Chapter Fifteen

Tia

Tia counted her blessings as she changed her clothes. She was awfully glad that Cara was okay. She was a part of Tia's extended family, and she was deeply cared for. Tia couldn't help but feel a little lonely as she thought of Van and Cara, Emma and Melinda. She wanted what they had. She just wasn't sure how to find it. Throwing a sweater over her head, Tia shook her heavy dark hair, and began to look for her tennis shoes. She may be organized at work but her bedroom looked like a war zone. Clothes lay in piles, along with shoes, and books. She found organization at home a little more difficult, as she looked around at her cluttered bedroom. The doorbell rang, causing her to hurry as she went to let Catherine and Maddy in.

"Hello, ladies." Tia grinned at mother and daughter. Catherine was wearing jeans and a white shell, a jacket hanging off her arm. Madeline, her tiny daughter, was the fashion plate. She was wearing bright green overalls, a pink long sleeved shirt, and matching tennis shoes. Her long blond hair was tied up in a ponytail under a bright pink baseball cap. Her big grin and sparkling eyes made Tia chuckle. "Hello, you."

"Tia!" Madeline, or Maddy to just about everyone, threw her arms around Tia's waist and hugged her. Tia kneeled down to hug the affectionate little girl. Maddy had won Tia's heart the first day she met her. She was a loving, and happy, little girl, who despite her parents divorce, was a normal well-adjusted child.

"Maddy, you can bring Tia. Let's go eat." Catherine suggested with a smile, as Maddy grabbed Tia's hand and dragged her to the door.

"Hold on, Maddy, let me grab a coat and my wallet."

The three of them soon headed out of the apartment building for Catherine’s car. Within minutes, they were on their way to the restaurant. Maddy chatted enthusiastically about her day in preschool. She was an extremely smart little girl, who lived her young life at full speed. Catherine and Tia listened and responded good-naturedly to the young girl. She was like a little whirlwind of energy.

"She runs out of steam in about an hour." Catherine shared with Tia, a huge grin on her face.

"Is she like this every night?"

"Yep."

Tia's response was to laugh. She was so cute. "She's perfect."

"Thanks, I think so." Catherine parked the car across from the restaurant. "Come on, Maddy. You take Tia's hand, and make sure she looks both ways."

"I will, Mom." Maddy took her instructions seriously, as she and Tia crossed the road.

They were quickly seated, and perusing a menu within minutes. After a little discussion, they ordered a large sausage pizza and drinks. The place was filled to capacity, being a popular hot spot on Alki Beach. The pizzas were always good and the view was incredible.

"Do you like working at Harborview in the emergency room?" Tia inquired as Maddy busied herself with the silverware.

"I love it, except for the hours. It's shift work, so I rotate every two weeks from day, to evening, to graveyard. The pay is much better than my previous job. The hours make it hard to take care of Maddy. I've found a wonderful older woman who stays with her evenings, and at night. But she can be expensive."

"If I can help, let me know."

"You already do. I appreciate your taking her for the evening, and Maddy loves staying with you."

"As long as you're okay with her staying with me, some people don't like their children around homosexuals." Tia had been upfront and open with Catherine the day they had met. She didn't want Catherine to have any concerns about Tia being around Maddy.

"You're a wonderful woman, and it certainly doesn't matter to me or Maddy." Tia blushed but was interrupted before she could respond by the timely arrival of the pizza.

"Here you go, Maddy. Please, put your napkin on your lap." Catherine handed her excited little daughter a slice of pizza.

"Okay, Mom." Maddy immediately started devouring her pizza, much to the amusement of her mother and Tia.

"She loves pizza."

"I can tell." Tia grinned in amusement.

"So, how is your job? Do you still love it?"

"Yes, it's much harder than I expected, and sometimes I wonder if I was wrong in taking it. But then something comes together, and then I think wow, I am good at this." Tia's eyes gleamed as she spoke. She had worked very hard to get her position as head of corporate communications of a very large biotechnology company. It was a demanding job.

"Sounds like you're very good at your job."

"It's not a job like yours. You save people's lives. I think that's amazing."

"It is most of the time, but then there are the patients we lose. Sometimes it's hard to take. I'm sure glad your friend's partner wasn't hurt today. Being a policeman would be very tough job."

"Thankfully, Cara doesn't do a lot of SWAT activity. Most of the time she does detective work. I don't know if I could be with someone that had that dangerous a job. I would worry all the time. I don't know how Van does it."

"How long have they been together?"

"Not long, since Christmas, but they make a wonderful couple. They communicate very well. They're moving in together as soon as possible. They're made for one another."

"It's wonderful that they found each other. It's hard to find that soul mate, the one person that's right for you."

"Boy, don't I know that." Tia shrugged as she took a bite of pizza. She'd done her share of looking.

"Have you met your soul mate?"

"No. How about you, have you met your partner?"

"No, I think I settled when I got married. I wanted a child, and Jerry was a nice guy. I just wasn't in love with him. I feel bad, because it wasn't fair to him."

"You two seemed to have remained friends."

"We are friends and that was the problem. That's all we ever were, friends. There was no real passion."

"Sometimes it is easier to settle then to be alone." Tia spoke from experience, she hated being alone.

"You don't strike me as the type that settles."

"I have, but thank goodness we both walked away reasonably unscathed."

"Maddy, I would really appreciate it if you didn't play with your food. Catherine's eyes locked with her daughter's. Maddy was putting her black olives all over the table.

"Okay, Mom."

Tia grinned as she watched the matching of wills. Maddy was a very strong minded little girl. Obviously so was Catherine. "So are you seeing anyone?" Tia inquired, taking a bite of pizza.

"No, my new job makes my schedule a little unpredictable. Besides, I just haven't met anyone I want to go out with. Being a single mother has narrowed the playing field considerably. You would be surprised how many men don't want to date a woman with a child."

"You're kidding?"

"No, and if they aren't interested in my child, I don't want to go out with them anyway."

"Who wouldn't love Maddy?" Tia tweaked the little girl on the ear.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" Tia was very good at avoiding uncomfortable questions.

"Tia." Catherine chuckled, raising her eyebrows. She knew Tia fairly well by now.

"I'm not seeing anyone, and I haven't had a date in months. I was just about to give up on love until two of my best friends met someone. You met Van and Cara. Then there's Emma and Melinda. It makes me think there's someone out there for me." Tia smiled as she spoke. She really wanted to believe that she could find a woman who would fill her heart. "Maddy, what do you think about ice cream for dessert?"

"Can we, Mom?"

"Yep."

The three of them finished their dinner while Maddy told them about day care. It was a pleasant meal and Tia enjoyed herself immensely. It wasn't very often that Tia spent a lot of time with a young child. She really enjoyed Maddy, and liked talking to Catherine.

"Okay, Maddy, get your mom and let's go get some ice cream."

Maddy grabbed her mother's hand and dragged her out of the restaurant. "Come on, Mom."

Catherine allowed her tiny daughter to pull her to the car. "All right, seat-belts on, please. This ice cream wagon is moving."

Maddy giggled as she tumbled into the backseat and did as her mother asked. The threesome headed for the closest Thirty-One Flavors.

"Do you want to eat the ice cream here or take it home?" Tia asked as the three of them stood at the counter gazing at the colorful display of ice cream.

"Take it home."

"You got it. Okay, Maddy girl, what's your mom's favorite ice cream."

"Chocolate."

"What's yours?"

"Chocolate."

"Well, that makes it unanimous, let's get chocolate." Tia hugged Maddy tightly

In less then twenty minutes, the threesome was back home, and seated at Catherine's kitchen table. "How's your ice cream, Maddy?" Tia was seated next to Maddy and Catherine, with huge bowls of ice cream in front of the three of them.

"Good."

"Good, it's terrific, fantastic, and stupendous." Catherine teased her daughter.

"Catherine, are you working this weekend?"

"I have the weekend off, thank God. I need to get some laundry done on Saturday, and clean this apartment. It's a mess. Then I thought I would fix a nice dinner Saturday night, and maybe rent a video."

"Sounds like a perfect day." Tia looked around the spotless apartment and couldn't see where the mess was. Her apartment was a disaster area.

"What about you?"

"I have to work Saturday morning, and then nothing."

"Would you like to join us for dinner and a movie?"

"I'd love to. Can I help with dinner?"

"Sure, you can come over about five and have a glass of wine before we eat." Catherine grinned good naturedly. "Any particular movie you want to watch?"

"Nope, surprise me. Can I bring dessert?" Sure.

"Good. Now, I've got to be going. I have some reading to do tonight. Thanks for dinner."

"Thanks for the ice cream."

"You're very welcome."

"Maddy, thank Tia for the ice cream."

Maddy ran over to Tia, her arms wide open for a hug. "Thanks, Tia."

"You're welcome, honey, and take care of your mom. And I'll see the two of you Saturday night." Tia headed back to her apartment smiling. She liked Catherine and Maddy. They were a nice family. She still couldn't get over how neat their apartment was. It was identical to hers except for the clutter. Piles of clutter were everywhere in Tia's place. Anna laughed when she came over and saw Tia's disarray. She swore Tia messed up her place just by walking thoroughly it, and she was probably right. Nothing stayed neat for long around Tia.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14