Restless

Chapter 10

The Saturday after Sahara's date with Jacob, she and Rison were sitting at their kitchen table enjoying a breakfast of waffles, bacon, and fruit. Sahara's mind kept wandering to Jacob, as hard as she tried to just focus on her daughter. Rison got her attention for good, though, when she asked, "Mommy, am I gonna get a new daddy?"

Sahara almost choked on her bacon and she took a sip of her apple juice. Rison always asked these kinds of questions when she was least expecting it. "No, sweetie. You're not going to get a new daddy." There was no need to ask why she would ask such a thing, since Kyle still wasn't making any kind of effort to come to see her.

"So I'm not gonna have a daddy?"

"You have one already, sweetie. He's just been busy lately, that's all."

Rison didn't respond. She just picked up a piece of cantaloupe and nibbled around the edge. Sahara didn't know if that meant she was satisfied with her answer or if she was simply thinking of what question to ask next.

Sahara had decided to not even worry about Kyle anymore since he was evidently too busy to make time for Rison. He didn't even call and talk to her that much, let alone come and see her. Sahara had tried to call him on a few occasions but could never get in touch with him, and her messages went unanswered. She could only figure that he was either really busy at work or reveling in his relationship with her cousin, or both.

Nevertheless, she wasn't going to continue to try to reach out to him and get him to come and see his own child that he claimed to love so much. Rison's questions about him were coming slightly less often, and Sahara made sure to never say anything negative about Kyle to her. She just tried to lavish her with as much attention as she could and let her know that her mommy loved her more than anything. It might not be ideal but Sahara hoped that it would do.

The next day at church, Sahara sat with Charlie, feeling more renewed and free than she had in a while. It was the first Sunday since her split with Kyle that she didn't feel weighed down with sadness and anguish, praying for the Lord to bring her through this rough time in her life. She was feeling like her prayers were finally being answered.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Kyle simply wasn't the man for her. He couldn't have been, if he could do something like he did. And she didn't even want to get started on the way he was treating Rison. His leaving her was one thing, but she at least thought that his relationship with their child would stay in tact. Never in a million years would she have thought that he would continuously stand her up and not even bother to call and see how she's doing. And since he wasn't returning any of Sahara's calls, she could only conclude that he just didn't care. What else could it be? Sahara knew that Rison deserved better than that and so did she.

She had to admit, Kyle had done her a favor by leaving. She didn't need a man like him.

During the course of the service, Sahara noticed Charlie occasionally looking somewhere over her shoulder towards the back of the sanctuary. Sahara itched to turn and see what it was she kept looking at, but she resisted. When the service was over, Charlie eagerly waved someone over them. Sahara cringed when she saw a tall man with deep dimples and dark caramel skin come heading their way. She looked at Charlie with slightly narrowed eyes as she slid a polite smile onto her face, wondering what her friend was up to. Charlie just grinned at her.

"I'm glad you could make it," Charlie said to her good-looking friend, reaching up to hug him.

"Thank you for inviting me," the man said, his voice surprising Sahara. She had never heard a voice so deep in person. "I'm sorry I didn't make it here on time. I guess I was moving too slow this morning."