Jason

      “Daddy!” my daughter’s excited voice called out as soon as I entered her room.

      I’d been out of town for the better part of two weeks and this reunion had been long over due.  I loved my job and the thrill it provided, but one thing I hated about it was the time it forced me away from my child.  People may call me an asshole and many other unpleasant things, but one thing they can’t say is that I shirked my parental responsibilities.  Sure, we didn’t get that quality time other parents with normal nine to five’s got but with instant messaging, e-mail, and Skype we managed to keep the mode of conversation together.

      “Hey pumpkin,” I spoke softly and kissed her on the forehead, “how was your day?”

      “Good!” she added with a wide grin.  “Miss Abby took me to the museum of cultural history and they had all sorts of neat stuff out!”

      “She did?” I asked.

      “Yes,” she nodded enthusiastically, “and then she took us to get some ice cream.”

      “Sounds like you had a fun day.”

      “I always have fun days with Miss Abby,” Elizabeth whispered as if she was sharing a secret.

      “Is that right?” I asked as I glanced at the tiny woman in oversized sweats put the last of Elizabeth’s  toys away.  Elizabeth nodded her head vigorously as her nanny made her way over to us.

      “It’s seven-thirty.  Should I run her bath or-”

      “No,” I declined.  “I’ve got it.”

      She nodded and turned her attention towards my daughter.  Abilasha smiled and told her she’d see her in the morning before shuffling out of the room.  I cocked my head to the side and watched her leave.  Oddly enough, she reminded me of the women that inhabited the shelter I financed in the city; just downtrodden and beaten.

Abilasha

      It was well past midnight and I couldn’t sleep.  Lately my mind just went a hundred miles an hour and wouldn’t quiet down enough to allow me any sleep.  After another fifteen minutes of tossing and turning I climbed out of bed and made my way down the hall, stopping to make sure that Ava was still asleep before heading into the small gym on the first level of the house and began to work away my stress.  Hopefully in a couple of hours, my body would be tired enough to finally allow me some sleep.

Adrian

      “Diva!” Priscilla called out as she made her way to the table.  We were having lunch together, which was something we did at least twice a week.  It was clear to see that she had taken to the life she now shared with Omari like a fish.  Gone was the woman who’d go to the mall with me and spend a few bills at the Limited and Guess.  She was replaced with someone donned in premium labels.  Sure she was dressed in jeans, but I could tell by the wash that they weren’t her usual Old Navy pair and I knew enough about fashion to tell that she currently had Giuseppe’s on her feet and Thakoon on her back.

      “Hey Pree,” I replied easily and motioned for her to take a seat before waving the waitress over so that we could order.

      “So what’s been going on with you?” Priscilla questioned before taking a sip of the water that had been placed on the table.

      “Nothing much,” I answered honestly.  “I’ve been working and I’m dating a new guy so-”

      “Ooh, a new guy,” Priscilla replied with a smile, rising and lowering her brows.  “Do tell.”

      “His name’s Kevin and he’s a junior partner in the firm I work at,” I answered easily.  I didn’t really want to go too far in description of him because everything was still so new.  I know it was putting negative energy on things, but I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.  “What’s been going on in your life missy?”

      She rolled her eyes and said, “Shit.  The temp job I had with him ended two weeks ago when his permanent secretary came back from maternity leave.  I started working at this other firm and I like it, but Omari’s been working late because of this huge deal he’s trying to land and his daughter has been staying with us for the past couple of weekends and she can’t stand me.”

      “Really?”

      “The little gremlin has been making it her mission in life to dislike me and it’s putting a real strain on me and Omari.  He loves his daughter and wants her to be happy but she’s dead set against that while I’m in the picture,” Priscilla revealed with a sigh.

      “You called the child a gremlin.”  I couldn’t help but laugh at that.

      Pree rolled her eyes and released a sigh.  “I just don’t know what to do anymore.  It’s like nothing I do is ever enough as far as she’s concerned.”

      “Just give her some time,” I assured her before changing the subject to those ugly dresses she had been seriously contemplating for her bridesmaids.  If she thought I was going to wear that go-to-hell dress than she was clearly mistaken.

Jason

      “Daddy?” Elizabeth called out as she walked into my office and climbed on my lap.

      “Yes, pumpkin?” I asked her, glancing away from the report on my desk.

      “Is Miss Abby sick?” she questioned with the wide eyed innocence of a child.

      “What do you mean?” I asked her with a frown.

      “She always looks tired and never feels hungry.  It’s like me when I’m sick,” she used as a justification to her assumption.

      Come to think about it I had noticed lights on in the guesthouse late at night and she’d started to show dark circles, but I hadn’t thought any more about it.  Abilasha was an adult with a child and as such I felt she knew her limits and how well to take care of herself.  To be honest, I just didn’t want to get involved.  It seemed as if I would have to, though, because Elizabeth had gotten attached.  It wouldn’t do to have to replace Abilasha or allow her work herself into an exhaustion.

      “I’m sure she’s fine, sweetie,” I tried to assure my child.

      “Are you positive?” she asked, skepticism clear in her blue eyes.

      “Would it make you feel better if I go down and check?” I asked as I nodded my head towards the guesthouse that was just visible outside of my office window.

      “Yes.  Now please?” she asked, her eyes wide a glassy.

      I chuckled and shook my head as I stood from my seat.  I made multi-million dollar deals on a daily basis and could stay hard faced against the, often times, helpless CEO whose life’s work I bought and tore apart but a single look from a child could have me going door-to-door peddling girl scout cookies.  It was a damn shame, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

      “Alright.  Why don’t you help Brian prepare dinner while I speak with Ms. Basu?” I spoke as I ushered her out of my office.

Abilasha

      Sweat poured from my face, but I didn’t stop my jog.  It’s funny.  Back in college, I hated exercising.  Even though my gym membership was free because it was part of my tuition, I used to find every excuse in the book not to join my friends when they’d religiously head over to the athletic center to work out their stress.  Back then I was more of a yoga girl, but yoga didn’t wear me out the way the treadmill and weighted cardio did.  Over the past few months I’ve become something of an insomniac and I was just short of needing to be prescribed sleeping pills.  With a small child running around, I couldn’t afford to be dead to the world for eight hours a night.

      I had just turned off the treadmill and was about to start my thirty minute increment on the bicycle when the door bell rang.  A confused frown crossed my features as I turned off the machine and grabbed a small white towel to wipe the sweat off my face.  Seeing as I now lived in a guesthouse inside of a gated community, there were only a few people who would actually be at my door.  That would be Elizabeth and, on the odd occasion, her father. 

      Ah, I was right, I thought as I opened the door to see Mr. Benford staring back at me.  “Hi.  Is there something I can do for you?”  

      He gave me a quick once over before asking if he could speak with me.  I nodded and he walked past me with the small living room as his destination.  I immediately felt self conscious.  There he was in a pair of dress pants that probably cost more than I made in a month with a simple Ralph Lauren button down and I was a hot sweaty mess, sans make up, with disheveled hair and stained sweats.  It was suddenly clear how easy it must have been for other women to appeal to my hu-EX husband.

      “I didn’t mean to disturb you, but my daughter has brought some things to my attention and I wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t discuss them.”

      “Did I do something wrong?” I asked with a frown as my mind began to replay all the time I’d spent with his little girl.  I couldn’t pin point a thing.  To be honest, I loved his little girl.  She was sweet, precocious, and got along with my daughter well.  Unlike a couple of children in the area, she wasn’t trying to be grown; she was a little girl who liked to run around in the expansive backyard, played with Barbie’s, and watched Spongebob on what bordered on obsession.

      “No, nothing like that.  It’s just that Elizabeth thinks that you’re sick because you hardly eat and look tired.  I’m not a doctor nor am I your parent, but it’s obvious that you could be taking better care of yourself and I implore that you do so,” he urged.

      I rubbed my tired eye with the heel of my hand before releasing a deep sigh.  “I don’t want to unload my issues on you, but the fact remains that I’ve just gone through a divorce and I have a lot of issues to work out.  I know that internalizing what I’m feeling isn’t healthy and I’m aware that I am spiraling down a dangerous path with the minor bout of depression I’m currently experiencing, but I can’t stop my life because of that.  I have responsibilities to handle, a daughter to raise, and a life to get back together.  Maybe the way I’m handling it isn’t the best, but it’s the only way I know how.  I can’t help it that I have a lack of appetite or that my body refuses to let me sleep unless I work out to near exhaustion and I can’t stop the constant thoughts that flow through my mind.  All I can do is deal with it.”

      An odd expression crossed Mr. Benford’s face when I finished speaking.  ‘Oh God.  Maybe I was a little too revealing’.  Just when I felt the beginnings of a self depreciating monologue about to break out, he interrupted my train of thought by speaking.

      “Have you thought about talking to someone?” he questioned.

      I rolled my eyes, not at him but the situation.  “Who would I talk to?  I have friends, but most of them were friends with me and my ex.  The few I have just on my own all ready feel sorry for me as it is seeing as I got married relatively young, had a baby, and put all my plans aside so that he could continue with his only to have it backfire by him choosing a younger, responsibility free, thinner model.  I can’t handle any more pity and I refuse to pay an exorbitant hourly rate for some schmuck to keep asking me ‘how I feel’ until the session is up while giving me nothing to make me feel better about my situation.”

      “Then talk to me,” he offered and then his mouth snapped shut as if realizing what he’d just said.

      “You’re joking right?” I asked him.

      “Do I look like I’m joking?” he questioned, raising one perfectly tamed brow.

      No, he didn’t.  “Mr. Bendford, I just wouldn’t feel right telling you my deepest and darkest secrets.  I’ve already told you enough-”

      “Just know that I’m here if you need someone to talk too.  I know from experience that it’s not good to keep things bottled up,” he spoke as he stood from his spot on the couch and made his way towards the front door.  He paused with his hand on the knob, turned back to me and said, “Oh, and call me Jason.”