Precious Consequences Read Online Free PDF Page B

step out of my car, but am halted by what sounds like a woman yelling. I turn around and see a young woman standing by her car, yelling into her phone. Her honey blonde hair is tied in a messy bun on top of her head and she’s wearing a waitress uniform. I recognize it from Joe’s Diner in town.
    “Are you kidding me right now, Jace?” she yells. “What am I supposed to do? Macy’s daycare payment is due and so is my rent. The only thing I ask you to help me with is her daycare, and now you’re telling me you can’t?”
    There’s a minute intermission, as the other person on the end of the line speaks.
    “How can you do this to us, Jace?” she asks. “How can you do this to Macy?”
    She goes quiet and I hear her sniffle as she wipes her nose. I know it’s rude to eavesdrop, but I can’t look away from her. Her face is red, a combination of anger and tears that are now streaming down her face.
    “I don’t care! She’s your daughter, too, and I only agreed on a divorce because you promised that you would help me take care of Macy. I let you walk away from me, but not our little girl.”
    Her eyes screw shut and she pinches the bridge of her nose before taking a deep breath.
    “You know what, Jace,” she says, straightening her back. “Just forget about it. From now on, I will take care of my little girl. You can forget about seeing her, too. As of right now, you don’t have a daughter and she doesn’t have a daddy.”
    She ends the call and I see her tiny body shake. Her cries are muffled but from where I’m standing just a few feet away I can hear them. And I feel for her. The only difference is that being a single parent has been my choice, but it’s obvious that she no longer has a choice. I walk over to her, careful not to startle her.
    “Excuse me, miss?” I say. She whips around and looks at me, her eyes red and puffy, wide with alertness. “Are you okay?” I ask softly.
    She straightens up, brushing her hands over her uniform to remove the creases, and wipes her face before replying, “Yeah, I’m just sick and tired of dealing with selfish assholes.”
    She pushes past me and stomps up the stairs to the daycare center. Okay, then…
    I shake my head and follow her once she’s disappeared through the door. When I walk into Ari’s class, she’s sharing a cookie with a little blonde girl and I immediately recognize her as the daughter of the woman I just saw outside. Her long blonde hair hangs down to the middle of her back, and she’s wearing a powder blue sundress. She’s gorgeous.
    Ari looks up and sees me, her little face lighting up. “My mommy!” she yells, announcing my presence to anyone who will listen. She runs through the mini desks and chairs and flings her little body into my legs.
    “Hi, baby girl,” I say, picking her up. I hug her close and smell her hair. “I missed you today,” I tell her. Her little hands touch my cheek.
    “Me missed you,” she replies. The look in her eyes is enough to make me want to cry. God, I love this little person. I look back at the little blonde girl and find her watching us with curious eyes. She must be the same age as Ari.
    “Thas my fwiend,” Ari says, as if to answer my unspoken question.
    “Oh, yeah? Does your friend have a name?”
    Ari’s eyebrows scrunch while she thinks. “Her is Macy.”
    “Do you want to say goodbye to Macy?”
    “Okay,” she says happily. She jumps out of my arms and runs back to where Macy is standing. She hugs her goodbye and makes her way back towards me, her little backpack in tow.
    “You ready?”
    She smiles up at me and simply nods, placing her little hand in mine. My heart swells and I don’t think it can get any fuller. We walk out and I see the woman from outside talking to the owner of the daycare center, but I look away when she catches me staring. The last thing I want is this stranger thinking I’m sticking my nose in her business. I still feel sorry for her though.
    I strap Ari into