Chapter 15
Alaia
l finished adjusting the blazer of my white office suit to start the day. Today is the deadline for the government project acceptance; I’ll drop off the signed contract before going to the office. I went down the stairs to the kitchen. Everyone was already ready for breakfast. Loli came down with the kids as soon as they were ready.
I heard everyone talking and laughing, including the children. I smiled when I saw them all gathered, serving themselves breakfast.“ Mommy!” Noah smiled, and Alana laughed, making her little bunny nose look even smaller and cuter. “My loves.” I leaned in to kiss their chubby cheeks.
We started eating breakfast. I helped my kids eat. Today will be their first day at work with me. Loli will come with us and watch them while I’m in my office. I was excited because I’d be able to see them more during the day. I finished breakfast and brushed my teeth while my mother and Elise helped get my children ready. I’m lucky to have a great family that adores them. I arrived in the living room where everyone was. My mother and Elise put small doll suitcases on my children’s backs. My heart melted.
They are the cutest little suitcases I have ever seen. I imagined they bought them yesterday since they didn’t wait long to go for a walk around the city. “Be good, my treasures,” their Grandma said after kissing their cheeks, and as always, they nodded. Elise hugged and kissed them before letting them go. “We’ll see you later,” I said. “Oh, what will we do without our little darlings?” Elise said with a sigh.“ Enjoy the morning, go shopping,” I replied and chuckled. I saw that they liked the idea.
“Meet a gentleman,” Ash said, coming to my side.
“That’s a good idea too,” I affirmed, and they just laughed.
“Darlings, I doubt there’s a man at our level of maturity. Besides, I don’t think Patrick would like the idea of Paula going out with someone.” Elise smiled broadly, teasing my mother.” He doesn’t have to like or dislike anything I do,” my mother shut back, annoyed. I suppressed laughter. My mother shook her head.
“Oh my God! We’re going out,” she said convincingly before looking back at me. “But you have to give us a day with the little ones. You can’t take them all week,” she complained. I laughed. “Okay, Mom, you’ll have a day for yourselves p>
We approached them to say goodbye. I then took my kids and went out of the house already. We got in the van and buckled them into their car seats. We first stopped by the government building to deliver the signed contract. I didn’t get to speak with the minister, but I did meet his assistant, who was a very kind young man.
I returned to the car to go to the office. Ash and I talked, and the children played on the way there. Gavin, one of the bodyguards, opened the door when we arrived. We proceeded to get the children down, and I carried them in the double stroller. Everyone greeted us kindly and seemed delighted with my children as we walked across the top floor. We entered after Ignacio and Erika greeted my children before returning to work.
“I’ll stay here. I don’t want to be alone in the office. We should accompany the children on their first day.” Ash and Loli put them on the floor, and they started walking and looking at everything curiously until they reached the colorful room set up for them. They ran excitedly towards it while Loli was following them.
l watched them with a smile. I went to my desk while Ash settled on the sofa to start working on her designs.
I reviewed the day’s information while my little ones went from my office to the playroom and showed us their toys. They talked to us, too. Luckily, it was a quiet day in terms of work.
“Mommy, this,” Alana said, standing on tiptoe, touching some blank sheets of paper on my desk. I took a few and handed them to her, and she ran back to Loli. Noah comes towards me a second later, and knowing why he has come, I give him a few more. They stay in the playroom and don’t come back. I’m sure they got distracted by drawing.
Ash and I looked at each other since she hadn’t been able to design because the children wouldn’t leave her alone. After a while, I took a break and went to see them. I noticed that Loli was getting ready to go out.
“I’ll take them to the park across the street,” she said, and it seemed like a good idea to me. At home, they go out to the garden to be able to go outside. I wanted them to continue doing that and not just stay cooped up here. “I’ll go with you,” I said and immediately got my purse. “Ash, park, kids,” I said to Ash. She immediately understood and got off her feet. We got out of the elevator, and at the entrance, I asked the bodyguards to follow us.
“Mommy!” Alana pointed to the park as soon as she saw it.
“Yes, honey, we’re going there,” I smiled at her. She smiled back at me.
As we got closer, we could see some kiosks with several women and children. On the tables, there were desserts, cookies, cakes, and other types of food.
“This one looks good,” I said once we arrived, eyeing some small chocolate cakes.
“Oh, yeah,” Ash said.
Noah leaned over the table curiously. I lifted him so he could get a better look. Ash picked up Alana as well.
“Hello, welcome,” greeted the young woman behind the counter. “We have a varied selection. These desserts are low in calories and sugar. They’re healthy. We also have those for those who don’t count calories. They’re on that table.” She points to the spot. “There’s something for everyone.” She smiled kindly. “Thank you, they look delicious. I’ll try the chocolate one p>
“And I’ll have the strawberry pie,” Ash ordered. The girl handed us the pieces, which we shared with the children.
“These are amazing,” I said, making Noah eat a little more.
“Thank you, you are our first sale,” the girl told us. I looked at the sign of their booth and it said that they are a home for children and single mothers.
“We are raising funds for a new place. The house we live in will be sold, and we will be evicted soon.” An older woman approached and spoke when she noticed that I was reading their booth’s poster with great interest.
”How can they evict you?” Ash and I questioned simultaneously, completely outraged.
“The building is old and belongs to the city. However, they have decided to sell it and have asked us to leave. At the moment, we have no place to use.” She sighed. I became more interested.
“Tell us a little more,” I said, putting my son down, who squirmed restlessly as he watched other children running around. As usual, Alana goes with him. I looked at Loli, and she went with them. Gavin accompanied them.
Alicia, the woman we just met, was in charge of the home. She has been working with single mothers for years, and they never had any problems until now. She told me that she was currently helping almost 50 people, including mothers and children. It immediately had my full attention, so we asked for all the information we could get. Ash and I will help them. We spent a little more time with them and got to know them a little better.
Their stories managed to touch our hearts, especially that of a very young girl who ran away from home with her boyfriend, believing she had found the man of her dreams. However, sometime later, he turned out to be a monster. He beat her and abandoned her when he found out about her pregnancy. She was close to her due date and had no one but the girls from the home since her family decided to turn their backs on her. Her story and mine have something in common: a couple of bastards.
“We’ll be expecting you. You’re always welcome.” Alicia handed me a card.
“We’ll visit you next week. We’re willing to help,” I said p>
Thank you,” she said warmly, taking my hand and Ash’s. We said our goodbyes, knowing that an hour had passed already and we must return to the office. But first, we paid for all the desserts although we only took a couple home. We just left the rest for them to sell so they can help themselves a little more.
“How awful,” Ash said.
“I can’t imagine how you would feel if your family turned their backs on you.” I sighed, feeling the wind on my face.
“Or if your son of a b***h partner leaves you on the street with one, two, three, or more kids,” Ash hissed angrily. I nodded. My story was reflected in several of theirs, although thank God I was very lucky. Once we arrived at the office, we entered the children’s room and cleaned them up. They ran to settle on the sofa bed and to drink from their sippy cups. Soon, their little eyes began to droop.
I sat on the sofa and caressed their little heads. Ash went ahead to the office while I waited for them to completely fall asleep. Once they did, I quietly left the room. However, as I was about to close the door behind me, I saw Nick walking into my office.