Balance, Baby

Chapter 29

2 years later

"Holden, grab the little cereal puffs. She loves those," I pushed the cart looking at the rest of the snacks on the shelves.

"Yummy!" Ryleigh cheered. She was sitting in the cart, kicking her feet. She kicked me over and over again.

"Baby, I don't like that, remember? It hurts me," I blocked her foot before it hit me again.

"Sowwy Mama," She kicked softer so that she wasn't hitting me anymore.

"It's okay, love. Just try to be more careful, okay?" I grabbed something else off of the shelf.

Ryleigh was almost 3 now, she was talking and walking. She's already potty trained too, she goes to preschool next year. She grew up entirely too fast for me. Holden and I didn't live together anymore. I got promoted at work and made enough to pay for the apartment by myself. He and I didn't get along super well, so he moved out. I turned his old room into Ryleigh's. But Holden took her every weekend and watched her while I worked. I had her on Saturdays for most of the day, and I picked her back up on Monday after work. It worked out well enough for me. His mom was her favorite person in the world, it was heartwarming to see them together. She called her Nana Shelly.

Holden and I were currently shopping before she left with him for the rest of the weekend. I always made little excuses to spend more time with her. This week, my excuse was that I told her I'd buy her favorite snacks at the store before she went to her dad's house. But Holden was completely unamused.

"Okay, we have lots more snacks at the house. Are you ready to go see Nana Shelly, Ry?" Holden was enthusiastic.

"Nana!" She squealed.

"Okay, okay. Let's go pay for the snacks and say goodbye," I said, pushing the cart.

"Wait! Canny!" Ryleigh yelled. She meant to say candy.

"Candy?" I asked.

"Yes, canny!" She bounced up and down.

"Okay, how about we get a lollipop. But you have to be careful and not make a sticky mess, okay?" I reminded her.

"You let her have candy?" Holden scoffed

"Yeah, just make sure you help her brush her teeth good. It's fine," I brushed it off.

"Since when has she just been eating candy?" He argued.

I rolled my eyes and looked at him, "Since I decided to give her some. It's fine. It's not like I give her candy all the time."

"Well she certainly knows how to ask for it," He continued on.

"Hey Ryleigh, how about you and daddy go pick some candy from the candy section. You can get anything you want," I smiled at her and picked her up out of the cart.

"Yay!" She squealed, reaching for Holden's hand. I was trying to prove a point, she was only going to pick one or two things. She liked candy, but it was 'too much' for her. She couldn't even finish a Dum Dum half the time.

"I'll meet you at the front, I gotta grab stuff for myself," I told him. After I finished grabbing everything I needed, I made my way to the front. From a distance I saw Holden holding Ryleigh, talking to some guy. As I approached them I heard their conversation.

"Yeah, I have a daughter too. She's the same age as you," The guy said, talking to Ryleigh.

"Really? What's her name?" Holden asked him.

"Her name is Faith. She's with her mom," He explained, "What's your name?"

"Her name's Ryleigh. She's a bit shy," Holden chuckled.