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January 2013
“Do you have enough stuff?” Sierra asked Olivia. Justin was bringing in Olivia’s bags into her house.
“Well Daddy said to pack enough for three weeks, and that’s a long time,” Olivia answered.
“It is, but it will go so fast,” Sierra smiled as she watched Justin walk up the porch steps.
“Hi,” Justin grinned as he walked into the house. He kissed Sierra and walked up the stairs.
“Cameron is asleep up there, so be quiet,” Sierra said and watched him go up.
“Where’s Cora?” Olivia asked.
“She should be cleaning her room.”
Justin came back downstairs, “I said good-bye to Cameron.”
“Is he still sleeping?” Justin nodded ‘yes.’ “Cora! Come down and say ‘bye’ to Justin.” Sierra yelled up the stairs. “That probably woke him up, but he’ll be fine.” Cora came down the stairs.
“Hey, sweet stuff,” Justin picked her up. “You be good for your sister.” He hugged her and kissed her cheek.
“I always am,” Cora grinned and kissed his cheek as he set her down. “Love you.” Sierra rolled her eyes at Justin when she heard that.
“Love you too,” Justin put his hand on her head and winked at her. “All right sweet heart,” he looked down at Olivia. “I’m going to miss you.” He wrapped his arms around her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I’m going to miss you too,” Olivia said. Justin pulled back to look at her.
“Are you going to be okay?” Justin asked. Olivia nodded. “Good. If you need me, call me right away.”
“K.”
“Do your homework. Do what Sierra asks you to do, and no arguments.” Justin kissed her cheek. “I love you lots and lots.”
“I love you too, Daddy,” Olivia gave him another hug.
“All right,” Justin patted her back as he pulled away. He looked over at Sierra, “Are you going to be okay with three of them?” Justin asked as the girls took off up the stairs. He watched them over Sierra’s shoulder.
“Uh-huh,” Sierra nodded. “I’ll call your Mom if I need anything.”
“She’s in Tennessee until next week.”
“Okay. I’m sure we’ll be fine though,” she responded and stepped closer to him.
“If there’s an emergency, I’ll be here.” He picked up her left hand and played with the ring on her finger. “I’ll be home in two and a half weeks.”
“K,” Sierra put her right hand on his shoulder. She took another step closer to him, and reached up to kiss his cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Justin dropped her hand and wrapped his arms around her. This time he moved so they were touching. He leaned down and kissed her softly. Sierra’s arms went around his neck, as they kissed.
“Have a safe trip, and call me,” she said quietly when he pulled away.
“I will. When I come back we’ll talk about the wedding,” Justin smiled and kissed her cheek. He gave her one last hug and pulled away from her body.
“Bye girls!” Justin yelled up the stairs, “I love you. Be good.” The girls yelled ‘bye’ back from Cora’s room.
“See you in a couple of weeks,” Sierra said as she opened the front door.
“Yep, yep,” Justin said. He gave her one last kiss and stepped out the door.
Sierra watched as he walked down to the car that was waiting for him. Justin waved as he slid into the open vehicle and closed the door. Sierra watched the car drive away and then closed the front door.
February 2013
“We need to go girls, or we’re all going to be late,” Sierra pulled Cameron from his highchair. She walked over to the sink, and found a rag to wipe the banana off of his hands and face. He twisted in her arm and tried to pull away. “Hold still, Cameron.”
“Let’s go! Let’s go,” Sierra looked at the two girls who were still sitting at the table. “Put your bowls in the sink and get your bags. We need to go.” They got up and put their bowls in the sink. “I’ll be in the car.” She stated as they walked out of the kitchen to get their backpacks.
Sierra picked up her and Cameron’s bags and the car keys, and then walked out to the car. She had to fight with Cameron to get him in his car seat, and he screamed and kicked at the seat as she set their bags at his feet. She ignored his noise.
The girls got into the car, and the headed out. Cameron continued to make angry noises as they drove down the road. Sierra dropped Cora off at her school first, and then ran inside at the daycare to drop Cameron off. Sierra and Olivia got to the elementary school with 10 minutes to spare.
“Have a good day,” Sierra said to Olivia.
“Bye Ms. Stevens,” Olivia smiled and walked into her classroom.
Sierra walked the short distance to her classroom and smiled at her students who had gathered outside of her classroom.
“Sorry guys,” Sierra said apologetically as she unlocked the door. She reached in and turned the light on. Sierra let her students file into the classroom and then she followed them. “Monday’s are always the hardest. Isn’t that right?” She walked over to her desk and set her bag down before turning on the computer. “I’ve got to run down to the office for a second, so keep it down.”
“SISSY!” Sierra looked up when she heard the ear-piercing scream from across the playground. The third grade classes were outside for their recess, and Sierra had been standing closer to the building talking with the other teachers and monitoring the playground.
“Olivia fell off the swings!” One of the kids from her class yelled from his spot on top of the slides.
Sierra walked quickly over to the swings, and crouched down next to a crying Olivia.
“What happened baby?” Sierra asked and put her hand on the little girl’s back.
“It hurts. It hurts,” Olivia repeated and held her right arm. She leaned against Sierra and wiped her face on Sierra’s shirt.
“What does?” Sierra asked frantically.
“My arm,” Olivia answered as a few tears fell down her cheek.
“Come on,” Sierra helped her stand up, “we’re going to go see the nurse.” Olivia nodded and continued to hold her arm as she leaned against Sierra. Sierra let the other teachers know what was going on and then she led Olivia into the building.
“I want Daddy.” Olivia cried.
“We’ll call him in a little bit,” Sierra rubbed her hand up and down the little girl’s back as they walked down the hall. They got to the nurse’s office and Sierra sat down on the bed next to Olivia, while the older woman checked out a few things.
“It seems to be broken,” she said, “so we’re going to call your Dad and then get you to the emergency room.”
“He’s out of town,” Sierra said. “I’ll go with her. I just need to get my bag, and have someone cover for me for the rest of the day.”
“Okay,” the other woman nodded.
“Are you going to be okay for a few minutes?” Sierra asked Olivia, “I’m going to go and get my stuff and your bag.” Olivia nodded.
“All right sweetie, let’s wrap your arm up in this, so it doesn’t get jostled too much,” the nurse said as Sierra stepped out of the room. She grabbed her bag from her classroom and went into the room next door. Sierra found Olivia’s back pack, and her desk. And she wrote down the homework assignment on the board, and grabbed her books for her.
Once she got back to the office, Sierra talked to Mrs. Duvall, and then went and got Olivia from the nurse’s office. “Ready sweetheart?”
“Yeah. Can I talk to Dad?” Olivia asked.
“We’ll call him on the way,” Sierra opened the door for Olivia. She helped Olivia get into the car and buckled her seatbelt for her. Sierra got in the front seat and reached back into the backseat for her purse. “Let me get my phone out …” Sierra dug in her purse and found the small phone. She opened it up and turned it on.
“Okay …” Sierra made noises as she found his name in the phonebook, “I’ll get it dialed, and you can tell him.”
“K,” Olivia said and wiped her cheek. Sierra handed her the phone, careful not to bump her arm that was in the sling. “Daddy …” Olivia wailed when he answered the phone, “I-I “ I,” she hiccupped and paused. “My arm … I jumped of the swing … and, and it crushed. … uh-huh.”
Sierra listened to the one-sided conversation as she drove down the road to the hospital. Olivia handed Sierra the phone after a few minutes, “Hey.”
“Do you need me to come home?” Justin sounded concerned.
“She’ll be fine,” Sierra looked over at Olivia.
“Are you sure? I just … God, I wish I was home when things like this happened,” he stated.
“I know you do, honey,” Sierra said sympathetically and looked over her shoulder before switching lanes.
“I’m just glad you were there. I miss all of you so much,” Justin said.
“We miss you too … we’re almost to the hospital. I’ll call you when we’re done.” Sierra said, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Justin smiled, “Give Olivia a big hug for me, when you can.”
“I will,” Sierra said, “bye.”
“Kisses. Bye.” They hung up their phones just as Sierra was pulling into the hospital parking lot. Sierra found a place to park as close to the doors as she could, and helped Olivia out of the car.
“Hello,” Sierra said to the nurse who was working the emergency desk.
“Yes?” She responded and looked at both Sierra and Olivia.
“We had an accident on the playground, and I think she may have broken her arm,” Sierra explained to the nurse and put her arm around Olivia’s shoulders.
“Okay,” she smiled and picked up some forms, before walking around the desk. “Let me get you to a bed, and I’m going to need you to fill out some forms. What is your name sweetie?”
“Olivia Timberlake,” the little girl answered and followed her.
“How old are you?”
“Nine.”
The nurse wrote some things down on the clipboard and then reached to pull a curtain back. “Have a seat on this bed. And what is your relationship to Olivia?” She asked Sierra.
“She’s my fiancés daughter. He’s out of town right now, so she’s staying with me. I teach at the school she goes too,” Sierra answered and helped Olivia onto the bed.
“Okay. I’m going to need you to fill out these insurance forms, and other information that you can. There’s a phone at the desk if you need to call anyone. I’m going to get the doctor.” She handed Sierra a clipboard with a few pieces of paper, and then hung the other clipboard off the edge of the bed.
“All right,” Sierra sat down on the bed next to Olivia. “Let’s see what I can answer, before we have to call your Dad again.” Olivia smiled up at Sierra. Sierra looked down at the forms and started to fill them out the best she could. Justin had given her Olivia’s insurance card before he left, so she was able to get some of the information off of that.
“Afternoon,” the doctor walked into the open room.
“Hello,” Sierra smiled at the man, who wasn’t that much older then her.
“I’m Dr. Richmond,” he introduced himself as he picked up the chart on the edge of the bed. “And you must be Olivia,” he looked at the little girl next to Sierra after reading the chart. “Let’s check out your arm.” He asked Olivia several questions while he fussed with her arm. Sierra held Olivia’s free hand, and the other girl squeezed whenever something hurt.
“I’m going to have you go upstairs for an x-ray,” he said, “to find out exactly where the break is, and we’ll get a cast on. Someone will be down in a minute to get you, and I’ll see you in about 20 minutes.”
“Are you going to be okay by yourself?” Sierra asked Olivia, “I have a few things I need to call your Dad about.”
“Yeah,” Olivia nodded and bit her lower lip. “I wish he was here.” She sniffed.
“I know honey,” Sierra rubbed her arm. “He’ll be home in one week. I want him home too.” Someone from the radiology unit came down with a wheelchair for Olivia, and he helped her get in. Sierra kissed her forehead and watched as they went down the hall to the elevator. She walked over to the desk, and picked up the phone to dial Justin’s cell phone.
She talked to him for a few minutes, and got the answer to her questions. Olivia came back down, and they were at the hospital for another hour and a half. They stopped at the pharmacy to pick up her pain medicine, and then headed to the daycare to pick up Cora and Cameron.
“Woah! What happened?” Cora asked excitedly when she saw Olivia’s arm in the cast.
“I broke my arm,” Olivia answered, “and Sissy said we can color on it.”
“Really?” Cora asked as she climbed into the car.
“Yes, but when we get home,” Sierra said and put Cameron in his car seat. “Come on girls, buckle up.” She closed the back door and got into the drivers seat. “Let’s go home and eat dinner, and then maybe we can go and get some ice cream.”
“Yeah!” Cora cheered from the backseat.
“But you have to eat your dinner,” Sierra said pointedly.
“So when does your tour end?” Sierra asked. It was a couple of weeks later, and they had been at Justin’s house for the day. She set their dirty plates in the sink, and then opened the dishwasher.
“June 2nd,” Justin answered and picked up the leftover bowls of food from the table. He brought them over to the counter and set them down. “Have you thought about what day you would like to get married?”
“Maybe the end of September, or early October,” Sierra answered. “There’s a lot to do before then, and I don’t know how long it takes to plan a wedding.” She rinsed the dishes off one by one and placed them in the dishwasher.
“K. We’ll look at a calendar later,” Justin nodded. He found some empty containers in the cabinet and put the leftover food in them. “So I’m going to take Olivia on tour with me.”
“You’re going to do what?” Sierra turned around and looked at him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I can see that,” he turned to look at her. Justin had already hesitated enough about bringing this up with her.
“I don’t think its right for you to pull her out of school, especially so near the end. She’s going to get behind in school, Justin.”
“She’ll have a tutor,” Justin put the containers in the fridge. “I always promised myself that if I was going to be gone for more then a month, that she’d come with me. And she is going to come.”
“I don’t know if I agree with that, but-”
“But nothing,” he was starting to sound mad.
“Let me finish Justin,” Sierra narrowed her eyes, “Olivia is your daughter, and you know what is best for her. We are always going to disagree on how our kids should be raised, but we have to respect each others decisions. I’m not going to argue with you about this, but I just want you to know how I feel.”
“Ma!” Cameron yelled and ran into the kitchen. Their conversation was over as soon as his voice rang through the room. He wrapped his arms a round her legs and buried his face in her pants.
“What’s going on?” Sierra asked and looked down at her son. The girls came running and screaming into the room a few seconds later.
“No running,” Justin said. “Olivia, you’re going to break your other arm.” He stopped her before she got any farther. Cora wrapped her arms around Cameron’s little body and tried to pull him away. Cameron just wrapped his arms around Sierra tighter.
“Someone’s going to get hurt,” Sierra looked down at the two. “Hey! Come on Cora, let him go.” She reached down, but Cora moved away, before Sierra could pull her away. Cameron practically crawled up Sierra’s leg, and she pulled him up onto her hip.
“What were you guys doing?” Sierra asked.
“Just playin’.” Cora answered.
“Not so rough. Cam isn’t as big as you guys.”
“K,” Cora nodded. “Come on Cameron.”
“Stay,” he looked down at Cora and then back at Sierra.
“Fine,” Cora huffed and then turned around. She grabbed Olivia’s hand and pulled her out of the room.
Justin watched them leave the room with raised eyebrows. “She’s so bossy,” He stated when the girls were out of hearing range.
“I know,” Sierra set Cameron down on the floor.
“So Cam, you want to go to a basketball game on Friday?” Justin asked the boy.
“Juju, me?”
“You and me? Yep, just the two of us,” He smiled and looked over at Sierra. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “Let’s go look at a calendar and pick a date.”
“K. Come on big guy,” Justin picked Cameron up, and hung him over his shoulder. Cameron giggled as the three of them walked out of the room. They went into the office, where Justin set Cameron back down, and found a calendar.
“What day?” He opened the calendar to September.
“How about October third?” Sierra asked looking at the faded date at the bottom of the page. Justin flipped the page and wrote ‘WEDDING’ in the box. He put the cap back on the pen, and stood up straight so he could kiss Sierra on the cheek.
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