Free Intuition by Crystal St.Clair

the bad man away. We will get you a drink, Mommy and Grandma some coffee then we will go see some ducks, okay? You can play, Mommy needs to relax and some fresh air.”
    The coffee shop makes me think of Drew and how he asked me to go for a coffee date. Maybe it’s just paranoia but I can’t help but keep wondering why Drew waited until after the second gunshot was fired before coming into the house. If he was following me then why didn’t he stop Paul when the bastard grabbed me? That was Paul’s first move to show that he was a dangerous threat.
    “May I take your order?” The cashier’s voice interrupts my deep thought.
    Taking orders reminds me of work and she looks like a more exhausted version of myself but with cheap red dye engrossed into the dead strands of her hair, almost the color of the blood that I notice on the bottom of my shirt.
    “Uh yeah, sorry, I’ll…” My hand grabs a napkin and tries scrubbing off the wet blood, “I’ll have a large VIP iced mocha latte, a large chocolate milk and - Mom?”
    “A large triple triple, please,” my mom finishes the order, watching me scrub my shirt behind the counter.
    “Would you like a shot?” The cashier asks promptly.
    “Pardon me? A what?” Confused, my hand flips over the scheme of my shirt to hide the blood.
    “A shot, we have flavor shots for your drink. We have mint, hazelnut, berry…”
    “Oh, I’ll… uh… take mint, please.” My eyes meet my mother’s eerie look.
    Olivia tugs at my shirt, “Look, Mommy, It’s raining!”
    The rain cooled down the October warm air that dried up the tears from my mother’s face. No matter how much we fight, she is my mother, and seeing her cry is heartbreaking. If only she would open up to me, make me understand what it is that she’s going through, then I can help her.
    Olivia can’t help but ask me a million questions about whether or not the ducks like the rain cold or warm, if the baby ducks dress up for Halloween and if they like to eat pumpkin muffins as much as she does.
    “Does Sebastian like pumpkin muffins too, Mommy? I bet he does! Can we bring him one, please?”
    Olivia carefully stashes the bag of muffins into her little pink purse and skips home to the same beat as the slow pitter patter of the raindrops. We pick up black umbrellas for myself and my mother so we can still stop to feed the ducks as promised. Olivia decorates hers with sticker but doesn’t want to use it because she’d rather get wet like the delicate flower she is. Watching her dance so full of energy and silliness makes me the happiest mother in the world. I can’t help but dance and sing with her in the puddles.
    “Come on, Mom, dance with us!”
    “Yeah, Grandma!” I recite.
    My mother smiles and grabs our hands to join in on our silly shenanigans. My mother hasn’t been this happy since Olivia was born and sadly I don’t remember a time before then. It’s so nice to see her glowing again.
    I’d give anything up for my little girl. Her smile is so contagious. But what captures my heart even more is the way Sebastian instantly catches hers and makes her face light right up when she sees him at my house then announces that she has a special treat just for them. Nothing sexier than watching a man take so well with your child. He’d make for an amazing father, especially if we one day have a child together.
    My mother doesn’t hold herself back and asks if we are serious and already fucking. How do I even answer a question like that to your mom? He is all of my dreams come true and fears collided into one. Watching Sebastian’s body move like it does, his muscles ripple through his shirt as if the material can’t stop touching him either, makes me want to lather his naked body right now with my massage oil that is hidden in my bedroom for tonight.
    “I have something for your Mommy too,” Sebastian interrupts my deep thought and catches me checking him out. Smiling, he walks towards me with a small