"What made you think you would've gotten involved with my family?" He shrugged, "I don't know, Louisa, things happen." "Proceed." He looked up at her as if asking if she was really sure about it. When her silence spoke, he shot, "The second time we met, I knew for sure it was a miracle," Louisa remembered that day like it was yesterday: she had managed to convince her brother to lend him his car for a shopping drive with friends after which they stopped for a bite at a Chinese restaurant. They bumped into each other upon opening the double glass door but he was leaving. His beam shone in all its splendor thawing her to a liquid mess.    'Hi,' 'Louisa, right?' 'Right,' her face heated up probably because he had recalled her name, or was it the intensity at which he analyzed her face; her freckled face. Louisa stylishly co

Louisa had settled in the plane with a magazine in hand and even though it was spread open upon her face, her mind belonged somewhere else; Was she really going to take on her life like nothing happened back in Hawaii? It was plausible that the image of him will haunt her now more than ever. Suddenly, the fear of him returning to the states from wherever took control as possibilities swam in her mind that fate will take a pretty nasty toll on her and all that she had built. She felt the seat next to her squish as a good-looking gentleman of unmistakably late thirties occupied the seat next to her. She twitched her lip to him and when he did same, she kissed her face with the magazine again. Louisa returned to the 'what ifs' and 'what wills' whilst pretentiously flipping the magazine in other not to look like a red-haired sculpted greek statue when an alto murmured a "thank you very much." It was a familiar note which she had been hearing for the past days but if

"What took you so long, Anna?" Louisa asked the little girl who was busy securing herself with the seat belt."Coloring. I wanted miss Agogo to see it before I left." Gianna explained."Okay, but please don't take too long next time, you got mummy worried, ok?" She swiftly turned to see Gianna nod."I made a new friend today!" she cheerfully announced."Really? Tell me about it.""Oh, I don't know his name but he helped me zip my backpack even though he mistakenly broke my crayon, but that was because it fell and he didn't see it.""Are you both in the same class?""No. He's a big friend," Louisa's phone chimed."Go on baby, I'm listening," she urged while picking the call, "yeah, Zaph I'm on my way.""He had a similar plaster to mine but he's was on his brow," Gianna continued even though she knew her mum wasn't entirely listening.As she dropped the call she asked, "how's this new friend of yours?""He's

Louisa barged in on Zaphrina, while she warmed little Beth's breast milk, like someone suffering from dementia pacing uncontrollably from one end of the huge kitchen to another."What is the matter with you this early morning, Lou?" Zaphrina calmly asked, her eyes being conspicuously encircled with dark grey rings.Louisa tossed her purse on the granite kitchen island before plugging off her shoes. "I can't be having Bethany number two at day too," Zaphrina complained, preparing to make Louisa some adult 'breast milk ' as she reached for the pantry, "I'll get your coffee started but please sit down first, ok?" "He knows," Louisa chewed on her index finger as she continued pacing, "how...whe...who cou...I don't even know...did he...God! Why is--" she muttered incoherently. "Lou, please sit down, put your shit together, and tell me what is going on." "He knows, Zaph. He knows about Gianna...Mason knows about Gianna." Zaphrina sighed and sat opposite her sister-in-law after starting t

Gianna was nodding at something the janitor told her when Louisa walked in after handing Mrs. Heather a tip. The little girl smiled at her mum, picked up her backpack, and bid the kind janitor goodbye as she obediently walked straight to the car as told by her mum."Hi," the janitor began, stopping Louisa on her track, "I'm Ruth. Nice to meet you." "Louisa." She simply replied taking in the appearance of the lady who looked too old from stress and depression rather than age. "You have a very sweet daughter." She rested her chin on the hand which covered the head of the mop. Louisa smiled warmly, "thanks." "I clean up daily and never have I had the chance to talk to a kid this long after classes," she insinuated. "The weather's super sunny these days, haven't you noticed?" She said, hoping the nosy lady would keep to her path. "Then you might have to start including sun creams in her backpack," Ruth prodded. "You don't have a problem with my daughter being here, now, do you?" "O