Chapter Text
Kelly woke up from unsettling dreams with, what felt like, God standing on her chest. Staring at the ceiling, she tried to remember what she had dreamed about.
Something about a dolphin? The thought sent a chill down her spine for some reason. What was that dream about? Definitely a dolphin. But why did it make her sad? She loved-
She heard a cry from the other room and was brought back to the present.
Jamie, Kelly thought, taking a couple breaths before standing up and going to the bathroom.
After, she went to the kitchen and started on breakfast.
By the time she had the eggs on the table, Jamie was very distressed.
She went to his room and picked him up.
“It’s alright, I was just making breakfast,” she said as she shushed and bounced him, “I’m sorry you thought you were alone.”
When he finally calmed down, she raised his butt to her nose and smelled.
“Ah, that’s what I smelt.”
She took him to the couch to change him, as she still didn’t have a changing table. She had asked Rachel for some money to get one but she said it wasn’t a necessity.
Tell that to my knees, Kelly thought to herself.
Kelly knew she was going through a lot, but the least she could do was give $50 for a goddamn-
Kelly realized she was muttering out loud and quickly shut her mouth.
She put Jamie in his high chair and gave him his eggs.
She took a couple bites of her own eggs but it just made the pressure in her chest worse.
—
After an hour of noise and stickiness, she’d had enough and packed up a backpack with diapers, put Jamie in the umbrella stroller, and went on a walk.
“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” She said to Jamie, as they started down the sidewalk.
It was a beautiful day. After a week of Louisiana heat and humidity, it was a brisk 76 with a nice breeze.
“I wonder what we’ll do next week?” She continued.
“I know we need to go to the store, cus I ran out of formula for you, but then maybe we can go see your mama?”
She heard someone talking next to her and she jumped.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!”
She turned and saw a man with a mustache that looked vaguely familiar.
“I just asked who you were talking to,” the man said then turned to Jamie, “but now I see the little man!”
She couldn’t pick out most accents, but this man was definitely British.
“Oh, yeah, sorry, I ramble a bit.”
“It’s a free country, innit?”
She chuckled, “yeah.”
“So what’s the boy’s name?” He asked and started walking with you.
Guess we’re walking together now, she thought.
“Uh, Jamie, James, but I call him Jamie. Most people call him Jamie. I mean, the only people who really talk to him, or know him I suppose, is me and his mama,” Kelly realized she was rambling and shut up. And then clarified by saying, “but yeah, Jamie.”
He laughed. It was quite a warm laugh, not laughing at her, just amused.
“Well, nice to meet ya, Jamie.”
He kept walking with her, giving no indication he was planning on leaving.
“So you’re not the mother?”
“Me? No, definitely not. I mean, I’ve never even had a boyfriend before, let alone… y’know.” And there went her mouth again.
At 27, she had never been kissed, never had a boyfriend, and never had sex. And here she was, just telling a completely random guy.
She turned to him, and noticed his bright blue eyes, his easy smile.
A cute guy at that.
She thought, a guy just around my own age.
Well, any chance of romance happening was gone now. She had muttered, and rambled, and overshared. No guy wanted that.
Kelly kept talking before he could say anything, “so yeah, not mine. He’s my sister’s.”
She was going to start talking again, but bit the inside of her cheek to shut herself up.
“Babysitting the nephew then?” He said and smiled at her.
“Uhh, well,” she started.
Don’t do it, don’t do it, just shut up, he doesn’t need to know everything about-
“Actually, he’s kinda mine for a while. My sister can’t take care of him. I’ve had him since he was only a couple weeks old, actually.”
“Wow. Why’s that? What’s wrong, I mean? Why can’t she take him?”
For once, Kelly faltered, not immediately blurting out what was on her mind.
“Sorry,” the man with the blue eyes said, “it’s none of my business.”
“No, it’s alright, my sister probably wouldn’t want me snitching is all.” She paused for a moment. “She’s unwell, we’ll leave it at that.”
Again, silence for a few steps.
And then, the sweet man, with the sweet smile, said, “would you want to have a cup of coffee with me?”
She was about to say she doesn’t drink coffee, when her brain seemed to finally kick in and tell her, he doesn’t want coffee; he wants to keep talking to her.
She asked, “now?”
“Yeah,” he said, “if you have the time.”
“That sounds great,” she said, with a strange amount of confidence, “I know a place just around the corner.”