The Personal Trainer's Ex-Girlfriend

The Familiar Glance

Blake

After leaving the apartment complex with Kurt and the kids, I press the unlock button on my car keys to open all the doors of my navy blue 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Z71 LT, putting Theodore in his car seat and telling Kelly to sit in her booster seat while Kurt is sitting in the front passenger seat. I start the car by inserting the key into the ignition as the song, "Bodak Yellow" by Cardi B comes on the radio and the kids begin to sing along the lyrics.

I snap my head at my two children who are extremely lit listening to the song and are doing the Dab in the back seat of my vehicle. "How do you guys know about that song? You two are basically kids." I chuckle the question and shake my head, checking the mirrors along with looking back at Kelly and Theodore to make sure they have their seatbelts, in which they do. I put my seatbelt on; situate my hands at ten and two, concluding to me pulling the lever to reverse. Once I back the car up, I switch the lever to drive as I drive the four of us to the Smith Haven Mall. While I'm under the traffic light on Middle County Rd, I look down at my ringing cell phone. I sit my phone up and peer that my Mom is calling me. I press the answer icon and put it on speakerphone. "Mom, where have you been?" I inquiry and continue driving once the traffic light turns green.

"You don't want to say, 'Hi, Mom,' like you usually do when I call you?" Mom doubts with an attitude.

"Hi, Grandma!" The kids greet.

"Hi, babies! How are you?" Mom questions with so much jovial in her voice. "Good!" Kelly and Theodore reply in unison. "Anyway, that's because Aunt Lauren was asking me and Phedora if we saw you and we didn't." I elucidate.

"The only reason I was out because I was out with your Aunt Lauren and Aunt Betty along with Valerie for our women's night out at the Lizard's Lounge in Bohemia. After your Aunt Lauren left the club after spending two and a half hours with us at the club, the girls and I left with our own cars. And all of the sudden, I heard sirens taking place behind me and the officer notified me that one of my taillights are broken, so I drove to a nearby auto shop to have it repaired. However, I was at the auto shop for eleven hours because there was a row of cars that needed to be fixed and I had no choice, but to sleep in my car until he knocked on my car window at a quarter before seven this morning along with playing that stupid Rocky music." Mom explains and I laugh along with her.

"So, anyway, I'll be driving home right now. And you also mentioned my daughter in law's name. Did she found a job, yet?" Mom sighs with doubt.

"Not yet." I shake my head. "Well, she needs to get off her ass and go out to find herself a J.O.B.! She's in her early twenties just like you and she needs to do her wife duties around my house ever since the four of you lost your house in a fire three weeks ago. That girl must be working our nerves in my house, as well." Mom huffs.

"I know she needs to get up and find a job, but lay off my wife, Mom." I object and spin the wheel to the parking lot, parking the car on the parking lot.

"Blake Emerson Davis, talk to your own mother like that again! No child of mine is going to disrespect me!" Mom raises her voice and hangs up the phone on me. First, Kurt and I exit from the vehicle before I go to the back passenger door to extricate Theodore from his car seat while I listen to the door of the vehicle closing shut on the same side as Theodore and I walk with Kurt and Kelly into the spacious mall along with people of full capacity filling the hallways all over the place, reminding me of people crowding and shuffling in the high school hallways.

"Daddy! I want to go on that ride!" Theodore points his finger out as his eyes glimmer with delight. "Okay, buddy. Which ride do you want to go?" I question, kneeling on the floor to meet his height. "I want to go on that red tiny helicopter!" Theodore points out and I take a glimpse at what he's pointing his finger to at the red helicopter. "Okay, buddy. How about we go on it after we find some clothes for you and your sister? Does it sound like a plan?" I promise and place my hand on his shoulder.

"Cool!" Theodore displays a toothless grin and sticks his thumb up and out at me. I grin at my son's enthusiasm as the four of us walk into the first store that comes to mind; the Children's Place. "Yo, Kurt. Are you sure that your future wifey and the kids are here?" I ask Kurt, sounding a bit unsure. "Yeah, man. She told me that she and the kids are—"

"Kurt?" I turn to look at Chrissie standing beside their three kids; Sonny, Tommy, and Diana, who are also my godchildren.

"I'll see you guys when Chrissie and I are done clothes shopping for the kids." Kurt says, patting me on the back while I snap my fingers one time.

"Okay. See you later, man." Kelly, Theodore, and I begin researching clothes from one rack to another when I pick a long sleeve gray shirt that reads, 'Little Dude,' on the center of the shirt. I believe this shirt matches Theodore's choices in clothes, so I pick out a pair of basic denim straight jeans from the rack before I pick out three more pants and shirts for Theodore while Kelly returns, holding a hanger consisting a dress over a coral short sleeved shirt. I rest my chin on my palm and cross an arm in front of my chest. "Kelly, don't you think you should get a pair of jeggings?"I suggest and the first expression Kelly gives me is her eyes rolling skyward and c*****g her head to the side.

"What are jeggings?" Kelly queries.

"Jeggings are leggings that look like jeans and they even have pockets." I thoroughly explain and turn to the display of jeggings as the spectacular pair with a floral print that includes the color schemes of pink, magenta, red, and burgundy on the black jeggings. "Come on, Theodore. We have to get your sister some jeggings." I tell Theodore and he begins running to the area of the jeggings area while Kelly and I follow Theodore where the floral print jeggings are before it is time to check out their clothes and go into a different store. The vibrating feeling on my hand occurs as I read a text from my Cousin Steven. 'Yo, Cousin Blake! When are you and kids coming to the store? I'm spending my time f*****g Tatiana in the storage room, waiting for your ass while the manager is having a smoke.' Narrowing my eyes at the message, I shake my head before the corners of my mouth quirks up. "Kids, how about we go to d**k's Sporting Goods to go see Uncle Steven?" I assume. "Okay!" Kelly and Theodore elatedly exclaim in unison prior to taking the escalator down to outside of the mall with each of my kids' hands gripping onto them.

Kelly lets go of my hand as I pull the door open to let the kids in around the same time I spot my Cousin Steven fastening the zipper of his khakis while his co-worker arches a sly eyebrow and bats an eyelash at him with a Dum-Dum lollipop in her mouth. He then grazes his lips with his tongue at her before the kids yell out his name, causing him to take a glimpse at me and the kids. "What's up, cousin?!" Cousin Steven greets and is about to give me, but I stick both palms as he stops in his tracks. "Please use some hand sanitizer before you proceed to give me a handshake." I comically suggest.

Cousin Steven laughs and walks behind the register, pumping some hand sanitizer on his palms and rubbing them back and forth before he comes back as well as giving me a handshake. "How's work coming along?" I ask. "It's going great." Cousin Steven claps his hands with the back of his hand hitting against his palm before he turns to Kelly and Theodore. "Hey, you guys!" Cousin Steven swathes his arms around his niece and nephew while their arms envelop around their uncle. "Are you guys ready to try on some new shoes for school?" Cousin Steven queries.

"Yeah!" Both Kelly and Theodore enthusiastically cheer with their fists pumping up the air and we all search from shoe to shoe until we find a pair for each kids prior to leaving the store. "I'll catch you later, cousin." I bid farewell. "I'll see you later after I buy a box of protection. You need some?" Cousin Steven asks. Knitting my eyebrows together, I inquiry, "Why?"

"Nothing. Just asking, that's all. See you, Cousin Blake. I love you, man." Cousin Steven pulls me in for a hug before he lowers himself to meet their height, squeezing them tightly in his arms. "I love you, too, cousin." I pat him on the back before Theodore, Kelly, and I leave the store. Considering about going to another store to find hoodies and jackets for the two of them, the three of us walk as well as entering Abercrombie and Fitch. The song "Rude" by Magic! plays on the radio and all of a sudden, I begin humming along the lyrics. "Daddy, what is protection?" Theodore curiously questions. I stop humming and begin to ponder on what I should say to my son because he shouldn't learn about the birds and the bees talk until he is out of infancy and young adulthood.

"Son, protection is when you protect someone or something from harm." I predict. "Oh! So, when I fall off the bike, you and Kelly protect me by putting a Band-Aid on my knee, right?" Theodore comprehends.

"That's right, buddy!" I chuckle and run my hand over his head of curls. He giggles and I look up to notice Kelly observing a rack full of hoodies. Theo and I walk to her direction as she pulls onto the sleeve of the pink hoodie. "Daddy, I like to try on this one!" Kelly confides and I check the price tag along with the size because Kelly wears a size small. I read the price tag being under twenty four dollars. I furrow my eyebrows at why a pink hoodie should be at that price for size small for girls.

"Kelly, honey. Do you think we should find another hoodie or jacket for you? Because the other one is under twenty four dollars and we need to shop for clothes at affordable prices." I reason and her eyes droop alongside her leaning her head forward. "Okay." Kelly sadly sighs and feeling bad to see my daughter feeling melancholy, I drape my arm around her shoulder as my hand generously rubs her arm. Peering at a white hoodie in the rack, I check the size is small and is at the price of $9.95. Just as I pull the hanger with the white hoodie, my hand makes contact with a toffee hand. "Oh! I'm sorry..." My apology falters when I look up to the person I haven't physically seen since our college graduation.

"Key?" I call her by her nickname I gave her when we were teenagers.

"Blake?" She speaks with her eyes broadening at me. She still has the voice of an angel.