In Between

18.

Ellie

I filled out applications and called a few places, but nothing sounded promising. I needed help, and I went to see the person I could get it from. "Hey, daddy" I hug him tight as he opens the door.

"Hey, Smellie," I smile at my childhood nickname. He doesn't use it often, but when he does, my heart gets warm.
"Birdie, Ellie is here!" He yells for my mom, and I groan silently. I could not ask my father for a loan with my mother around. She would be so dramatic.

"My dear, How are you?" she says, squeezing me and kissing my cheeks. "Shouldn't you be at work? Where's Noah? Is everything okay?" she bombards me with questions.

"Mom, Noah is at school. Everything is fine." I roll my eyes and take a seat on the couch.

"I -um, I got fired today," I sigh, waiting for the overreaction by my mother.

"Oh no, Jane, This is not good!" she gasps. "Things are going to get hard. How are you going to feed Noah?"

"Birdie, calm down," My dad says. "Come here, and let's listen to what our daughter is saying, hm?" he pats the spot next to him for my mom to sit.

"Thank you, daddy. I applied to some places. hopefully, I get a callback, but I came here to ask for a loan..." I look at my dad.

"Oh, I mean..." my mom starts, but my dad cuts her off.

"How much do you need, Ellie?" Dad sighs."Baby, can you grab my checkbook?" he asks my mom.

She rolls her eyes and gets up. I hug my dad. "Thank you, daddy" A tear falls onto his shirt. I am so grateful. He always understands me.

"I love you, Ellie, and I want you to take care of yourself. We don't have much, but we will always help you when you need it. Being a single parent is difficult, but you are always strong for that kid, reminding me of my mother." He kisses my forehead.

"Daddy, I -uh, found Noah's father," I whisper, hoping my mother doesn't hear.

"Does he know?"

I nod. "Yeah, we did a DNA test and everything, he was supposed to meet Noah at his soccer game a few days ago, but he never showed up." I shrug and sit back down across from my dad.

"This must be hard on him," he sighs. "You know, he probably is a single guy living his life, and you drop a baby bomb on him. That cannot be easy to deal with."

"He's married," I whisper, and his eyes grow wide.

"Oh, that is... tough," he rests his hand under his chin in deep thought. "I'm so sorry, baby girl. I want you to understand no matter what he decides, we have your back," he finally says. Even my dad realizes I'm in a messed-up situation.

"Honey," My mom walks back into the room and hands him the checkbook. "Do you want something to eat, Jane?" she asks.

"No, mom. Thank you, though. I have to pick up Noah soon anyway" Dad hands me a check, and I stuff it in my purse. "Thank you again, daddy" he stands, and I kiss his cheek. "Bye, mom" I kiss her cheek and walk out the door.

My phone goes off, and I answer it as I rush to Noah's school. "Hello?".

"Hey, Beautiful," I hear a deep familiar voice.

"Kyle, Hi" I smile at the sound of his voice.

"How are you?" he asks.

"I'm great, uh, heading home now," I lied.

"Nice, I can't wait for our date tonight," he says.

Oh shit. I completely forgot about that. "Oh... Um, it isn't a good time," I say. "I'm going through a lot, and I need time alone to figure things out."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he says. "Maybe some other time, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Kyle. I have to go" I hang up the phone. No way I could go out tonight, especially when I have no one to watch Noah, and I need to look for a job.

"Hey, mommy!" Noah shouts as he follows me out of the classroom.

"Hi, My love" I scoop him up in the biggest hug.

"Ellie, Hey!" Rachel Hansen comes up to me.

"Aiden is having a birthday party at Wally's tonight, and we sent an invitation home with Noah, but we never heard anything back," she smiles kindly. I was so busy I forgot all about this stupid party. "Do you think he will be able to come? Aiden wants him to be there."

"Uh, Noah, Do you want to go?" I ask, looking down at him.
"Yeah!" he shouts, jumping up.

"Okay then, I guess he'll be there" I look back at Rachel and nod.

"Fantastic, you can drop him off at 5."

"Will do" I grab Noah's hand, and we go to the car.

"Mommy, My birthday is coming too. Can I have a party?" Noah asks as we drive home.

He was turning four soon, and I had just lost my job. We usually do a party, but this time I don't know how I would even be able to afford anything. "We will try our best to throw you a party, baby," I sigh. "But for now, we must prepare for Aiden's party."
Once we get home, I set my bag down on the table, and Noah runs past me, knocking it on the floor and spilling all the contents of my purse. "Noah, seriously?" I sigh and get down to pick them up.

"Sorry, mommy," he runs into his room.

As I gather all my stuff, I reach for the check my dad gave me, and my eyes almost fall out of my head. It was a check for $10,000. My parents were not wealthy by any means, so I have no idea where my dad got this type of money from.

I pull out my phone to call him. "Hey,"

"Hey, daddy. I think you made a mistake on the check".

He laughs. "It should be $10,000."

"What? How can you afford this?" I ask.

"Don't worry about that, Ellie. It's a gift. It's meant for you. You deserve it. Take care of my grandson and yourself. Hopefully, it can hold you over until you find a new job. I love you" he hangs up the phone.

Thank God for that man.

After I drop Noah off, I get home and grab my laptop and do more job searching. I heard a knock at the door, and I wanted to scream when I saw Kyle. "Oh my God, What are you doing here? How do you know where I live?" I ask, embarrassed that he is seeing me in my pajamas and my hair is a mess.

He smiles. "You texted me your address when we were supposed to be on that date tonight, remember? I know you didn't want to go out, but I wanted to check on you. You look cute, by the way."

"Uh, you could have let me know you were coming," I say, sounding harsher than I wanted to.

"I did, but you never answered," he shrugs.

"I'm sorry, that was rude. I just-uh umm...I have a son, Kyle, and I just lost my job, so you can understand why I didn't feel a date was the right move tonight," I sigh. I know how this will end anyway, so there is no need to waste time.

"I do understand, but you having a son does not bother me, and I'm sorry about your job, but I think you need to talk to someone instead of trying to figure it all out on your own" he walks past me into the house and takes a seat on my couch.

I close the door behind me and smile. His confidence was unusual, but It sure was hot.