"Dammit, Bryan! Now I have to kick your ass!" Linda yelled from the living room when her son walked into the house. She'd seen him pull into the driveway and had been waiting for to get in the house. It had been three days since Mina had called her in a panic over her son's disappearing act. Linda had no idea where Bryan had been for the past few days, but as soon as he dragged his sorry ass in the house she knew that he'd fucked up.
"Leave me alone, ma! I don't feel like listening to any lectures right now." He made a beeline for the staircase, but she caught up with him at the bottom.
"I don't give a shit how you feel! What about how I feel? Finally, one of my sons brings home a girl that talks about something other than clothes and reads something other than The Enquirer! Then, you knock her up and break her heart!"
Midway through his retreat to the second floor, Bryan turned to face his mother, two steps below. "The Enquirer is the only thing you read."
"We're not talking about me!" Linda screeched. "We're talking about my grandchild!"
"Ava is two months old. She's not reading anything."
Linda glared at him. "Look, smart ass, all I'm saying is you better send a check every week and have that child over here a lot...a whole hell of a lot."
Brian resumed his climb up the stairs.
"I'm serious!" Linda said in hot pursuit. "You will help Mina. Don't be like your brother!"
"I'm nothing like Logan," Bryan informed her. "I already paid six months of rent, bills, and daycare."
"What about visitation?"
"Ask Mina!" Bryan said slamming his room door.
Linda gave the door a hard hit with her closed fist. She pressed her forehead against the door and sighed...just once couldn't life go the easy route?
***
Weeks later, Mina was still a wreck. She was still devastated about Bryan's cheating and the subsequent break up. She'd cried every day, dodging calls until Linda showed up to her apartment. She agreed to weekly visits which had helped a lot with her school work. Bryan was never around when she showed up with Ava, but she knew he was there. He was somewhere in that house because his black Acura was always in the driveway.
It still made her sad to think that after all that time together, she and Bryan weren't on speaking terms. But how could she look at him, knowing he'd gone out and cheated on her? She couldn't talk to him without asking him why he'd done it...at least not yet. She still cared too much. She still loved him and no matter what name her mother called him, Mina had a sneaking suspicion that she'd always love him.
Ava yawned in her car seat and Mina sighed. She was standing at the door to Linda's house. She'd knocked on that door too many times to count. The heavy lump in her throat began to burn as she glanced at Bryan's black Acura. He was there...somewhere in that house. He would spend the next few hours playing with his daughter and retreat to his hiding place, probably the basement, when Mina showed up later that night to pick up Ava.
Don answered the door when Mina finally worked up the nerve to knock. Bryan's stepfather had a Santa-like quality. He was around six foot, with white streaks through his brown hair and goatee. His face was rounded, and he had the middle-aged man pot belly, but he still carried himself like a martial artist. His back stayed straight and he always seemed to be watching and listening for something. He was perpetually on the defensive.
Don's smile made Mina sad all over again. He was as close to an involved father as she'd ever gotten. He went to work every day at the tool store he owned, and he always came home to sit at the dinner table. He had all his kids together on a regular basis and they loved him. No matter how much shit Bryan gave Don, it was obvious that he loved his stepfather. He loved him enough to drop the "step" and call him his dad...just dad.
Mina handed the car seat to Don and then the diaper bag. "I'll be back at seven or seven-thirty. She'll be hungry in an hour."
Don nodded. "I'll let Bryan know."
"Thanks," Mina said turning to retreat back up the driveway to the car her mom had recently given her. The five year old white Honda Accord was parked behind the Acura. Mina had the urge to throw it into drive and slaughter Bryan's rear bumper, but she and Ava needed the car in good working condition. Mina put the car in reverse instead.
***
Ava became even more beautiful as time went on. Her black hair became thick and grew out in large curls. Her thighs plumped and she began to crawl. Her laugh was infectious. Her daddy would blow on her belly to bring out peals of laughter and squeals. Her mommy would peek-a-boo for an hour and relish every grin and giggle.
The Fall Semester was about to start. Mina was ready for a full course load again. She welcomed the distraction. She didn't have it bad, not at all. Her scholarship paid for all her books and tuition, her mother gave her money every week for gas and groceries, the landlord told her that Bryan had been taking care of the rent every month, and she suspected he was doing the same with the other bills. Whenever she went in to pay them, the balance was zero. So she always had money and didn't have to worry about Ava. Even though she was secure, she was lonely. She didn't have anyone to talk to on a regular basis. All her classmates had parties and bars on their mind so they were not exactly friend-material. Her mother wasn't the best when it came to girl-talk and she tried to limit her conversations with Linda to only the subject of Ava.
Maybe that's what found her in the student union that Wednesday afternoon. Even though she wasn't hanging out with anyone, it was nice to be surrounded by other people. She sat in a tattered armchair reading while people buzzed around her. There was something comforting in being in the middle of adult conversations and laughter even though she wasn't involved. Before she knew it, she had dozed.
"Hey," a male voice said jarring her awake.
Mina jumped and her copy of Wuthering Heights tumbled off her lap and onto the tile floor.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," the guy said reaching for the book just as Mina did the same.
"Thanks," she said accepting it and silently grumbling about her lost page.
"I didn't mean to scare you," he said smiling. It was his smile that brought Mina out of her sleepy haze and face to face with the handsome William Malone. His smile lit up his face which was a light, paper bag brown. His eyes were black as night and his black hair was cut in a tight fade. She recognized him from the Student Government page on the Adam's University web site. He had been Freshman class president.
"Uh...uh...it's okay. It's my fault. I shouldn't have fallen asleep." Mina moved to stand, and noticed he was holding out his hand to help her.
She slipped her hand into his and her stomach clenched. His hand was large and warm. She felt face grow hot, embarrassed by her reaction to a simple touch. Had it been that long?
"I'm William," he said when she stood.
Mina hesitated when he put out his hand to shake. "Mina," she said trying to give a friendly smile.
"You must be incredibly tired to fall asleep in the middle of this," he motioned to the room around them.
