Life After You And Me

Surreal Contentment

I stand against my new car at my daughter's school, eagerly waiting for her to come out. Myself and other parents are gathered outside and I can't help but feel excited to finally see her reaction when she comes out and sees the car.

This is the first time I'm picking her up at her new school and I can't wait for many more of these moments with her.

We'll get to drive around the city, just her and I, and not worry about money because my amazing boyfriend made sure I have unlimited gas funds for my new ride.

After a very tense few hours at work, I decided to take the rest of the day off to surprise her. I hadn't worked in the morning so it was only fair that those hours be unpaid, despite Evin's disapproval.

I'm the manager now and I need to lead by example.

I also hadn't been claiming my leave days in a while and I figured today was as good a time as any. Plus I needed to celebrate my new appointment with my favorite person in the world.

The minutes tick by as I wait at the school, and finally, the bell rings. The doors burst open and a wave of children flood out, searching for their parents among the crowd. I spot Zoe's familiar face and my heart skips a beat.

As she approaches, her eyes widen in excitement when she sees me. I know it's because she never expects me to pick her up as I didn't have a car and I work impossible hours. Something I plan to change one day.

She runs into my arms and I pick her off the ground to twirl her around, and then finally, the moment of truth arrives.

I lay her gently back on the ground and then move out of the way so she can see her new sibling.

Zoe looks around in confusion, causing me to point her to the car.

"You got a car."
She says casually and I almost scream in frustration at her lacklustre response.

I've been waiting the whole day to show her the car, is she kidding me?

"Well, Evin got it for me, but yes, aren't you excited?"
The glee returns to my face as I finally lead her to the back seat where I continue to show her the name on the car seat.

Her response continues to disappoint me.

"It's just a car mom, dad has like 10 of them."

Even though a part of me is affected by the very clear shade my little child throws at me, I can't help but feel proud that she doesn't seem to think much about the replaceable and materialistic machine we're about to drive around in.

Did she even care that I didn't have a car? Could it be that my daughter is growing up to be humble? It may be too early to tell but her father is certainly not helping her case with how much he spoils her.

I fasten her seatbelt after putting her on the seat. I then climb into the car and proceed to start the engine. As we drive away from the school, I finally reveal the day's plans to her,

"I wanted us to visit Auntie Mimi today, it's been a while"

"At the graveyard?"

"Yes baby, at the graveyard."
I respond, impressed that she remembers.

"Okay, mommy."
She says sweetly and I'm reminded of how much I missed her this week.