[26]

"Whoa, there's so many orders?" Fathia's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she looked at the list that Melly, her assistant at the store, had just given her. Melly handed it over with a grin and a small smile.

"Looks like a stroke of luck, Anne."

Fathia's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, luck, I guess. We're going to be working overtime." Then she received a gentle pat from Melly.

"We can handle it," Melly encouraged.

"I'm sure we can, it's just... Aunt Melly, you know, there's Ica. What about her? It's tough if I'm away working overtime all the time."

"Ica's in the back, playing with the soil."

Fathia slapped her forehead.

"As long as she's with Aunt, there won't be any issues. Come on... let's get these orders done. It's a good opportunity, right? I can use it to buy Ica some milk."

Fathia's smile initially faded, but as she spoke with Melly, a tug at the corner of her lips reappeared. With this resilient single parent, Fathia