Hey everyone I just want to say how grateful I am to have such great people to read my story. I started writing this story after a dream I had. I know it needs a TON of editing with grammar mistakes and stuff but I'm just happy it is being read. I am truly blessed to have started another story since as you may have noticed from some of my other stories I have started but not finished. I kind of have writer's block but I'm also busy with school.

This is a completely new story just off of the top of my head. The New Man is completely fictional I made it up myself and hope that my work will be valued and not copywriter. I worked hard to start a new story and hopefully I continue to write about it and finish it one day.

I really hope that this story will one day be published after all of the corrections of course with editing but the story might change a little to add more detail to go with all of the dialogue. Again thanks for the reads feel free to give me some feedback on how I am doing with the story. Be blessed.

As any hard working single mother knows it's not easy raising a child on their own. Emily Watson learned how hard it was to manage a job and a two year old almost three year old son named Jeremiah all by herself. His father decided to up and leave when her son was one years old. Emily wasn't happy when he broke the news to her that he would be leaving her and their son for another woman.

She cried every night for two weeks straight wondering why he would do that to them. Another year later without him in their lives was difficult because her son's birthday was here again. His father Lewis called two days before saying he will be at the party. Of course Emily was shocked since he didn't visit them after he left nor called to see if they were okay. She wondered if he was serious and had a change of heart but she didn't want to get her hopes up.

As the guests arrived at her house she greeted her family and friends with a warm smile. An hour went by and Lewis still has not shown up which started to bug Emily for some reason. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the party except her because she was too focused on Lewis's tardiness. Emily stood in the kitchen away from everyone hoping he would show up soon or at least call her.

"Hey Emily I think everyone is ready for cake" Emily's friend said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Oh okay Krista I'll bring it out now" Emily said as she turned around to give her friend a half smile.

"What's wrong girl?" Krista asked with a concerned look.

"Nothing I'm okay" Emily lied.

"No you're not what is wrong with you? You're missing your son's birthday party by being in here" Krista said hoping her friend would open up and tell her what was wrong.

"Lewis is late and he said he was coming and I don't know" she said trying to figure out why she is so moody on a very special day.

"Girl forget your baby daddy and enjoy your precious son he's what matters the most anyway" her friend scoffed.

"Yeah you are right girl, I'll bring the cake out in a minute I need to put the candles on"

"Okay just don't be long girl and cheer up we are here for you too" Krista smiled before leaving the kitchen.

After taking a few deep breaths Emily knew she wasted too much time hiding out in the kitchen hoping and waiting for Lewis to show up. She grabbed the candle shaped like the number three and placed it on the center of her son's Mickey Mouse cake.

"Alright everyone gather around to sing happy birthday to Jeremiah" Emily smiled as she picked up her son and placed him in his chair so he could be sung to.

Everyone chimed in singing happy birthday to Jeremiah. Some on key some off key but he is three so he doesn't care as he stared at the candle that was on fire in fascination. After they were all done singing Emily helped her son blow out the candle and everyone cheered with applause.

After serving cake and opening up all of the gifts it grew to be 8 o'clock in the evening and the guest started to leave to go home.

"Hey girl do you need any help cleaning up?" Krista offered grabbing the ripped up wrapping paper from the gifts off the floor.

"Thanks girl but I got it you can head home" Emily smiled even though she was very tired.

"Girl stop lying go give little Jeremiah a bath and put him to bed and I'll help you clean" she waved off her friend and continued to clean.

Emily just smiled and grabbed her sleepy son to get ready for bed. She knew she needed the help and was grateful to have a friend like her that is always there when she needs her.

After the last bit of trash was taken out Krista said goodbye to her friend and headed home. Emily went up to her room and checked her cell phone to find no missed calls or messages. She just sighed and took a shower to get ready for bed. As she tried to get comfortable she just wondered what made her attracted to Lewis in the first place. Yeah she was grateful for Jeremiah who is the love of her life but...she wished Lewis was not the father. As she tried to think no more about her son's father who was God knows where sleep finally took over her body.

********

As Hakeem drove his Dodge Ram truck home from the meeting with his divorce lawyer he couldn't help but smile that his divorce from his wife will be final by the end of the week. It was a LONG five years a marriage and he just wasn't sure why he married his wife Geneva in the first place. She was evil and conniving with no compassion for others, but he didn't see that when he met her and decided to marry her.

After being married to her for a month and being ask "Who is this woman?" or "Why do you have to work late?" and all that jazz he just wasn't sure how he made it to the five year mark. That took dedication and a lot of prayer that she would change but she just got worse. As a professional landscaper and a high school football coach Hakeem just was a busy man and his wife couldn't support him. He hated that instead of being a wife she just looked for his paycheck and went on a shopping spree for no reason. Geneva had a job when they first got married but then quitted her job to be a stay at home mom even though they had no children. She has no desire to go back to work so that made him work even harder to make sure the bills were paid.

The road to the divorce being final was hard. Hakeem and Geneva fought over everything from their house which was a two-story house that Hakeem did all of the landscaping for and he wasn't going to give it to his soon to be ex-wife, the cars, and Hakeem's income that she felt she was entitled to. It was then that he found out 3 months prior to them signing divorce papers that she cheated on him with another man that he didn't know of and that she had been seeing that man for almost 2 years. It broke Hakeem's heart when he found out because he stuck beside her all this time and she just took a knife and stabbed his heart.

After his soon to be ex-wife moved all of her stuff out of the house Hakeem felt much better coming home without a nagging woman in his ear. As he pulled into his garage to park his car he sighed with relief that everything was about to be much better and he was looking forward to the future. As he walked in his house he appreciated the silence and decided it was time to shower to before going to bed because he work in the morning.

As he turned on his shower he un-tied his tie and unbuttoned he grey dress shirt before undoing his belt and taking his pants on. Hakeem stepped into the shower and let the hot water fall down his chiseled body before lathering soap to wash his body. After stepping out of the shower he wrapped the lower half of his body with a towel as he walked into his bedroom. His phone started to ring with an incoming call.

"Hey man how did the meeting with the lawyer go?" the man on the phone asked.

"Hey Brian yeah the meeting went well divorce will be final on Friday" Hakeem said as he got dressed for bed.

"Finally now that it is over I can throw you a party to celebrate your divorce" Brian laughed knowing that his friend needed to get out with the boys and celebrate him being single again.

"Yeah yeah I know I need it man, I'm just happy it's over and I'm back to being single which isn't so bad" Hakeem smiled and thought about the last time he was single that was over 8 years ago back in college.

"So I'll set it up for Friday to celebrate I can't wait" Brian said sounding hype to go out.

"Yeah I hear ya man look I have work so set it up and send me the information"

"Yeah I will, I'll talk to you later man" Brian said before ending the call.

Hakeem just shook his head at how excited his best friend was to celebrate his divorce. Brian and Hakeem were old college friends and roommates at the University of Toledo. Both of them played for the Rockets football team gaining championship rings their junior and senior year. They were each other's wingman when it came to parties and hanging out with their frat brothers. Both of them were apart of Alpha Phi Alpha and graduated together back in 2006.

Hakeem slipped into his king size bed and covered his body with the sheet. He had been through a lot in the past five years and three months but he had a feeling things were about to turn around in his favor.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Emily rolled over in her bed to turn off her annoying alarm clock which was hard at first because she didn't open her eyes to turn it off properly. After it finally stopped beeping she stretched as she sat on the side of her bed before getting up to check on her son. As she peeked into his room to see him still sound asleep she took the time to get ready for work before she got him up to go to the babysitter. And by babysitter it is her mother which she is grateful for. Emily worked at her old high school as a guidance counselor. She was happy that the interview went well and that since she was a former student she would be a great candidate for the job. Emily walked over to her closet as her tv was turned on with the news on.

Good morning all today is going to be a great and sunny day no need to bring out those umbrellas until later in the week. Today's high is 78 degrees with a low of 57 degrees so a great day to be outside. The extended forecast of the week.....

Emily listened to the forecast as she ironed her outfit for work which consisted of a grey suit with matching skirt and a yellow and black pattern blouse to go with the suit. Walking into her bathroom she brushed her teeth and washed her face before flat ironing her short bob haircut she got a week ago. She never had short hair before but she was loving her new cut and so did her friends and family. Before leaving her bedroom she spritzed her favorite perfume which was Pure Seduction by Victoria's Secret and gathered her paperwork and purse before heading into her son's room to wake him up.

Of course any three year old would fuss not wanting to get up but she managed to ignore the fuss and get her son ready to go to his nana's house. She packed a bag for him which consisted of his snacks, extra change of clothes, pampers, underwear, and his favorite toy (Jake the pirate figurine).

After going over to make sure she had everything she grabbed her son with his little backpack on and her things before heading out the door with her keys. Turning on the ignition to her Honda Civic, Emily looked at her rear-view mirror to see her son knocked out again. She smiled and pulled out of the space of her apartment complex before dropping her son off at her mom's.

After dropping her son off Emily headed for the high school in which class had just started for the day. Walking past the office to get to her office she waved hello at her fellow co-workers. School has been in session for about two weeks and there was a lot to get done for the students especially those that were seniors and juniors which were preparing for college.

"Ms. Watson, Josh Daniels is here to see you" a secretary said on speakerphone to her office.

"Okay thank you Mrs. Morrison send him in" Emily said as she sat in her chair waiting for the student.

There was a knock at the door so Emily got up and opened the door for the student. In walked a high school boy that was 5'9" in height and a medium brown skin color. He had to be no more than 16 years old. With his backpack slung over his shoulder he walked into her office and sat in the chair in front of her desk.

"So Josh why don't you tell me about what happened yesterday?" Emily asked as she sat down behind her desk.

"I was in a fight" Josh said nonchalantly.

"Okay care to explain what happened, or how it started?"

"Just some guy was saying stuff about me and I made him shut up" he shrugged.

"Well anything else happen that you care to share?" she probed even though she was thoroughly informed on what happened.

"I am benched for a week on the football team" he said curtly.

"And you don't feel you deserve that?"

"No I don't I was just defending myself and the person pissed me off" he exclaimed thinking Emily will side with him.

"Well I think that the punishment your coach gave you is a slap on the wrist, and it could be worse you could have gotten kicked off the team and suspended if it really got out of hand" she said which was not what Josh wanted.

"Also your grades need to stay above a 2.8 or else you won't be able to play sports" she said while looking at his file.

"Can you at least talk to my coach?" he pleaded.

"Well judging by some of your teammates GPA's I will have to talk to your coach to see what we can do to keep the grades up" she said then closed his file and stood up.

"So you may go back to class and I will talk with your teachers and your coach so that you can get back on the field, but you have to put the work in to ensure you will be back on the field" she said in a serious tone to get it through his head that she will only talk to him the rest of the work is up to him.

Josh nodded and grabbed his book bag next to him to go back to class. The rest of the morning and afternoon Emily spent meeting with students that had academic questions and other issues they were dealing with.

*****

Hakeem stood and wiped the sweat from his forehead and marveled at his work. He had cut the grass of a 10 acre property, planted two trees, and planted two new red rose bushes by the front of this newly built two story house. He loved his job but he also love football. He would have went pro if his uncle hadn't got sick and gave his landscaping business to him and his cousin.

As Hakeem finished putting the rest of his tools and utensils back in his truck he walked up the stoned pathway to his client’s home and rang the doorbell.

"Hello Hakeem all finished?" the older woman asked with a smile as she stepped out onto her front porch.

"Yes ma'me, I think you will be pleased with the work Mrs. Hampton" Hakeem smiled as he helped her down the stairs and led her to the work he did.

"Oh this is wonderful, absolutely beautiful Hakeem thank you for your services" Mrs. Hampton smiled with amazement that her front yard looked better than it did before.

"Here is $1,200 for your services and I don't want to hear I paid you too much" she smiled as she gave him a check for the amount.

"Um thank you so much I appreciate it" Hakeem smiled as he was truly grateful for the money even though he would have charged her less.

Mrs. Hampton waved goodbye to Hakeem and told him she will refer him to her friends and family to help with his clientele. Driving home Hakeem still was grateful for the amount of money he received and knew she was a sweet older woman that reminded him of his mother.

Returning home from work Hakeem took a shower so he didn't have to smell like musk and cut grass before football practice. He loved football and his team the Indians. Although he didn't go to that high school in the past there was a vacant position as the head coach since the present coach was retiring soon.

Hakeem decided to relax a little while looking at how the company was doing on his plush couch. Seeing that sales were increasing and looking at his schedule he saw the next few days would be very busy for him along with Friday night's high school football game. He sighed as he closed his Mac laptop and set it on the wooden coffee table in front of him before getting up to find something to eat.

Looking into his fridge he saw leftover steak and decided to make steak fajitas with a protein shake before working out in his home gym. After running on the treadmill and lifting weights in the gym Hakeem took another shower and got ready for football practice. With the young men on the team they aren't taking their grades serious so he had to bench a couple of players. He hated doing that because he knew what it felt like to be benched for his grades and not taking things seriously. He didn't feel like he is a hard coach that the team doesn't like but he has his moments when the team isn't taking things seriously. Hakeem just hopes that practice will go smooth for the week and that he won't have to throw his clipboard of plays to the ground.

After gathering all of the plays in his coach binder from off of the kitchen table Hakeem grabbed his keys and open the garage he got into his truck and drove to the high school. After pulling into his parking spot in the lot he grabbed his things and headed to his office just off the side of the school gym. Stopping in front of his door he saw a small post-it note on the door saying that the counselor by the name of Emily needed to speak with him when he was available. Grabbing the note and placing it on his binder he unlocked the door of his office and turned the light on as he set his things down near his desk.

Looking at his computer with a set of goals to achieve in practice today there was a slight knock on his partially opened door.

"Hey Hakeem the boys are getting ready to head out to the field" said the man at the door wearing a red polo shirt with the schools logo and Assistant Coach stitched in black on the right side.

"Thanks Jamal I'll be right out" Hakeem nodded as he grabbed his book of plays and his whistle.

Walking down the hallway that lead outside both Hakeem and Jamal headed out to start practice.

"Did you see the note that was on your door?" Jamal asked as he put his sunglasses on to block the sun in his eyes.

"Yeah I did I put it on my desk, I'll deal with it later"

"You know Josh tried to get the counselor to put him back on the field for the game Friday" Jamal shook his head knowing that plan didn't follow through like Josh thought it would.

Sighing as he ran his hand down his face Hakeem shook his head at the thought of trying to get someone to change his mind.

"Well I hope he is ready to do laps around the field as punishment for getting into a fight" he gave his assistant coach a smile and they both laughed. "All right guys let's get to work" he said as he blew his whistle to start practice.