After Friday Night [Friday Night Lights]

One - Break

The baby won't stop crying.  No matter what he does, the baby won't stop.

He rushes around the kitchen, trying to get the bottle ready in hopes that will do the trick.  He's already tried that once with no luck but he's back to square one for peace and quiet.  Changing the diaper didn't help, putting her down for a nap sure as hell didn't work, and pressing the buttons on the toys to bring lights and sounds didn't help either.  When she first started crying, his first instinct was a bottle.  She shoved it away from him and squealed away from the nipple of the bottle and screamed louder.  

There's empty dishes in the sink and on the counter, bills stacked up on the table, and clothes that need to be washed.  Between his job at the art studio and the baby, Matt doesn't have a whole lot of time to worry about housekeeping.  

When the bottle is ready, he jogs over to the baby sitting in the bouncy chair.  Bending down with a big grin, he holds the bottle out to the baby girl, who's still crying and screaming.  "Here you go, a nice, warm bottle." he says in a baby voice.  Touching her open mouth with the nipple, she finally stops crying and sucks down on it.  He breathes a sigh of relief as he plops down in front of her, watching her drink the milk.  His heart hurts.  Every time he looks at her, his heart breaks more.  It's like every time he watches her, he finds a new feature that belongs to her mother, it makes his heart break more.  He even wonders most of the time how he's still living, his heart has never been broken this bad.

Taking advantage of the rare opportunity, he stands up and walks a few inches to the kitchen table made out of a few pallets he built himself.  The apartment is a mess, just like his life.  Picking up letter by letter, he reads to himself who they're from.  The water bill, electricity, car payment, rent... the list never ends.  How is he going to be able to pay for the baby's up coming doctor check up?  Sure that's six months from now but since there's only one income, it's harder to pay for things.  He has to pick and choose.  It's how it's been for the past year and a half.  

The baby makes a happy noise and he looks down to see her smiling, it makes him smile.  He loves that little girl.  He thought he knew what love was but he didn't know he was capable of loving another human this much until she came along and changed everything.  It was a blessing in disguise and on most lonely nights, he's thankful to have that little baby sleeping in the room beside his.  Even though he's alone now, he has the baby to keep him company.

There's a knock on the door that takes his thoughts off everything he's faced with.  Walking past the baby who's drinking the bottle again, he steps in front of the door and grips the handle.  He didn't order food and hasn't talked to anyone since she left him.  Wondering who it is, he opens the door and his heart stops.  Unable to form a sentence, his mouth drops at the brunette woman standing in front of him with a tear stained face.  Her lip quivers as she tries to hold the rest of her tears in.  

"Matt," she says.  "I want to come home."

********************

The sun is shining bright today and it feels like the beginning of summer.

Lyla Garrity walks out of the doors to her apartment building with a smile.  Wearing a floral skirt and a white shirt tucked in, she makes her way down the streets of Downtown Nashville with a smile.  Passing a few shops, she opens the door to her favorite coffee shop.  Jazz, the barista, gives her a warm smile when she walks in, the ringing of the bell signaling someone has entered.  The coffee shop is cozy, it's a hole-in-the-wall place but very popular.  The aroma of coffee fills the small interior and Lyla passes the wooden tables with other customers as she walks up to the counter, smiling back at Jazz.  "Good morning, Lyla.  Caramel Mocha as usual?" Jazz asks with a knowing smile.  Looking at the delicious chocolate scones sitting in the cake stand, Lyla fishes her wallet out of her designer purse.  "And one of those chocolate scones, please."