Alpha's Single Mother (Sample)

Chapter 2

Entering the daycare center my palms start sweating, fear of having to start leaving my little angel here every day so I can go to work washes over me. The fear is because of the chance the children will not be nice to her and possibly bully her for having a mother like me. Anna on the other hand is trying to contain her excitement at seeing other kids for the first time and admiring all the different kinds of toys and playthings. Sighing to myself, I have no choice but to let go of her tiny hand so she can go play, the blonde girl wastes no time going as fast as her little legs will go to a small ball pit where other children are happily burying themselves in the hundreds of balls. Walking to the front desk, a middle-aged woman tries to give me a friendly smile but I can see the scrutiny behind it, she is already judging Anna and me, as much as I would love to smack that fake smile off her face, being nice is imperative, so I plaster on a cordial fake expression as I reach the desk.

"Hello, I'm Ashley Whayley, I called last week about my daughter Anna starting today." Her eyes roam over every inch of me as she tries to hide her contempt, then she spots Anna playing, my fists clench as the woman also roams her gaze over my daughter as well. God, I want to punch this bitch for turning that look onto my innocent little angel. Turning back to me she fake smiles once again then reluctantly hands me a clipboard of papers to fill out, grumbling to myself about why the hell there's so much paperwork I take a seat between the entrance and the desk. After what seems like a hundred pages when it's actually about ten my hazel eyes come close to popping out of my head when I get to a page about payment information, I would have to get a third job to afford daycare. Fortunately, the first month is free as it is considered a trial period. Biting my lip nervously I write down my debit card information, this sucks because daycare is open during normal school hours which means I'll also have to find a babysitter or hope my bosses will allow me to bring her with me to work. Having filled out everything I get on shaky legs and then make my way back to the desk. She flips through the papers to the middle-aged woman, making sure it's filled outright, then like the bitch she probably is, she just waves me off. Stepping away from the desk I blow a kiss to Anna who pretends to catch it while giggling. My feet feel heavy as I go out the door, this is the first time I'm leaving Anna in the hands of strangers, nevertheless, it has to be done.

Next, I go to the two different jobs I managed to get, one a small restaurant that is somewhat like a diner, the other a busy gas station, sadly both only pay minimum wage. After getting my uniforms and schedules I spend a little time getting to the bosses so things won't be awkward between us the first few days. In the mornings I'll be working at the gas station and evenings at the restaurant, luckily the restaurant owners were very nice saying it would be fine bringing Anna along with me if I had to as long as she doesn't cause any trouble, actually they seemed like they would be more than happy to have her around. If Anna has toys or a coloring book she will behave so I need to make sure I put some in the backpack she has.

Going into the grocery store, I can help but gawk at its size, it is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside, on the inside, it's like you're in Walmart with how huge it is. Grabbing a shopping cart I stand in the middle of the front of the aisles trying to decide which end I should start with, I jump when I feel someone tapping on my shoulder, turning around a deep breath rushes out of me when I realize it is one of the men who helped me move. "You scared me half to death." My hand flies to my chest as if to emphasize my words.

The man sheepishly smiles as a tinge of pink colors his cheeks, showing his shyness. "Sorry didn't mean to, you looked like you needed help."

"As you probably know, I have never been in here before so I'm just trying to figure out which side of the store to start on first." I shrug as my eyes go back to the various aisles.

He purses his lips as his face becomes serious. "Hmmm...it would probably be best if you started at the very last aisle next to the milk, that's where toddler stuff is, there's food and all the necessities a small child would need."