Spring 2010 - Huffington

Heather Huffington (33), Lance Huffington (6)

After the failure of her beauty salon business, Heather decided to try something new, flower arranging.  Maybe if she got really good at it she could start a little flower shoppe.  Surely that would be easier than trying to run a salon single-handedly.

Unfortunately, flower arranging took awhile to learn, and with a young son to support, Heather needed to start earning money immediately.  She decided that maybe she wouldn't mind being a waitress or a barista, so she sent her resume to a few places.  The only place she heard back from was a country club and they didn't need a waitress, they needed a golf caddy.  It wasn't exactly what Heather had in mind, but she decided to take the job.  She hoped that something else would come up soon and that the tips were good in the meantime.

Neil was still hanging around.  When he didn't stop by to check on Heather and Lance, he would call to chat with Lance about school or the latest episode of their favorite sci-fi show.

Heather decided to talk with Lance about the friendship over dinner one evening.  "You talked with Neil on the phone for awhile tonight, didn't you?"

"Yeah, he's my best friend."

"Don't you think it's weird having a best friend that's so much older than you are?"

"No, you're my best friend too, Mommy, and you're older."

Heather cleared her throat.  She wasn't that old.  "Yeah, but I'm your mom."

"Neil is kind of like a dad.  Kendra has a dad that pushes her on the swings and teaches her to play catch.  Neil's a friend like that, since I don't have a dad like that."

"Do you wish your real dad was here to play with you too?"

"Sometimes."

"What if we called him and invited him over sometime.  Would you like that?"

"I guess that would be okay."

Heather went to the phone and dialed Gareth's number while Lance waited anxiously.  The last time she tried to call, he barely gave her the time of day.  This time he listened while she told him about how Lance needed his father in his life and chastized him for missing their son's birthday.  Feeling guilty about not being in Lance's life more, Gareth agreed to come over.

He couldn't deny that he still found Heather attractive

But he couldn't forget that she had cheated on him before they found out that she was pregnant with Lance.

It was quickly apparent that Heather had invited him over so that she could spend time with him and get back into his life, not so that he could spend time with Lance.  He decided it was time to set things straight.

"It's over between us.  I don't want anything to do with you and if we didn't have a son together I wouldn't be here now.  Don't call me again, unless it's really about our son."

Since Gareth had made his feelings perfectly clear, she decided it was time to move on with her life and meet someone new.

The first guy she met as a set up was good looking enough

But not so great to talk to.

She tried meeting someone on her own in the neighborhood, but he tried to get too handsy too soon and she was just not interested.

Then she happened to meet Jimmy one morning as she walked Lance to the bus stop.

There was an instant spark between them.

Jimmy was really easy to talk to

And had a great sense of humor.

They parted feeling like they had known each other for ages.

The next day Jimmy was waiting at the bus stop, hoping to run into Heather when she came to pick up her son at the bus stop.

And Heather was glad to see him.

From there one thing led to another

Heather was mortified when Lance walked in on them in an intimate moment.  It was an eye opener to realize just how carried away she was getting with Jimmy.  She was already entertaining thoughts of making babies with him when becoming a single mom to another child by another man who might not stick around was the last thing she needed.

 On the way to school she had a chat with Lance about what had happened.

"Sometimes even Mommies need to meet new people and make new friends.  You don't mind that Jimmy has been spending a lot of time at our house lately, do you?"

"No, I guess it's okay.  Can I just go to school now?"

"The bus isn't here yet.  I'm trying to talk with you."

"I hope the bus gets here soon."

Meanwhile going to school was allowing Lance to make his own friends, friends his own age.  The girls were kind of boring.  They only liked to talk about girly games and new babies.

Bryce was kind of cool though.  He liked bugs almost as much as he did.

He was even willing to give Jimmy a chance and tried to get to know him over a game of catch.

 He wasn't sure if Jimmy liked kids much though.  He kind of wished his mom and Neil got along better.  That would be the best.