KAYSEN

***KAYSEN TWO YEARS AGO***

"Alright, babe, I'll be right back with your pineapple upside-down cake. Are you sure you don't want anything else?" Michael asked as he bent down and kissed me on the forehead.

"Nope, Cora wants pineapple upside-down cake. I'm not craving anything else. Well, maybe some chocolate chip cookies," I said, and Michael walked away laughing.

"Ok, I love you; I'll be back soon," Michael said as he walked out of the door.

***ONE HOUR LATER***

I peered at my phone and saw that an hour had passed and Michael had not returned from the store. I wondered what would be keeping him so long; he should have been home by now.

Shortly after, there was a knock at the front door. 'Who could be here at this hour?' I thought to myself as I walked to the door. It was eleven o'clock on a Sunday evening; everyone I knew at this moment in my life would be home and asleep.

I opened the door to see two police officers waiting for me to answer the door.

"Excuse me, ma'am, are you, Michael Reynolds's wife?" One of the men asked me.

"Yes, I am Kaysen Reynolds, Michael's wife. Has something happened to my husband? He just went down the road to get me something from the store but should have returned about thirty minutes ago or so," I said as my limbs grew cold, and I felt faint all of a sudden.

"Yes, ma'am, we need for you to come with us. A truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and ran a red light, and hit your husband's car. He is alive but has been seriously injured. We are here to take you to him. You may want to put on a jacket so that you don't catch a cold while being pregnant," the officer said as he looked down at my swollen belly. I had only two months to go before our daughter Cora would be coming into the world.

I ran and grabbed my coat and purse and pulled my keys from my purse, and locked the door. One of the police officers helped me into the back seat of the cop car, and then we were off. I was so glad that they were taking me. I don't think I would have been able to drive myself. I didn't have a good feeling at all, and something was preparing me to be ready to lose the love of my life.

***

"Your husband has been taken to surgery. He has lost a tremendous amount of blood. It would be best to prepare yourself; the odds are only twenty percent of your husband surviving. Do you have someone who can come help you?" The doctor asked as he placed me into a chair. I was close to passing out from shock.

"Yes, I will call his parents and mine. I will be ok. Would you please keep me posted?" I asked as I grabbed my phone.

"Yes, ma'am, I must be going now; I will make sure to give you frequent updates," the doctor said as he walked off.

***ONE HOUR LATER***

"Your husband is now in the ICU. We did all we could, but it is still unlikely that he will pull through. Would you like for me to take you to him?" The doctor asked, and I rose from my chair.

"Yes, please take me to him," I said as I turned to kiss and hug Michael's parents and my own. Then turned to follow the doctor.

I grabbed Michael's hand, prayed, and wept for my husband and father of our baby. Would he not have a chance to bring Cora into the world? Was I to lose the love of my life?

A short time after I had been crying, Michael's hand twitched. I looked up to see that his eyes had opened slightly.

"Kaysen love, I must go; they are waiting for me. I have come back to tell you goodbye and give you a farewell kiss. Take care of Cora, and when the time is right to find someone, I want you to remarry. Cora will need a father." Michael said as I bent down to kiss him, and fresh tears fell from my eyes.

"Please don't leave me; I don't want to live without you; I love you, Michael," I cried as Michael's heart stopped beating on the heart monitor.

***TWO YEARS LATER***

"Mom, I'm leaving for work. Cora is asleep. She should sleep through the night; she has played hard all day," I said as I grabbed my purse and fished around for my keys.

"You know I don't like your job, Kaysen. You are a well-respected woman and a mother. You shouldn't be a waitress at a strip club," my mom said as I hurried towards the door.

My mom and I went through this every night I had to work, which had been four nights a week for the past year. She does not know that I also stripped at this said strip bar. I wait tables after my act. I have saved up a good amount of money, Cora, and I should be able to move out of my parent's house soon.

"Mom, it's good money, and it allows me to be home during the day to be with Cora and work on my online classes. I cannot live here with you and dad forever. Cora and I need a place of our own to call home. I'm sorry, but I'm going to be late," I said as I rushed out of the door.

After Michael passed away, I couldn't bring myself to stay in our home. So my mom had helped me put the house on the market, and I had been living with my parents ever since. I had Cora when I was only nineteen years old, and my parents and Michaels parents had been a great help to me. They had allowed me to take my online courses and were all dead set on me not having to work.

Once Cora had turned one, I felt I was ready for Cora and me to be on our own. After a year, I almost had enough money to put a hefty down payment on a lovely house for Cora and me. I would have to continue to work until I received my degree to become an editor and publisher and grew a nice variety of clientele, but that's ok.

I happen to love my job; the other girls have always been jealous of my size c cups. I have never been shy to show off what God gave me. I never went home with a different man every night as the other girls had.

Michael was the only man I had ever been with, and no one would ever take his place. Michael requested with his dying breath that I find a father for Cora, but she has four grandparents and me. I don't need a man to rule over me.

***

"Hey Raven, it's about time you got here; you're on in ten minutes. Get your ass ready." My boss Hector barked out as I neared the dressing room.

I scrambled around frantically as I stripped from my waitress attire and pulled on my cowgirl boots and cowgirl stripper costume. I spritzed some glitter all over my body and fixed my makeup. I left my long thick curly black locks down and then put my cowgirl hat on.

I got up to the stage just as Jade walked off, and then Hector introduced me onto the stage. I believe the only reason Hector hasn't fired me yet is that his revenue has quadrupled since I started stripping six months ago. I'm almost always late.

Hector knows of my situation, though, and has been more like a brother to me than an employer. He barks a lot but means well. Hector is young for owning a business like this; at only thirty years old, he has a beautiful wife and three young children. His wife sometimes worked behind the bar on weekends when they had gotten a babysitter to watch their kids overnight. She must have a lot of trusts to let Hector work around strippers every night. I wouldn't be able to handle that if it were me.

I strutted my stuff as I walked up on the stage and noticed several of my regulars sitting at tables up front. They always seemed to tip quite well, and a few of them had asked me out on a date, but Hector had always swooped in to save the day.

My gaze landed on a table where three guys sat. I knew who Conner and Wade were. They come to the club quite frequently; they are good friends of Hectors. I stopped short at seeing the man seated at the table with them. Our eyes met, and suddenly, I felt self-conscious of myself and wished I had had longer than ten minutes to get ready. Those gorgeous hazel brown eyes stared into my bright blue eyes. I was brought out of my daze when he smiled and winked at me. I never in a million years thought I would ever want another man, but this man had my heart beating a mile a minute.

Writer's Note

This chapter made me cry while I was writing it😢Feel free to give a 👍and leave a comment at any time. Hugs and Love Sapphirian J 🥰