“You do what you gotta do. We’ll be fine.” With a small smile, she rushed out of there, determined to get past the overwhelming emotion she’d been drowning in all day. She had to get a grip, or she’d never get through tomorrow.
Chapter 10
Danica
Danica took deep breaths the whole way to Orlando’s house. Her breathing had begun to calm as she drove through his neighborhood. Much like Ted, Orlando lived in a neighborhood in a higher end area of Los Angeles. All the homes looked older but huge with vintage-looking porches that wrapped all around the properties. The big homes with long driveways, along with the tree-lined street, felt like something out of the fifties.
When she turned onto Orlando’s street, the first thing that caught her eye was a woman walking down the sidewalk, pushing a baby carriage. Even that gave the feeling of something out of an old black-and-white fifties movie, but as she got closer, she could see the baby carriage was more of a modern stroller, the kind with the big wheels even for jogging as you pushed. The woman wasn’t jogging, but she did appear to be doing a little speed-walking. She glanced up as Danica drove by and smiled. It was only then that Danica realized she was smiling big as she’d eyed the woman and the stroller. It couldn’t be helped. Seeing the stroller reminded Danica that she, too, would have her hands full with a sweet little angel very soon. Taking another deep breath, Danica shook off the emotion. She would not start that up again. Just a few homes past the woman, her phone’s navigation app announced she’d arrived at her destination. Danica took in Orlando’s big perfect-looking home—the baby’s new home. All her efforts, all the pain of having to give him up, and all the torment she’d gone through in the past few months had paid off. This was completely worth what felt like such an enormous sacrifice. Baby Oreo was set to have a wonderful life with a loving daddy in a beautiful home. “Don’t you start your blubbering,” she muttered under her breath as she pulled into the driveway. Pulling out the backpack she’d brought a few goodies in, she got out of the car, ready to do this. As she started around the car, she glanced up at the house, wondering what Orlando and the baby were up to? It was fairly early, but the baby should be up by now. He’d always had Danica up by five at the latest. Eyeing her phone screen, she saw it was just after eight a.m. “Might be down for his morning nap already,” she thought out loud.
“You must be Danica.”
To her surprise, the woman she’d seen walking up the street with the stroller was walking toward her. She smiled big at Danica as she turned the stroller up the walkway that led to Orlando’s front door. “Yes, I’m Danica.”
“I’m Felicia,” the woman said, reaching out her hand to shake Danica’s. Danica shook her hand and smiled, a little confused. Was this a neighbor or— “I’m Orlando’s girlfriend,” Felicia explained before Danica could finish that thought. “I usually only watch this little guy on Fridays, but Orlando had a bit of an unexpected errand he had to run this morning and couldn’t take the baby. He asked me to come by and stay with him until you got here because I have to work, but he said to tell you he’ll be back soon.”
Nodding, Danica shook off the inevitable envy she was suddenly feeling for the woman. But she couldn’t help wondering about Felicia’s explanation of who she was. The way Felicia took her in from bottom to top wasn’t missed either. Danica glanced away, pretending not to notice just how closely Felicia scrutinized her.
Admittedly, just like the last two days when she’d worked at the shop, Danica had made more of an effort than her usual when she’d done her makeup. The jeans she’d chosen to wear today were her favorite because of the flattering way they hugged her body without being too tight. She’d wanted to be comfortable when she took care of the baby, but she’d also wanted to look good doing it.
Despite Felicia making it clear she was Orlando’s girlfriend, Danica was still curious about something. When Orlando told her about the girl who was helping him watch the baby on Fridays, he’d used the word friend. Danica remembered because she’d made a mental note to