Chapter 5
Hope and Kelley spend the next few weeks getting to know more about one another. There’s no strings attached, just yet, and they still haven’t taken the next step. Hope’s been allowing Kelley to take the reins and set the pace. After sensing Kelley’s hesitance, she’s content with taking a step back and slowing things down a little bit. Just when the goalkeeper thinks things could actually turn out well with the bartender, everything changes. Hope decided to visit Kelley at the bar and grab a drink, since she’s working with Tom. She doesn’t expect what’s to come.
Hope sits at the bar, slowly nursing her drink, while Kelley makes her way to different customers, taking their order and making their drinks. Tom, the other bartender, does the same, the two of them making their way around each other easily, clearly used to working with each other. Luckily for the two workers, it’s starting to slow down and Kelley’s night will be over rather soon. She shoots Hope a smile from across the bar. Hope returns the gesture, offering a quick wink. She looks up to see what’s playing on the flat screen when she hears a small voice sound. “Mommy!” A little girl says, as she walks up to the bar followed by an older woman, greying hair falling to just above her shoulders. The girl looks at Hope, who gives her a smile, and walks right past her. She doesn’t notice Kelley’s face go white or her eyes widen at the sound of the little girl’s voice.
“Mommy?” The child says again, trying to see above the counter. Hope watches the girl, skeptically. The older woman picks the little girl up and looks at Kelley apologetically. “I’m so sorry. My sister..she’s in the hospital and I need to get down there.” Hope’s brows furrow as she tries to put the pieces together. Kelley nods at the woman, understandingly. She comes out from behind the bar, shooting Hope guilt-filled glances. “Mommy!” The child exclaims, excitedly, as Kelley takes her from the woman. Hope immediately feels the rug being ripped from underneath her. “Call me later and let me know how your sister’s doing, okay?” Kelley says, giving the woman’s forearm a squeeze. The woman nods, before walking quickly out of the restaurant.
Hope gapes, her eyes wide, in shock. She looks at Kelley, who’s giving her an apologetic look, in return. She shakes her head at the shorter woman as she realizes what this means. “Tom, I’ll be right back.” Kelley says, quickly, earning a nod from the other bartender. She walks over to Hope, ignoring the babbling that her daughter is currently doing in her ear. “Come outside with me for a second?” She asks in a hushed voice. “Who are you?” The little girl asks, looking at the blue-eyed stranger. Hope blinks for a few seconds, before standing and beginning to walk with them towards the door. “I’m Hope. Who are you?” She asks, giving the child a small smile. Regardless of the situation, it’s not the child’s fault.
“I’m Lily, like the flower.” The little girl responds from her place, securely, in Kelley’s arms. Kelley continues to shoot Hope worried glances over her daughter’s head. Hope thinks back to the lilies that Kelley had given her the other night when she came over for dinner and it all makes a little more sense. As they walk outside, Kelley starts speaking. “I’m so sorry, Hope. I know I should have told you but I didn’t know how and I just wasn’t sure how you were gonna take it. I really like you.” She says, quickly. “I didn’t want you to write me off because of this.” She finishes, bouncing Lily on her hip. “You have a child. A real child. You do realize I didn’t even want to commit and now there’s…” She trails off, motioning to said child, who looks to be trying to figure out what’s happening between the two of them. Her hazel eyes, matching her mother’s almost perfectly, glancing between the two adults in wonder.
Kelley nods, guiltily. “I know. I’m sorry.” She says. She glances back towards the door of the restaurant. “I need to get back. I-I don’t know what I’m gonna do with her.” She says, wiping her face with her free hand. Hope sighs, glancing at the small, blonde-headed girl in her mother’s arms. “I can watch her til the end of your shift.” Hope offers. Kelley gapes at her for a few seconds, before responding. “Are-Are you sure?” She asks, confusedly. Hope sighs and holds out her hands to the girl. “You wanna hang out with me for a little while?” Hope asks, in an kind tone, trying to get the toddler to come with her. Lily looks at the adult, skeptically, for a few seconds, before shaking her head and burying her face in her mother’s shoulder. Hope drops her hands to her sides and looks at Kelley nervously. “I’m not good with kids.” She mutters under her breath.
“Lil, I need to go back to work.” Kelley says, softly, in the child’s ear. “Can you do me a big favor and hang out with Hope until I’m all done? I’ll be right across the counter, okay? I’ll even give you some cherries.” She offers, hopefully. Lily peeks her head up, looking at Kelley. “Can I have extra cherries?” She asks, sweetly. Kelley rolls her eyes, but can’t suppress a small smile from making its way onto her face. “Okay.” She answers, giving Hope an appreciative look, as the goalkeeper takes Lily into her arms. The three of them walk back into the restaurant and Kelley goes straight back to the bar, while Hope stops to grab a kid’s menu and crayons from the hostess.
“Do you want to color?” Hope asks, as she carries the child back to the bar. Lily nods, looking at the woman. “You’re pretty.” She says, poking Hope’s cheek with her small pointer finger. Hope fails to suppress a smile and looks at the girl. “Thank you.” She answer’s, softly, as she sits down at her bar stool and places Lily on her lap. “So are you.” Lily smiles up at her. “Thank you.” She responds, politely. Hope opens up the small box of crayons and points to the uncolored picture of a cowboy hat. “You want to color that one?” She asks. Lily nods her head and reaches for the blue crayon. “Blue’s my favorite color.” Hope smiles at her. “Mine too.”
“Here’s your cherries, baby. I’ll be all done with work soon, okay?” Lily nods, distractedly, as she concentrates wholly on staying inside the lines. Kelley smiles at her daughter, before looking at Hope. ‘Thank you.’ She mouths to her, giving her a guilt-filled, but appreciative, look. Hope gives her a tight smile, in response. “Will you help me?” Lily asks, interrupting the moment between the women. “Of course.” Hope replies, looking over the girl’s shoulder. “I can’t find ‘box’.” She says, pointing to the word search that she’s moved on to. Hope immediately finds it, but pretends that she’s having difficulty with it. “I found it.” Hope whispers, in faux-excitement.
Lily looks up at her with wide eyes. “You did? Where? Where?” Hope smiles and points to the general area that the word is in. “It’s somewhere over here.” She directs. Lily sticks her tongue out of the side of her mouth, trying to find the word. “I found it!” She says, a little bit too loudly for the setting. Hope laughs and glances around the bar, hoping that no one was bothered. “Good job. I knew you could do it.” The brunette says, kindly. Kelley watches the interaction and tries to ignore the flutter in her chest at the sight. ‘Not good with kids.’ Kelley thinks, sarcastically. She checks the time and sighs, in relief. “Tom, I’m off in 5. Do you mind if I leave a little early?” Tom waves her off, letting her know that he doesn’t care. She mutters a ‘thanks’, before clocking out.
“Okay, Lil. You ready to go?” Kelley asks, as she walks towards the pair. Lily looks at her and shakes her head. “No, mom. We need to find ‘cat’.” She says, seriously. She gives her mother a pointed look, before looking at Hope. “Did you find it yet?” She asks. Hope lets out an airy laugh and nods. “It’s somewhere over here.” She says, pointing to the page. Lily lets out an excited gasp when she finds it. “Okay, we can go now.” She says, looking at Kelley, who smiles. “Come here.” She says, as she lifts the child off of Hope’s lap. “Hopey, are you coming too? I have another game at my house that you could play with me.” Kelley smiles at her daughter’s innocence. Hope’s falters, a little bit, before shaking her head. “I can’t.” She says, gently. She glances at Kelley, before looking back at the child. “Maybe another time, okay?” Lily pouts for a few seconds, before nodding, in understanding. “Okay.”
Hope walks with the pair to their car and watches as Kelley places Lily in her car seat, which was most-definitely not there last night. Kelley closes the door and turns to face Hope. She looks into her eyes for a few seconds, before grabbing her right wrist and leading her to the back of the car, where the child can’t see them. Hope follows Kelley, skeptically. “What are you-“ Hope is cut off by Kelley’s lips being pressed against hers, softly. Kelley pushes her back into the trunk of the car, still holding onto her wrist. Hope freezes, clearly not expecting the kiss. She finds her footing soon after and kisses the shorter woman back, before pulling away. “What was that?” Hope asks, confusedly. “I just-I…thank you.” Kelley stutters. Hope looks at her for a few seconds. “This isn’t okay, Kelley. I watched her to do you a favor, not because I’m okay with it. You should have mentioned her to me. I should have been able to decide if I wanted to be involved in this or not.”
“You would have run before you even got to know me.” Kelley states. Hope looks down at the pavement, before glancing at Kelley. “Even so…I should have been given the choice.” She says, seriously. “Where’s her father? Jesus, are you still with her father?” She continues, getting herself worked up. Kelley places her hands on Hope’s, trying to calm her down. “He ran as soon as the pregnancy test came back positive.” Kelley says, softly. Hope looks at her and feels a sense of anger towards a man that she doesn’t even know. How could someone do that? “Hope, you have a choice. You don’t have to decide right now, but now you know everything. I have to go. I don’t want to leave her in there by herself.” She says, motioning to the car. “You do have a choice. Think about it.” She squeezes Hope’s hands, and gives her a nervous smile, before making her way back into the car. Hope watches, silently, as the car pulls away and knows she’s in way over her head.