Evermore, Nevermore Forget Me Not

Cowgirl in California

*My Love; My Life, Mama Mia: Here We Go Again!-2018; originally by ABBA in the 1970s; but I like this version more*

Setting: Los Angeles, California 2014...

It's been a year since Elvira had her little girl, two since she started having people call her Louisa; after spending eight years in jail and another four in a mental hospital, it took her another six years of court ordered therapy to get her life back on track, as well as medically prescribed antidepressant and antipsychotics. But she hadn't really felt the need to take the meds since her daughter was born. Her baby girl was her entire world; light of her life, apple of her eye and all those other cliches. She absolutely loved her baby girl; it wasn't long after she arrived in California a year ago that she got discovered for her voice while singing at her place of work and it became a hit, she named her daughter Hyla at random after falling asleep with the tv on and waking up to a documentary on tree frogs. Her daughter only being a year old, Elvira takes her literally everywhere she goes and protectively refuses to let anyone hold her.

"Mashed carrots...or peas?" She asks her sleeping baby girl as she  glances over the options in the baby isle of store through her sunglasses

"..." the one year old coos in her sleep

"I'm ain't a fan of peas either," she mutters as she puts the tiny jar of green mush back on the shelf, "hows bout some sweet potatoes or yams...maybe some..." she adds looking through them all, "ya know what," she finally sighs out, "We'll just get one of everything and take notes on what ya do and don't like."

      She quickly grabs one of every kind of Gerber's baby food the store has to offer, places them in her cart and continues down the isle to grab diapers, wet naps etc. and grabs some other needed groceries from other isle before checking out. Upon reaching her apartment complex she sets her keys down on the table, along with the grocery bags and plays her answering machine as she sets Hyla's carrier down on the couch and turns on reruns of Dr. Proton to stimulate her one year old mind. She listens to the messages from her manager about how if she doesn't come up with another song soon she'll become a one hit wonder, as she puts away the perishable groceries first and just rolls her eyes at her manager's dramatics. When the messages end, she orders take out from Panda Express, feeds Hyla-taking note that she doesn't like strained green beans-and changes her diaper before putting her down for a nap and answering the door...

"Thanks," she says as she hands over the money, "keep the change."

     She changes the channel on the television to reruns of A. L. F. on Tvland while she eats her dinner and thinks about the bitterness of her own past. She didn't make a big deal out of this day-despite it being Hyla's first birthday-just as she wouldn't make a big deal out of tomorrow or any other day. She just didn't see a point in celebrating holidays when Hyla is too young to understand them and won't recall them later-same with throwing her a birthday party. She just didn't see a point in throwing a party for her when it would be just the two of them at it and yet the guilt of not doing anything for it already started to eat away at her. She throws away her empty takeout stuff and grabs her phone, she glances at the contact-her manger being the only one in it-and lets out a heavy sigh before setting up the camera on it  and going into the nursery with it...

"Happy first birthday baby girl," she whispers as she snaps some pics of her sleeping soundly, "who the hell could that be?" She mutter as another knock comes to her door and goes to answer it

"Delivery for a Ms. Louisa," a guy holding a package says

"Who from?" She demands

"It was sent with the message," he tells her as he holds the box out to her, "Happy birthday Hyla."