Page 14 of No One Like You

“You created this monster, and now I have to live with her.”

“Correction, now we both have to live with her.”

“True… Thank you, Tasha. This was a lot of fun, and clearly Sophia enjoyed it as well. I think that we both needed this.”

“I’m not surprised. This really is a great community. They even have a recreational league. I’d totally join if I thought that my knee would hold up.”

“Still bothering you?”

“Yeah, it still aches when a thunderstorm is coming. Although one nice benefit to Portland is that we don’t get many thunderstorms.”

“Mommy, Mommy! Can I do that? I have my own skates!”

“Let’s see about that, okay? And I think that you might need new skates.”

“You’re the best!”

Tasha smiled. “What about your Aunt Tasha? Remember, this was my surprise, and I will make you cinnamon hot chocolate.”

“Aunt Tasha is the best!”

“Hey now.”

Tasha wrapped an arm around Megan’s shoulders. “We can both be the best, it’s not a competition!”

“Says the woman trying to steal my daughter’s affection.”

“Do or do not, there is no try.”

For a weekend that started in tears, Megan couldn’t remember that last time she had laughed this much. She knew that there were difficult times ahead, but she felt a lot better about facing the future.

“You win. I’ll ditch the blonde.”

“Yes!”

CHAPTER 9

MANIC MONDAY

Monday morning was a shitshow—a productive shitshow, but a shitshow nonetheless.

Megan and Sophia walked less than five minutes to get to the closest school. There were certainly benefits to enrolling a new student mid-semester during the third week of a teacher’s strike. The office staff was really bored and all caught up on paperwork. They were also incredibly grateful to see a new face, which made navigating the bureaucratic red tape easier, but it was still a process. By the end of the day, Sophia was successfully registered, and Megan had filled out the necessary paperwork to be a substitute teacher whenever the strike ended.

She was certain that none of this truly required a personal meeting with the principal and vice-principal, but she suspected that they were happy to see new faces and fill some time in a very open schedule.

Sophia seemed excited about her new school, which eased Megan’s anxiety. Things were looking up when they stopped at the nearest library. Registering with the Multnomah County Public Library system was refreshingly easy after a morning with Portland Public Schools. They returned to Tasha’s apartment—home, at least for now—with some new books to read. She fixed a light lunch for Sophia and herself. After lunch, Sophia went to read on the couch, where a very pleased Nocturne hopped up to occupy Sophia’s lap. Megan was just starting to do some job searches to see if there were opportunities for a part-time yoga instructor when her phone rang. Her heart sank when she saw the name on the screen… Brad.

“Sophia, keep reading, sweetie. Mommy’s going to go for a walk.”

“Okay!”

Megan steeled herself as she fast-walked to the door, grabbing a coat on the way. She swiped the phone screen as she closed the door. “What is it, Brad?” she said angrily.

“What is it? You run away from home, you take my daughter, and you don’t bother to call for three damn days, and that’s how you answer my call?”

“First, she’s our daughter. Second, I wasn’t the one caught with my dick inside my secretary, so I’ll answer the phone however I want.”

“She wasn’t my secretary!”

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