It was a warm, sunny fall evening in Boston, Massachusetts, around 6 PM. The neighborhood was quiet, only the occasional sounds of birds chirping or the light crunching sounds of leaves gracefully falling on the ground outside... Serene, but beautiful. The most calming time of the year.
Inside of a basic one story house stood a 12 year old girl named Ellie. A top notch middle school basketball player who battled moderate asthma.
She lived with her mother, Anna, who worked as a former nurse losing her job to her pregnancy. Despite Anna's financial struggles sometimes, she made ends meat to see to it that Ellie never went without. Ellie absolutely loved her mother though and their relationship was among the sweetest little things...
Now, Anna worked full time as a basketball coach at Ellie's middle school, but did occasionally consider returning to the hospital to stabilize life on the money front. For now, Ellie's career as an athlete came first and Anna was never one to argue with that statement.
Ellie remained inside of her personal lair, beginning to get ready for her first official day of basketball practice.
Admittedly, she was anxious, attempting to lightly smack away her shakiness as if it was going to stop, "Goddamnit, quit shaking! It's not that bad..."
Ellie hissed, lacing up her brand new basketball sneakers and combing through her hair with a hairbrush.
Sadly, Ellie was no stranger to the blood soaked scourge that was physical and verbal bullying throughout the hallways of school. Ellie was by no means a perfect student. She had the classes she excelled in, like band and science, and the classes that weren't so easy, like math and history.
Although Ellie loved the mountainous amount of topics that came with history, her teacher was awful and failed her out of spite for getting into a fist fight with another student.
That was on them though, for attempting to steal Ellie's inhaler. Thankfully, Ellie's best friend Riley always seemed to be there to put an end to it.
With all of this in mind, coupled with the incoming nerves of her first seasonal basketball practice, Ellie continued the tedious process of brushing her hair.
Suddenly, her brush accidentally ran into the fresh cut on her eyebrow from earlier on in the day when someone smacked their locker door into Ellie's face. She had attempted to cover it up with a bandage to avoid telling her mom the truth, but she had too eventually. Quicker than she would realize, "Ow, son of a bitch!"
So many nerves traipsed their way into Ellie's thoughts, hammering at her brain as if to tell her, "You need to tell your mom about the bullying. If you don't, you'll never succeed at basketball and prove those fuckers wrong!"
To this heart shattering realization, Ellie couldn't hold anything back. As much as she would've yearned to keep the truth as far away from her mother as possible, she couldn't. Not anymore...
Ellie began to breathe very heavily, her breath catching in her lungs similar to the start of the breathless scourge known as asthma attacks. Or as Ellie called them... "Asshole Attacks."
Her feet compulsively hopped against the floorboards beneath her, triggering Ellie to squeeze her eyes shut. She hardly ever let her unshed tears drop below her eyelids, but right now, it was proving to be difficult. Her eyes filled with the hot, burning thunderstorm that battled her brain hard enough to give her a splitting migraine...
So, what else could Ellie do? She had to let them fall. She has no choice now...
"Just let it out. No stopping it now."
Ellie started to sob so loudly that it could wake up a passed out infant in a matter of seconds. However, her moderate asthma could've been easily triggered, so Ellie had to be extra careful for obvious reasons
This triggered Anna to come running into her little girls bedroom, nervously clutching an inhaler thinking that was the issue.
Seeing Ellie in such hysterics caused her heart to fall in shambles, immediately pulling her close, "Oh, darling... What's wrong?"
Through multiple waves of heaving breaths, Ellie gripped the inhaler from Anna's hand and chucked it across the room, crying harder.
So, clearly an asthma attack wasn't the problem at hand. Instead of getting angry, Anna kneeled down in front of her, stroking her cheek in a loving fashion, "Hey... Hey, don't cry, sweetheart. Mama's here. What's going on?"
Her beautiful little girl was unfortunately gasping for air, but this finally triggered Anna to place her hand above Ellie's heart. Internally taking her heart rate, a convenient little talent she inherited as a nurse...
Unsurprisingly, Ellie's heart rate was through the roof, thumping against Anna's hand exactly how it sounded on the ultrasound machine before she was born, "Holy shit..."
Now, Anna knew what was wrong without a second thought, but not exactly what was triggering it, "Come on, monkey... Take a deep breath. Pay attention to mama's voice."
Ellie's slightly small fingers gripped around the hem of Anna's jacket collar, wrapping both arms around her mothers neck.
She began to sob so hard that it could've induced vomit if she hadn't been careful. Hearing her little girl cry for an unforeseen reason broke Anna's heart, but now she had to get down to the roots about why.
Placing a soft kiss to Ellie's forehead, she spoke quietly into Ellie's ear, "Talk to mama, sweetheart. It'll be okay. You're my brave girl. It hurts my heart to see you upset."
Hearing Ellie's answer sent chills down Anna's spine, "I'm getting bullied, mama!"
Ellie was notoriously known for having no filter, but who could've possibly been harassing her little girl? Ellie was by no means the perfect student, but she had only a class or two that she wasn't great at. History and math weren't her best subjects, although this situation was deeper than just in the classroom.
Anna had to fight off the urge to beat the asses of whoever was hurting her baby, but those thoughts were quickly replaced by her loving personality.
She tried her best to calmly compose her anger before speaking, "Why are you being bullied, monkey? Is that why you have a bandage on your forehead?"
Ellie nodded at her mothers second question, having to take a moment to mentally prepare an answer to that first question.
She took a deep, shaky breath, whimpering softly throughout her sentence, "Someone smashed a locker door in my face! They're always making fun of me for being the coaches daughter. Me being the captain isn't based off of that. It's based off of how good I am at basketball. I'm so scared to go to practice, mama! I don't wanna go!"
Hearing that Ellie didn't want to do something that had always made her happy caused Anna to frown. She was a mixture of all sorts of different emotions, leaving her in some sort of trance. Ellie always came first before anything else though, Anna's anger included, "If you go to practice, I'll be there with you. If you make it through practice, mama will take you out for ice cream afterwards. How does that sound, sweetheart?"
Ice cream made everything better, Ellie couldn't deny that, "Okay, mama. Can you help me do my hair? That forehead cut really hurts..."
Anna's "Mama Bear" personality kicked in at full swing, completely taking over her internal anger, "Of course! Can I see that cut first?"
Of course, Ellie knew what was coming, so she willing uncovered the wound, nodding softly, "Yeah..."
Unsurprisingly, Anna ran her fingertips over the wound, leaning forward to kiss it, "There we go. All better?"
As much as Ellie used to think this side of her mom was annoying, she needed the motherly side of Anna right now, "Yeah." She replied, handing Anna a hair tie and hairbrush.
Anna smiled softly, taking the offering hair accessories and beginning to comb through her daughters hair, "There's my happy baby..." She cooed softly, combing her hair back into a high ponytail, "Are you ready to kick ass on that court tonight?"
Ellie giggled quietly, giving her mom a playful high five, "Hell yeah! Let's go, mom." She answered, groaning softly when Anna placed a new bandage on the forehead wound.
Anna placed another kiss to the top of the brand new bandage, pulling her car key lanyard over her head, "That's my girl!" Anna smiled, placing her wallet and cellphone into her yoga pants pocket.
Ellie threw her backpack on her back, slipping her phone into her shorts pocket, "Let's go."
The drive to the local middle school wasn't very eventful. Moderate to occasional traffic, only the soft sounds of Pearl Jam illuminating from the radio... Now, Ellie finally felt at ease, "I'm gonna make basketball my bitch tonight..."
As Ellie stepped out of the car, Anna speed walked ahead to open the door for her. Today, Riley wasn't able to show up to watch her girlfriend practice, but Ellie didn't mind. Riley was her number one supporter despite their countless dumb arguments. That was one thing Ellie absolutely adored about her "best friend..."
Once Anna headed inside, she noticed her boss, Joel, standing in the gym doorway inflating basketballs, "Hey, Anna! Hey, Ellie!"
Ellie waved with a smile, however Anna immediately blushed a crimson red color, trying to cover it up with a cheeky smile, "Hey, boss!"
Ellie followed suit behind her mom, getting underhanded a basketball and starting to dribble her way down the court.
It only took about 20 minutes for the remaining team members to show up, but Anna remained seated on the bleachers, watching Ellie show her dream sport who the real boss was, "Dunk it, baby girl! You've got it."
Ellie immediately looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but the blank expression on her face caused the oldest girl on the team to start laughing, "Awww, what's wrong, Ellie? Too chicken to dunk that ball? Hand it over and I'll show you who the captain should be!"
This particular girl in question was always terrified of Anna, but covered up her ego well with a fake mentality. She was just about as fake as that shit eating grin on her face. If Anna had it her way, her face would be the blood tasting grin instead, replaced with a lip quivering pout.
Ellie's face went from a blank expression to a straight up angry, determined glare. With a deep breath, Ellie jumped for the hoop, dunking the basketball perfectly without a moment of doubt.
Anna blew her whistle, yelling at this girl loud enough to scare her, "HEY! Talk to my daughter like that again and you're off the team, period!"
Thankfully, with Joel as her boss, Anna never had to worry about losing her job due to defending her daughter. Maybe it was because Joel understood as a parent himself... Or maybe he secretly had the hots for Anna. Maybe even both...
The bully of the team immediately headed out of the gymnasium, leaving Anna with the luxury of freely watching Ellie play. Something that she loved to see, no matter how many times she had watched Ellie play throughout the years. It was something that never seemed to get old and Anna loved seeing her daughter seek out passion.
Anna stood on the sidelines, watching her team practice while continuing Joel's duty of inflating basketballs.
He walked over to Anna, offering a hand to help her with the basketballs, "Hey, I'll take over from here. You go ahead and sit down, Anna. You did good dealing with that girl, by the way. Sarah has had issues with her too."
Anna always loved when someone would compliment her parenting. Helping out other people's kids unknowingly was such a good feeling, but hearing Joel thank her without actually saying the words spoke volumes.
Anna nodded, allowing Joel the opportunity to assist her while she continued coaching from the sidelines.
All the young 32 year old mother wanted to do was glance at Joel one more time to see his heart stopping smile. Although now, when she took her chance to look, every muscle in her abdomen tightened with the familiar feeling of fear.
She began to nervously pace around the court, taking stressful laps as she nervously watched the scoreboard clock reach zero, signifying the end of today's practice.
Watching everyone run out of the gym to change their clothes left Anna sweating profusely to the point of hyperventilation. Everything around her was a blurry disaster, triggering Anna to do something that would get her the award for "the coach who puked during practice."
Joel luckily stood a few feet away from her, rushing to her side upon noticing her uneasiness, "Anna, are you alright?..."
Seeing the man she had a massive crush on sealed the deal for Anna, causing acid to burn at the surface of her throat.
She turned around before she could try and utter the words out, starting to vomit on the basketball court.
Instead of freaking out, Joel did what any man would do. Of course, grabbing a trashcan wasn't needed now because it was too late, but he did start to rub her back, allowing her to finish while only saying one last thing, "Sweetheart, it's okay. I've got you..."
After the random bought of sickness passed, Anna wiped her mouth on her hand, watching the janitor come in to clean up the mess.
After the janitor had left, Anna couldn't hold back her tears, starting to cry out of sheer embarrassment.
Like always, Joel was right there to provide much needed comfort. He placed an arm around Anna's shoulders, pulling her closer, "Hey, hey... Don't cry, sweetheart. It happens to the best of us. Don't be embarrassed..."
Joel whispered, rubbing a hand up and down Anna's stomach to try and soothe her discomfort. Although, Anna wasn't about to admit the real reason why she threw up though.
She was enjoying this moment far too much to destroy it by saying "Oh, hey, by the way, I like you."
Besides, Joel had a daughter and despite knowing Sarah pretty well already, Anna wasn't sure if Sarah would like the direction their relationship would eventually take. However, that nagging feeling would get better with time...
Anna's tears were quick to turn to smiles, receiving a light laugh from Joel in response, "Are you gonna be okay to drive home, or do you want me to take you?"
Despite still not feeling too great, Anna always had a trashcan in the front seat of her car. Everyone had their own personal party trick and Anna's just so happened to be "making sure she had a barf bag at all times because pregnancy was hell."
Since she didn't want to ask her boss to take her home, Anna politely declined his offer instead, "No, thank you. I'll see you at work on Monday."
Anna answered, seeing Ellie frantically run over to her spitting her words out quicker than Anna could think, "Mama, are you okay?! I heard you throw up..."
Through heavy drowsiness, Anna nodded, pulling her little girl in for a much needed hug, "Yeah, I'm okay, honey. Let's go get you that ice cream. You earned it!"
Ellie excitedly nodded, waving at Joel before walking out of the gym tucked underneath her mothers arm. Her most beloved place to be...
Anna wished she could've been shocked that Joel followed behind them, but in hindsight, she was glad. She didn't want to risk having to pull over to throw up again.
Joel sat in the drivers seat of Anna's car, after helping her step into her seat and making sure Ellie was safely buckled in, "I know I didn't have to drive you guys home, but I wanted too."
Anna's arm securely wrapped around Joel's left bicep, leaning her head up against his arm. She wasn't usually this lovey dovey, but her impending sickness was a huge contributing factor, "Thank you."
During the drive to the nearby ice cream shop, Anna didn't feel another wave of nausea. Although, watching Ellie eat her frozen treat was amongst Anna's most beloved memories.
Sadly, as much as Anna loved ice cream, she couldn't eat hers. Not yet anyway. Her stomach was still tying itself in knots and she knew that if food of any type went down, it would come right back up... Similar to the early stages of pregnancy and morning sickness.
Even Joel took quick notice of Anna not showing interest in her favorite frozen delicacy, "Don't you wanna eat, Anna?"
Anna slowly shook her head, one hand draped over her aching stomach and the other parked on the center console, "N-No, I'll eat later..."
Joel frowned, hating to see that Anna didn't want to eat. He was always that employer who made sure his employees could eat when they couldn't afford it. Furthermore, he knew about Anna's financial related issues. Right now, he wanted Anna to try and eat, even if it meant going out and buying them dinner.
With a soft sigh, Joel placed a loving kiss to Anna's forehead, pulling up to the driveway of her house, "Alright. Call me if you need anything, Anna Banana. I'll be home for the rest of the night."
As much as Anna hated that goofy nickname, she couldn't laugh at it or even roll her eyes. She only nodded, feeling entirely too weak to do anything.
Thankfully, Ellie walked ahead of her, unlocking the front door and opening it, "Here, mama. I'm gonna go call Riley. You go lay down. Come get me if you need anything."
Anna nodded slowly, parking herself on the couch and kicking her feet up on the coffee table. She turned on the television to her favorite show, barely able to pay attention due to how weak she felt.
Ellie remained in her bedroom, checking her phone while she waited for Riley to call her. However, an anonymous text from Joel popped through instead, "Hey there, kiddo! It's Joel. What do you and your mom want for dinner? I wanted to do something nice and I feel bad that she got sick..."
Although Ellie was raised to never trust strangers, Joel most assuredly was not a stranger. Not in the slightest.
Usually, she would've asked Anna about these things before she responded, but a gut feeling told her that Anna was likely passed out on the couch, "Hey! I like french fries and nuggets and mom is the same way, but she loves barbecue sauce. We both drink MTN dew too. That's our favorite drink. I'm sure she'll appreciate this! Thanks, coach!"
Ellie had been raised to appreciate the finer things in life, so of course she was going to say yes to this request without asking her mom first.
The young middle school athlete waited 30 minutes while on the phone with Riley until Joel pulled up outside.
She met him at the door, coyly asking "What's the password?" Receiving an immediate nod of amusement from Joel, "Old fart?" He guessed, receiving a laugh in return, "I asked for the password. Not to tell me your problems."
Joel smirked, letting out a quiet chuckle, "Ah, you little shit. I figured I could stay here for the night so you're not by yourself with your mom. It's the least I can do."
Ellie smiled widely, loving the idea of company because she hated being by herself. Put simply... She didn't want to end up alone.
The young girl gladly allowed Joel to enter, pointing at the table in the kitchen, "Put everything there. I'll wake mom up."
Shockingly, Joel shook his head, placing the food down on the table, "No, it's okay, sweetie. Go eat your food. I'll check on your mom."
Ellie could never pass up the opportunity to find an excuse to talk to Riley on the phone, so she took up that offer right away, "Cool! Thanks, coach."
Ellie responded, grabbing her bag of food and her beverage before scurrying down the hallway to her bedroom.
Joel smiled, hearing Ellie's bedroom door close and heading over to the couch where Anna was passed out cold.
He placed her food down on the coffee table beside her feet, lightly shaking her awake, "Hey, sweetheart... Wake up. I brought you dinner."
Anna's eyes began to flutter open, a subtle smile spreading from ear to ear, "Hey. You didn't have to do this. Ellie told you too, didn't she?" Anna asked, gently sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
Joel shook his head, "Actually, no. I texted her asking what you guys wanted for dinner. I felt bad about what happened at work."
Anna would've typically gone on one of her "you shouldn't blame yourself" tangents, but she was far too exhausted to even mutter out those words. Especially in front of the man of her dreams, "Thank you. I don't wanna eat though, Joel..."
Although this response wasn't a total shock, Joel was adamant that she should try to eat. He smiled, placing his palm up against her cheek, "Darlin, it'll help your stomach. Please try a little bit..."
With that said, Joel took out a bag of French fries, smiling softly, "Here comes the plane..."
He began making adorable little airplane noises, triggering Anna to actually eat the French fry from his fingers.
She laughed lightly, taking a sip from her soda to help swallow it down, "Thank you, Joel. It's helping a little bit."
Joel laughed quietly, tossing his car keys onto the coffee table and plopping down beside Anna, "You're welcome, sweetheart. I gave Sarah permission to stay home alone tonight so I could come take care of you. Even if you throw up again, I'll be right here."
Well, this was nice. Anna finally finding someone who treated her right. Something she didn't have while she was pregnant or while she was briefly married to Marlene. Maybe Joel was the one for her after all...
Anna continued to eat her food, removing her hair from the sweat soaked ponytail after she finished her dinner, "Ugh..."
Joel seemed to know a lot about hair, obviously from being a girl dad, "Want me to brush it for you, Anna?"
Anna politely declined once more, discreetly brushing her hair out and beginning a nice, neat fishtail braid down the side of her head.
Joel was always the guy to admit to his starring, but Anna knew that firsthand without even needing to ask why.
Joel watched with a look filled with admiration for the beautiful lady in front of him, watching closely as she placed her head upon his shoulder.
They both knew now what was happening, but didn't want to admit to it too quickly...
Joel gently moved Anna's head down to his lap, beginning to sing one of Anna's favorite songs, True Faith.
Once Anna began to sing along with him, he was quick to stop her, "Shhh, hey... Close your eyes, sweetheart. No talking."
As hard as it was to protest against Joel, Anna couldn't now that she had a loving man like him at her disposal.
Anna slowly began to shut her eyes, letting out a quiet series of light whimpers every few minutes because her food was struggling to digest properly.
Even if it got him nowhere in the end, Joel was simply glad that he was able to talk Anna into eating after such an embarrassing experience.
He carefully placed a trash can with a fresh bag next to the couch in case of emergencies, continuing to sing while gently rubbing circular motions around Anna's stomach.
He may have not been the "perfect man," or the "perfect father," but there was a fine line between a great man and a perfect man and all Joel ever wanted to do was meet somewhere in the middle for Anna and Ellie. After all, they didn't deserve the struggles thrown in their way. However, Joel admired that about the iconic mother and daughter duo.
All he could hope for now was that his efforts to make Anna and Ellie feel complete were enough. Soon enough, he would find the answer to be exactly what he had yearned for ever since Sarah's mom passed away. Love, freedom and living life to the fullest.
He wasn't going to stop until he made the lives of Ellie and Anna a bit easier, even if it killed him on the inside and outside.