I'll be There for You

Chapter 1: What Can Go Wrong...

Puffing out a long sigh, Hayley looked up at the For Sale sign above the entrance of her first attempt at a self-owned business. She should have known that it was too good to be true. There were just too many other bakeries in New Orleans and hers was just too small. Afford advertising? Are you kidding me? Right. Sure. She was lucky to be able to keep new shoes on her feet every year after the original pair fell apart.

Cursing her luck, Hayley headed down the street. Things could get worse. They could always be worse. That was what she would have to hold onto. The idea that no matter how bad things got that she could always find solace that she was not all the way at the bottom. Turning around the corner, crossing the street and stopping in front of a tall building, Hayley dug out her key and opened the front door.

Entering, she hurried up the stairs past the loud neighbors on the first floor and the second where the creepy guy who she was sure stole her underwear on laundry day, lived, she managed to arrive on the third without too much trouble. Feeling relieved, she walked down the hall and then felt her stomach drop. "No. No NO," Hayley moaned as she pulled the eviction notice off the door.

Staring at the notice in horror, Hayley felt tears fill her eyes but she forced them down. She could not let Hope see her like that. Forcing the key into the lock with an unsteady hand, Hayley walked into the cramped apartment and smiled at the little girl sitting on the floor. She was drawing and took a second to realize that someone had entered the room. Then she looked up and grinned widely. "Mommy," climbing to her feet, the tiny girl came rushing at her mother like a tiny cannonball.

"Hi, Hope," Hayley said, leaning down and picking her daughter up.

"Hey, Hayley," Davina Claire called as she pushed herself to her feet. Davina was a God send and Hayley would not know what to do if the girl and her best friend, Josh, did not live down the hall from Hayley and Hope. They would be up the creek without a paddle for sure. Between the young people who were still in their teens but were geniuses with Hope, they kept an eye on Hayley's offspring while she was at work.

"How did your day go?" Hayley asked Davina who was in the middle of yawning and stretching.

"Oh, the usual. We drew. Had some lunch. Made some prank phone calls," Davina made the last remark with a glint in her eye that told Hayley she was kidding. Or at least Hayley hoped that she was kidding.

"And how was your day?" Davina inquired as she packed her bag up to leave.

"Same old, same old," Hayley replied with a forced smile even though the girl was not looking at her yet.

"What's that?" Hope asked, reaching out with the wide, inquisitive eyes of a three year old. Her hand was moving toward the eviction notice clutched in Hayley's hand. What would come next was Hope not knowing what the word was and then she would try to give the paper to Davina to read to her like another of her numerous fairy tales.

"Nothing, baby girl," Hayley murmured, shoving the paper hastily into her purse. "So, Davina, I know that I already owe you for last week but do you think that you could hold on until this Friday for your check?" Hayley hated to ask the question. She felt like the biggest jerk on the earth but right now she had to make sure that her daughter ate this week.

Shaking her head, Davina rolled her eyes. "You know that you don't have to pay me period, Hayley. Josh and I love Hope. We'd happily watch her for free."

"No," Hayley said swiftly and a little too loudly making both Davina and Hope stare at her in shock. "I am not going to have you working for me and not pay you. That's just not the way I am."

"It's a pride thing," Davina finished for Hayley whose cheeks flushed red.

"Yeah, I suppose it is a pride thing," Hayley said slowly, thinking about how that would be accompanied with a fall. And she had already fallen a few too many times lately. Maybe it was time to push the pride down and force herself to do something that she really did not want to do...