Chapter five

It was a nice peaceful Saturday. Niguez was still sleeping, he had outgrown his cradle and was sleeping on the small bed in the centre of the room. I folded the little mat I had used to sleep on the floor got up and tucked him in so he would feel more comfortable. 

He had grown so fast, a few days from today he would be two, meaning it would have been two. Two whole years since I gave birth. Wow.

 I felt a bit guilty when I got up and saw him lying on the bed. I couldn't provide for him as well as he deserved, the dish washing and laundry job I was working didn't provide for any more than little food and rent. I had tried to start doing delivery services for a small firm some time ago, but it was a disaster because I had to pay for my own transport wherever I was going to deliver, at the end of the day the money I was paid and what I spent on transport was almost the same. I quit the following week.

I opened the door and picked up the mail on the porch, the newspapers were always in front of my doors every morning, I had never seen the mailman before. I had decided to start reading the papers everyday to check for any job openings, but so far I hadn't gotten any luck.

I skimmed through the papers, skipping the news, puzzles and other irrelevant stuff. Then I stopped.

I saw an opening for the job of cleaner in Suntech Tower, a big communication company in San Jose. I tried not to get my hopes up, I had gotten disappointed way too much in the past to start drooling this early about a job I hadn't gotten yet. I checked the requirements of the job and saw that I met all the requirements. Meaning I qualified to make an inquiry.

I took a deep breath. It wasn't a very big job but it was a big company, the pay wouldn't be as fantastic but surely not as shabby as what I was earning from washing dirty plates and clothes. I picked up my phone and dialed the number on the paper. Here goes nothing.

"Suntech Tower, how can I help you?" A husky male voice came from the other line.

"Good morning, I'm calling about the job vacancy in the papers this morning…"

"Oh." He said, cutting me off. " Well this is a weekend, can you come Monday morning for an interview?"

"Yes. Of course." 

"Okay, give me a minute." He said and paused for a few seconds. "What did you say your name was?"

"Alina Diaz." I said.

"Okay… see you then. Have a nice weekend ma'am." He said and hung up.

Well that didn't go so badly.

"Wake up baby." I said, patting Niguez slightly. "It's time to bathe." I said and carried him away.

*****

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you!" I sang happily on Monday morning. Niguez just watched and clapped playfully and giggled when I tickled him.

I took some money to buy two cakes from the pastry shop down the street. We couldn't really afford buying canes but he deserved them. He already grew milk teeth so he could eat them. I watched as he munched on the cake greedily. Mama would have loved Niguez. But this wasn't the time to think about that.

When we were done, I bathed him, combed his hair and took him to the nursery. 

"Today is his birthday right?" Theresa, the head of the nursery home asked when I arrived with Niguez.

"Yes." I said, smiling.

"That would make him two years old, am I right?"

The smile wiped off my face, now I knew where she was heading.

"Umm… yes." I said uneasily.

"You are aware that he can't come here after his third birthday right?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

This was all very unnecessary. It was his birthday for fuck's sake.

"I'll be late for an interview." I said, trying to change the subject. I really didn't want to think about all that right now. "I'll be back before evening okay? Mommy loves you." I kissed Niguez' cheek and left before Theresa could utter another word.

I got to Suntec Tower around eleven. The receptionist told me to wait while he informed his boss so I waited in the lobby. After some minutes, she called me and directed him to his office.

"Good morning, Ms. Diaz." The man greeted me immediately as I stepped into the office. "My name is Clarence Jacobs. You're here for the cleaning job?" 

"Yes sir." 

"Okay. You look like a hardworking woman." He said.

I smiled lightly. I didn't come here to be complimented.

"Why do you think you can get this job?" He asked. 

"As you said sir, I look hardworking. That's exactly what I wish to bring during my time here. I will try my best to always be punctual to work and I will always put in my best everyday." I said boldly.

He nodded slowly. 

"I like your courage. There are five floors in this building but we only have four cleaners and that's why we need one more. Where do you stay?" 

"Gordons Drive."

"Hmm. Okay, not bad. "Do you stay alone? Any family, husband, boyfriend, children?"

"None. It's just my son and I here."

"A son. Okay." He said, looking at some files. "You're hired." He said and extended his hand for a shake.

I lit up. 

"Really sir? Thank you so much, I won't let you down." I said and shook hands with him.

"Can you start this week?"

"I can start tomorrow if that's okay." 

"Mmhh… Okay, meet the lady outside to tell you your posts."

I was put on the third floor. I put in the spring and gloves given to me by the attending whose name I learned was Grace. 

I came very early the next day. I was determined to make a good impression. The cleaning of every block was scheduled. Whenever the time to clean reached, all the workers would evacuate while I cleaned. It was very straightforward.

"Hello there." Sasha greeted me. Sasha worked in the telecom department.

"Hi." I said.

"I know this might sound Inappropriate, but can you help me get some soy milk from the grocery downstairs please?" She asked, pouting her pink lips at me.

"Okay." I said, I had about twenty minutes before I was due to clean the next block, I'll just make it quick.

She lit up immediately. 

"Thanks so much. I just need two bottles and a few other things." She said and gave me a small list and a twenty dollar bill. "You're an angel." 

"Yeah thanks." I said weakly and left. She better not get used to this.

The store was very close to the building, so I went downstairs and picked up the stuff on Sasha's list. 

"Peanuts and milk? That's a new one." Someone behind me commented. I turned around to see a man smiling lightly behind me.

"They aren't actually mine." I said and stretched to reach the second bottle of milk on the shelf. 

I held it, but my grip wasn't strong enough, it slipped from my hands and fell from on top of the shelves. But someone caught it just before it hit the ground. I turned and saw that It was the same guy from before.

"Thanks a lot. I didn't see it fall till it was too late." I said gratefully.

"You gotta be careful about letting things fall here, you don't wanna get strangled for breaking a can or bottle over here." He smiled and handed me the bottle of soy milk. 

I looked at him. He had brown hair, a full beard, light green eyes, pink lips and his nose was pointed. I also noticed that he had a bit of a British accent when he spoke. He was handsome.

"I'll try not to drop anything in the future. Thanks again." I said and went to the counter to cash out.

"You said the groceries weren't yours?" He asked, walking with me to the counter.

"I'm running an errand for someone. I work at the tower." 

"Oh that makes sense. I didn't judge you to be someone who takes soy milk this late in the afternoon. Turns out I was right after all." He smiled. "I'm Trent by the way." He said, stretching out his hand to me.

"Alina." I said and shook his hand. His hands were a lot smoother than they looked. "So you don't think soy milk should be taken during the day?" I asked, bemused by what he had pointed out earlier.

"Nah. It should be more of an early morning or late night drink in my opinion." He shrugged.

"So what did you come to get?" I asked, looking at the grocery basket in his hands.

"Just some canned soup and drinks. You should try the tomato soup sometime, hot or cold, it's still nice." He smiled and showed me the can.

"Alright." I chuckled. "See you later." I took the nylon containing the stuff I bought for Sasha paid and headed out.

I handed Sasha her stuff and after a few minutes of convincing her there was no need for me to keep the change she let me carry on with my work. 

As I got to the east wing of the floor to finish my job for the day, I saw that there was a ladder in the way of the office I was supposed to clean. I had to wait for the worker to finish what he was doing. On top of there before I could continue.

After a while the man jumped down from the ladder with some wires in his hands, took off his helmet and smiled at me

"Trent? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"What do you think? I work here." He said, smacking his gloves together to get the dust off them. "I'm just a technician, nothing special. Are you surprised?"

"Well you didn't say anything about it earlier so yes, I am a bit shocked to see you here."

"Well now you know." He grinned.

I grunted and went into the office to clean.

"Hey." He said, peeking in from outside.

"Yeah?" 

"It's already a bit late now but maybe another time, I can show you how good the cafeteria sandwich is." He said, smiling. 

I didn't know how to tell him no without making him feel weird. I also didn't want to give him false hope and fool him into thinking he had a chance.

"Maybe. We'll see." I said.

After work, I went to pick up Niguez.

"Mommy!" He yelled when he saw me.

I was taken aback. I had never heard him talk before. He rushed towards me and gave me a hug.

"Who's the birthday boy?." I said, lifting him up and giving him a kiss. "When did you start speaking so we'll?" I asked, tickling him. "Let's go make you a nice dinner."

He giggled heartily.