Page 37 of Vows of a Mobster

Marcus’ movements seemed slow, although I knew it was my mind that watched it all in slow motion. The whole party disappeared from my mind, all my focus on my daughter and Marcus.

A similar scene from two years ago flashed in my mind, making my heart race and my ears buzz.

My hands reached out. “Give her to me, Marcus,” I repeated.

“I wasn’t going to hurt her,” he muttered low. “She wanted to go for a swim.”

I took Emma from him and her chubby hands wrapped around me. “Hey, baby,” I murmured in a shaky voice, my heart still racing. She gave me a beaming smile, unaware of the havoc she caused.

“She can’t swim, you idiot,” Marissa hissed from behind me.

“She said she could,” Marcus justified.

“If she said she could fly,” Daphne sneered, “would you throw her out of a plane?”

“I want to go in a plane,” Emma babbled happily, completely unaware of the furious adults around her and the mess she caused with her imagination. The gold tones of her hair shone against the sun, and fear of losing her shook me to the core. I hugged her tighter.

“One day,” I murmured softly.

“How was I to know?” Marcus defended himself, an undignified look on his face.

“Use your brain,” Marissa spat at him in sotto voce.

Everyone was watching us, as if they were waiting for a spectacle.

“It’s okay,” I interjected, my heart rate finally slowing down. “Everyone is good.”

“Brianna,” Marcus started and there was regret on his face, “she said she could swim. She wanted to jump into the pool.”

I couldn’t blame him for falling for Emma’s stories. Although this one should have been questioned by anyone with some common sense.

“No harm done,” I told him as Emma tried to wiggle out of my arms.

“Down,” she demanded.

I lowered her onto the ground, but before she had a chance to take off, I took her chin gently between my fingers. “No pool. Got it?”

Her blue eyes shimmered, and her lip started trembling. My heart wrenched at seeing it. I was such a sucker for my daughter.

With a deep sigh, I added. “When we get home, we’ll set up the kiddie pool. Does that sound good?”

She instantly turned the frown into a wide sparkling smile, confirming the little bug was playing me.

“Yes, Mommy.” And without another worry, she turned away from me and ran to the playground joining other kids.

My heart squeezed seeing her play with other children, carefree and happy. It was so easy to forget what was going on, watching her play with all of them. But I knew what was coming, and I couldn’t help but feel a cold fear. I did so much research and at this point I wasn’t sure if it was better that I didn’t. Treatments were more brutal the second time around, taking a toll on the patient’s body. Before my research at least I felt hope. Now all I felt was despair and hopelessness. She desperately needed a match for the bone marrow transplant.

“Brianna-” Marcus started again and I stopped him.

“Marcus, it’s fine,” I cut him off. “She’s fine so that is all that matters. Although if you would have thrown her in, I’d have to kill you,” I added half-jokingly.

“I think I lost about two years off my life,” Daphne added.

“Yeah, me too,” Marissa agreed. Ever since I had Emma, we started this weird conversation about how much faster we are aging due to the responsibilities of a child. They had been with me from the moment I found out, through her birth, and every event since then. I might not have had a blood family by my side, but I had them. And they made the last five years, from the moment I found out I was pregnant, bearable. There were days and nights I felt lonely, but it would have been a million times worse without them.

“I think I’m about fifty at this point,” I murmured, giving my girlfriends a side glance.

They both nodded. “We are so damn old,” Marissa retorted, shaking her head, “that we need a drink.”