{"content":[{"text":"Angelica gave her bakery one last, wistful look before the two of them headed down the \n sidewalk. Despite her broken heart, it was a beautiful spring day in Music City. \n “What about child support?” Naomi asked. “Won’t that cover your mortgage?” \n “Yes, but you know how I feel about taking Ben’s money.” \n “You’re raising his son, Ang. You need that money.” \n She knew Naomi was right. She’d gotten the same speech from her attorney. Throughout the \n divorce proceedings, Angelica had been firm in her refusal of one red cent from her cheating ex \n who broke her heart and ripped it into a million pieces. But in the end, she was forced to accept \n that she needed it. Because her son needed it. And that was the only reason she agreed to accept \n child support. \n It was a good thing, too. They’d definitely need it now. \n “Let me buy you a late lunch,” Naomi offered. \n Angelica shook her head. “Can’t. I need to run some errands and then pick up Zayne from \n school. Oh, he made me promise to ask if you were still coming to his party tonight.” \n “Of course! It starts at five?” \n “Five on the dot. I was told to emphasize on the dot.” \n Naomi laughed. “I’ve been late once. Once! And he’s never gonna let me live that down.” \n “You know my kid. He never forgets. And if we’re one minute off schedule he tends to have \n a mini-meltdown. We’re working on it.” \n “You know, I’ve never been to a dog’s birthday party before. Will his dog friends show up?” \n Angelica grinned. “No other dogs were invited. I promise.” \n “Zayne’s a great kid. And you’re a great mom.” Naomi hugged her tight before hailing a cab. \n “Want to share?” \n “Nah, I’ll get my own. I’m headed across town to the pet store. Gotta pick up a present, you \n know.” \n “I bet you can’t wait until your car’s out of the shop,” Naomi said as she opened the taxi door. \n “See you at five. On the dot!” \n Angelica waved as the taxi sped away. She felt a little guilty. She’d just lied to her friend. A \n white lie, but a lie, nonetheless. \n She sat down on a nearby bench and waited. \n Taxis could be expensive. \n The bus . . . not so much. \n She had zero income now. Sure, she had some savings—and the child support that she didn’t \n like to talk about—but still, cabs were a luxury. She needed to save her money for the mechanic \n that was holding her car for ransom until this month’s child support check hit the bank. \n Until then, Angelica would be riding the bus. \n While she waited, she gazed at the city around her. Normally, she loved to people watch, but \n not today. Everywhere she looked, all she saw were smiling faces as folks entered and exited little \n shops just like hers. Angelica couldn’t deny she was jealous—of both the happy faces and the \n bustling businesses.","bbox":{"left":0.117686,"top":0.089071,"width":0.7646350000000001,"height":0.801671}}],"images_bbox":[],"images_bbox_not_text_overlap":[]}