“Why are you afraid to tell her you don’t want kids?” he asks while we walk.
“I’m not afraid.”
“Then, why haven’t you said anything?”
I sit down and reach for my bag, pretending I’m looking for something when, really, I’m just busying myself so I don’t have to have this conversation with him.
“It just hasn’t come up. Get off my back.”
He lets out a breath, shaking his head while he crosses his arms over his body, looking like a disappointed father rather than my best friend.
“You’re going to get sucked into this. Mark my words.”
“Sucked into this?” I ask, lowering my head, making sure he knows how ridiculous he sounds.
“You’d better be careful, bro. Everything you want out of life is being sucked out of you and placed into her world.”
I set my bag down and stand to walk toward him, putting my hand on his shoulder. “Her world doesn’t seem so bad.”
“She’s a nanny. She watches kids. You know she wants some of her own.”
I raise my eyebrows as a thought hits me. “Maybe that’s why she nannies. She gets to play with them and then give them back. Did you ever think of that?” I push past him and head back to the living room, where we were all hanging out before Kara called.
“Keep telling yourself that,” he shouts over his shoulder, but thankfully, he doesn’t follow me.
Kara
“Oh, sweetie!” my mom says with glee as she answers the phone, obviously looking at the flier I just texted her.
“Can you believe it?” My eyes fill with tears that I blink away. I’ve been able to keep my composure, but something about talking to my mom makes me want to break down and cry for joy that this is actually happening.
“Of course I can believe it. I always knew you would be successful out there.” She yells for my dad, “John! Come check out the flier, announcing Kara performing at Ascend Amphitheater.”
“Let me see!” he says as he enters the room.
“Hi, Dad!” I say.
“Hey, baby girl.”
Hearing him saybaby girlmakes the tears flow down my cheeks, which I can’t stop even if I tried.
When I started singing, he would play for me the song “Baby Girl” by Sugarland and said that would be me one day. The song is about a girl who goes off to become a singer and the struggles she encounters until, one day, she calls her parents, saying she’ll take care of them and talking about how successful she’s become. At the end of the song, she sings, “Love, your baby girl.”
That’s always been my dream—to be able to pay off their debt and make sure they can live the life they want without fear of bills or work. Knowing I’m on my way to making that dream become a reality makes more tears fall from my eyes.
“Look at this!” he announces as his voice cracks. “I’m so proud of you, baby girl.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“We already planned the trip and will be driving down the day before. We’ll leave early, so we can get there in time to have dinner with you,” Mom says.
“Yeah, Silas wanted to invite you guys over to his place while you’re here, so maybe we can set it up for that day. I’ll have to see what his work schedule is.”
“So, we get to meet this guy?” Mom singsongs her question.
I laugh at her antics. “Yes, you’ll get to meet him. Even if dinner doesn’t work out the day before, he’ll be at the show for sure.”
“Well, we can’t wait to meet him. We’re so proud of you, Kara.”
