“Well, as soon as I clean up in here, I’m going to put Jay to bed. So you just kick back and relax and I’ll do all the dirty work ok?”

“Oh no you don’t. I made this mess so I’m going to clean it up.” Ashley could tell that Spencer was just exhausted. Granted she herself wasn’t much better off, but Ashley didn’t have a kid she had to worry about like Spencer did. “You just go get Justin to bed and I’ll clean up.” Spencer was about to protest but Ashley quickly stopped her. “Look, I can tell that your dead tired, so please just let me help you. Like I said, I don’t mind.”

“Thank you so much Ash. You don’t know how much this means to me.” Spencer said as she left the kitchen and headed into Justin’s room.

When Spencer approached Justin’s bedroom, she leaned on the door frame and just watched her son play with him many toys. Sure Spencer couldn’t really afford them, but who could deny that handsom little face anything? Despite how she was conceived and who her father was, or who he wasn’t, Spencer loved Justin more than anything in the world. Justin was her lifeline and she didn’t know what she would do without her son there to help her through every thing. Finally, Spencer walked into Justin’s room and made her presence known. “Alrighty Pinky Dinky, it’s time for bed.”

“Alweady?”

“Yea, already.”

“Otay Mommy. Will you sing to me?”

Every night they did the same thing. Spencer would come into Jay’s room, put him into bed, and sing to him. Even though it was a routine thing that neither ever deviated from, Justin still asked Spencer to sing to him. Spencer just assumed that it was because Justin had been let down so many times in her past that she needed that constant feeling of security that came with bed time. “Sure sweetie. I’ll sing to you.”

And so she did. As she sang, she forgot that Ashley was in the kitchen. No one had ever heard her sing except Justin, so if she had remembered, she would have shut the door and sang a lot softer. But she didn’t remember and she didn’t shut the door and she didn’t sing softer. When Spencer was done with the dishes, she heard the singing coming from Justin’s room, so she made her way towards the beautiful voice. At first she thought it was a CD, but once she reached the doorway, she realized that it was Spencer singing. Ashley was going to leave because she felt as if she was intruding on a very private and intimate moment, but there was just something that made her stay and watch.

You’ve got to give a little, take a little,
And let your poor heart break a little.
That’s the story of,
That’s the glory of love.

You’ve got to laugh a little, cry a little,
Until the clouds roll by a little.
That’s the story of,
That’s the glory of love.

As long as there’s the two of us,
We’ve got the world and all it’s charms.
And when the world is through with us,
We’ve got each other’s arms.

You’ve got to win a little, lose a little,
Yes, and always have the blues a little.
That’s the story of,
That’s the glory of love.

That’s the story of,
That’s the glory of love.

So Spencer stayed and watched as mother sang her son to sleep. It was one of the most touching things that she had ever experienced. Spencer sang to Justin and constantly rubbed his back and hair. Jays eyes began to open and close more and more slowly. Finally, his eyes didn’t open any more and his breathing came in even and deep timing.

When Spencer turned around, she immediately saw Ashley standing there. Spencer turned bright red and didn’t know what to do. Only Justin had ever heard her sing before. And only Justin had ever seen this side of Spencer before. What was Spencer going to do? She wanted to throw Ashley out for impeding on such an intimate and personal thing, but did she want to put an end to the budding friendship that was already beginning to form. She just didn’t know what to do. But Ashley seemed to read her mind and she made the decision for Spencer. She turned around and walked out of the doorway and down the hall. Now that Ashley was gone,  Spencer was sure that she wanted her to stay. Was the beginning of this friendship already over? Spencer prayed that is wasn’t as she left Justin’s room and ran down the hall after Ashley. She had to fix this.