10 Pink Balloons

Even at 65 miles per hour, the road stretched ahead of Andie's tired eyes. Sunday had been a long day, starting with a five hour drive to go see people who would judge her through perfectly rehearsed smiles. They were family, so she had to go; and she was family, so they had to be "happy" to see her. But that was it. Everything that had to be done was done perfectly, but no more than what was necessary. That perfect smile did not reach her mother's eyes. Her aunts thought if they whispered, their words were hidden. They were wrong. They said nothing she hadn’t heard before, but their haughtiness still stung.

Lilly had turned three almost a month ago. Three years had passed since Andie got pregnant. Her family said she should “get rid of it.” When she decided to not only have, but also keep the baby, Andie’s mother became convinced that her daughter was lying about the whole thing. Why would she keep a baby who was conceived so horrifically? After all, what if it looked like Him? Suddenly, Andie could see Him again. The alcohol on his breath once again assaulted her face as he grabbed her hair and pulled her into the alley... no! She promised herself she wouldn't think of Him. Lilly was nothing like that man. Her beautiful blonde hair was just like her mother's, and her smile was that of an angel. She was the light of Andie's life and none of those manicured mumblers would change that fact.

As Andie glanced at her precious girl, she felt the car lurch to the side. Her tire was flat. What had she hit? Slowly she made her way to the side of the road and turned on her hazard lights.     "Mommy," she heard from the back.

"It's alright, baby, go back to sleep." A soft murmur told her Lilly needed no more encouragement. Soft snores reached Andie's ears as the tears began to slide down her cheeks. Why today? If my mother's stupid "ladies’ Easter party" wasn't enough, I get a flat on the open highway. Great. Time to change the tire. Wouldn't it be nice if I knew how to do that? She decided to look it up... until she remembered she couldn't afford data on her phone and she was miles from the nearest Wi-Fi zone. The tears came harder. Why now? Why us? Why me?

She turned the radio on so Lilly would not hear her mother's sobs. The radio also hid the sound of the car pulling up behind her. With tightly shut eyes on the steering wheel, Andie did not see the other car's headlights. A soft knock on her window made her scream which woke Lilly up, but Andie didn't notice. She was staring at the dark figure outside her window. It was Him.

"Are you okay, miss?" Wait, this voice was deeper than his. And he certainly hadn't called her miss that night. Her racing heart slowed as she realized it wasn't Him. I have to stop doing that, she thought. With a start, she realized the man was still looking at her with a worried expression on what little she could see of his face. "Are you alright?" He asked again. She began to say yes before slowly shaking her head and trying in vain to wipe away her tears. "Your front right tire is flat," he said through the window.

"I know," she said loudly enough so he could hear her through the closed window and locked door.

"Do you have a spare?" She nodded, knowing the next question. "Do you know what to do with it?"

"Well..."

The man chuckled. "Now that IS a problem isn't it?"

Andie couldn't help but smile. "Yeah."

"I could change it if you want." Now that she was not expecting, and surprises always put her on her guard. She couldn't tell if he had noticed her smile disappear before he said "You don't have to get out. Just tell me where it is. I have tools in my car."

"It's in my trunk," she said warily.

"Can you unlock it from the inside?" Andie nodded. "Could you, please?" She pressed the button. "Thank you," he said as he walked to her trunk.

"Mommy, who's dat?" Andie heard her daughter ask.

"Oh that's..." She rolled her window down just a crack. "Excuse me," she yelled.

"Yeah?" He came back to the window.

"My daughter wants to know your name."

He smiled. "Elliot. Elliot Lane."

"Ewiot Wane?" The man- Elliot- laughed at Lilly's fruitless attempt to pronounce his name.

"More or less." His smile turned to Andie. "She's cute."

"I'm free!" Lilly yelled from the back.

"You're three? Wow, look at you!" She giggled at him. "Well," he said to Andie. "I should get back to that tire if it's alright with you. Unless you want my social security number or something." Andie shook her head and laughed quietly as he walked back to her trunk. Suddenly, she recalled the only thing she knew about changing a tire.

"Shouldn't we get out? To not put weight on it or whatever?"

"Yeah," he called back. "I'm glad you said that."

"Why?"

"Well, I didn't know how to ask you to get out without sounding creepy. No offense, but I did hear you lock your doors the moment you saw me"

Crap! "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"No need to apologize. You're a lady with a kid, I'm a stranger, it's dark, and this world is full of psychos." But Andie already knew that. "I am going to need you to get out, though. If you want, I could go to the other side of the street while you get yourself and your girl out."

Andie considered the man's- Elliot's- offer. It was his idea so she didn't feel too bad agreeing. "Could you?"

"Yup!" He dropped the tire and jogged to the other side of the road. Andie undid her seatbelt and got Lilly out of her car seat. They walked around to the passenger side of the car. "You ready for me to come back?" Elliot asked from the opposite ditch.

"Yes." As he crossed back over to their side, Andie got a good look at Elliot Lane. Dark jeans and a plaid shirt covered his lean frame. He was in his late twenties, maybe a year or two older than her.

"Mommy, wass he doin'?" Lilly drew her mother's attention away from the man on the other side of the car.

"He's fixing our car, baby."

"Yay!"

Elliot laughed. "While I don't mind saving two damsels in distress, it would probably be a good decision to learn how to change a tire."

Andie nodded. "You're right."

"Gee, I wish more people would come to that conclusion as fast as you did." He said without looking up. Andie laughed.

"Mommy. I'm hungwy." Lily whined.

"Me too," Elliot said. "What's your favorite food?"

"What?" Lilly asked.

"What is your favorite food?" Elliot asked again.

At Lilly's confused expression, Andie answered. "You like ice cream, don't you?"

"Yeah!"

"Really? Me too! My favorite is strawberry ice scream, what's yours."

"I wike chocwat!"

Elliot and Andie laughed together. By the time Elliot finished with the spare tire, he and Lilly had also discussed favorite colors and the names of every single stuffed animal Lilly owned. Andie was surprised at her own disappointment as she put daughter back in her car seat. Though, between the three of them, Andie had talked the least, she had grown quite comfortable with Mr. Elliot Lane.

She shook his hand before getting in her car and driving the last half hour back to her apartment. Lilly went right to bed and Andie followed shortly after. One of Lily's friends from daycare was having a birthday party the next day. Evidently, the little girl's parents had hired a photographer and had a cake driven from some expensive place an hour west of the city. Who goes to that much trouble for a four year old?

The next morning, Andie put on her nicest dress. They stopped by the dollar store to pick out 4 balloons. They came out with ten bright pink balloons. That's what I get for letting her pick out the present. Andie didn't mind, though. The balloons were pretty and there was probably nothing she could have given the birthday girl that the child didn't already have.

They found the house and walked into a booming party. There were parents everywhere talking and laughing, holding glasses of lemonade and punch. Andie wasn't feeling particularly social so she headed over to the dessert table. Do I want chocolate, white, red velvet, carrot or spice cake? "There are so many choices," she murmured to herself.

"Now that IS a problem isn't it?" She whirled around. "Hello again," Elliot smiled.

"Wha- you- hi!" Andie couldn't believe her eyes as she stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

Elliot held up the fancy camera that was hanging around his neck. "I am here to take pictures of a birthday party this kid probably won't even remember."

"You're the photographer?"

"Yeah. Didn't you notice I drove the same direction as you once I finished with your tire?"    

Andie had noticed but she decided not to tell him she was afraid he was following her home for about five minutes. "Well, I was really concentrating on getting Lilly home..."

"I understand. All that talking probably wore her out."

"It did."

Elliot waited a beat before saying, "When I saw you I realized I didn't know your name."

"What?"

"It wasn't my first choice to just appear behind you like that. I would have said your name, but I didn't know it. You didn't tell me."

"Huh. That's odd," Andie said quietly.

"Not really. You didn't talk a whole lot last night. I mean, I'm not complaining, you can talk as much or as little as you want. You're just a little more likely to mention your name if you say more than a few words. That's all." He smiled at her.

"Sorry about that," she replied. "I'm not very talkative." She looked down in embarrassment.

"No, no please don't be embarrassed. You were just starting to open up. I didn't mean to make you... deflate like that." At his words, Andie remembered the 10 pink balloons floating in her car.

“Shoot!” The young mother sprinted out the door, practically twisting her ankle in heels that were not made for running. The dollar store birthday presents floated patiently in the backseat. She grabbed the ribbons, wrapping them around her wrists a few times to keep them from floating away. Noticing a gate into her hosts’ back yard, Andie snuck in with as much stealth as pink balloons would allow.

A muffled chatter came from inside the perfect house on the perfect lawn, owned by perfect parents who knew exactly what they were doing. I bet they met in high school. He was the quarterback, and now he works for a bank. She was a cheerleader who went into modeling until she got pregnant. Of course, Andie knew nothing about the couple, but their life seemed so much easier than hers.

She considered the balloons tugging at her wrist. All she had to do was let go; the little girl inside certainly wouldn’t miss them. Nobody would miss them. They could float away, careless and free. In that moment, a high pitched squeal from inside announced that Lilly had either received a large piece of cake with lots of frosting or found a dog.

CLICK

By the gate that lead from the street into the yard, Andie heard a camera snap a picture. Elliot was standing by the fence, camera up, with a big smile on his face.

"I thought you were supposed to take pictures of the party?" Andie asked with a confidence newly found in those 10 pink balloons.

"I am but I saw you out here... I don't know, it was just such a perfect shot."

"What are you going to do with it? Her parents won't want a picture of me." Andie tilted her head toward the house.

"True," Elliot replied. "Maybe I can just give it to you."

"When?"

"Ice cream."

"Excuse me?"

"Ice cream. You, me and Lilly, we can all get ice cream sometime later this week. That child needs to learn there are more flavors out there than just chocolate." Andie laughed.

"Okay," she said.

"Really?" Elliot sounded surprised.

"Why not? Give me your number and we'll see if I don't change my mind."

Elliot laughed. "Alrighty then. Here's my card," he said.

"And here's a balloon for you." She handed him a light pink balloon and began to walk away. She turned around, though, just in time to say "Andie."

"What?"

"My name," she answered. "It's Andie."