Second Chances [Lesbian]

Chapter 38

Sitting in traffic while I was on a time crunch was wearing on my nerves. Whitney was already at the rink with Lola and her mom to start getting everything ready. Cameron was picking up balloons and I was on cake duty which meant that I had to drive the extra 45 minutes out of town to the little bakery Cameron had recommended.

They had sent a picture the night before and it was perfect. I knew Eliza would love it. Bright, fun colors and a golden number 10. Getting the cake was the only thing on my list, so I tried to just relax while traffic seemed to crawl along.

Eliza had figured out what girls to invite and had insisted that the boys in her class would just "ruin everything", which had made us both laugh and wonder how differently she might feel at her next birthday. She wanted glow-in-the-dark and neon and nothing "babyish" like mermaids or unicorns or any kind of animal or character.

She kept the same thoughts when we had planned and then done her birthday session. She chose her own outfit and just wanted to take pictures at her favorite ice cream place. "But not too many" pictures, because she didn't want people to think she was "weird or something". I had managed some genuine smiles and couldn't help but get teary seeing the young girl behind the lens when once there had been a gap-toothed smile, and before that a pair of cat ears that she insisted on wearing everywhere and even before then when she'd been a chubby-cheeked toddler and a drooly baby with big brown eyes.

I glanced at one of her new pictures that was now the wallpaper on my phone. She'd let me braid her usually messy hair and the image captured her mid-laugh while holding her ice cream cone. I had made a "lame joke", but my own laughter and insistence that I was the "CEO of lame jokes" had earned me both an eye roll and then a genuine laugh when I followed it up with "That ain't it" when I looked at the back of my camera.

When GPS finally announced that I'd be arriving in 5 minutes, I was relieved. I easily found a parking spot a couple feet away and headed towards the brightly colored awning of For Goodness Cakes. The sunlight on my shoulders instantly warmed me and when I stepped inside I was surrounded by the best aromas in the world. Freshly baked, sweet and just like I imagined someone's grandma's kitchen would smell.

I walked up to the counter and gave the girl behind the register my name.

"Oh, that one was so fun to make."

"I absolutely love it. My daughter will be excited when she sees it."

She stepped away to grab it for me and came back with a big pink box that she opened for me to inspect before she tied it closed.

"Hope she has a great birthday!"

"Thank you." I smiled at her before carefully maneuvering the box out of the door. It was only a short distance to my car, but I was so worried that my clumsy self would drop it. I was focused on getting it into the passenger seat, using my purse and anything else to keep it from moving once I started driving.

Sliding into the driver's seat, I grabbed my phone to set the GPS to the skating rink and as I looked up, my gaze drifting to the passing crowd, I felt like all the air was being sucked out of my lungs. I froze in a panic and felt a cold sweat break out across my forehead. As if in slow motion, I watched the tall man walk closer and closer, completely unaware as he talked into the cellphone pressed to his ear.

I pushed myself into my seat, trying to control my wildly beating heart that didn't want to believe what my eyes were seeing. As he got closer, it was unmistakable. The amber color was magnified by the sunlight. My throat felt tight and I clawed at the collar of my shirt, desperately pulling it away from my neck. I felt like I would pass out as he walked right past my car, but he never even glanced my way. He continued his brisk pace and in those few seconds, I pulled myself out of the car quickly.