After Don and I got divorced, I gave myself a new look. I didn't want to look like the woman everyone thought of as "Don's ex-wife". It was hard to get over Don, and it took me a long time, but once I felt I had suffered enough, I started to hang out with some of my friends, Like the man you see me sitting with here. His name is Hunter Cottoneye, and he invited me to a party way back when I first moved here. I've styled him many times since then. He's a good guy, and he's pretty handy. He lives fairly close by, so he insists on coming over and making sure that everything is in good working order. I tell him that it's not necessary, but he always insists.

He's one of my very best friends, and in the four years since I got divorced, he's been willing to listen to me and try to make me feel better, and he helps out a lot.



He's almost always there when something breaks, and he'll fix it for me while I clean up the mess. I try to pay him, but he refuses to take any money from me, and he keeps telling me to save it, because Tabby and I need it.

The only way I ever found to repay him was to make him dinner. He never turned that one down. He always tells me that I'm a great cook. I simply thank him, and jokingly tell him that I need to do something right.
He's a great friend, and because of that, he always tells me I'm doing good at everything I do, and for a single mom, I do amazing things with Tabby.
I never know what to say to him after he says things like that, but I always smile, and that seems to be enough for him.



Normally, whenever he's over, we just sit on the couch and talk, like friends do, but one day while Tabby was at school, he looked over at me, wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulled me close and gave me a very deep, very passionate kiss. I was shocked, extremely shocked, actually, but I kissed him back. It didn't feel like it did with Don, there was no spark, there was nothing, it was just kissing. However, I hadn't been kissed in a very long time, and he was actually a fairly good kisser, so I went along with it.

When he finally pulled away, he smiled and stood up, and helped me up as well. I looked at him and he smiled at me, and said, "Harmony, I've been in love with you for such a long time, but you and Don were together, so I didn't say anything, and then, when you two got divorced, I didn't want to say anything then, because I didn't want to be your re-bound guy. But now, I think that maybe you've moved on, so I'm saying something now. Harmony, I really, truly love you, and I think maybe if you tried, you could love me too."



I smiled a little and hugged him tightly and I looked him in the eyes while I spoke, "Hunter, you're really a great guy, I've never really thought of you in that way before, but who knows. I really do believe in giving everyone a chance, so, let's try this, and who knows, maybe something might come of it."

I really didn't think anything was going to come of it, but I felt comfortable around him, and he made me happy, if nothing else. Plus, it might be a good idea to have Hunter around, he and Tabby were great friends, and maybe having him around would be a good thing for her.

However, despite what I thought, something did come from it.




Again, he wasn't anywhere near as good as Don was, but still, he knew how to have a good time.

He left before Tabby came home, and he told me he'd call me later. I told him that I'd be waiting and as soon as he left I took a shower and did the laundry. I felt kind of uncomfortable after we woohooed, like I had made a mistake, kind of like what I did was start something that shouldn't have been started, and even though he was my friend, I kind of hoped that I could just ignore him for awhile. I didn't want to be like this with him.




When Tabby came home, I told her to go and do her homework. She finished it rather quickly and came at me with a pillow and demanded for a pillow fight. Boy, did I give her one, we pillow fought all the way to dinner time.

Out of everyone I knew, Tabby was my best of best friends. Of course, she was my daughter, but even still, we were always on the same page, and she loved spending time with me, just as I loved spending time with her. We had been through a lot together. We had spent nights crying together after her father left, and we had spent time laughing together over silly things we saw on her TV programs.

Even with everything that happened with Don, I was actually thankful for him because he gave me the best thing I ever could want or have. He gave me the opportunity to be a mother. Something I didn't even know I wanted to be. But I was glad I had Tabby. She was my everything. Everything I did, I did for her. She was perfect, at least in my eyes. Most of the other kids really didn't spend too much time talking with her, but she didn't mind. She kept telling me that she was a loner, and preferred not having very many friends.

I was so glad that I had Tabby, especially after Don and I got divorced, because she was going to be my only baby.

At least, that's what I thought.




Two months after my woohoo with Hunter, I found out that I was pregnant. I didn't tell him, I hadn't spoken to him since, except a message or two saying that I didn't think it was a good idea if we saw each other.

However, Don somehow found out that I had gotten pregnant, and he actually sent me an e-mail, with a "Congratulations!" message. I didn't respond.




Eight months after I found out, Courtney Alice Stephens was born. She was just as beautiful as Tabby, and she was human. Tabby was so happy to have a baby sister, and she was the one who helped me pick out a name.

Somehow, Hunter ended up finding out. He came over that night.

"Why didn't you tell me, Harmony? I love you, and the fact that we now have a child, that just makes me want to be with you more. Please, Harmony. I want to be in my daughters life."

"Hunter, please," I began, "It's not a good idea if we're together. I can take care of both of my girls on my own. I was the only one who took care of Tabby when she was born, and I can be the only one to take care of Courtney too. I don't need you, neither does Courtney, or Tabby."

That's when he surprised me.



He pulled out a ring and placed it on my finger, "Harmony, I love you so much, and I know you can take care of the girls by yourself, but I want to be able to be their father, I want to be able to support you, and them. You shouldn't have to do this alone, Harmony."

I shook my head, and gave the ring back to him.

"I'm sorry, Hunter, I am, but no. I'm not going to marry you, I'm not going to let you be in my life, or the girls' lives. We don't need you. Now please, Hunter, go. If I married you, I'd feel like I was making an awful mistake."

"If you're so sure, Harmony, then okay. But, my offer still stands. Just give me a call if you change your mind. My door is always open." And with that, he left.



A few months later, I turned 35 years old. I gave myself a new look and thought about my life. I was a full-fledged adult now, with two children, one failed marriage, and a baby daddy that I refused to talk to. However, I was also a level 8 Stylist, and my daughters were absolutely beautiful. I felt wiser, and like my life was only going to get more complicated from here on out.

One reason for that was because Tabby was going to be a teenager soon. I was going to have a teenager, and a toddler



On her thirteenth birthday, I wont lie, I cried a little, not because I'm that sappy, but because I remembered how I was when I was a teenager, and I prayed to whatever gods there were that she wouldn't end up being anything like me.




When she grew up, she was even more beautiful. She was also, thankfully, proving to be nothing like me.

I gave her a makeover, and she was very grateful. She loved my style, and she loved all the styles I picked for her.




She also insisted that she help me take care of Courtney, I let her, simply because of the joy I saw that it brought her.

She really loved her little sister, more than anything, it seemed. If I was working, Tabby would take care of Courtney until I had finished with my client. Those two were close, even from the beginning. I simply hoped that it would stay that way, and that those two would end up being best friends rather than the other, because that would make my life much easier, but then, when has anything in my life ever been easy?

Still, I could hope.