Florecer

In The Game

     Danny kicked at the passenger seat absentmindedly and Lily allowed it, knowing he'd stop if she told him to, or if someone took the seat. Thankfully, as Danny's kicking was getting on her nerves, she managed to escape the horde of mom vans and single dad convertibles, and was on her way to the family place Tracy wanted her to take Danny. She wasn't sure how she was going to handle being there, but she wasn't going to let Tracy down.

     The parking lot there was relatively full but Lily found a free space in the meager shade of a scraggly tree. Out of the car and walking, Danny talked about his day, holding hands with Lily. Lily enjoyed hearing about this or that, what happened with this kid, what that teacher taught. It was nice to hear from a kid sometimes.

     Sometimes.

     When they stepped inside the establishment, an explosion of children's screams and parent's shouts to be heard hit Lily hard. She rubbed her ear with her free hand in response. She had expected the place to be full since it was after school, but not so soon. She guessed there was a birthday.

     Danny held tight to Lily's hand as she looked around for some kind of clue as to what to do now that she was present. Luckily she spotted June waving from across the way, beckoning her over to a crowded table occupied by other parents. There were four other women there along with two men. They all studied Lily as she approached, and continued to look as she let Danny run off to his friends near the play place. He hugged her leg before leaving and she rubbed his head, promising to get him when Tracy arrived.

     "This is Lily," June introduced when Lily was close enough to the group. "Tracy's sister."

     The group shifted around to make room for Lily, which happened to be directly beside June. Lily didn't mind, mostly because she'd rather be around someone that she had at least some semblance of familiarity with. She wasn't entirely comfortable but she figured it could be worse.

     When the group resettled, June introduced everyone else. There was Donna, a woman with a one dimpled smile, Lacey, one of the younger moms, Nat, wearing a two year old on her lap, Samantha, flashing a wedding ring bigger than her eye, Joseph, whose husband was ordering the pizza and getting drinks, and lastly Charlie, a newly single father. June expressed that fact to Lily with a slight nod. Lily felt her skin crawl.

     "June was telling us how good you are with Danny, and Christina, too," Donna was saying to start things up again. Lily had taken out her phone discreetly to check for any messages from Tracy. There was none. "How do you know how to handle children so well? Tracy says you're not a mom yourself."

"It's really not that hard," Lily said. She had to speak up and repeat herself to be heard over all the noise. It gave her a slight headache. "Treat them like people."

     "Sounds easy when you say it like that."

     Lily smiled thinly and retreated into herself. The other adults talked around her, sharing parenting secrets. She idly listened to potty training tactics, manner training, focus exercising, and cleanliness dos and donts. Most of it sounded like the perfect ways to train a puppy. It was boring and technical, so Lily kept her attention on the entrance, wanting to see Tracy come through. Her thoughts were on her work, though. It couldn't wait forever, and she had at least three clients backlogged, their half paid web designs incomplete in her mind. It was work that took time and patience, but she was good at it. That and it was something she could do from home while making great money.

     Sighing, Lily held her chin in a cupped hand, her elbow in the table, and stared outside. It was the perfect position that allowed her to be both open and closed without being entirely rude.