I'll be There for You

Chapter 7: Paid in Full

"I have no idea," Hayley replied. "Haven't heard from him. I have too many things to do right now. And he's a very busy man."

"Why don't you call him? I mean it doesn't look like you're doing anything right now," Davina pointed out as she raised her eyebrows with a defiant look on her face.

"I do so have things to do. Lots of things to do. For one thing I plan to start up a catering business," Hayley told Davina who sat up straight.

"Really? That would be great. I'm so happy for you. When are you planning on beginning? Do you have any clients? Or employees?" Taking a breath, Davina's eyes widened. "And how are you going to get the money to start with?"

Smiling, Hayley shrugged. "Oh, I have my ways."

"You mean you have a mysterious benefactor?" Davina inquired. "All Cinderella like."

"Cinderella," Hope sang. "I want to watch Cinderella." Beginning to jump up and down on the couch, Hope clapped her hands as Hayley walked over to grab the DVD off the shelf.

"Sit down," Hayley ordered as she placed the DVD into the player. Hope flopped down and grabbed a pillow, placing it on top of her lap and laying on her stomach. Walking into the kitchen, Hayley pulled out a glass. "So, what's his name?"

Turning around, Hayley gave Davina a knowing look as the girl came into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "Do you have any cheese? And his name is Tim."

"Top drawer," Hayley replied. "He plays the violin. Did you talk to him?"

"Yes, I mean a little. I had my eye on Hope the whole time," Davina was saying as she eased the top drawer open and pulled out a wedge of Swiss.

Hayley pulled open a drawer and took out a cheese slicer. "Do you want crackers with that?"

"Yes," a voice called from the living room. "And hot cocoa."

"Right," Davina added with another grin. "He was really sweet."

"First love," Hayley said knowingly.

Davina nodded, her grin widening as she began to slice the cheese. "Oh, yes, he is definitely first love worthy. Not like the guys in high school. Ugh, Oliver. He was so nice and then he turned into a jerk... But Tim is quiet and shy. He's just so..."

"Unique?" Hayley's eyebrows rose as Davina looked thoughtful.

"Yeah, I think so. I don't. I mean I guess we'd have to spend more time for me to figure out whether I'm right about him. But I think this could be awesome. I've never felt this excited about meeting someone before this. Have you ever felt that way?" Davina asked as she placed the cheese in a circle on top of a plate that Hayley placed in front of her.

"No, not really," Hayley told her with a shake of her head.

Then it occurred to her that she did feel that way about someone. She felt that way about Elijah. However, he was not someone that she could have something lasting with. He was her daughter's uncle. They were better off as either friends or nothing at all. If she spent too much time with him then that would mean that she would have to be around Klaus and he might decide that he wanted that she had not done a good enough job with Hope and that he and Caroline could do much better...

Shoving the thought out of her head, Hayley turned around and grabbed the empty coffee pot. Walking over to the sink, she filled the pot with water and then walked back over to the coffee maker to warm the water. Pushing the button to turn the coffee maker on, she moved to pull down three mugs.

'Chocolate, mugs, spoons, water,' Hayley listed in her head silently. Minus any bills that needed to be paid meant that she could actually sit down and relax for five minutes. But who was her mysterious benefactor and did she really want to know that answer. If she found out that it was Elijah she might begin to feel guilty. That would mean that he was looking out for her.