Small flakes of snow had begun to fall from the gray clouds that hung heavily overhead, settling in her long, dark waves. Silver hues were turned upwards, watching the decent of the powdery white crystals. As much as she was not a fan of the holidays, she had to admit that she adored the snow that accompanied it. While she much preferred to be inside, curled up beneath a blanket, reading as it snowed outside, it was still wonderful to be able to bring her son to the park without having to worry about being home before Lucas came back from his cousin’s house. Normally this was the time she would read Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades, she read it every winter, but she had sacrificed that for a much needed break today.
A shout from the playground brought her attention back to her surroundings. Alek was calling for her to see how high he was swinging. A large grin was plastered across his small face as he did so, though his cheeks were rosy red from the cold. Still, an identical one crawled across her features as she watched him play, pulling her jacket more tightly around her shoulders to keep the chill at bay. Just watching him made her cold. He was happy though. She could see it on his face– in his crystalline blue eyes which sparkled brightly. It was in these moments which she knew, without a doubt, she had made the right choice running away from her ex. Some would argue that she hadn’t been right to split their family– that her son would need his father. But that was a straight up lie. Alek didn’t need his father…. She would do everything in her absolute power to make sure he grew up well, even without a father figure in his life.
Over the course of the past few days, her son had been rather cooped up in their tiny apartment, watched by their neighbor from across the hall while she worked. So, fixing breakfast early, the single mother brought him out to the park so that he could stretch his legs. Of course the three year old was overly excited by the opportunity. He had pulled from her grasp as soon as their feet had touched the grass on the park property and had run towards the equipment. It warmed her heart to see him so carefree. For so long he had been so quiet and reserved. The park seemed to be the one place he really came alive. Although, after two hours outside, she figured she should take him somewhere warmer. If she was cold, she couldn’t imagine her son was not.
“Alek, how does hot chocolate sound?” she asked the four year old as she stood, fixing the off white knit cap which was pulled down over her ears to keep them warm. Just as she expected, her son’s face lit up. Who didn’t want hot chocolate? What child didn’t want hot chocolate?
“I want a hot chocolate momma!” Alek’s exclamation caused his mother to laugh brightly and she held out her hand to him. The child slowed his swing until he could safely jump off. Running towards her, the lively little boy gripped her hand. Only then did she lead him out of the park and down the street to the nearest coffee shop where she knew she could order something warm for them both. A large caramel macchiato for herself and a white chocolate hot chocolate for him– their usual.
When they arrived, Astra let go of her son’s hand as she ordered. However, Alek, having caught sight of the pinball machine at the back, ran straight over to it. He loved pulling the little knobs, seeing the levers move, and listening to the noises it made. His mommy always gave him a couple of quarters so he could play while they sat inside. Unfortunately, Alek had not been watching where he was going, barreling straight into someone’s legs. He landed on his bottom and stared up at the impeccably tall man who was now standing over him. His smile disappeared and a certain fear clouded his gaze.
Astra looked horrified, hurrying over to the pair. Gently she lifted the boy and sat him on her hip where he curled into his mother’s figure. Silvery hues looked up into the face of the young man, apologizing quickly,”I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” She tucked a lock of her long, ebony hair behind her ear, hoping that he would not be too off put with the child’s interruption. She held her boy close, protectively– unconsciously positioning herself so that she was holding him further away from the man and putting herself between them. It was a habit she had picked up living with Lucas, though she had not even realized it then and still was unaware of it.
“I’m sorry,” Alek repeated in a much softer tone, the words spoken around the thumb he had raised to suck on.
