Two hours later, we were pulling up to Ella's house. I sent her a text telling her I was outside and she immediately read it. Within minutes Karter was running down the sidewalk, I exited the car, wrapping her in a tight hug.
"You look like a big girl." I stated, Karter was growing up so fast. I know all parents say that about their children, but it was wildly true how quickly kids grew.
"I am!" She replied, with her hand on her cheek. I carried her to the car with Ella following behind with Karter's bag.
As I'm putting Karter in the seat— I hear Ella speak, "Hi, I'm Ella, Karter's mama." She said, initiating a conversation with Ryn.
"Nice meeting you, I'm Lauryn." I was happy there was no attitude, or animosity laced in either girl's voice.
Lauryn turnt in her seat, making Karter's face light up, "Karterrrr!" Lauryn spoke loudly, "Hiii!" I smiled at the small interaction, I grabbed Karter's bag and popped it in the trunk.
"Bye bye, Kay." Ella chimed in, giving Karter a small kiss. As Ella walked back towards the house, her son and boyfriend walked out. I gave lil man a wave, he returned the favor.
Ella She's pretty, I love that for you.
The message wasn't meant to be petty or ignorant. Ella wasn't like that, after we broke things off we stayed cordial for Karter. Ella wasn't the usual bitter baby mama, probably because she ruined everything. The least she could do was not make my life any more of a living hell after that.
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"Where you tryna find a gift?" Cairo asked, I think I wanted to try the mall first. You could always find something there.
"Is the mall okay?" He replied, then drove in the direction of the nearest mall. When we made it to the mall, Cai got Karter out of the car. He held her hand, but she also wanted to hold mine.
We latched our hands, being sure to give them a small swing. The mall was surprisingly empty, aside from the workers, the building was clear.
First we tried the Gucci store, but nothing stuck out. I did see a crossbody purse that I would buy if I couldn't find anything else.
"You like these?" Cairo questioned, holding up a pair of sandals.
"Those are cute." I replied, then continued searching the section.
"What size you wear?" He quizzed, I didn't reply. I didn't want Cairo spending his money on me.
"Huh?" He questioned, "Lauryn." The demand in this voice announced that I wouldn't win.
"Nine." He called over a salesperson to grab the size from the back. He also brought Karter a matching pair, the kid's version was a little prettier.
"I'm hungry." Karter randomly blurted.
"You want nuggets?" I asked, she shook her head agreeing. "We'll get some in just one minute." I assured, while holding up my index finger.
After Cairo paid for the sandals, we went to Chanel. My feet were already hurting, so early. We looked through there for a few minutes, but they hadn't released a new collection so I didn't want to buy anything old.
Next was Saint Laurent, I found a pretty pair of heels. I knew this was the perfect present, walking deeper into the store I found a matching handbag.
"She must be a good ass friend." Cairo commented.
"She has her days." I pointed out, I paid for the gift then Cairo wanted to check out the Louis Vuitton store before we left.
I shopped around and found two pairs of sunglasses for Cairo. I found Karter a necklace that was probably too big, but she'll grow into it.
I got separated from them in the store, but Karter's whining led me to them. I caught back up with Cairo and Karter and his hands were full, covered in some of everything the store sold.
We paid for our stuff, both totals surpassing three thousand dollars. I was feeling good not spending all my money on myself, I loved to give gifts brought with love.
We took all the bags back to the car, "I'm hungry." Karter announced again, deciding against leaving– we hurried back inside to buy food. Cairo carried her, while he held my hand.
"We getting food right now, Kar." I said, hoping to ease her demand. Once she started eating, we got the loud mouth, playful Karter back.
"Ice cream?" She asked, I laughed as Cairo covered his face.
"Yeah, ice cream next." I said, earning a look from Cairo.
"Suck it up." I teased, making him pinch my side. There wasn't an ice cream place in this mall, so we went to a stand alone shop.
"We play outside?" A once silent Karter asked. I stayed out of this decision, partly because I was sleepy.
"Tomorrow, okay?" Cairo suggested.
"Okay." She agreed. We pulled into the parking lot. After getting our order, we sat outside at the picnic table.
Cairo took pictures of Karter, I was starting to realize this girl talked too much. It was always a random, irrelevant topic too.
"Smile, Ryn." Cairo insisted, I hugged Karter and posed for the picture. In the first we simply smiled, then she did duck lips and I put up the peace sign, in the third photo she kissed my cheek and I licked the ice cream, and finally was a group picture. Cairo sat on our side of the bench, with Karter in between us. Everyone kept the picture simple and pretty, all of our pearly whites on full display.
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