Wild Thing

-32-

The next morning, Kasey turns over and hits the button to shut off her alarm before sliding out from under the covers and standing up.

"Don't you ever sleep in?"

Kasey looks down at Jen as she yawns, "Only when a certain brunette shares my bed, not to mention I'm working the early shift today."

"What time are you done at?"

"I have a demo scheduled until 2:30, so I should be home around 3 or a little after. I was planning on taking Kylie to the park to play a little 1 v 1. Do you want to join?"

"Sure. Call your Mom and let her know I'm here, and I'll stay with Ky, so she doesn't need to come over."

"Thanks. I'm sure she'll enjoy having the day off."

"When are you leaving for Washington?"

"Flight leaves Friday at 2:00. By the way, thank you for helping out with Kylie while I'm away."

"No prob."

Kasey finishes putting on her work clothes and then heads into the bathroom to wash up and add some gel to her hair before heading to work.

She returns to the bedroom and collects her bag, "Okay, I'm heading out; do me a favour and feed my kid something other than Kraft Dinner for lunch, okay?"

"No guarantees. Have a good day at work, honey." Jen says with a smile.

Kasey heads out the door and calls her Mom to let her know that Kylie is taken care of or is Jen taken care of? Some days and times, she really isn't sure who looks after who. She hits up the drive-thru and collects a coffee and bagel before making the drive to the craft store.

Waiting to be let inside before the store opening, she takes a sip of her coffee and promptly misses her mouth, resulting in a brown dribble down her shirt. Great, it's going to be one of those days, she thinks. Normally, she isn't a big fan of the aprons that the staff are required to wear at work, but today it will hopefully cover up the mark on her shirt.

Kasey sets up for the first birthday party and waits for the group to arrive. Soon, the small room gets loud as the children and parents arrive to take over the space for the next two hours. Kasey shows them what to do and then lets them have at it. With the parents busy talking amongst themselves and the kids being kids, she tries to stay on top of everything, including the dispensing of paint.

She hears a familiar thunk and looks down to find that in her haste, she's knocked a bottle of paint over and is now modelling some Robin's egg blue on her black pants and running shoes. The paint drips down the table, covering and pools on the floor around her. She shakes her head before grabbing the paper towel and cleaner and doing her best to get the mess cleaned up before anyone steps in or walks through it.

Thankfully, one of the mothers clues into what's happening and offers to help her clean up.

As the group begins to leave, Kasey gets to work on the cleanup and reset for the next party. The woman sticks around and helps her clean up the paper plates and cups left behind.

"Thank you for your help." Kasey smiles at her.

"You're welcome. You're Kasey Wild, right?"

"I am."

"I'm Audrey. My older daughter Taylor goes to school and plays soccer with Kylie."

"Oh right, I remember Kylie talking about her; she's a goalie, right?"

Audrey laughs, "Yeah, for now, but I don't think it will last. Would it be possible to get an autograph for her, she's a big fan of yours."

"Of course." Kasey finds some paper and writes, "Taylor, All the best, Kasey Wild #5." She hands it to Audrey, who thanks her.