2
Victoria
“What did I tell you about gawking at other men?!” Michael yelled at me as he held me from behind while holding his gun up to my head.
“I wasn’t gawking at him,” I cried.
“You’re lying! I fucking saw you laughing with him and smiling at him!”
Michael took me to one of his meetings. He didn’t trust me enough to leave me home alone; he was paranoid that I would run away. At the meeting, one of his men told me that Michael spoke highly of me; that made me smile. The man also told me that one time, when Michael was running late to one of our dates, he was rushing to get ready and almost forgot his car keys; that was why I was laughing.
I knew there was no way Michael would believe me if I told him. He was too jealous and territorial to listen or reason with.
“I’m sorry.”
“You know what I did to him?”
“No.”
“I put a bullet in his head!”
“Michael, I’m sorry!” I cried.
“You better be!”
I was jolted awake by the sound of knocking on my door. I looked around and saw Antonio in his carrier with his diaper bag packed and ready to go. My purse was on the coffee table in front of me, and Antonio’s stroller was right by the door.
I must’ve fallen asleep.
I was so tired; I didn’t get any sleep the night before. Antonio kept waking up despite being fed, having a clean diaper, and having his white noise machine on. He didn’t have a fever or any other sick symptoms.
As I tried to gather my thoughts and push away the horrible memory, there was another knock on the door.
“I’m coming!”
I slowly walked to the door and looked through the peephole; Kelly was waiting. I opened the door and let her step in.
“Ready to go?” She cheerfully asked.
“Yeah. I have everything we’ll need.”
“Great! I’ll take the stroller while you take Antonio and your bags.”
“Okay.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah. I didn’t get much sleep. Antonio was up all night.”
“Oh… If you’re too tired, we can stay here.”
“No, no. Antonio could use the fresh air, and I could also use some time outside.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
After packing the bags in the car, and strapping Antonio in, we drove off to Millennium Park.
As we walked through the park, I couldn’t help but remember the time I spent there with Michael.
We held hands as we walked through the water, our feet getting wet. I was slightly shivering because it was starting to get cold as the sun went down. Michael took off his jacket and helped me put it over my sweater. He then scooped me up bridal style and carried me over to where he had a bag with things we might need. He grabbed a towel and dried my feet, causing me to smile.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of Antonio laughing. I looked around and realized we were in Maggie Daley Park, and Antonio was laughing at the sight of all the little kids playing.
Kelly and I found a bench to sit on. I took Antonio out of his stroller and sat him on my lap, facing all the kids playing. He just kept smiling and laughing.
“You like watching all the kids play?” I asked.
“He’s gonna be a social butterfly,” Kelly commented.
“Probably,” I said.
I looked up and saw a swing for more minor children was available, so I walked over to it and gently set Antonio in it, facing me.
“Ready?” I asked him.
Antonio instantly laughed as he swung backward, causing me to smile. As I was pushing Antonio, I felt like someone was watching me. I casually turned, the way Michael taught me, and saw no one.
As I continued to push Antonio, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me.
“Kelly, how long has Antonio been on the swing?”
“About twenty minutes.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yup.”
“It’s no wonder my arm is sore.”
“Do you want me to take over?”
“No. It’s almost time for Antonio to eat, and I’m hungry too.”
“Same. Let’s go find somewhere to eat before Antonio starts screaming.”
“He is not that bad,” I said as I took Antonio out of the swing and put him back in the stroller.”
“You weren’t there yesterday when I had to feed him baby food after he wouldn’t drink the breast milk,” Kelly said with a face that suggested she was traumatized.
I just rolled my eyes and started pushing the stroller.
“There’s a small cafe right around the corner,” I said.
“That place smelled amazing! We should go there.”
“Okay.”
Fortunately, the cafe wasn’t packed; very few people scattered. Kelly went to order while I settled in a booth with Antonio. As I put Antonio on my lap, Kelly sat across from me.
“They’ll bring the food to us in a few minutes.”
“Okay, great.”
It was warm in the cafe, so I took off Antonio’s jacket. A waiter approached us with a food tray when I finished putting on his bib.
“Grilled Bacon, Gouda,” he said as he gently placed my sandwich in the center of the table. I reached out and pulled it closer to me.
“Avocado toast.”
Kelly nodded so the waiter would place the plate in front of her.
“And a cup of macaroni and cheese. Let me know if you ladies need anything later,” the waiter said as he set Antonio’s macaroni down.
“Thank you,” Kelly said.
The waiter nodded and winked at me before turning around and walking back to wherever he was working.
I grabbed my fork and put macaroni on it. I brought the macaroni to my lips and discovered it was too hot for Antonio. I began to blow on the food, and once it cooled off enough, I let Antonio take a bite. His eyes immediately lit up as he quickly chewed his food.
“Wow, he likes that,” Kelly said.
“Is that good?” I asked Antonio; he just smiled and began to babble.
“So, you’re giving him solid food?”
“Yeah. Just small soft foods that he can chew easily.”
“Okay. It sounds like your boobs will be getting a break then.”
“Shhhh! That’s kinda inappropriate to say out loud.”
“Oh, please! It’s the truth, and many moms have to deal with it. Also, there’s hardly anyone here.”
“Still, that’s private.”
“Whatever!”
We sat silently as Kelly ate her avocado toast while I balanced out feeding Antonio and eating my sandwich.
“There’s one concern that I have,” Kelly said.
“What?” I asked, annoyance evident in my voice.
“Yesterday, when you mentioned Antonio’s father, you said ‘his daddy.’ You also used his name.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Leslie, if you keep referring to him like that, you will stay attached to him. It’s been over a year, and it’s time to let go.”
I let out a sigh.
“I guess you’re right.”
“Maybe you should start dating.”
“Kelly! Antonio’s not even a year old yet. I need to be a mother first. I don’t want to date for a while.”
“Good. That was a test; you don’t need to be rebounding and risk ending up with another abusive asshole.”
I knew Kelly cared about me and was watching out for me, but I didn’t appreciate her attitude toward Michael. Although he was abusive, he was still the father of my child.
“Would you ladies like anything else?” The waiter came back to ask.
“No, thank you,” Kelly and I said in unison. The waiter had a shocked look but quickly recovered with a smile.
“Alright, I’ll get your check.”
“I got this,” I told Kelly.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
I wiped Antonio’s mouth and put him back in his stroller before grabbing my wallet from my purse.
“Here you go,” the waiter handed me the check. I took out my credit card and handed it over to him.
When I buckled Antonio, the waiter returned with the receipt for me to sign. As I put my card away and handed him the receipt, something caught my attention from the corner of my eye.
I turned around, and my eyes grew wide as my heart started pounding. Michael’s cousin was working on his laptop while drinking a cup of coffee.
What is he doing in Chicago? Did he see me? Crap, what if he recognized me? Is he going to tell Michael? I am so dead.
My mind was flooded with panicked thoughts.
“Leslie, are you okay?” I heard Kelly say.
“Yeah. I guess I zoned out.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
I casually glanced at Michael’s cousin as we walked out the door. He was facing away from us and seemed very focused on his laptop.
He probably didn’t see me.
