Second Chances

Coming home

Months later, Alanna returned home alone. She had a great time with Matthew in Dubai, but she couldn’t stay longer. She had a new daycare to attempt and the funeral home needed some improvement. There was a leak on the funeral home roof that needed to be fixed. Alanna arrived at night. Carol was waiting for her at the airport. Carol put Alanna up to date on everything related to the funeral home. Alanna left her in charge of the funeral home and hired someone to take care of the daycare.

When Alanna was exiting the car, Carol noticed a big shiny ring on her finger. Carol grabbed her hand and asked, “What is this?” Alanna smiled and covered her face. Carol exclaimed, “You need to tell me everything.” Alanna grabbed Carol’s hand and told her, “There is not much to say. He proposed and I said yes.” Carol looked into Alanna’s eyes. She couldn’t believe what Alanna was saying. “That must have been a great trip,” Carol said, laughing. Alanna closed her eyes, took a deep breath and said, lifting her eyebrows, “ Yes it was. Matthew is amazing. He is so generous.”

Alanna stepped out of the car and picked her bags out of Carol’s car. She waved goodbye and headed into her house. Alanna opens the door and enters her house. She turned on the light and looked around at her house. Everything looked strange. She made her way to her room. Her bed was still a mess as she left it.

Her cell phone rings. Alanna looked at the screen. Matthew was calling her. Alanna answered excitedly, “Hey sweety.” Matthew cleared his voice and said, “how was the flight?” Alanna answered, “It was fine. Long but I slept most of the time.” Matthew smiled, “I wish I were there. We could have continued what we started on our way here.” Alanna laughed and replied, “Shut up you almost got us, band, from that airline.” Matthew laughs and whispers, “You were the loud one.” Alanna laughs and covers her mouth, embarrassed. Matthew tells her that he has arrived at a meeting and must go. Alanna blows him a kiss and hangs up.

The next day, Alanna wakes up early and goes to the basement to work out. She walks in and looks at the machines. She goes to the bench and rubs the seat. She takes a deep breath as memories of Jack run through her mind. She stands there not realizing that time was passing by. Then she hears her phone. She rushes to pick it up. It was the contractor that she was meeting today to talk about the funeral home’s roof. He wanted to confirm the meeting. Alanna looked at the time and realized that she spent almost an hour in the basement just looking at the machines thinking about Jack. She reminds herself that Jack was in the past and she needed to stop thinking about him.

Alanna rushed to get dressed and arrived at the funeral home right before the contractor arrived. She rushes to check the leak. She wanted to see it before the contractors arrived. She found a big bucket in the middle of the entrance. Carol was great at her job, but when it came to fixing problems, she was a mess. The carpet was humid, and it smelled like mildew. Alanna received the contractor and was satisfied with the time frame he gave her. Alanna hired him to fix the roof and then replaced the carpet.

Alanna walked around the building. She inspected every room. Carol did a good job. Everything was perfect. The only problem was the leak. Alanna thanked Carol for her great work and then headed to the daycare to check how things were going. She didn’t find the director, but everything looked fine. She spends some time saying hi to the kids and staff. Then she went into her office. She walked inside her office and everything reminded her of Jack. Alanna looked around and her eyes became teary. She couldn’t handle so many emotions, so she walked out to Carol's desk. She asked her to transfer any calls to her cellphone because she was going to check the other daycare.

Carol acted as if she didn’t notice how upset Alanna looked. She knew Alanna was having a hard time. The smile that Alanna had when Carol picked her up at the airport was gone. Carol could see the sadness in her eyes, and she knew it was about Jack. Every time they talked while Alanna was in Dubai, Alanna sounded happy. Carol thought that she was finally over Jack, but her face told another story today.

Alanna drove to the daycare. On the way she kept reminding herself that she needed to take Jack out of her head. They were over and she was happy with Matthew.

Alanna arrived at the other daycare and sat in her car in the parking lot for a few minutes. She watched parents drop their kids off and tried to see if she recognized anyone. They were all strangers. She had been getting good reports about the daycare, but she hadn’t stepped in since the opening. She hired a highly recommended young lady, so she was not surprised. Things were going well.

Alanna walked through the hallways decorated with the children's artwork. Then she walked to the infant classroom and watched through the window as the teacher fed the babies. One baby coughed Alanna's eyes. He had a flat face and almond-shaped sky-blue eyes that slanted up. The baby’s tongue was sticking out a little as the teacher tried to feed him. The baby smiled so much that the teacher couldn’t get him to eat. Alanna stared at the baby and smiled.

Alanna heard a voice calling on her, “excuse me ma’am, can I help you?” Alanna turned around and found the young girl she hired to run the daycare behind her. The young girl immediately smiled nervously and said, “Sorry Miss Alanna, I didn’t recognize you." Alanna smiled and turned back to the window. She kept looking at the cute baby and told the young girl, “Don’t worry, that's what happens when you only see people online."

The young lady smiled and saw that Alanna was looking at the baby boy. The young girl began to explain that the baby had down syndrome, and the baby's dad was a single father. Alanna looked at the young girl, wondering why she was so excited to share this information with her. Alanna asked the young girl to accompany her to the office so they could talk about business.

The young girl took her to the office, and they went through piles of paperwork. Before they noticed, it was four o’clock in the afternoon. Alanna said goodbye and told the young lady that they would pick up where they left tomorrow. The young lady walked her to the exit and Alanna said bye at the door.

Alanna stopped at Brenda’s restaurant on the way home. Brenda ran to hug her when she saw her. Brenda was happy to see her friend. Brenda held her hands and scanned Alanna from head to toe. Brenda asked, “How are you? I can’t believe you got engaged. We need to have an engagement party when Matthew gets here.” Alanna smiled and nodded. Then Brenda took a deep breath and asked Alanna, “Have you seen him?” Alanna took a deep breath and replied with a broken voice, “Please don’t mention him.” Brenda nodded and rushed to grab her food. Alanna took her food, hogged Brenda, and headed home.

The next day, Alanna woke up early again but this time she pushed herself to exercise. Then she dressed and prepared her milkshake. She poured her breakfast milkshake in a travel cup and headed to work.

Alanna went straight to the daycare. The director arrived right after Alanna. Alanna was already heading inside so she waited for her, holding the door. The two women walked inside, greeting everyone. They sat in the office for hours again. At noon, Alanna told the young lady to take a break. The director went out for lunch and Alanna to order some food.

Alanna walked around the building while she waited for her food. She passed by the infant classroom and the lady asked her if she could cover for her while she went to the bathroom. Alanna went into the room. All the babies were sleeping quietly. Suddenly, the baby began to cry. Alanna rushed to the crib and saw the cute baby with down syndrome that she was watching while he was eating the day before. His diaper was dirty, so she picked him up and looked for his diapers. Thankfully, the cubbies had labels with pictures, so it was easy for her to find the baby's stuff. She changed his diaper and sat with him on the rocking chair. She sang to him and rocked him until he fell to sleep.

The infant teacher came back from the bathroom and went to reach for the baby. Alanna asked the lady to let her hold the baby longer, but the lady pointed at the window and said, “I’m sorry, but his dad is here to pick him up for a doctor’s appointment. Alanna pounded and took a sniff of the baby before she handed him to the lady. Then Alanna looked to the window to see the baby's dad.

Alanna's heart started beating fast and her breath became heavy. She froze. She was in shock. As the baby’s father walked to the door, Alanna didn’t feel her legs. She wanted to run but she felt as if she was stuck. Then the infant teacher hands the baby to his father and tells him, “This is Miss Alanna, the owner of the daycare.” Jack looked at Alanna with his beautiful light blue eyes and smile.