All I've Ever Wanted (Rough Draft)

Chapter 2 (Charlotte)

There was almost another world that existed in between Christmas and New Years. It was almost a suspended blur, between past and future. Sometimes it felt like my life existed only in that little static unmoving blur. By this point my work was all muscle memory, taking orders, the coffee, taking food to the table, even the smiling and shallow conversation. I just faded through it all, until my shift was over, or at least lunch time when I got to sit down and have a meal and wonder what I was doing with my life.

"So, Tonya tells me you had a date," my best friend Kevin plops down at the chair on the booth facing me. I let my eyes fall as I used the stale burger I'm chewing to bite back my smile.

He patted his long well manicure bare nails against the table, "So from how she spoke of your little holiday fling, it wasn't Spencer."

My face burned in shame at the mention of Spencer, "No. It wasn't Spencer," I spoke out of the side of my mouth to keep the food inside, "And it wasn't a fling. It was dinner," I chewed, "With a friend."

Kevin's glossed lips pushed together, and his dark eyes narrowed suspiciously at me. The overly dramatic expression humored me.

He then cradled a coffee mug in his hands pushing his lips into a kiss face to plow away the smoke and as he sipped slurped loudly. I covered my mouth as I cackled into my hand. His eye lids lowered as he set his mug down, "I was told you came home awfully late young lady."

I rolled my eyes, a part of me was offended, but I tried to remember Kevin was only playing around. I was so used to people treating me like a child, even though I was an adult and a mother. Kevin was considerably older than me. He was actually in his forties, even though he didn't act like it. On the outside he was very well aging black man with hints of grays in his small afro, but inside he was a operatic diva named Ms. Anya, that was somewhere in her late-twenties, or early thirties in the high light of her career, or maybe older, and reminiscing on those glory days of her career.

He tossed his head to the side in dramatic 'Anya' fashion, "So spill," He said, "Why did you beat Santa Claus home? And don't tell me you went anywhere, because that late on Christmas everything is closed, except for legs."

I leaned in grabbing his hand, "I didn't sleep with him if that's what you're insinuating." I whispered.

"Then why are you grinning like the cat who got the cream?" He gave me an urging smile.

"There is nothing to tell. I went to his place, we got coffee, and talked. Just like you and me do all the time." I took a swig of soda through my straw, "He was a nice guy that wanted some company for Christmas. He probably just missed his family."

"You tell him about your son?"

I looked up at Kevin. The memory of Kyle and Auggie playing together Christmas afternoon had already started to put a smile on my lips.

"What was that?"

I shook my head. I pushed my lips together, "What was what?"

His eyes narrowed, "So what did Auggie think about this handsome stranger whisking his mother away on Christmas Eve of all days?"

"There was no whisking." I snorted, "And he made it up to Auggie anyway." My head fell bashfully, "The next day."

Kevin's eyes rounded and a smirk appeared on his lips, "The next day? So you had two date?"

"There were zero dates." I laughed, "We had a friendly dinner, he came by, got Auggie a football, and they threw it around at the park."

Kevin made a loud humming sound, "They threw a football?" He rested his head on his fist, "How male bonding-ish. Did he fill out a stepdad applications on his way out?"