As I drove, I thought about how much life had changed. When I left Arsel, there were times when I wasn’t sure if we would get back together, no matter how much I wanted to. His reaction to my leaving could have been totally different from what it was. He could have easily said fuck me and gone on about his business. I was glad he didn’t do that, though. I never wanted to think about moving on from him. I didn’t think there was another man who could treat me the way he did. Things had been so much better between us since we got back together.
There was an empty parking spot next to Arsel’s car, so I parked there. I didn’t feel like carrying my purse, so I hid it in my trunk. The area we were in was good, but I still didn’t trust people.
I zipped my jacket up because it was still a little cool out, then headed to the playground.
As soon as I made it over there, I spotted Arsel pushing Mikayla on the swings. It took him a second to notice me, and when he did, the biggest smile spread across his face.
The happiness on his face made me feel even better than I already did. I loved that he still got excited when he saw me even after all these years.
Mikayla spotted me and tried to get off the swing. Arsel laughed and helped her down, and she ran straight toward me.
My eyes watered a little because I loved this little girl so much, and it seemed as though she loved us just the same.
I bent down and opened my arms, and she ran right into them.
“Hey, pretty girl. Did you miss me?”
“Yes.”
I kissed her cheek and picked her up. “I missed you, too.”
Arsel picked up her jacket that I was sure she insisted on taking off, then walked toward us.
He leaned down and kissed my lips. “Damn, you look good. You gonna let me run my fingers through your hair later?” he asked as he whispered in my ear.
I stepped back and giggled. “No, sir. No hands in the hair tonight.”
When I put Mikayla back on her feet, she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the swings.
“Shit. Looking like that, I’m putting my hands everywhere,” Arsel said as he trailed behind us.
I picked Mikayla up and put her on the swings. She giggled as I pushed her.
Arsel came up behind me and pressed his body against mine. “The thoughts I’m having about you right now are not appropriate for this environment, so let me focus on something else.” He kissed my neck and moved to the side of me. “What are you doing here?”
“I missed you guys, so I wanted to be where y’all were. Is there a problem?” I turned to face him.
“Of course not, just asking. How was your day?”
He took over pushing Mikayla for me. She didn’t want to do anything else but swing, so that was what we did.
“It was wonderful. Thank you so much for that. I scheduled another massage for next month. Maybe we can go back for a couples massage. What have y’all been up to?”
“We can do that. We had lunch, then we came here. She did get on the slide a couple of times, but then we came over here. We also had some learning time before we left home. She managed to count to twelve today.”
My eyes widened. “Oh, wow.”
Mikayla seemed to be progressing well with us. At times, I did worry, but kids were resilient. Our learning time was an essential part of the day. I wanted her to be fully prepared for when she started preschool. The only thing I had to do was find a playgroup or something for her so she could socialize with more children. She did well with others at the park, but I wanted her to get used to being around more kids. It was also important for her to learn how to share.
Her third birthday was coming up, and I wanted to sign her up for school at least a couple times a week. It would help with socializing and help me have time to write and do things around the house. It would also give Arsel and me time for each other without worrying about someone watching her. There were a couple of schools in the area, so I needed to visit them to see which one would be the best choice.
“We’re doing good,” Arsel said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I tore my eyes away from a nearby family and smiled at him. “We are, and it’s because we’ve been working together.”
Arsel pushed Mikayla again, then hugged me. “As long as we continue to do that.” He kissed the side of my mouth, then went back to pushing Mikayla.
We stayed at the park another hour, then headed home.
