present
"Oh, wow," Heather gasped, leaning back onto the bench. Sophia smiled sadly as she stared at the face of her sleeping son. He resembled Dylan so much.
"I'm so sorry, Sophie," she whispered softly before enveloping the other woman in a gentle embrace. Heather wiped a few tears that had escaped during Sophia's tragic story telling after releasing her. The sleeping boy in Sophia's arms suddenly drew her attention.
"So, how's the little chap holding up?" Heather inquired, running her hand on the soft tuft of brown hair.
Sophia sniffled a little before answering, "Every night I would tell a story about his daddy and Daryl would sleep with a smile on his face."
Daryl gave a little moan before snuggling against Sophia's blouse. Heather watched sadly as she pondered on the boy's life; no dad to play catch with, no dad to teach him to ride a bike, no love from a father.
"I know what you're thinking," Sophia interrupted suddenly. Her green eyes were hard and determined as she averted her gaze to the woman next to her.
"What do you mean?" Heather blurted, a little shocked.
Sophia gave a little smile. "You're thinking that Daryl is going to grow loveless and lonely."
Heather's mouth bobbed open to defend herself but Sophia cut her in before a word was uttered.
"Daryl is surrounded by people who love him. His Uncle Hunter lives next door to us and visits almost everyday. Uncle Luke and Zach love to take him to baseball games, as to harvest his 'inner man'."
Sophia rubbed the little boy's cheeks during the brief pregnant pause when Heather didn't know what to say. "Plus," she continued softly, "Daryl knows his Daddy is always watching over him, pouring him with love."
Heather's eyes softened as it glistened with unshed tears. "You're a strong woman, Sophie," she pointed out. Sophia gave out a little chuckle at her statement. "Well, you can't help but keep a stiff upper lip when you spent almost all of your life around farting boys."
The two women laughed together at the memories of their friends. When their laughter died, they sat in silence and watched the leaves dancing around them. They were both lost in their own thoughts, pondering about their conversation.
"So," Heather started, "what did you do after, you know."
Sophia leaned her head back to gaze at the clear blue sky. "Obviously, we decided to quit the band. It's not the same without him," she paused, her eyes glassy, "I had Daryl and decided to be a music teacher at Casco Bay High School. It's just a 30 minute drive from my apartment"
Heather raised an eyebrow at her answer. "How ironic that you became a teacher? You used to hate them, especially Mr. Wart-A-Lot."
Sophia laughed at the memory, muffling it with her palm. "God, I used to hate him. Remember when one of his wart literally exploded in front of the class?"
This elicited a loud giggle from the brunette. "Poor Jimmy, he was sprayed with the wart juices."
Sophia threw her head back and emitted a full-hearted laugh, drawing a smile on the other girl's lips. "Ah," the redhead sighed after she had calmed down, "how I miss high school."
Heather wrinkled her nose at this. "Nah, I don't miss it very much except for my friends," she admitted, "High school life is nothing but crazy drama shit. I'm glad that's over."
Sophia suspired in agreement. She closed her eyes to let the gentle breeze blow away all the sad memories in her life.
She was a strong woman but after Dylan's funeral, all her beliefs were thrown out of the window. She lost count on how many night was spent curled under the cover, clutching Dylan's pillow to her chest. The boys tried everything to lift her up but nothing could hide the fact that her fiancé, the father of her child, was gone forever. It took a few months until Sophia was finally able to function normally, well, as normal as she could.
But all her efforts were burned when she gave birth to Daryl. Hunter and Natasha had been by her side, holding her hands during the process but in her mind, it wasn't enough. She needed Dylan. Sophia couldn't even look at her newborn baby, let alone hold him. The doctor diagnosed her condition as Postpartum Depression. It took every fiber in Natasha's body to help her daughter heal because her grandson needed his mother. Up to this day, Sophia couldn't repay all of her mother's sacrifices.
"Sophia?" a familiar voice hollered. Sophia's eyes snapped open, as well as Heather's. They both turned to stare at a man running towards them. His curly hair billowed in the wind as he caught up to the bench they were sitting on.
"Sophie, what are you doing here all alone?" he panted, a little out of breath, "I stopped by your apartment to find it empty and your neighbor told me you left without a word. Do you know how worried I was?"
"Hunter," Sophia flushed, "Stop fussing." He frowned at her subtle head gesture pointing towards the girl next to her but his brown eyes finally widened when Heather's face registered his mind.
"Heather? Heather Brown?" he questioned in disbelief. Heather laughed and held out a hand to him.
"Long time no see, Hunter Kinsley," she grinned, "Looks like you haven't changed a bit."
The three of them chatted animatedly for a few minutes before Sophia politely interrupted to end their talk.
"I have to head home now, Heather," she said, "Daryl will get fussy when he doesn't have his dinner on time."
Heather nodded before proceeding to envelop Sophia in a tight hug. Daryl was now in Hunter's arms so she squeezed the air out of her friend.
"You have my number, don't you?" Heather asked when they pulled apart. Sophia nodded and took Daryl from Hunter again.
"It was very nice to see you again, Heather. If you need anything, call me," she offered.
Heather smiled and waved at the two retreating form as they walked together to Hunter's car. Sophia's willpower and brave heart gave Heather a new look on life. Sometimes life will turn its back on you unexpectedly but you have to keep your game face on and continue your journey. After all, what is life without its trials?
*************************************************************************************
"Hey Soph, how did you get here?" asked Hunter when he couldn't find Sophia's car anywhere.
"I took the cab," she answered, "the traffic is gonna kill me if I drove on a Monday."
When they reached Hunter's Honda, Sophia gently strapped Daryl onto the extra car seat Hunter had stashed in his boot in case it was needed. Daryl gave a little groan but went back to sleep immediately. As the car drove off, Sophia gazed out of the window to view the passing stones.
"You okay?" Hunter voiced out.
"Yeah, I am," Sophia answered honestly, smiling up at him. He couldn't help but return her smile with a grin of his own.
They drove in a comfortable silence until Sophia broke it. "So when's Lillian coming home?" she inquired. Lillian was Hunter's new wife; they had just been married for over three months. Lillian, with her hot temper and spitfire attitude mashed well with Hunter's witty and stubborn self. The duo met during the final concert of The Avenue where she worked as the backstage staff.
"This evening. God, I miss her so much, I felt like it's been years since I last saw here."
Sophia couldn't help but giggle at his answer. "It has only been five days, Hunter."
"Yeah well, we're newlyweds, we get away with all these mushy stuff," he grinned.
His grin provoked a smile from her own lips and she knew, that everything was going to be okay.
*************************************************************************************
"But momma, I'm not sweepy," complained Daryl when Sophia changed him into his Batman pajamas.
"It's already past your bedtime, young man," she scolded gently, "if you don't get to bed now, you'll wake up a cranky boy. And what happens when you're a cranky boy?"
"I won't get ice-cweam," he pouted. Sophia smiled at her son before tucking his Robin blanket around him.
"Now, will you be a good boy and go to sleep?" Daryl nodded vigorously at the question, causing his brown hair to fly everywhere. Sophia smoothen it down before leaning down to plant a kiss on his forehead.
"Goodnight, munchkin," she murmured. Gently getting up to her feet as to not wake the slumbering toddler, Sophia turned off the lights but left the door slightly ajar so the light from the hallway will illuminate his room.
Sophia was comfortably perched on the sofa in her own pajamas, grading her students' papers when the doorbell rang. She scuttled over and quickly pried the door open, afraid that the bell would wake up Daryl. A smile grazed on her lips when the intruder was none other than Hunter and Lillian.
"Lily, you're back!" exclaimed Sophia excitedly. Lillian laughed lively before crushing her friend in her arms. Hunter guffawed at the sight of small Sophia being mauled by his wife.
When Lillian finally had withdrawn herself from Sophia, she raised an arm and showed her the brown paper bag that was in her hand. "I bought you souvenirs!" she pointed. Sophia chuckled and stepped aside to let the couple in.
They sat on her brown couch, talking animatedly about Lillian's trip to Russia. Lillian dug her hands in the brown bag, searching for the souvenir she had bought especially for Sophia. When she retracted her hand, there was a snow globe resting in it.
"I found this in a bar there. I had to fight tooth and nail for it but it was worth it," Lillian explained softly. Sophia took the globe from her hands and examined it herself. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the five little figurines in it. They were Sophia, Dylan, Luke, Zach and Hunter unmistakably, each with their own instruments in their hands
"Oh my god," choked Sophia, "a snow globe with us in it!" She sniffled a little before wrapping her arms around Lillian as a token of appreciation.
"You are the best, Lils!" Lillian grinned at the compliment and was about to show her more of the unique souvenirs but the sound of pitter patter of feet silenced her. Soon enough, a young boy emerged from the hallway, blinking at them.
"Momma?" Daryl called out sleepily. Sophia placed the globe on the coffee table and rushed to him, sweeping him in her arms.
"What's wrong, munchkin?"
Daryl look at her straight in the eye with his watery brown eyes. "You forgot to tell me bout Daddy," he pouted. Sophia kissed the boy on his nose before sitting down on the couch with Daryl perched on her lap.
"I'm sorry, honey. How about I tell you now?" she offered. Daryl nodded mutely, laying his little head on Sophia's shoulder and sucking on his Robin blanket. Hunter and Lillian smiled softly at each other at the sight of the mother and son.
"You see, your Daddy's a very talented musician," Sophia began. As she retold the tale of Daryl Mayer, her best friend, her fiancé and more importantly, her child's father, she knew he would forever be alive in their hearts. She knew that Dylan was currently looking down at them, smiling at his son and his fiancé. She knew that she was happy.
THE END
gah, I can't believe this story has ended :'( No worries though, because I've already started on a new story but it won't be all fluffy like IJYAMH. Oh and a message to the lovely Diyana Sofea, I'm sorry but I can't write Hunter with Sophia. She can't have her cake and eat it too, you know. I'm trying to show how strong she is that she can handle parenthood alone :D
Labels: It's Just You and Me Honey