Written in the stars or in binary code?...

It is early on a Friday morning. I was woken up by my little pixie of a daughter, Maeve. She is but three years old and an early riser. I fix her a bowl of cereal to entertain her for the few moments of peace that will come from that. She is a morning person. That is something that she did not get from me.
I take a quick shower and dress. I run a brush through my long hair, about the only attention it ever gets from me during the day. I head back into the kitchen to see that Maeve has lost her early morning energy and returned to the quiet little girl that she is most of the time. I kiss her forehead and tell her to go get dressed. She runs off to her room to get dressed while I gather what I need of my things and a snack for her for the ride over to the store.

No. I’m not married. I dream of one day finding the right guy and having my happily ever after, but if it isn’t meant to be, it isn’t meant to be. It hasn’t been meant to be yet. It doesn’t bother me or upset me. I have my beautiful little girl and the bookstore that I have always dreamed of. I am happy with my life as it is. I don’t have to have a man in my life to make it work. That is just an extra piece that is missing.
My daughter is my life. My daughter and my bookstore. I don’t ask for anything more. I have worked hard to get to where I am. I worked for my house. I worked for my bookstore. I worked for my independence. No one will take that away from me.
And no. Maeve does not know her father. Her father does not know about her. It was just easier that way when I found out. Things between us were not great. We were to be married, yes. Were. He left me not knowing that he had a little girl that would enter the world in less than a year’s time. I did not know it at the time either. I don’t know that I would have changed how things worked out even if I did. I wouldn’t want him to stay just for her when he didn’t love me as he once thought.
But I digress.

I get Maeve in the car and head over to the store. It is time to open, and if I’m not there, who would be the one to do that? I’m the only person that works in the store, and it works out just fine that way. I manage everything as best as that I can, and that is good enough for me.

It is a slow day at the start. We are never very busy. That just gives me time to spend with Maeve, time to cook, time to read. It gives me time to do anything that I desire. Right now I am planning the Fall Festival that I hold. It is only as big as the volunteers and what I can arrange, but the people around here love it. I love it.
Maeve is reading some book. She takes after me there. I love to read. I hope she never loses that passion in her life. It always kept me grounded when the world seemed to be spinning out of control. Enter someone else’s world. You don’t even have to do anything. Just enjoy the ride. I hope reading can do that for her too. Life won’t always be easy or fun.

As lunch rolls around and people have cashed their checks, it is payday after all, we get the people that like to come in on their lunch breaks and look around. Sometimes they buy something. Sometimes they just browse and talk. I don’t mind it. You don’t have to come into a store and buy something. You can come in just to look and see what there is to be seen. You never know what kind of hidden treasure you may run across.
As we get more people in the store, Maeve moves around behind the counter with me. She has her own seat up there so that she can watch the people. She likes to watch the people. Sometimes I catch her mimicking them, and it brightens even the most unpleasant of days.
She is more of a people person than I have ever been, but only when she so chooses to be. If she doesn’t want to talk to anyone, she won’t. She may even walk away from them to go do something that she wants to do. I’m working on that because she doesn’t say a word and just walks away. I want her to be a better person than some of these people that I deal with.

After the store returns to its steady rate of not busy, I go into the kitchen and cook Maeve and I something to eat. She watches as I cook. Always has. It interests her, I know. I let her help when I make cookies and cakes. I don’t let her help with anything that would involve cutting something or her actually getting close to the oven. When she gets a little bigger, I will teach her what I know and let her develop things on her own like I did.
The rest of the day is slow. Maeve and I play games and read books. I put her down for a nap in one of the rooms in the back. I made sure that she would have a place to play and sleep away from the business of the store. Sometimes I work later, depending on whether or not I have arranged to have something happen after normal store hours, and I want her to be comfortable and entertained if I can’t be with her.
After her nap, she comes back to the front with me as I straighten things up and restock what has been bought. She likes to help right now. I know that in years to come she will not want to help me. She won’t even want to be at the store as much as she is now. And I treasure the times she is here and helping me.
As the day progresses, we play and read until the last few hours of business. I begin to straighten everything up and make sure everything is how it should be. Maeve is playing in the back. Dancing, I think. I can hear music. She loves to dance and play like most children.

After the store is closed, it is time to head home. Tonight there is dancing at my house. I’m still involved in the SCA, and I love the dancing. I have organized a near weekly dance at my house. Maeve loves it just as much as I do. I think it may run in the family because her father liked it too.
When I get home, I begin to cook. On Dance Nights, I cook plenty. I feed those that come over to dance. Others bring beverages of varying kinds. Everyone brings their own energy, and we all dance. If you don’t have a partner when you show up, you will before the dancing begins. If you don’t have friends when you start to play in the SCA and start to come to dance, you make them quick enough. It isn’t hard since the people here are open to everyone.

One day Maeve will want to know about her father. If she wants to meet him when that time comes, I will contact him and arrange it. Until then it is just the two of us when we get up in the morning and go to sleep at night.
I tell her the same story every night before she falls asleep. When the time comes and she wants to know about him, I will tell her that story again. And when I do, I won’t leave out little details like names.