In Need of a Lyft

But now her son looked...well, he looked like a movie star or a teen idol. She'd always known he was a very nice looking boy underneath it all, but 'it all' had been removed she never gave it too much thought. Now, here was, looking like a completely different person.

Brian realized how self-absorbed he was being and realized he was being like the kind of people he'd always hated. Hate was too strong a word, but he'd vowed that if he were ever to one of the 'beautiful people' he'd never be like them.

So he stopped staring at himself, got up, then turned around and hugged his aunt and thanked her.

"Oh, stop!" she said. "You're gonna make me cry!"

He let go then held out his arms to his mom.

"Too late for me!" she said as tears streamed down her face.

"I love you, Mom. Thanks for always believing in me."

Her son's words turned the tears into sobs as he held her and told her how important she was to him.

"And you are the most important thing in my life, honey," she told him in between the sobs and the jagged breaths.

His aunt chimed in again by saying, "All you need now are some nicer clothes and...."

Brian let go of his mom, turned to his aunt, then said, "I'm truly grateful. I really am. But I don't need new clothes. I have everything I need now."

He looked over at his mom as he said it, and the sobs that had mostly faded came back again.

"Then let me take us all to lunch!" his aunt offered.

That was the first time a cute girl ever paid any attention to him. She wasn't their server, but Brian caught her smiling at him several times. He not only didn't smile back, he looked away out of embarrassment because anytime a pretty girl had ever smiled at him it was because she was laughing at the way he looked.

"Brian? You see the cutie over there who's checking you out?" his aunt asked after the third look his way.

"What? Oh. She's just...."

"She thinks you're hot. Go talk to her."

"Me? No. I...no...she'd never...."

Before he finished his thought, the cute waitress walked by and laid a paper receipt down next to him, smiling as she did.

Brian looked at it and saw a heart drawn in red then picked in up. On the back he saw the words 'call me!' with a phone number and her name. Mandy.

Mandy was watching, and when he looked up and saw her she smiled again. Brian's face turned so red it could have been used to fry an egg, but there was no mistaking what was happening. He was no longer 'Beaver Face' with the bird's nest.

It took him some time to learn to talk to pretty girls, but within days of this new hairstyle the word got out, and girls who had avoided him like the plague for years began coming up to him and telling him he was hot. Some even mentioned parties and asking if he was going.

"If you are, and if you'd like to, I'd love to go with you," one of the prettiest girls in school told him.

He nearly said 'yes', but he thought back on how badly she'd treated him in the past and told her he'd think about it. In the end he asked a girl who was nowhere near as attractive but who'd always been kind to him.

Since that first date, there'd been no shortage of girls and women in Brian's life, but until he met Randi, there'd never been any thought of actually being in a longterm relationship let alone getting married and starting a family. Now, however, he found himself thinking about both and couldn't wait to see her again.

It was his turn to text her back, and he desperately wanted to know when they might be able to get together again and asked.

"Hmmm. Well, Sunday is my only real day off, so if you'd like to do something then Emma and I would love to do it together with you."

This time she added a heart even as hers beat a little faster.

"Yes!" Brian replied immediately. "Let me come up with a few suggestions and if any of them strike your fancy we can agree on the time. Sound good?"

"That sounds wonderful, actually," she told him, the smile on her face so big it hurt.

"Great! I'll get back to you soon."

He smiled, too, then sent one more quick text.

"I hope you make a ton of money tonight!"

Randi needed to concentrate and after giving his text a thumb's up, she set her phone down and got ready to give someone a Lyft.

By midnight she'd had another very good run and was heading home with nearly $250 and wondered if the good mood she was in made a difference with her customers. She didn't know the answer, but she did know she was still on an emotional high and part of that was due to the text she'd received from Brian around 10 o'clock.

"Tell me what you think about this," it began. "I haven't been to the Mesker Park Zoo in ages, so if that sounds okay to you how about we give that a try? In case you're not all that excited about it, let me remind you about Mr. Pickles the famous anteater!"

Randi laughed when she read it but knew there really was an anteater by that name at the zoo, but she didn't need to be persuaded.

"We'd love to go to the zoo!" she replied. "With or without Mr. Pickles!"

"Then it's a date!" Brian wrote back causing Randi's body to tingle. "How about I come get you guys at noon and we'll have lunch first then go knock around the zoo?"

"That sounds wonderful!" Randi told him.

"Great! I'll see you both tomorrow at noon then!"

As usual both Emma and her 'nanny' were sound asleep when Randi got home. Emma was in bed and Edna was in the old recliner snoring like a pro. Randi laughed when she heard her then went over and gently woke her up.

"Oh, hello dear," Edna said as she opened one eye. "I believe the Sandman got ahold of me again."

Randi felt so good she laughed and thanked the older woman for watching Emma again.

"It's always my pleasure, sweetie. In fact, I don't know what I'd do without your sweet little girl!" Edna told her as she carefully stood up.

"The feeling is mutual, Edna. We'd be lost without you."

"And yet I'm rooting for you and the handsome young gentleman who came calling," she said with a smile.

Randi laughed again then told her about their date.

"The zoo? Oh, my. It's been many years since my last trip there, but I do so love animals," Edna replied.

Randi almost asked her to join them, but without talking to Brian first, she felt that might not be a good idea even though she felt pretty sure he'd be okay with that. She only told her neighbor goodnight then got ready for bed herself. With any luck she might get a full eight hours of sleep for once--if she could find a way to stop thinking about the handsome younger man who'd recently entered her life.

It was almost 10am when Emma woke her mom up from the best sleep she'd had in months.

"Mom?" her daughter said as she stood a few feet away from the bed.

"Huh? What...what's wrong?" Randi asked, her brain thick with 'fog'. She glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand then sat bolt upright.

"Ten o'clock? Oh my goodness!" she said as she threw the covers off.

"Do you have to go to work?" a very disappointed-looking Emma asked.

"No. I...I'm not working, honey. But we are going somewhere?"

"We are? Where?" her now excited daughter asked.

"The zoo! With Brian."

"Really? You're not kidding?"

"No, I'm not kidding, and you need to get ready. Oh, and don't eat lunch. Brian is taking us to get something to eat first, okay?"

"Okay, Mom!" came the happy reply.

Emma stopped then turned back around.

"Can I wear my pink sweater?"

Her mom smiled and told her, "Of course you can. It's gonna be chilly, so that sounds like a good choice. Now go! Scoot! Get ready!"

Emma actually skipped away, and for a moment her mother felt like skipping, too. She um...skipped...doing that, but her heart skipped a beat when she recalled a portion of the dream she'd been having just before she woke up. In it, Brian had kissed her for the first time, and when he did her body exploded in a shudder the likes of which she hadn't experienced in many years. It didn't actually happen, but it had felt so real that Randi was still smiling and now anticipating the real thing.

As she looked at herself in the mirror while brushing her teeth, she put her face as close as she could and still be able to brush. She turned left and right then squinted, looking for any wrinkles or fine lines around her eyes. She saw just the slightest trace of them at the corner of both eyes, but even that didn't derail her good mood.

After showering and drying her hair Randi looked through her closet looking for something that was cute, practical, and warm. She didn't have many nice things, but she did have white blouse to wear under a dark-blue sweater. Jeans seemed the obvious choice to go with them and because they'd be walking she chose comfort over style and decided on a pair of white tennis shoes.

She applied some foundation to giver herself a smoother look then added a touch of mascara. The only "luxury" she allowed herself was wearing a pair of pearl earrings she'd been given by her grandmother just before she passed away. Every time Randi wore them she thought back fondly on the happy times she'd spent at Grandma's.

As she put them she said out loud, "Wish me luck, Grams!"

She took a final look at herself then said to herself, "Good luck!" before deciding to grab the tube of lip gloss she almost never used. Chapstick was more than adequate and a lot less expensive, but this was a special occasion, so she wanded a coat on her lips and pronounced herself ready to go at 11: 25.

"You look really pretty, Mom!" Emma said as soon as she saw her mother.

"Thank you, honey. And you look very cute yourself!"

Randi's heart hurt again for her daughter who was smiling back happily at her mom. Smiles had become increasingly sparse the older Emma got due to the teasing she had to live with due to her teeth. She took hope though with the thought of Brian's brother the orthodontist. She couldn't even afford a down payment, but thanks to the good run she'd had the night before she could definitely pay for the initial exam, and that helped mitigate the sadness and guilt she felt.

It was five minutes to 12 when the knock on the door came.

"Can I get it, Mom?" Emma asked, knowing they had to be careful about things because of where they lived.

"I think that'll be okay," her mother replied, a huge smile on her pretty face.

As the door opened and the three of them saw one another two more smiles were added.

"Oh, my goodness! You two are the prettiest girls in Evansville!" Brian declared after glancing at them both.

He saw Emma looking up at him and held his arms out.

"Gimme a hug, o' cute one!" he told her as two thin arms wrapped around his waist. "Did your mom tell you what we're doing?"

"Uh-huh! We're going to lunch and then the zoo!"

Brian bent down a little then asked, "Where do you think we should go eat?"

"Um...."

Emma turned around to look at her mom who was still smiling.

"Can I say it?" Emma asked.

"Of course. But remember, it's Brian's decision."

She looked back up at him then asked if they could go to Five Guys.

"Hmmm. Someone knows her burgers!" Brian said as he winked at Emma then looked over at her mom who'd moved a little closer.

"Emma loves their fries," Randi explained. "And...so does her mom."

"Then Five Guys it is!" Brian told them.

"Did you want to sit down or do you want to leave now?" Randi asked.

"How about we just get started on our day...together?"

Randi couldn't smile any more than she already was as she said, "Okay, Em. You ready?"

As they got ready to leave Brian had a quick moment alone as Emma stepped into the hallway.

"You look so beautiful," he told his date.

"Thank you," she replied, her heart beating faster.

She smiled at him then said, "You um, you look quite nice yourself."

He was wearing a dark-blue shirt under a gray sweater with jeans which made the lookalike trio complete.

As soon as Randi closed the door they all heard, "You kids have a wonderful time!" through the wall beside them.

"We will, Edna!" Randi called back while Brian tried not to laugh.

As they walked down the hall his hand brushed up against Randi's, and without thinking she offered to him. He took it immediately as he also looked over at her and smiled.

"What?" she asked playfully when he kept looking.

"Did I mention you look beautiful?"

"You did, but I don't mind hearing it again."

He leaned even closer then whispered, "You are very beautiful, Randi Olsen."

She squeezed his hand and felt a tingling that radiated throughout her body and felt something she hadn't in a very long. She felt hopeful. And happy even as she silently prayed this wouldn't go away or end anytime soon.

A day at the zoo ended up being a full eight-hour outing that included both lunch and dinner, and left Randi feeling almost woozy with emotion. That night, when Emma was in bed and fast asleep, she thought back on the day's events, happy to relive them over and over again in her mind.

There'd been that first gentle touch of his hand then hers in his. Brian had been a gentleman in every sense of the word, opening doors for her and her daughter wherever they went or pulling out their chairs before they ate, something she secretly loved and missed even though there'd been precious little of it in her sham of a marriage.

The zoo itself had been wonderful, and the three of them had genuinely enjoyed every exhibit to include their time spent with Mr. Pickles who'd just devoured a ton of ants. It had been chilly outside, but Randi found herself having such an amazing time that she forgot all about being cold. No small part of that had been due to a lot more hand holding and later, walking with Brian's arm around her shoulder with hers wrapped around his waist.

But of all the pleasant things she'd enjoyed that day, none was more enjoyable than watching the way Emma and Brian interacted when neither knew she was looking. He made sure to include Emma in every conversation and took the time to explain little details about various animals that even Randi had never heard before.

The creme de la creme came, though, when Brian walked between them holding both of their hands as they talked and laughed and every sang a song. Brian admitted he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, but even his off-key attempt to sing the song was adorable.

The second most enjoyable event of the day was a first kiss that happened after Brian drove them home. Randi invited him in, and while he agreed, he didn't stay long. Emma was busy getting ready for bed, and Brian had already told her he was leaving. Emma hugged him, and when she did, Brian picked her up and held her close. Emma's arms were like little tentacles holding on for dear life, and the look in her eyes made her tear yo.

Brian noticed, and after Emma was in the bathroom, he asked her what was wrong.

"Wrong? Nothing. Everything is...perfect."

"Then what is it?"

Randi only had one reservation, and in spite of the way things had gone, she couldn't help but still be concerned.

"Um...Emma...really likes you," she began as her eyes met his.

"I really like her. And her mom," Brian said as he moved closer.

Randi's heart beat faster as she realized he wanted to kiss her, but she had to say this or it would drive her crazy.

"I...I just don't want to, you know, see her...."

"Get hurt?" Brian asked as he took her hands in his.

"Yes," Randi told him as her eyes began darting back and forth with his.

"Randi? Unless you run me off, I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

He gently put his hand on her cheek then began leaning in.

She managed to whisper, "Okay," just before his lips met hers.

The kiss was soft and lasted for only a few seconds but sent shock waves through her body. For the moment, at least, she forgot about the large difference in their ages or the possibility that Emma--and/or her--could get hurt if this continued. Perhaps it was the overwhelming need inside her for male companionship that overruled her fears, but as the kiss ended she realized she didn't want just any man. She wanted this one and trusted him not only with her heart but with her daughter's, as well. More importantly, she realized that she was already falling for him, and it wouldn't take much for her to fall completely in love.

Now, at 12:30 in the morning, Randi lay there wide awake knowing she had to get to sleep but not wanting the day to end. Laying there alone made her wonder if it had all been a dream or whether or not this heavenly feeling could last.

Somewhere around 2:30am her brain gave in to the need for sleep, and for four glorious hours she slept like the dead. Although still tired when she woke Randi knew it was the good kind of tired; the kind that came from doing something that made one not only feel that life was worth living but so alive that everything took on new meaning.

By 7am Emma was up and getting dressed which meant that Randi needed to get something ready for breakfast. Most days that meant cereal, and since it was all they had, today would be no exception. But just as she put the bowls on the table, she heard a quiet knock on her door.

She slowly opened it then looked to her right and then the left. Seeing no one, she nearly closed the door, but something near her feet caught her eye. She looked down and saw the bag and smiled. As she picked it up she saw the Hallmark card taped to it with her name written on the envelope.

"Mom? Who was that?" Emma asked, having heard the knock, too.

Her mother knew her daughter had asked her something, but she was already reading the words in the card.

"Good morning, beautiful!" it began.

"I'm sorry for running off, but I know you have to get ready for work, and I also know that if I saw you again, even for a moment, I knew that I wouldn't want to leave. So I hope this card is enough to let you know how much I care for you and Emma."

Randi felt a lump in her throat then felt the sting of tears welling up.

"Mom? What's wrong?" Emma asked as she moved closer to hug her mother.

"Nothing, honey. Nothing is wrong."

"Is that from Brian?" the insightful little girl asked as she looked up and saw her mother smiling even as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Yes. He brought us breakfast."

"But what did he say?" Emma politely demanded to know.

"He...he said he...."

She'd read the entire card, and the last line was what really got to her.

"I know we just met, and I hop and pray this doesn't scare you off, but I want to tell you that I think I may be falling in love with you, Randi. And I hope you know that includes Emma."

He'd even signed it, "Love, Brian."

"He said he...loves us."

"Really?" an excited Emma asked.

Her mom handed her the card as she said, "Yes. Really."

Emma read it, a smile on her face the entire time, then asked. "Mom? Do you love him, too?"

Randi bent down a little then asked a question of her own.

"How would that make you feel?"

"Happy. Like the happiest person in the whole world!" her daughter told her truthfully.

Randi grabbed a napkin and dabbed her eyes then looked at her daughter and smile.

"Yes. I...I think I do. Love him."

"So do I!" Emma told her mom before the two of them hugged and even cried a little.

*********

One Year Later

"I can't believe we've been married for three months," Brian told his wife as they drove to a very nice restaurant in town at his wife's suggestion earlier that morning.

"You?" his beautiful wife said with a little laugh. "I'd given up ever even finding anyone."

She saw his outstretched had and gladly put hers in it.

"And then one night, this handsome young prince got in my car."

Brian pretended to be upset, look over and asked, "Hey. Do I know this prince guy?"

Randi laughed then told him, "Well, I know him, and I am totally and completely in love with him."