Pieces of Me

by Laura Farr

“Well, I think it’s great. She’s adorable.”

  “I agree, but I’m biased.”

  We spend another half an hour or so in the sea, splashing around and having fun before Bella’s teeth begin to chatter and we have to get out. Cooper carries her back to their spot on the beach and wraps her in a pink fluffy unicorn towel. He digs in a bag and passes me a Peppa Pig towel.

  “Sorry,” he says with a wince. “The spare towels I brought with me are all Bella’s.”

  “This is fine,” I assure him, wrapping myself in the garish towel. Bella has curled up on one of the beach chairs, her eyes closed. “I think you’ve worn her out.”

  “There’s a first time for everything,” he says with a chuckle. “I’ll let her have ten minutes, then I’ll wake her. She’ll be awake all night if I let her sleep for too long.”

  “I’d better get going. Thanks for lending me a towel.” I take it from around my body and hand it to him. Reaching for my jean shorts, I pull them on over my damp bikini bottoms and pick up my tank top. “Tell Bella I said bye. It was good to meet you.”

  “You, too, Lexi, and thank you. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you looked after Bella.”

  I nod and smile at him before turning to leave. I walk off the beach, leaving Cooper and Bella behind me. Heading back to Maddie’s place to shower, I can’t help but think about Cooper and that beautiful little girl who’ll never know her mommy. I might be dealing with some shit at the moment, but it’s nothing compared to what those two have been through. My heart hurts for them.

  Cooper

  My gaze lingers on Lexi as she walks off the beach. I owe her, big time. When I woke up and realized Bella was gone, I panicked. The feeling of dread that settled in the pit of my stomach made me want to throw up. I’ve heard the news enough times to know there are some sick bastards out there. Some assholes waiting for their opportunity to grab a child when her stupid father takes his eyes off the ball for a second. I had run up and down the beach, calling her name, and no one had even stopped to ask me if I was okay. When I heard Bella shout, the relief I felt was overwhelming.

  Lexi seemed so familiar, but I couldn’t place her. I didn’t want to ask and look like the jerk who was trying to pick her up, especially after what she’d done to help Bella. She seemed nice, and we’d had a fun couple of hours. Bella would be upset when she woke up and found her gone.

  I let her sleep for another few minutes while I tidy up all of our stuff. Waking her, she sits up and rubs her eyes.

  “Where’s Lexi?” she asks, looking around.

  “She had to go, sweetheart.”

  “But I didn’t get to say goodbye. Do you think we’ll see her again?”

  “I don’t know, baby girl. We might.” She nods, seeming satisfied with my answer, and I gather up all our things.

  “I like her Daddy. She’s pretty.” I pause and look over at her. She was beautiful. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t noticed.

  “She is. I like her, too.”

  “Maybe if we see her again, she can come and play princesses with me.”

  “Maybe.” I can’t help but smile at her simplistic thinking. Oceanside has a population of almost 200,000 people. The chances of bumping into Lexi again are slim, and even slimmer that she’d want to come and play princesses. The mind of a four-year-old never ceases to amaze me.

  “Come on. Let’s head back to the truck and get some lunch. I’m starving.”

  She nods and walks ahead of me, swinging her bucket and spade by her side. “Can we get pizza?” she calls over her shoulder.

  “Sure. Why not?”

  After eating far too much at the local pizza parlor, I head home with a sleepy Bella. I think her night with Maddie, followed by a day at the beach has worn her out. We spend the rest of the afternoon curled up on the sofa, watching TV.

  Just before dinner, I realize I haven’t heard back from Maddie about the text I sent earlier in the day. Grabbing my phone off the coffee table, I fire off a message to her.

  Me: Hi, Mads. Hope work was ok? Did you speak to your friend about the job?

  Mads: Hey, Coop. I’m going out with her tonight, so I’ll let you know

  Me: Thanks. Is it someone I know?

  She doesn’t reply to my last message, and I figure she’s busy. I thought I knew most of her friends, so I’m a little intrigued as to who it is. After bathing Bella and putting her to bed, I grab a beer from the fridge before watching TV for a bit. When my eyes start to get heavy, I decide to call it a night. I’m exhausted after my restless night the night before. I hope I can sleep better tonight.

  Lexi

  I’m flicking through Maddie’s closet when I hear the door to the apartment open.

  “Hey, Lex. You home?” Maddie shouts.

  “In the bedroom.”

  “How was your day?” she asks as she flops down onto her bed.

  “Really great.” A smile floods my face as I think back to meeting Bella and Cooper.

  “You found a job! That’s brilliant,” she exclaims, obviously believing my enthusiasm is due to an offer of a job.

  “Actually, no. But I still had a great day.”

  She sits up and narrows her eyes at me.

  “Okay… Well, I may have a solution to your job problem, but I want to know what made today so great first.” She swings her legs to the side of the bed and comes to stand next to me in front of the closet. “Come on. Spill.” She bumps her shoulder against mine, and I laugh.

  “I did try to find work. I tried a million bars and restaurants, but nobody had any openings, so I went to the beach instead. I’d forgotten how much I love the ocean.”

  “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “I was sunbathing by the dunes and this little girl appeared. She’d been chasing a butterfly and ended up getting lost. I helped her find her dad.”

  “Ahh, that’s nice of you.”

  “Her dad was Cooper.” I turn to face her, watching as her mouth drops open.

  “Oh, wow. So you met Bella. Did Cooper recognize you?”

  “He had no idea, and I kind of didn’t tell him I knew you.” I screw my nose up and wince as I wait for her response.

  “Why on earth not? He would have remembered you.”

  “After we got chatting, it seemed a bit weird to say I knew him. I could hardly say anything after I’d spent the morning with them. He wouldn’t have remembered me anyway. I was a spotty fourteen-year-old with braces.” I shrug. “It’s not like I’m going to see him again anyway. Oceanside is a big place.”

  “You spent the morning with them?” she asks, surprise evident in her voice.

  “Well, yeah. Bella wanted to show me the princess tower they’d made in the sand.” She smiles before pulling her phone from her pocket, her fingers flying over the screen.

  “You mean this tower?” She holds the phone out to me. I look at the image on the screen. It’s a picture of Bella standing next to a tower of sand that’s nearly as tall as she is.

  “Yeah, that’s the one,” I say with a chuckle.

  She laughs, too. “Out of all of the people in Oceanside, I can’t believe Cooper is the person you ran into on your first day here. I wish you’d told him you knew me though. Especially if you’re interested in this job I know of.”

  I look at her in confusion. “What do you mean? What job?”

  “Coop messaged me this morning. He’s looking for someone to take care of Bella a few days a week and tidy up around the house. He was looking for someone who’s been recommended. He didn’t want to leave Bella with just anyone. I wondered if you might be interested?”

  “I’ve not really got any experience with children. It’s a bit different to the office job I had back in Richmond.”

  “It sounds like you got along okay today.”

  “I guess, and Bella seems like a great kid.” The more I thought about it, the more appealing the job offer became. I had a great time today, and Bella seemed to like me.

&nbs
p; “She’s the best. A little obsessed with Disney princesses, especially Rapunzel. She’ll make you watch Tangled over and over, but she really is adorable.”

  I burst out laughing. “Cooper told me about the Tangled obsession. In fact, she told me I looked like Rapunzel as soon as we met.” I paused for a second before coming to a decision. “You know what, I think I’d love to look after her. Can you tell him I’m interested? You might want to let him know I met him today on the beach, too.”

  “Hell no! I’m not saying a word. It’ll be funny when you turn up at his door and he realizes who you are. I’ll message him and see if we can go there tomorrow. I can watch Bella while you two talk.” She winks at me and looks more excited about the job prospect than I am. I hope she’s not planning on matchmaking or anything stupid like that. I’ve had enough of men for the time being.

  “Have you decided what you’re going to wear?” she asks.

  “What? For tomorrow? Do you think I’ll need to dress up?” I give her a worried look and mentally go through any suitable outfits I brought with me from Richmond.

  She bursts out laughing. “For tonight, Lex. Cooper won’t care what you wear tomorrow.” I breathe a sigh of relief and pull a dress from the closet.

  “I was thinking of this.”

  “That will look great on you,” she enthuses. “I’m just going to jump into the shower, then we can get going.”

  I do my hair and makeup while Maddie showers, curling my hair and pinning half of it up so it’s out of my face. I don’t usually wear a lot of makeup, and the sun from earlier has left me with a healthy glow, so I put on some mascara and lip gloss and leave it at that. By the time Maddie come out of the bathroom, I’m slipping into the dark blue bodycon dress. It fits like a glove, and I smooth the material down with my fingers as I look at my reflection in the full-length mirror.

  “Wow, Lexi. You look amazing!” she exclaims as she towels off her wet hair. “You’ll be getting plenty of attention tonight looking like that.”

  “Thanks, but after Greg, I’ve sworn off men for good.”

  She comes over and puts her arm around my shoulders. “Not all men are assholes, Lex. There are still some good ones out there.”

  “I’m sure there are, but I’m not interested. Not at the moment anyway. Speaking of good men, are you still hung up on Cooper’s friend?” I watch as her cheeks flush pink and a huge smile erupts on her face. She’d told me briefly about him when we last spoke, before I made the move from Richmond. Judging by the look on her face, things have moved on since then.

  “He was at Cooper’s last night. He met him there before they headed into town. He finally asked me out, and he’s been texting me all day.” The excitement in her voice is catching, and I pull her into an embrace.

  “That’s great, Mads. I know how long you’ve waited for this. I hope everything works out for you.”

  “We’re going out tomorrow night. You’ll have the place to yourself for a few hours. He’s picking me up at 7.”

  “I can’t wait to hear all about it.” And I couldn’t. Just because my love life was on its ass didn’t mean I couldn’t be happy for her.

  I head into the sitting room, giving her some space to get ready. Taking my phone from my purse, I pull up a list of rentals in Oceanside. Scrolling through the list, there are quite a few to choose from. Unfortunately, none are in my price range. Even a space half the size of what I had in Richmond is way over my budget. I should have realized that living on the coast in a popular area like Oceanside would have been something I couldn’t afford. I’d have to look at moving farther out and commuting if I managed to get this job with Bella.

  “Are you ready?” Maddie asks as she comes into the sitting room. She looks incredible. Her dark hair is pinned up on top of her head, a few strands framing her face. Her makeup is minimal but perfect, and she’s wearing black skinny jeans with a pale pink floaty top.

  “You look beautiful, Mads.” I stand up and slip my phone back into my purse. “If you look as hot tomorrow as you do now, Alex will lose his shit.”

  She grins and gives me a twirl. “That’s the plan! You never know. If all goes well, you might have the apartment to yourself all night.” She winks at me. I burst out laughing.

  “Seems you’ve given it quite some thought.”

  “God, Lex, you have no idea how much thought I’ve given it! Let’s go. I need a gin and tonic.”

  “More like a cold shower,” I tease. She rolls her eyes and links her arm with mine.

  “I can’t believe how much I’ve missed you. I know you’ve been through some shit, but I’m so glad you’re here and back in my life. We should never have lost touch.”

  “I’ve missed you, too.”

  She grins and pulls me out of the apartment. I’ve got a feeling I’m going to feel a little worse for wear when this night is over.

  Cooper

  I’m in the kitchen fixing breakfast when my phone vibrates on the breakfast bar. Turning from the stove, I reach for it, seeing that I have a message from Madison.

  Mads: Hey, big bro. My friend is interested in the job. We can swing by today if you’re around?

  Me: Ermm… We’ll be in later once we’ve walked Bailey. Who is she? Has she worked with children before?

  I’m grateful that Maddie knows someone who is interested. I just expected to know a little more about the person before meeting them.

  Mads: Her name is Alexis Beaumont. I’ve known her for years. She’s great with kids. Bella will love her.

  Mads: 11am okay? I can watch Bells while you two talk.

  I trust Madison’s judgment. She loves Bella just as much as I do. If she thinks this person is suitable, then it’s definitely worth my while to speak to her.

  Me: Sure. See you later.

  “Bella, breakfast!” I shout, knowing she’s awake and coloring in her bedroom. Plating up the eggs I’ve just cooked, I set them on the breakfast bar and reach for the coffee machine, pouring myself a cup. I haven’t spoken to Bella about Rose leaving. She loves her and will be upset finding out she won’t be looking after her anymore. I want her to meet anyone I’m considering as a replacement, though. I need to see how they’ll interact with each other. I have to know that they’ll get along. Bella knew Rose before she started looking after her, but it won’t be the same this time. Whoever I choose will be a stranger.

  After she’s eaten her eggs, I decide now is as good a time as any to talk to her. I have a couple of hours before Maddie and her friend arrive.

  “Bella, did you know that Rose is going to be a grams?” She turns to look at me and shakes her head. “Well, she is. Her daughter is having a baby.” Her face lights up and she claps her hands.

  “Will I get to see the baby?” Her eyes dance with excitement, and I smile. If there is one thing she loves more than Rapunzel it’s babies.

  “I’m sure Rose will bring her over,” I tell her, hoping she will. “Anyhow, sweetheart, because her daughter is having a baby, it means she won’t be able to look after you anymore.” I watch as the smile falls from her face and her bottom lip trembles.

  “Did I do something bad?” Her voice wavers, and my heart breaks as I reach for her, lifting her into my arms.

  “No, sweetheart. Not at all. Rose just needs to look after the baby. She loves you very much.” She nods against my chest, her arms reaching around my neck. “I’m going to find someone really special to look after you. In fact, Aunt Maddie is coming around in a bit with a friend. Do you want to meet her?”

  She lifts her head and looks at me. “Is she nice?”

  “Well, she must be if Aunt Maddie likes her.” I smile and hope that I’m doing the right thing by being open with her.

  In hindsight, maybe I should have met Alexis first, and if she wasn’t suitable then Bella wouldn’t have needed to meet her. It’s times like this that being a single parent is tough. There’s no other person to bounce ideas off. No one to agree or disagree with decisions you mak
e. Hell, who am I kidding? All times are tough as a single parent. Sighing, I hug Bella a little tighter before lowering her to the floor.

  “Shall we take Bailey to the park?”

  “Yes,” she cries, jumping up and down in excitement. “Can I take my bike?”

  “Of course. Go and put your shoes on.” She flies out of the room, Bailey hot on her heels after hearing the word “park”. And just like that, all thoughts of being sad that Rose is leaving are gone. If only all my worries could be so easily taken away with a visit to the park.

  An hour and a half later, we’re walking back from the park. Bailey is worn out after being let off the lead to chase his ball, and I’m worn out from following Bella around the play equipment. The swings are her favorite. She would have me push her for hours if she had her way. She’s in front of me on her bike while I walk behind with Bailey. Despite having run around like a lunatic, he’s pulling on the lead, desperate to get closer to Bella.

  “Bailey, chill out.” I chastise, pulling back on his lead. He turns to look at me and whines, finally giving up on trying to get to her. As we round the corner, the house comes into view and I breathe a sigh of relief that Maddie hasn’t arrived yet. I want to have a quick tidy up before they get here. I don’t want Alexis to think we live in a mess.

  Taking Bailey straight around the back, I leave him in the garden while I take Bella inside. Sending her to wash up, I set about tidying. The house is clean, as Rose still comes by, but there are toys lying around and I need to put the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. I’m just finished when I hear the front door open.

  “Hello? Anyone home?” I hear Maddie shout.

  “In the kitchen. I’m coming,” I reply, wiping my hands on the towel before turning and making my way into the hall. As I look past Maddie, I stop in my tracks. “Lexi?” I ask in surprise.