“Hi.” A young African American lady came and sat next to her on the bench. “Which one’s yours?”
“Huh?” Ella looked at her with a frown. She didn’t want to be social with anyone.
“Which kid is yours?” The blond smiled and pointed. “That little tyke in the red sweater and red pants is mine.”
“He sure likes red,” Ella drawled staring at the pudgy little kid running around with a stone in his hand.
“That he does.” The lady laughed. “My name is Capri.” She held out her hand as she introduced herself.
“Capri?”
“Like the drink.” The lady laughed again. Ella studied her face as she talked; she was pretty when she smiled. She must have been about twenty-six. She must have had the kid around Ella’s age. She looked at Capri’s hand and there was no ring on it. She must have been a single mother. She looked pretty happy for a single mother. Ella was surprised and tried not to stare at Capri’s clothes. They looked like she had bought them at Target. Not the sort of clothes Ella would be caught dead wearing. And then Ella laughed at the absurdity of her thoughts.
“What’s so funny?” Capri smiled at her waiting for her to share the joke.
“Oh nothing.” Ella smiled back at her, a genuine and wide smile. “You just remind me of my best friend, Sophie. And by the way, I’m Ella.” She paused. “And no kid.”
“Ah, just spending your time here thinking?” Capri smiled kindly.
“Something like that.” She nodded and tried not to sigh. “I just got out of a bad relationship and I’m trying to not let it rule my life or thoughts.”
“Ah, I’ve been there.” Capri laughed. “Boy, have I been there.” She stood up then. “Leroy, drop that stone right now or we are going home.” Leroy looked at his mother like he wanted to cry but then dropped it and ran to one of the slides. “Oh children.”
“Hard work, huh?” Ella sympathized with Capri. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like to be a single mom.
“Yeah.” Capri laughed. “But thank God my husband is hands on. It takes a lot of pressure off me.”
“Oh, you’re married?” Ella looked at Capri’s left hand disappointed. For some reason she thought she and Capri could have become single girls on the prowl now that Sophie had gone out and hooked up with Max.
“I know, no ring.” Capri grinned. “We couldn’t afford to buy one yet.” She shrugged. “I’m just happy he was willing to take me and Leroy on.”
“Oh, he’s not Leroy’s dad?”
“Not his biological dad, no.” Capri grinned. “But he is a better father than his real dad. Leroy, come here now,” Capri shouted at the little boy who came running over to them, with his hands all full of dirt. Ella stared at him in interest. He was a gorgeous kid up close. And his clothes looked nice. A lot nicer than Capri’s. Ella smiled at the boy who looked at her unabashedly. He then reached his muddy hand over to hers and squeezed.
“Oh I’m sorry, Ella.” Capri sighed and gave her a tissue. “I bet Leroy is in love with you. He’s never seen such a beautiful girl before. Have you?”
Leroy continued staring at Ella with a small smile and she grinned at him. “That’s no problem. I guess I should get used to it. I’m going to be an aunt soon.” She looked down into her lap as excitement poured through her. She was looking forward to being an aunt. She realized that now. She sighed with annoyance at herself. She’d been such a brat—she was sure Sophie was worried sick about her. She resolved to herself that she would call Sophie as soon as she got home.
“Oh that’s great.” Capri smiled at her. “Hey, here’s my card. You should call me sometime if you ever want to hang out.”
Ella took the card and smiled. “Thanks.”
“And just in case you’re ever interested, I met my husband on reallove.com.” Capri paused. “It’s an online dating site but I think it’s better than the others. I met some nice guys there.”
“Oh ok.” Ella blushed embarrassed. Did she really look like a loser?
“Online dating is not just for the socially inept anymore.” Capri smiled and Ella wondered if she was a mind reader. “Trust me, the best way to get over an old boyfriend is to find another.”
“Yeah. That might be true.” Ella smiled back and stood up. “I should be leaving too. Nice to meet you, Capri. Bye Leroy.” She gave the little boy a small hug and waved goodbye as they walked away. “Is that the lady from the photo, Mommy?” he whispered in her ear and Capri pressed her fingers over his mouth to make sure Ella didn’t hear him. “Yes.” She smiled and took out her phone to send a text message. Contact made. And info on website given. I’ll wait for her to make contact. She hit send and put her phone away. “Come on Leroy, let me take you to our regular spot now.”
Ella looked up at the sky and smiled. She saw some birds flying and she decided to run. She didn’t care that she had on a skirt and flip-flops; she just wanted to feel free. To feel like she was flying as well. The wind stung her face and the pebbles almost twisted her ankles as she ran but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. This was the first time she had felt truly alive in weeks. She wanted to call Capri and thank her. She wanted to tell her that she was ready to move on from Joseph; that she no longer was satisfied being the girlfriend of a married man. She deserved better and she had Capri and Leroy to thank for that. Sometimes new life and energy came from those we didn’t even know. She tried to ignore the niggling thought in her mind that told her that tomorrow was another day and Joseph would be back on her mind again.
As Ella ran through the park, she realized that she was dreadfully close to Max’s apartment. She found herself running towards it without thinking. She didn’t think about it, she just kept going. She wanted to see Sophie. She felt an overwhelming desire to hug her and apologize. Poor Sophie. She knew that Sophie’s life had been just as uncertain as hers had been up until a few weeks ago. It really hadn’t been fair of Ella to cut her out. Ella stopped at the corner and bent down to adjust her skirt. As she looked up she saw Maxwell walking down the street, she was about to call out to him, when she saw Alexis next to him, chatting animatedly. Ella paused and stared as they got into a taxi together. She saw Maxwell looking around him as he got into the cab and then they sped away. She didn’t know what to think. What was he doing with Alexis? Was her brother a cheater as well? She didn’t want to believe it. What was she going to tell Sophie? For while she was jealous that her best friend had found happiness, she didn’t want that happiness to come crashing down. Not now, not after everything that had happened.