, and two of her dance teachers came into the room to exchange pleasantries with her. They were going to their respective classes when they saw her come in and wanted to say hi. They left soon after the greetings were over.
They didn’t have many students in the mornings because of school and work. The few that came in were handled by other dance teachers.
As the day progressed, Kaiya looked through her accounts. Her dance studio was doing pretty well, and she was happy about it. Years ago, she never thought she would make it this far.
When it was about time for her afternoon dance lessons to begin, she sought out her employees and discussed with them the afternoon lessons. She finished with them, and they dispersed.
As she stood, seeing to different groups of kids, two of her dance teachers joined her when parents dropped off kids for dance lessons.
“Um, Kaiya?” Daisy said quietly.
“Yes, Daisy.” Kaiya curved her body a little in her direction.
With a twinge of excitement in her voice, she said, “I’ll need to leave before the 6 pm class arrives.”
Arching her brows, Kaiya asked, “Why? Is everything alright?”
Grinning, she replied, “It sure is. Perry finally asked me out.”
Smiling, her employer remarked, “Good for you, Daisy! You have my permission to leave early to prepare for your date.”
“Aww, thanks, Kaiya. You’re the best.”
Smiling at the twenty-year-old girl, Kaiya turned away. Daisy and her other employee discussed excitedly what the former would wear and where Perry was taking her.
As she listened, Kaiya had a nostalgic feeling of what it used to be like when she was a teenager and asked out on a date. But now, she was contented with just running her dance school for children. She would rather not date anyone now, which reminded her that she needed to end things with Marcus. He had been wanting more from her than she could give, and she didn’t want him to think she had led him on by the time he recognized that there was no hope of her changing her mind.
Kaiya exhaled softly as she turned away. She hadn’t felt strongly about anyone after Tyler, and she didn’t intend on giving her heart to anyone, considering she made a silent promise to her baby to never forget him by loving someone else. And she was determined to keep the promise.
Against her better judgment, her mind drifted to when she found out that she was pregnant in her best friend’s bathroom. Now and then, her mind would trail back to that terrifying day.
How scared she had been when she repeatedly saw those two pink lines. When her parents found out by accident and saw how depressed she was, they whisked her away to New Brunswick. She spent the remainder of her pregnancy there in solitude until she gave birth.
It would have been tough, but she had been ready to raise her baby alone. Unfortunately, in the end, there was no baby. When she finally came back to Montreal, she heard from Jalissa that Tyler had left Montreal with Lena to raise their baby. She had felt betrayed by Tyler, who had always insisted that nothing was going on between him and Lena. Little wonder he hadn’t bothered replying to any of her messages or returning her calls. He must have discovered that Lena was pregnant at that time and, too ashamed to tell her. He probably believed that ignoring her was the best form of recourse. It hurt to think that he had most likely impregnated her and Lena at almost the same time. The sleazebag had been sleeping with both of girls and denying it.
She wondered for the first time if Lena and Tyler were still together and raising their family. A family she didn’t have. Did they have more children? Was their first child a boy or a girl?
Pain wrenched her heart at what might have been if she hadn’t lost her baby and if Tyler didn’t turn out to be a lying, cheating jerk.
