Page 2 of Walk Off

“Once the ceremony is over, I can watch her.” Celia hated relying on other people even though Ruby had told her many times in the last few days that she would take care of Jasmine during the reception. Celia had tried to tell her that it wasn’t necessary, that she wouldn't be doing anything that made it hard to watch her kid, but Ruby wasn’t having it.

“Nope. We talked about this. I want you to relax and have fun. Let loose, dance, drink and just enjoy yourself. If you have to worry about Jasmine, then you won’t do any of that.”

Celia looked across to where Jasmine was now twirling in front of the mirror. “It’s not like I can’t watch her and have fun. Besides, she’s leaving as soon as dinner is over.”

“I know that,” Ruby said. “You’re a great mom but you’re also a woman. That part of you needs to find herself again.”

She snorted. “As if I even know what that means. I was still a teenager when I got pregnant. I’ve never had the chance to be a woman.” Getting pregnant at eighteen hadn’t been her plan. Since that time, all she’d done was raise Jasmine and finish college. There had been a few dates in the last couple of years, but nothing to write home about, and definitely nothing that made her feel like a woman. The friends she’d made since moving to Valley Falls had been her saving grace. They brought her out of her shell and kept her current with the world.

Their nights out, when they gossiped and drank, were the favorite parts of her week.

And the only time she let herself relax.

The rest of her days and weeks were spent worrying that she’d mess up her kid the same way her mom had messed up her. Which meant she worked extra hard to teach Jasmine right from wrong, but not to be judgemental. Pretty ironic, since all she’d done since Jasmine had been born was lie to her about her dad.

Something she wasn’t proud of but that she’d done for what she believed were the right reasons.

She and Kyle met the summer after her senior year in high school. It wasn’t love at first sight but it was pretty damn close. He was a minor league baseball player, traveling constantly with the team he was on as they played their games. When he was home, they spent every waking hour, and a lot of sleeping ones, together. They couldn’t get enough of each other. But then the inevitable happened.

He got called up to the major leagues.

Then the other shoe dropped.

She found out she was pregnant.

The moment Kyle got called up, he wanted her to go with him, or to try a long-distance relationship, but she couldn’t do that to him. He was a rising superstar, and as much as she loved him, she wasn’t willing to drag him down with a kid they hadn’t planned on.

So she’d lied.

She’d kept the pregnancy to herself and told him it was over and that she didn’t love him.

When really, her heart was breaking at the thought of being without him.

Then there was the baby.

Everything inside her told her to get rid of it, but in the end, she’d decided to keep it. She never told Kyle about Jasmine and never planned to. Hell, she’d never told anyone until two years ago when she’d finally told her sister.

All those years, Ruby had thought she’d gotten pregnant during a one-night stand with Kyle. The summer they were together, Celia had hidden the relationship from Ruby. It wasn’t until Ruby saw a photo of them in a tabloid that it got out, and by then, Kyle was already gone and she was already knocked up.

So she did what she’d already been doing. She lied.

She told Ruby that Kyle was a one-night stand and that he’d offered her money to get rid of the baby. Ruby used that as ammunition to hate professional athletes and almost lost out on Dallas because of it. That's when Celia had come clean. She couldn’t let Ruby think Kyle, or all athletes, were bad.

Celia had been the one in the wrong.

For the last two years, she’d been trying to come up with the courage to reach out to Kyle. It was time he knew he had a daughter. It was time she faced the music of her lie, even if Kyle did something crazy like try and take Jasmine from her. But she wasn’t going to think about that today. Today was for Cassidy and Benji.

She made her way to the hallway right outside the ballroom along with everyone else. Everyone was excited for Cassidy to walk down the aisle, Celia included. When it was her turn, she took a deep breath, smiled brightly, and slowly walked down the aisle.

The ceremony was quick and beautiful as both Cassidy and Benji recited their own vows, each of them making the crowd laugh.

When they kissed and Benji picked Cassidy up, everyone went wild with shouts of congratulations and laughter.

With the ceremony over, Celia was able to relax a little bit more.

“Mom!” Jasmine ran up to her. “Did you see what a good job I did?”

“I did, baby. You were amazing.” She gave her a kiss on the head which made Jasmine cringe.

---