Pal-entine's for Single Parents

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This is a standalone story, submitted for the Valentine's Day Story Contest 2024.

Pal-entine's for Single Parents is a hallmarky slow burn novella with a feel good vibe, so settle in! Sexual content includes: heavy flirting, kissing, oral and MF sex.

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September

After-school pick-up was, somehow, only moderately better after moving out of the city.

To be fair, I'd grown up in the same town that my daughter and I had moved to and I had always rode the school bus, so it was strange in general to me that things had changed so dramatically over time. Still, there was something almost cinematic about being parked in the roundabout on the younger kids' side of the elementary school and seeing a wave of the little munchkins come running out of the doors as a couple of teachers tried to keep some semblance of order.

The volunteer parents, dressed up in reflective vests with their clipboards, weren't faring much better than the professionals.

June came skipping out of school with another little girl who must have been in her class, and they were yammering away until she saw me and she waved to her friend and then sprinted in my direction with a big grin on her face. I went down to one knee and held out my arms and she rushed into them, and I hugged her and her backpack tight as I picked her up and spun her around. "Hello, little bug," I said, giving her a smooch on the cheek and holding her up.

"Hi, Daddy," she said with a goofy grin. She'd lost one of her last baby teeth, an incisor, the previous weekend and it was almost as cute as when she'd lost her front teeth.

"How was school?" I asked.

"Good!"

"Did you learn anything new today?"

June shook her head, still grinning.

"Well what possible use is school, then?" I asked playfully. "Maybe you should never go back."

"No!" she laughed. "I met my best friend today."

"You did?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. Her old best friend, back in San Jose, had been our neighbour's cute little daughter Rosita, and their friendship had been the only thing that had made me hesitate about moving us. At the end of the day, I knew my seven-year-old daughter would get over the cross-country move and make new friends, but it was still a little heartbreaking at the time.

"Uh-huh," she nodded, pointing at an SUV a couple of cars back. "That's her! Her name is May, we're Month Buddies!"

I chuckled, giving her another little smooch on the cheek that made her giggle. I hadn't been a major fan of the name Juniper when my ex-wife suggested it, but had figured I could warm up to the shorter 'June.' My ex had, of course, hated that I did that, but then she'd been volatile about a lot of shit. Hence why she was my ex and not in June's life.

"Well, let's go say hello," I said, shifting my daughter to holding her on one hip as she hugged my shoulder.

We technically weren't supposed to 'dilly-dally,' as the volunteer parking managers liked to say, but I really didn't give a crap. I swerved around a minivan that seemed to be picking up half a soccer team worth of little boys, each of them capped with ginger hair so I assumed they were brothers, and headed for the blue SUV my daughter had pointed out. The back passenger door was open, as was the trunk, and as I got closer I saw that May was already strapped into a booster seat in the back while her mother was rummaging for something in the trunk.

"Hey there," I said as I came alongside the back window. "I-"

"Jesus, Francine, I get it, OK?" the woman said, not looking out of the trunk.

"I'm, ah, not Francine," I said.

Now the woman pulled herself out of the trunk. She had a tan complexion, was fairly short and maybe topped her height at five-foot-two, and her dark brown hair was softly wavy if a little frazzled in that way that parents of young children who actually parented their kids tended to develop after an hour or two. I could tell she was of mixed ethnicity, but couldn't immediately pinpoint what, and she was clearly having one ofthose sorts of days that I knew all too well.

She gave me a quick once over. "Look," she said flatly. "I'm not looking to try and get hit on in the school pickup line, buddy. I'm just here to get my kid."

"Wow," I chuckled. "Jesus, you sound like you've got a couple of stories to tell. I actually just wanted to introduce ourselves - my daughter June says that May is her best friend."

"And Month Buddy!" June happily added.

The woman's face dropped a little of her frustration, and I could see the switch from 'beleaguered woman reaching her limit' to 'mom who is managing to maintain a semblance of feeling like a normal adult.' "Is that right?" she asked. "May, honey, did you make a new best friend today?"

"The bestest!" May said with enthusiasm from her booster seat, grinning and waving out the open door. She was a cute kid with dark, wavy hair and a complexion close to her mother's. "June is really good at basketball andI'm really good at basketball too. We played in gym and we were the best!"

"You guys played basketball today?" I asked, putting on a bit of excitement for the two girls.

"We did, Daddy," June said. "And I scored six shots and May scored seven."

"No, I scored six, too!" May said. "We were the same. And we were better thanall the boys."

"Wow," I said, offering June a high five that she returned, and then May who gave me it back enthusiastically.

May's mother was smiling now and shot me an apologetic look. "I'm Olivia," she said. "Sorry about that."

"Adrian," I said, shaking the hand she offered me lightly. "And it's no worries. I get it. I just have one question - who is Francine, and why should I be avoiding her?"

Olivia smirked a little and nodded down the roundabout area towards one of the volunteers with the clipboards who currently seemed to be haranguing a couple of other women. "That's her," she said. "Three kids, all of them snotty little shits, and she's trying to get an official PTA installed instead of letting the school manage volunteers and events. Very pushy, very judgy."

"Noted," I said, turning back to her. "We just moved back to town. I grew up here, but June doesn't have any buddies around yet, let alone abestest friend," I leaned toward May in the car and gave it some emphasis and wink, which made her grin. "How about I touch base with you tomorrow, trade details, and we can maybe set up a park playdate or something?"

"Sure," Olivia nodded, sweeping a hand through her hair and shaking her head. "Again, sorry, it's just been a day."

"Like I said, I get it," I assured her. "We should probably get moving though before we risk the ire of Francine."

I shook her hand again, exchanging smiles, and then headed back to our car.

"What do you think, Juney?" I asked my daughter as I got her into her own booster seat. "Did we make some friends?"

"I think so, Daddy," she grinned at me.

I got her strapped in and stood up, glancing back towards Olivia and May since the redheaded minivan had pulled away. Olivia was just opening her driver's side door and saw me looking, and she waved lightly and smiled again. I returned the wave and blew out a breath as I rounded to my own door. When she wasn't thinking I was inappropriately hitting on her, she had a great smile.

"What's for dinner, Daddy?" June asked from behind me as I got in behind the wheel.

"Dinner?" I asked back. "Are you already hungry? I think it's just snack time."

"McDonald's?" she asked hopefully.

"Hah, no McDee's, June. Nice try though. I made your favourite popsicles at home though."

My daughter cheered, and I knew that in a few years I would miss the fact that popsicles seemed like the best thing in the world.

- - - - -

I had learned quickly, during the first week June attended her new school, that I needed to get there twenty minutes early to have a spot in the roundabout. Only a few minutes later and I'd be parked out on the street, or trying to find a space on a neighbouring street and walking over. So I planned accordingly, and I pulled up at exactly 3:10pm, twenty minutes before school let out. The line quickly filled in behind me and the roundabout was full before I even stepped out of my car.

It was another gorgeous, early autumn day with a nice kick of heat and only a slight breeze so I was in a t-shirt and jeans. Moving back to the Midwest from California had been a lot of things, but getting more variety in the seasons was something I was both looking forward to and dreading. June was going tolove snow, and I was going to hate clearing my driveway.

Still, with time to spare and the crisp, clean air filling my lungs, I decided to follow through on my offer from yesterday and I strode down the line of cars. Olivia was almost a dozen vehicles back this time, right on the curve and only a few spots from being on the street. She must have seen me coming because she was getting out of her vehicle. Her hair was back in a ponytail and she was wearing a plain maroon t-shirt and some basic black leggings, and she smiled as she stepped onto the curb.

"Hey, Adrian," she said. "Look, I was thinking about it last night and I just wanted to apologise again for yesterday."

"No need at all," I said. "I was a random guy coming up to you, and I'm sure a woman with a smile like yours gets approached all the time."

She flashed me that smile, a little chagrined by the compliment, and shook her head. "Thank you," she said humbly. "But really, I'm embarrassed at how I reacted. What's your schedule like for playdates? I'll bring the coffee."

"How does Sunday work for you?" I offered.

"May and I do stuff with my parents most Sundays, does Saturday work? Maybe an hour before lunch?"

"That works for me," I said. We quickly traded phone numbers so we could organise it more specifically, and she took a note of how I liked my coffee.

"So, I've got to ask - you're one of a very few Dads who are here for pickup," she said. "Usually I'm avoiding making eye contact with a lot of judgey housewives and some nannies. Are you one of those fabled stay-at-home Dads?"

I smirked a little and chuckled. "Sort of. I'm more of a work-from-home Dad. My ex and I split about four years ago and she's not in the picture by her choice, and I'd reworked my contracting business to be entirely remote before that happened since I saw the writing on the walls."

"Oh, shit," she said. "That sounds complicated. Sorry if I'm poking an old wound."

"No, no," I said. "It's fine. Juney and I make do, and making the move back here only complicated my business a little bit and brought us back to my parents so they get to be a lot more involved and spoil her."

"Well, if it's any help, once your story gets around you're going to be the new hot merchandise on the meat market," Olivia said. "Single Dad with a steady job is like catnip for the desperate single moms club."

"I think I'm good," I chuckled. "I'm not looking for anything, permanent or temporary. June has been through more than enough because of her Mom. What is it you do?"

"I work from home as well," Olivia said. "I used to do more social media content creation stuff when I lived out in LA, but I transitioned to pure graphic design and video editing for other people when I got pregnant with May. My husband passed before she was born, and my parents had moved here from northern California, so I decided to move out here as well."

"I'm sorry for your loss," I said.

"Thanks, but I'm at peace with it all," she said. "We were only together about eight months, and looking back - with the help of some good therapy - we probably wouldn't have lasted. Burn hot, burn bright sort of thing."

"Still, it's good you got to land on your feet with a support network."

"Olivia," a woman said from behind me with the sort of self-important voice that sent a shiver up my spine. "I was wondering when we would be able to connect about the Fall Bake Sale. I noticed you haven't responded to the email I sent out."

I turned and found Francine, the woman Olivia had warned me about the day before, was approaching us. She was in a blouse, slacks and short heels and looked a little ridiculous with her orange reflective volunteer vest. The clipboard and pen in her hands gave me big middle-manager vibes, and she even had a whistle around her neck - I knew if she ever tried to blow that thing at me or my kid I wouldnot be happy. The most cringe-inducing part of her whole facade, however, was that vapid, arrogant smile.

"Francine," Olivia said, and I could almostfeel the repressed ire. "I saw your email, but it didn't give any specifics about what the bake sale was for, just when you wanted things brought in."

"It's for the PTA registration," Francine said. "You would know this if you came to the start-of-year meeting like all the other Grade 2 mothers. Speaking of which, hello," she turned her smile on me. "I don't recognize you, sir. Are you a parent?"

"I am," I said.

"Wonderful. Do you have contact information for your wife? I'll want to get her on the mailing list. The PTA has a lot planned for this year and we need all hands available to make sure our children are getting proper education fueled by academics."

I internally groaned and glanced at Olivia for a moment and caught the flash of a smirk that said, 'Now you're trapped.'

"I'm actually single," I said. "And my daughter's mother isn't in the picture."

"Oh!" Francine said. "Well, I'm so sorry to hear that. It's good that you're here then. I'll just need an email and phone number contact so that we can organise things with you then...?"

"Adrian," I filled in. "Mancini. I'm Juniper's Dad."

The corner of Francine's mouth quivered. "You don't happen to be related to Rebecca Mancini, do you?"

"That's my older sister," I said. "You know her?"

"I've had the pleasure," Francine smiled, everything about her expression saying that her run-ins with Rebecca were anythingbut pleasurable. Which didn't surprise me, considering how I knew my sister would react to a woman like her. "So, contact details?"

"No thanks," I said.

"I'm sorry?" she asked, cocking her head in confusion.

"Oh, I thought that was pretty clear," I said. "The school has my contact details for any sort of emergencies or contact needed for official reasons. If they haven't provided that to you, then you mustn't be asking me in any sort of official capacity, and I don't give out my contact information unnecessarily."

"But we're organising important changes for the school, and-"

"That doesn't sound like something I'm particularly interested in," I said. "I actually went to this school when I was a kid, and the Principal was a couple of years older than me. She's got a good handle on things from what I could see when I did my registration tour."

Francine's puckered smile reminded me of someone eating a lemon square that had way too much lemon and way too little sugar but they didn't want to tell the person who made it. "I see," she said.

"Great," I said. "Thanks for asking though."

She turned back to look at Olivia. "I'll email you the details," she said with a syrupy edge.

"Thanks, Francine," Olivia said. Then, once the woman had stalked away in the direction of a small group of mothers who were talking, she exhaled and snorted, covering her mouth. "OK, that was the best smackdown I've seen in person in along time."

"If she's on the bad side of my sister, then she's gotten worse," I sighed, shaking my head and turning my back on Francine and the group. No doubt everything we'd just discussed would be passed on, and then passed on again into the rumour mill. "I'll have to ask Rebecca for the backstory."

"Well, good luck," Olivia laughed. "It looks like the Mom Squad is already reeling from this new information."

I just hung my head and sighed, making Olivia laugh again. "Alright," I said. "I better get back to my car before Francine writes me up for leaving it unattended. I'll text you about Saturday?"

"Sounds good," Olivia said with a smile. "And thanks for all ofthat."

"No problem," I smiled back. "Next time I'll sell tickets."

- - - - -

May and June ran off towards the big boat-shaped play area together. The weather had turned a little since earlier in the week - not enough for it to be cold, but I was in a sweatshirt and both the girls were in jackets looking adorable. Olivia had met us just inside the parking lot adjacent to the park and my hands were getting warmed up by the large coffee she'd brought. She was wearing a vest over her long-sleeved shirt but was still rocking the leggings and sneakers.

"This is good," I said, lifting my cup to my lips and taking another sip.

"I know the owner," Olivia said, smiling as she watched our daughters start to play. "She's a coffee snob, so when she opened her shop downtown I knew it would be good. Still can't make a good donut to save her life though."

I chuckled and shook my head. "She'll never make it in this town, then."

"Probably not, but she's giving it a good go," Olivia said. "So, I know we talked quickly and you said you're fully remote, but I didn't actually catch what you do other than it was something with contracting."

"I usually keep it vague on purpose because it's complicated," I said. "But we've got time, so I'll give you the whole life story if you want it."

"Let's just start with the job and see where it goes," Olivia chuckled.

"At this point I'm more of an admin person than anything," I said. "I got into the trades right out of high school with a carpentry apprenticeship, but I was a good people person so I ended up managing clients for my boss and became a site super for some builds before I switched to being a general contractor for custom builds."

"That's where you're like the project manager and hire all the different trades, right?" she asked.

"Exactly. And it was around that time that I met my ex, and she was an aspiring actress, so we moved down to California and ended up in San Jose and I started up my company there, but then we moved to just south of LA after a couple of years because she needed to be closer to the auditions. That ended up being a dud because therewere no auditions other than open calls coming her way. After June was born we moved back up to San Jose again, and since I had all these contacts of guys I'd worked with, and they had guys thatthey worked with, I got into property preservation. I have a bunch of different contracts, but the main part of the business is that I work with a few different banks and when they have a property they've acquired or foreclosed on in the territories I work, I hire and manage all the different contractors needed from landscapers to carpenters to painters to get the property ready for resale, and keeping it that way until someone else takes over."

"So you flip houses for someone else, and from a distance?" Olivia asked.

"Sort of. We're rarely doing full renovations - lots of drywall fixing, painting, recarpeting, that sort of thing for the most part. Industrial and commercial spaces bring in more money though."

"Damn," she said. "And you can manage all that out there from here, while raising a kid?"

"Hell, I thought about homeschooling," I chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, I was hands-on part-time for a while and it took a lot of luck to get set up with the guys I have and trust. But now I'm mostly emailing or on the phone for work, and I miss working with my hands. Especially now that June is in school again."

"Careful," Olivia smirked a little, a teasing in her eyes. "Keep talking about missing working with your hands and I might just find a reno project for you to do on my place."