“Thank you so much, bug.” Blue grabs Claire’s hand and pulls her into a hug. She glances up at me and mouths her appreciation before releasing her from her grip. “This is the best present I’ve ever gotten.”
Claire beams before running back to sit in front of the tree next to her enormous pile of presents. Everyone lets her open a few first before we go around in a circle, taking turns opening gifts. By the time we are done, I have a little pile of my own. An expensive bottle of wine from Blue and RJ, a gift card to the place I get a lot of my work clothes from Neve, a new sweater from JJ which she knit herself, two tickets to TransSiberian Orchestra, and a heart necklace with amethyst and diamonds in it from my father.
“Thank you,” Claire exclaims as she walks around and gives everyone a hug.
I glance over at Neve and give her a small nod, trying to hide my smile as she disappears into her room to get Claire’s last present. My daughter has just gotten back to her pile of gifts when Neve comes walking out of her room with a giant box. I grin as she sits the box down in front of Claire and her eyes grow to the size of saucers.
“Wait.” Claire glances around with a furrow in her brow as she scans all her gifts before her gaze drifts to me. “Is this for me, too?”
I smile, nodding as Neve takes a few steps back to stand near our father. I pull out my phone and start recording as Claire crawls closer to the box. The lid suddenly moves, causing herto jump back before her eyes grow large in understanding. She rips the lid off and screams, reaching inside and pulling out the Golden-Doodle puppy she had fallen in love with a few weeks back when we went to the animal shelter.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Claire comes running over and hugs me tightly before announcing to the group, “I’m naming him Winston.”
CHAPTER FIVE
A FRIDAY IN APRIL
The sky is a beautiful shade of pink and gold; the sun beginning to descend behind the skyscrapers in the city. Standing in front of the floor to ceiling windows in the living room, I can’t help but marvel at the sight. How often does someone really stop to watch a sunset? To admire its beauty and bask in the peace it gives you?
Sometimes I have to remind myself to, for lack of a better analogy, stop and smell the roses. Remember that there are these beautiful sights all around me and that I need to stop living life so fast. Things can change so quickly, like a drop of a hat or at the snap of a finger, and it seems we are all on this never-ending treadmill, just trying our best to keep up with our lives.
It’s like we live in this constant hamster wheel, afraid that if we stop, we might fall off. Or we glance at the person beside us and see that they’re moving faster than we are, and we fear that means we are falling behind. But their destination might not be the same as yours.
There’s more to life than just running to the next best thing, or trying to be the absolute best at something. Life is composed of so many little moments, like puzzle pieces coming together to create the perfect picture. While someone else’s picture may bebuildings from time spent climbing the corporate ladder, yours might be a beach landscape from your time exploring the world and all that it offers.
Looking back on these last few months, I realize how grateful I am for those I have in my life and the opportunities that working for someone like Kirstin has provided me. I have friends that are like family who will drop everything the second I need them. My boss, understanding the importance of motherhood, gave me a week's paid trip to Disney World with Claire. I have a best friend who watched my daughter so my sister and I could go on a road trip together before she started her new job.
If I had spent too much time looking back or being mad at the world for the hand it had dealt me in other aspects of my life, I would’ve missed everything that was right in front of me. Is everything perfect? Not even close. But it’s moments like these, as I stand in my apartment and watch the sunset and allow my brain to go quiet, that I am extremely grateful for the things I have been given.
“I’m done with my homework.” Claire emerges from her bedroom, breaking me out of my trance. I turn around with my cup of tea clasped between my hands to watch her fall into a chair at the kitchen table. “Can you check it for me?”
“Your teachers are supposed to grade your work, honey.” I approach, resting a hand on the back of her chair to glance at her work over her shoulder. “That’s how you learn.”
Claire huffs, crossing her arms over her chest as she tilts her head back to look up at me. “But I don’t want to get a poor grade. Please, mom? Neve would do it.”
A scoff escapes me, which turns into a laugh. I roll my eyes before pulling out the chair next to her, watching as a sly smile tugs at my daughter’s lips. She slides the paper my way with her favorite purple pen resting on top of it.
“Using my own sister against me,” I mutter as I pick up the pen and point it at her. “I will look at it and tell you if it’s wrong, but I’m not telling you why. You’ll have to figure that out for yourself, okay?”
Claire nods before I turn my attention back to her homework. I’m about halfway through when my phone starts to ring. Ignoring it and allowing it to go to voicemail, I put a dot next to one problem to let her know it’s wrong when my ringtone sounds again.
“You can get that,” Claire tells me, taking the pen out of my hand as she collects the papers. “I’ll work on these.”
Giving her a smile, I push myself out of the chair and ruffle her hair as I walk by. Glancing at my phone that’s resting on the kitchen island, my heart stops for a beat as I see the caller ID.
Tallgrass Treatment Center.
I pick it up just as it stops ringing for the second time, my hands clammy. Turning on my heel, I walk past Claire, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head as I maneuver by and head toward my bedroom.
Just as I close the door behind me, my phone goes off again in my hand, the same name plastered across the screen. I walk over to the sliding glass door, slipping onto the small balcony that is just off my room, closing the door behind me before I answer.
“Hello, Marlowe, It’s Daphne. I apologize I haven’t been in touch for a while.”
I shake my head as I clear my throat to dislodge the lump that has formed there. “No, it’s quite all right. Is something wrong?”
“I’m just calling to inform you that Travis has left our facility.” My eyes fall closed of their own volition. “He only had two more weeks left here before he hit the six-month marker, for what it’s worth.”
“How did he seem before he left?” I ask, opening my eyes once more. The sunset that I had been admiring not twenty minutes earlier suddenly seems dull.
