Page 54 of Second Chances

Olivia scooped up Simona in a hug and kissed her.

“How’s my girl?” she asked her daughter. Simona’s dark locks were messy and falling out of the braid she’d done earlier that morning.

“Good.” Simona pushed her away and then ran over to Todd, who was there to scoop her up for a hug. “Can Todd come with us for pizza?” she asked.

“Maybe you can ask Todd?” Olivia said with a smile.

“Can you?” She turned her face to his.

“Pizza?” he asked, his voice low as if he was thinking about it. “What kind of pizza?”

Simona giggled. “With pepperoni and olives.” She leaned closer to him and lowered her voice. “My favorite.”

He smiled. “Mine too. I guess I can tag along then.”

She had never had as much fun eating pizza before. Todd seemed to love to entertain them both with stories of his childhood or places he’d traveled to.

“So, that’s why you should never climb to the top of a pyramid,” Todd said, finishing up his latest story. The pizza was gone, and Simona had been eagerly listening to him, but Olivia could see that her daughter was growing very tired and knew that bedtime was quickly approaching.

“There really aren’t mummies, are there?” Simona asked.

“There are, but they don’t walk around like in Scooby Doo,” Todd answered.

Simona’s eyes grew wide. “You watch Scooby Doo?”

Todd chuckled. “Who doesn’t? Saturday morning cartoons are still my favorite.” Todd winked at Olivia and she smiled. She highly doubted the man sat down and watched cartoons, any time of the day.

In her house, they were usually going at all times of the day when Simona was around. Not that she let her daughter watch television that much. Half the time Simona wasn’t even in the room. She lost interest in them often and would head to her bedroom to play.

She’d tried, at first, to be one of those parents that had limited her daughter’s television time. But as a single parent, life was so hectic that, half the time, she was right there with her daughter, relaxing.

She always planned fun outings for the two of them on her days off. They often went hiking, to the beach, or on playdates with friends.

Next year, she was determined to have Simona start dance or a team sport, whatever her daughter showed interest in. She knew in the end it would make her life more hectic, but she didn’t mind.

As Todd continued to talk, Simona climbed up into his lap and fell asleep.

Todd acted like it was the most normal thing in the world to be holding Simona. She knew that the two had grown close last week when she’d been sick.

Simona liked Todd. That much was fact. She was almost infatuated with him. When they were alone at home, she would often ask her if they could call and invite him over for dinner or to watch movies.

Each time she’d made the excuse that he was busy fixing up his house.

Simona had even asked Todd before their pizza had arrived if he was done fixing his house yet. As she explained it, she wanted more time to hang out with him.

Even her daughter enjoyed his company. How was she supposed to fight against falling deeper in the hole when everything was against her?

The only way she could avoid becoming too attached was to remind herself how Brock had changed. That thought kept her grounded. Not that she truly believed Todd would change from who he was. She knew that all men weren’t bad. She was surrounded by plenty of good men every single day.

After pizza, the three of them walked down the street to the pier. When her daughter grew tired, she lifted her into her arms to carry her, only to have Todd reach over and easily take her into his arms.

Instantly, Simona laid her head on his shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

“She’s getting so big,” Olivia said when they stopped at the end of the dock. She’d noticed that her daughter’s legs went down to just below Todd’s knees. “How did she get so big so quickly?” she asked, seeing that her daughter was fast asleep.

“That’s what kids are supposed to do,” Todd said with a smile. He reached over and took her hand in his free one. It would have taken both of her arms and hands to keep Simona up, not to mention her back would have been hurting by now under her daughter’s weight. Todd, however, acted like Simona weighed next to nothing.

“I suppose,” she said, wishing for years and years of her daughter being just the way she was now. “Soon she’ll start looking at boys, stop wanting to hang out with me as much.” She leaned on the railing and looked out over the water.