sat down at the table, Sydney knew the best thing for them was to start doing things Haley usually did.
And she prayed she wasn’t making a mistake.
“So, what should we do today?” It was their first full day alone together without her parents being there as buffers, and it was time for the two of them to start settling into a routine. School didn’t start for another month, but there had to be something for them to do.
Surely I can handle finding stuff for us to do for a month, right?
Without her own mother here to guide her, she wasn’t sure where to even start, then she remembered finding Tracy’s day planner and how there were gymnastic classes at the local YMCA that Haley joined at the beginning of the summer. Maybe it was time to get back to them. Feeling good about her decision, she went in search of where she put the planner and then quickly found that they could make one today.
Yes!
“So I was thinking,” she began cautiously, “How would you feel about going to the Y today? You know, get back to the gymnastics classes.”
At first Haley looked at her oddly, but then a small smile played at her lips. “Is that…I mean…would that be okay?”
Relief washed over her and she couldn’t help but reach over and hug her. “Are you kidding me? I think it would be totally awesome!”
She still didn’t look entirely convinced. “I guess it would be fun…”
In no time, they were cleaning up the breakfast dishes and getting ready to go. By the time they were in the car and pulling out of the driveway, Sydney was feeling more than a little optimistic. Maybe after gymnastics, they could go to the library and get some books and then grab an early lunch and have a picnic at the beach! So many ideas came to mind and for the first time in a while, she felt good. Happy. Confident that she could handle being Haley’s…guardian. There was no way she could make herself think that she was her mom because…she wasn’t. She couldn’t. She was Aunt Sydney and that was more than okay with her.
The drive to the YMCA took almost fifteen minutes, and when she parked and Haley got out, Sydney noticed she seemed anxious to get inside. If anything, she was leading the way. Her coach—Miss Sherry—spotted them and her eyes went wide as her smile grew. She walked over and introduced herself, and even though this was a completely new experience, Sydney was ready to embrace it.
She sat with all the other moms and watched as Haley seemed to settle in with the rest of the group. The women all took turns introducing themselves and offering their condolences, and as much as she appreciated them, she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off her niece. She had no idea if Haley was genuinely talented in gymnastics or if this was just sort of a hobby. It was a side of her she hadn’t seen in far too long—the smiling girl who laughed with her friends—and it tugged at her heart.
“It’s just so sad,” the woman beside her, Nina, was saying. “Tracy and I used to go to Pilates class together. It still hasn’t quite hit me that she’s not coming back.”
All Sydney could do was nod because…yeah. That’s exactly how she felt. She kept wishing this was all some kind of terrible dream and she was going to wake up and call Tracy and make plans to get together sooner rather than later.
When she focused on the mats again, Haley was up on the balance beam, and when she came to the end of her routine and dismounted, she looked over at Sydney and smiled.
And then she wasn’t. Her expression fell and Sydney was instantly on her feet.
“Uh-oh,” she murmured, standing up. She watched helplessly as Haley’s eyes scanned the group and she knew exactly what was happening.
Maybe it wasn’t the right way to handle it, but she raced across the gym to her and immediately hugged her.
“It’s not fair,” Haley cried, burying her face in Sydney’s shoulder. “Mom should be here, not you!” Shoving Sydney away, she ran out of the gym.
It was so unexpected that she had no idea what to do. Glancing around, she saw all the sympathetic glances and realized she was entirely out of her element. All she could think of was getting out of there—out of this environment that was causing Haley so much