22The next morning, I woke up and got ready for the day. Taylor had planned on spending the day with Chad, surprising him this morning, but she wanted to make him breakfast and take it over to the dorm. Even through his parents lived here in Albuquerque, he chose to live down in the dorms. I walked out of my room, brushing my hair and looked into Taylor's bedroom. She was still asleep. I thought I'd let her get her rest and I'd make breakfast for the two of them. I knew she'd want me to come in and meet him, but I was going to let them have their time alone. Tay and I had already had our time to catch up last night and she was staying here with me, so I thought they'd need all the alone time they could have together. I walked into the kitchen and put my brush down on the counter, using the hair tie on my wrist to wrap my hair up into a bun at the back of my head. Deciding on making waffles for the two of them, I turned on the water in the sink and washed my hands. Drying my hand on the hand towel hanging on the hook beside the sink, I turned to the cupboard and started to gather the necessary items needed to make them. I turned on the tiny television on my counter, turning the volume down, to watch CNN. I never had time to watch TV, but when I did, CNN was pretty much all I watched. It was nice to know what was going on in the world even if I was too busy to pick up a newspaper.
Taylor came walking in a little while later, yawning widely. "Good morning, sleepy head," I joked, smiling over at her. "What do you think you're doing?" She walked over, seeing breakfast was almost finished. "I was supposed to do that!" I shook my head, laughing slightly. "It's ok. You were tired, so I thought I'd get breakfast ready and you could sleep and then get ready while I did. So go on. Go shower. I'll finish making breakfast so we can go when you're finished." Taylor pursed her lips at me, taking a deep breath. "Fine, but I'm not going to forget this!" I shook my head, smiling at her. "You're welcome," I giggled, continuing to make breakfast for the two of them as she left the room. I made some homemade syrup and also defrosted some blueberries from the freezer to make a blueberry drizzle for them to use if they wanted that. I had some strawberries and whip cream, so I packed them up as well in case they wanted strawberry waffles. I put the half-gallon of milk I had in my fridge in a small cooler before putting it in the picnic basket with the rest of the food. I wanted them to have a good meal. I secured the plates and glasses in the basket and closed it, setting it aside on the counter as I walked back into my bedroom to get my purse and keys.
"I'm so excited for you to meet Chad!" Tay told me as we parked in front of his dorm building. "He's thrilled too!" I smiled at her, stepping out of the car, looking over the top of it. "I'm excited to meet him too, Tay!" We walked around the front of the car and I handed her the basket as she led us toward his door. She knocked and we waited, trying not to giggle. She was so excited just to be able to see him, and I thought it was sweet of her that she was surprising him like this. He didn't even know she was in town yet, but here she was showing up with a basket of breakfast for the two of them. After a few moments, the door opened and Taylor squealed, "Surprise!" The guy on the other side of the door stood there with only his boxers on, dumbstruck. "Cat got your tongue, babe?" Tay asked, giggling as she stepped forward, wrapping her arm around him and kissing him deeply. I averted my eyes, biting my lip slightly. "I can't believe you're here! You're not supposed to be here till tomorrow!" He said, looking her over. "I wanted to surprise you, babe!" she said before turning back to me, her arm still wrapped around him. "Chad, this is Gabriella, my bestest friend in the whole world. Gabriella, this is Chad," she said, looking back at him, "my wonderful boyfriend!" He accepted her quick kiss before turning to look at me. "It's good to finally meet you, Gabriella! Come in. I'll get some clothes on." He looked back at Taylor and at the basket, asking as we walked in with him, "What's this?"
"Gabriella made breakfast for us," Taylor told him as Chad shut the door behind us. "Just for you two," I said as Chad picked up a shirt off a chair and pulled it on over his head. Taylor looked over at me, shaking her head. "What? What about you?" I smiled between the two of them. "I thought you two could use some time alone together. You can call me later. I just wanted to do this for you two. Don't argue with me. I didn't pack enough plates for me to have one." It was a cheap way to get out of staying if they insisted, but I was insistent on them spending some time together. "That's very nice of you, Gabriella. Thank you. I've missed my girl." Taylor rolled her eyes, elbowing him softly. "He's such a sentimental softy." I giggled with her for a moment and she nodded. "Thanks, Gabby. I'll call you later, ok?" I smiled, opening the door. "You two have fun. It was nice meeting you, Chad. I'll see you later." Chad walked over to the door, taking it from me. "It was nice to meet you, Gabriella. We'll definitely do something later. All three of us." I nodded, smiling up at him. "Sounds good. See you two later." I walked back to my car and drove off. Breakfast at Starbucks sounded good this morning. Deciding to go to my favorite one, I drove toward the Starbucks on Central.
I awoke Saturday morning to a very pretty face sleeping on the pillow beside me. I hadn't even heard her come in during the night and I wondered how long she'd actually been in the room with me. It didn't matter. If she needed to be in here with me, she was welcomed in here any time. I slid down a little more in the bed, turning to face her and wrapping my arm around her. I was glad it was Saturday and I didn't have to go to work or anything. Saturday and Sunday were our days and we could do whatever we wanted to do. Right now I just wanted to lay in this bed and enjoy this moment with my daughter. She was sleeping, but she was the most tender thing in my life. I wasn't about to miss out on this for the world. But even as I wrapped my arm around her, she stirred, snuggling nearer to me. "Good morning, Daddy," she mumbled into my chest, wrapping her tiny arm around me. "Good morning, angel girl. Did you sleep well?" She let her head fall back against my arm, smiling up at me. "I did. Did you?" Running my fingers through her hair, I leaned forward, pressing my lips softly to her little forehead. "I did, angel. Thanks to you." She giggled up at me, waking up a little more. "Me? What did I do, Daddy?"
I smiled down at her, blissfully enjoying the sound of her little laughter as it filled my room. "Well, I had you by my side and Daddy always dreams about his angel." She smiled brightly at me, "Was mommy in it too, Daddy?" I looked into her beautiful blue eyes and shook my head. "No, baby. Mommy wasn't in it. It was just you and me." He looked down, obviously trying not to be upset. "What were we doing?" I lifted her head up to look at her again, making sure she was looking at me. "We were having a picnic in the snow." Her eyes widened, smiling brightly up at me. "In the snow? Daddy, that's silly!" I laughed, nodding my head. "Yes it is. It's very silly. But we did it. And we had fun." She giggled, wrapping her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. "I love you, Daddy!" I smiled, hugging her tightly to me. "Daddy?" she asked, pulling her head back, looking up at me. "Can we have Starbucks for breakfast?" I nodded my head, running my fingers through her hair. "Of course we can, angel girl. Why don't you go get dressed and I'll get dressed too?" She nodded, jumping up and out of my arms, crawling out of my bed and running out of the room.
I laughed at my perfect little girl, pushing myself to sit up in the bed. I stood up, walking over to the dresser, pulling out a Wildcat T-shirt and some jeans and some socks. I pulled my tank top off my head and pulled my pajama bottoms off, tossing them on the bed. I pulled the T-shirt over my head and pulled the jeans on before sitting down on the bed to pull my socks on. I leaned over the bed and picked up my sneakers from under the bed, pulling them on and tying each of them. Standing up, I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Flipping on the light, I grimaced at my reflection and reached over to turn on the water. I leaned over the sink slightly, getting my hands wet, and ran my fingers through my hair. Couldn't go anywhere with bedhead. Standing up straight, I looked at myself in the mirror. Better. I brushed my teeth and flipped off the light, heading out of the bathroom. Tress came running into the room wearing a pink dress with daffodils on the skirt, brush in her hand and a pony tail elastic. "Pony tail, Daddy?" I nodded. "That's an easy one. I can do that." She giggled, jumping up on my bed and handing me the brush. I brushed her hair up and gathered it into my hand. "Elastic?" She handed it to me and I twisted it around her hair before running the brush through the tail a few more times. "There you go, angel girl. All done." She turned around, wrapping her arms around my neck and jumping against me. "Ok, Daddy! Time to go!" I nodded, walking with her out of the room and grabbing my keys and wallet off of the table in the kitchen, sliding them in my pocket.
I walked into the Starbucks and up to the counter. There wasn't a line because the regular morning breakfast crowd was already gone. "Hi, Gabriella," the barista greeted me. "Grande cinnamon latté?" I nodded at him, and looked at the food items. "Yes, Jimmie, and an 8-grain roll please." He nodded, picking up a grande cup and writing on it before entering the order into the cash register. He told me my total and I handed him my credit card, laying my wallet on the counter as he swiped it through the machine. He placed my card and a pen down on the counter, ripping the receipt out of the machine, placing it on the counter by the pen. I picked up the pen and signed my name on the line and he handed me my copy. "I'll have that right up for you," he said, picking up the pen and I picked up my card, slipping it back in my wallet, sliding it back into my hobo purse. "Thank you, Jimmie." I turned and found a table not too far from the counter. I pulled my phone out of my purse and shuffled through my work schedule for Monday. Even when I wasn't working, I was always thinking about work. I had dedicated my life to my job and I wasn't about to stop doing the work I love just because I have a weekend.
My phone rang and I accepted the call, holding it up to my ear. "Good morning, Mom. How was your night?" I haven't spoken to her for a few days and I hadn't been over in more than a week. I knew she was missing me. "I'm just sitting down to eat breakfast. How are you?" She was a little tired from just getting off work and she was ready to crawl into bed, but she wanted to give me a call and check in on me. "I'm alright, Mom. I picked up Taylor from the airport last night and we stayed up late catching up." Mom was glad to hear the Taylor got in safely and told me I had to bring her over for dinner one night this week while she was here. "I promise. We'll figure out a night and I'll call you, Mom." Happy with that answer, she told me she was going to go to bed and I smiled. "Rest well. Bye." I turned off the phone and looked up at Jimmie as he brought my roll and latté. "Thank you, Jimmie," I said, sliding my phone into my purse. He nodded, smiling down at me. "Enjoy, Gabriella." I smiled and picked up my coffee, taking a sip from it.
I parked the truck on the side of the building and reached over to undo Tressa's seat belt. "Come on, angel girl." She climbed over into my arms and I slid out of the cab, shutting the door. I walked with her on my hip around to the front of the building, opening the door and walking in with her. "Same as usual, angel?" She nodded her head. "Can I order, Daddy?" I nodded as we walked up to the counter. "Good morning, Jimmie. How's your day going?" Jimmie leaned over the counter, smiling at Tress. "Good. How's my favorite customer?" he asked Tress, taking her hand as she reached out to him. "Good, Jimmie! Daddy and I are here for breakfast!" Jimmie closed his other hand on top of Tressa's hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "I'm so glad you decided to come in this morning. I love seeing your beautiful smile." She smiled brightly, looking back at me, taking her hand from Jimmie's and hugging me tightly. "Daddy loves my beautiful smile too, don't you, Daddy?" I kissed the side of her head. "More than you know, angel girl." Jimmie smiled at both of us, asking, "What can I get the two of you today? Your usual, Sunshine?" She smiled brightly, nodding her head quickly. "Hot chocolate and a raspberry scone, yes!"
He nodded, putting it into the cash register, picking up a kids cup off the stack and placing it down on the counter. "And for your daddy?" She looked up at me and back at Jimmie. "He wants coffee," she told him, looking back at me. "What else, Daddy?" I smiled at Tress, turning to look at Jimmie. "A sausage and cheddar sandwich would be good today." He nodded. "Good. Grande coffee?" I nodded. "That's good." He picked up a grande cup and wrote his usual scribblings on it, looking back up at me, telling me the total. Reaching in my pocket, I shifted Tress slightly to hold her better. "Oooh, can I pay, Daddy?" I smiled at her, handing her my wallet. "Go ahead, angel." She opened my wallet, taking out my debit card, handing it over to Jimmie. He took the card, bowing his head to her. "Thank you, sweetie." She giggled and looked back over at me. "Can I sign the paper, Daddy?" I laughed, shaking my head. "No, Tress. Daddy has to sign." She scrunched up her face, pouting, nodding her head slowly. "Ok, Daddy." Jimmie handed me a pen and the slip and I signed my name, handing him back the pen and handing Tress my card so she could put it away. Jimmie handed me my copy of the receipt and I took my wallet from Tress, putting it and the receipt in my pocket. "I'll have that right out to you." Nodding my head, I shifted Tress back onto my hip more, turning and walking with her to a table.
My phone rang in my pocket as I was sitting Tress down at the table and I pulled it out of my pocket, sitting on the other side of the table. "Hi, Chad," I answered after looking at the caller ID. "Hey, man, what's up?" I looked over at my baby girl who was bouncing slightly on the chair, letting her legs sway back and forth under the table. "Tress and I are at Starbucks for breakfast. You?" I smiled down at Tress who reached up to me, asking, "Can I talk to Uncle Chad?" I held up my finger to her, whispering, "In a minute, angel." She put her hand down and continued to swing her legs. "Just finished eating breakfast with Taylor." I narrowed my eyes off into the thin air. "Taylor? I thought her flight didn't get in until tomorrow." I knew because he had kept calling me and texting me, giving me countdown minutes and had been for more than a week now. "She got an earlier flight and surprised me with breakfast this morning. Listen, what are you doing tonight, man?" I hadn't made any plans. "Nothing. Why?" I could already hear the gears in Chad's head start whirring. "Taylor and I were wondering if you wanted to have dinner with us." From the sounds of that, it didn't seem child friendly. "What are you trying to do, Chad?" I asked, knowing this wasn't about hanging out with him and his girlfriend. "Nothing. I just want to spend some time with my girlfriend and my best friend. Is that a crime?" No, it wasn't a crime, but I could hear it in his voice. He had something up his sleeve. "What is it, Chad? What aren't you telling me?"
He waited a second before answering. "Can we have dinner at your place? You cook." Well, considering neither one of them knew how to cook, I was the likely choice. "Fine. What time?" I could hear the excitement in his voice when he replied. "How's seven? We'll bring Taylor's friend with us. Think you can get your mom to watch my little Tressles?" There it was. He was trying to set me up. Again. Only this time, he was using Taylor to do it too. "I don't know, Chad. Maybe we could do this some other time." Like maybe never. "Oh, come on man! You'd really like her. She's really smart. She's a psychologist. And she's smokin' hot too!" I heard him laugh through the phone, telling someone, most likely Taylor, "What? I've gotta tell the hermit that!" Shaking my head, I took a breath. "I am not a hermit, Chad!" He laughed some more. "What ever you say, buddy. But say you'll cook dinner for the three of us tonight." I looked over at Tress who was waiting patiently to use the phone. "Alright, but you've gotta ask permission from the boss."
I handed Tressa the phone and she put it to her ear. "Uncle Chad?" I watched as her bright blue eyes sparkled up at me as she talked to him. "I'm having breakfast with Daddy," she told him as Jimmie brought over our drinks and our food. "Thanks," I nodded to him, looking back at Tress and picking up my coffee. "You want Daddy to go on a date with you? That's silly, Uncle Chad!" I choked slightly on my coffee, swallowing it down roughly. "Oh, with a girl. Daddy can do that! I'll ask him if I can go over to Grandma Lucy and Grandpa Jack's and have a sleepover with Sophie." She bounced up and down on her chair, swinging her legs back and forth more. "I love you too, Uncle Chad! Bye bye!" She handed me the phone and I put it back to my ear. "So, I guess you got your wish," I said, shaking my head. "Yeah. Tressles would do anything for me. Seven then? Your place?" I sighed heavily, nodding my head even though he couldn't see. "Seven it is." Chad had to be doing a dance by now, in triumph, I was sure of it. "Great! See you then, buddy!" I shook my head and put my phone back in my pocket, reaching to pick up my coffee when someone bumps into me and I almost spill my coffee all over myself.
I looked up to see a gentleman apologizing to the girl who still had her hand on my back, looking back at the man who just walked off, not even really meaning his apology, I was sure of it. I looked up to the brunette who looked down at me and I couldn't help but smile softly at her. "You alright, Miss?" She smiled, looking back at the door, the way the man had left before looking back at me. "I am. Sorry about that." I shook my head, finding myself lost in her dark chocolate eyes for a moment. "That's alright. I don't believe it was your fault." Her smile didn't fade as she pulled her purse up more on her arm. "No, but I'm sorry anyway. Did you spill your drink?" I looked down at myself and then back at her. "Nope. We're good. Are you sure you're alright?" She nodded, looking across the table at Tress and back at me. "I'm fine. I'm sorry I interrupted your breakfast." I shook my head, looking back at Tressa. "We're ok, right, angel girl?" She shook her head, biting into her scone and I turned back to the girl. "See. Everything's alright." She smiled down at me. "Good. Well, I need to be going. It was nice bumping into then." I laughed at her, smiling back at her. "Anytime." She smiled, maybe even blushed a little, tucking her hair behind her ear before turning and walking toward the door. Before leaving, she turned back and smiled, quickly turning her head back and walking out of the coffee shop. She probably hadn't expected me to still be watching as she walked out the door, but for some reason, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. But as she left my view, I turned my head back to Tress who was oblivious to my stupor and I picked up my roll to take a bite out of it. I'd never felt like that before and I realized I didn't even get the girl's name.