Chapter 1

"Lily, do not cling to the door. Aunty dislikes that." Valery steadied herself behind the steering wheel, occasionally stealing glances at her niece to ensure she was not playing with the locks.

 

She smiled, seeing the six-year-old pick up the stuffed frog, which had been ignored a while back. They loved the Muppets. Although Miss Piggy was her favourite, Lily adored Kermit the Frog.

 It was only a short time until they reached the mall. Valery slowly followed the other cars through the entrance, quietly peering around for a good place to park. Once she found her spot, she reeled over, initiated the brakes and turned off the engine.

"Come, little Kermit." She opened the door for Lily.

 A few steps forward, Valery recalls leaving the grocery list behind. "Lily, stay right here!" She said sharply and ran back to the car.

 "Where the hell did I put it." Valery combed hastily through the front seats. She hated handling pieces of paper, yet her elder sister refused to get a small notebook for the grocery list, no matter how many times she nagged about it. "Ha! Gotcha." Valery bent down to pick up the neatly folded sheet beneath Lily's seat. Lily had been holding on to it earlier, glaring at the letters as if she understood what they meant.

All was well when Valery locked the car and turned around; that was before she saw Lily walking towards the entrance on her own, not minding the road. Struck with fear and obviously out of reach, Valery yelled- waving her hand, telling Lily to stop while she dashed towards her. A car was approaching rather recklessly down the narrow road.

Worried she won't make it on time, Valery tried signalling the diver to slow down, but it was useless. The driver had drowned the car's insides with loud music and was also not paying much attention.

 Out of nowhere, a figure swooped in and grabbed Lily out of harm's way, frightening the child, who did not understand what was happening.

 Shaken by the ordeal, Valery ran faster and grabbed Lily, who was put down by her saviour.

 "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU LISTEN TO ME!! ARE YOU A DODO BIRD? WHY DO YOU LOVE RUNNING INTO DANGER LIKE THIS!" Valery panicked.

"Excuse me, but the fault is yours for not keeping a better eye on her." The stranger called her out on her mistake. "Had I not seen her earlier, that bastard would have run her over and not even looked back. "

 Valery sighed, forcing out a breath of relief. "You're right. I should have been careful. It's okay, baby, don't cry. I was wrong to have left you like that. Come to Aunty. I'm not angry, okay." She tried to comfort Lily.

 Valery reached out, slowly grabbing Lily's hand and pulling her closer to hug her. Then she rose to her feet to address their helper. "Thank you very much, I...I... Derrick?" she stammered after getting a proper look at the man. It took him less than a second to recognize her as well.

Derrick's eyes widened as his lips curved upwards. "Violet. I mean Valery," he said, not knowing how to process this rush of mixed feelings coursing through his veins.

(Three hours later.)

*Music in the background*

The song played repeatedly, intoxicating Valery's mind as she drove on the highway. She was a massive bowl of emotions until it got sour, and she wanted them to disappear.

Derrick had accompanied her to shop for groceries that afternoon and spent about forty minutes with her in a coffee shop. Lily was treated to cheesecake and chocolate milk, which made her forget about the incident.

 Valery was still determining how it would all end, exchanging contacts and acting friendly again. Nothing had changed about Derrick; he was taller, a bit bulkier, and more handsome, but he still had those eyes that once made her heart flutter. 

 'I know it ain't easy, giving up your heart.'

 Valery sighed as the song spelt out the obvious. 

 Lily's little feet ran into the house as soon as the door was shut. Her mother and baby brother should be waiting for them inside. When Valery put the bags on the counter, Jennifer was in the kitchen, preparing the stew with the few ingredients at home. 

 "You took your time," Jennifer said. 

 "I bumped into a friend along the way, and your daughter nearly gave me a heart attack." Valery chose to leave out the crucial details. There were days she wished she did not have to tag her niece along, and Jennifer felt it. At least Kofi was yet to crawl and get on her nerves as much. But that's how kids are; sometimes, they can't be controlled or coaxed into staying out of harm's way. You just have to step up as an adult and be ready to shield them with your life.

 "I'm heading home." Valery sorted herself out with a bottle of water. 

"Stay and have supper with us. My husband will be an hour late, and you know I hate eating alone."

 

"That's why you have children, Jennifer," Valery said, holding a mischievous smirk.

 Jenny pursed her mouth, resisting the urge to throw a ladle at her younger sister. "Someday, when you get out of this no-dating phase and have to raise two beautiful kids like mine, I will be there to throw shades back at you. Mark my words, Val." Jennifer pointed her saucy wand at the offender, who gladly laughed at her pains. "Seriously, you're not going anywhere, so strap Kofi to your back and come help me finish." She stirred the pot of stew. 

"Okay, big Sis, but know I won't be here till Eric comes home," Valery said on her way to the living room where Kofi was lying in his rocker.

 Supper turned out great; they even got a glass of wine over a TV series they enjoyed watching. Valery ended up staying till her sister's husband returned from work.

 She got to her apartment roughly at ten and hopped into the shower. Wearing nothing underneath her morning coat, Valery sat on the bed with a phone in hand, going through her messages to see if any surprises were waiting for her. Sure enough, there was. 

 

A text from Derrick, asking her out on a proper date...