Little Moments (Second Chances 2)

“Yay! Mickey and Goofy now.” She rushes to the sofa, grabs the TV remote, and pushes the buttons all at once. I finish up in the kitchen and snuggle with her on the sofa as we watch the newest Mickey movie.

A couple hours later, we hop on the train and head north into the Bronx for our field trip. The subway is a new experience for her; she looks around in awe and waves to all its passengers. The conductor announces that Buhre Avenue Station is the next stop, so I gather up our things and strap her in the stroller. As we approach the stop, I bend down and whisper, “Almost there baby girl.” She smiles wide and kicks her feet in eagerness.

We exit the train and approach the stairs leading up to the street. I contemplate taking her out of the stroller and just carrying her but a gentleman walks up to us.

“Do you need help miss?”

I smile. “Oh, yes please. Thank you.”

He grabs hold of the bottom end of the stroller and we carry it up the stairs together. Then he helps me place it gently onto the sidewalk.

“Thank you so much.”

He smiles. “No problem. Have a good day.” I watch him as he crosses the street and heads into the Irish pub. That was nice of him.

I push the stroller as we make our way onto Crosby Avenue and I spot the bakery a short way up the street. “There it is. I hope they have éclairs today.”

“Cookie!”

I pull the entrance open and push the stroller inside. The amazing aroma of pastry and sweetness hits my nose immediately, causing my stomach to grumble with hunger. I plan on ordering everything in this place. I’m going to end up in a sugar coma.

I chuckle at myself and push the stroller toward the sugar cookie case. “Look Layla. We found the cookies!”

She stretches to reach the glass case, so I unbuckle the belt and release her from the stroller. She walks up and starts banging on the glass. “Teetee Mewanie. Cookie. Pwease!”

At that moment, an older Italian woman comes out to greet us. “Welcome, how may I help you?”

“Hi, do you have any éclairs today?”

She hesitates. “Hmmm, let me check. A customer purchased a bunch recently, but I’m sure we have to have a couple left.”

“Oh yes, please. I have been craving your éclairs for the past week.”

She walks over to the pastry case and announces, “Well, it’s your lucky day.”

I can’t help but jump a little. “Oh, thank god! I’ll take all the ones you have left!”

The Italian woman laughs. “Okay, anything else for today?”

“Yes, I’ll also have one black and white cookie and a strawberry cheesecake.”

She looks at Layla, who is still staring at the abundance of cookies. “And what about you little darling? What cookie do you want?”

Layla examines the case before deciding on the sugar cookie with pink sprinkles. “Dat one.”

The woman gathers my order and before she boxes it up she asks, “Will you be eating here or carrying out?”

I look over at the little seating area and decide to stay for a bit. “We’ll dine in. Please box up the cheesecake and we’ll eat the pastries now. Thank you.”

She cashes me out and Layla and I sit at a round table by the window. We eat our treats in a comfortable silence, enjoying the warm sweetness. I give her a small nibble of my éclair and her face lights up.

“Good huh?”

She nods. “Yummy in my tummy!”

“Your daughter is adorable. How old is she? Three?”

I glance up to see the Italian woman standing near us. She bends down to take a closer look at Layla.