Page 29 of Forever His This Christmas

“Get out,” she stated pointing to the door. She waited until he’d gone before grabbing her stuff and heading to her meeting.

It was almost six before she got home, and she didn’t feel like cooking. She took a single look at Abby’s face and asked, “How would you like to go out for dinner? Your choice.”

“Dave and Busters—we can get a dessert and have it for dinner,” Abby suggested with a grin that she couldn’t resist.

“You’re on,” she agreed. “Just let me change first alright?”

“Sure thing, Mom,” Abby agreed, and they headed out wearing similar outfits of skinny leg jeans, boots, and tops, Abby’s was blue while she settled on black. The restaurant was crowded being a Friday night, but they managed to get a table and seated within twenty minutes.

“Come on let’s split a chocolate cake, just think of all the calories and gooeyness of it. It’s the perfect way to end the week, isn’t it?” Abby said as they looked over the menu.

“Alright, but just this once we’ll have dessert for supper,” she agreed and somehow the chocolate and her daughter managed to make things better.

“Abby! Oh my gosh, hey Dad, this is Abby,” a girl about Abby’s age said excitedly as they began to move through the restaurant towards an empty table.

“The famous Abby, it’s nice to meet you,” the man with her said as Abby gave them a smile.

“Mom this is Jazz.”

“It’s good to put a face with a name finally,” she stated giving the girl a smile. “I’m Lisa,” she added to her father.

“David, it’s nice to meet you too. I’ve heard so much about Abby that I almost thought it was all made up.”

“Dad!”

“It’s the truth, but I’m sure they’d like to get back to their food. Our table’s ready over there,” he told his daughter as the hostess waited impatiently because of the crowd.

“Why don’t you join us,” Lisa suggested seeing the eagerness to talk between the girls. “I vaguely remember hearing Jazz’s favorite game was Skee-Ball and they do happen to be right across from us,” she added making the girl smile brightly.

“Please Dad,” Jazz said, and she saw him give in, much as she did with Abby.

They let the hostess know and she relayed the message to the waiter. She saw him head back with refills on their waters and took the others’ drink orders before letting them know he’d be back to get their food orders.

“I feel bad making you watch us eat,” David told her as the girls gossiped about their classes that day.

“Don’t tell anyone but we didn’t order real food—just a little pick-me-up treat, in the form of the chocolate cake.”

“I’ve done that before, although usually it was because the refrigerator was empty.”

“The fridge is full it’s just been one of those days. I didn’t feel like cooking after the hassles, and it was Abby’s idea to order the cake first…bad mother for not pushing the vegetables but you’re only their age once.”

“True,” he agreed and despite not feeling anything for the man she enjoyed spending time talking with him while the girls played games.

They started meeting on Friday nights, taking the girls to dinner together and it was nice having a friend she could be honest with about her daughter. Abby asked if Jazz could spend the night the next weekend and she discussed it with David as the girls ran to the arcade area of the pizza parlor, staying where they could see them.

“I don’t mind her staying at all. It’s just Abby and myself in the condo.”

“Jazz said her father’s not in the picture at all, that must be difficult on you.”

“You can’t miss something you never had.”

“He didn’t want anything to do with you and Abby?”

“He doesn’t know about Abby,” she admitted regretting it when she saw him pull back and the judgmental look that crossed his face.

“How did he not know?”

“Until May, Abby was living with my mom’s cousin Diane in California. No one knew I was pregnant in high school. My parents wouldn’t have approved, they wouldn’t have wanted me to have her, but I couldn’t have an abortion. I hid the pregnancy with bulky sweaters and bags, pretty much how they do on TV shows only obviously better, and when I knew it was about timefor her to come, I went to California to my Aunt Diane’s for Spring Break. Abby came along, I asked Diane to take care of her and she did until I finished with the school year. I went back to them the moment school was over and spent the entire summer there. I tried to convince my parents to let me stay with Diane for the rest of high school, but they refused so I went back but spent every holiday I could manage with Abby. I went to UCLA for college and lived with Diane. Then stayed in LA until I had the opportunity to take a promotion in New York. The only thing about the promotion was the hours the job would require, so I had Abby stay in California with Diane while I went to New York. I got a job offer here and both Abby and I were missing each other so much that the only thing to do was to come here together. My hours here are far more reasonable, and I have never been happier, neither has Abby thanks to her new friends.”

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