7. Are We Gonna Be Poor?

'Mommy, please don't go out tonight, Mommy.' 

Taissa slowly turned her head from the couch to Yannis. 'Okay,' she consented. Like she was planning to go back to De Grande after what happened last night. God help her, she wasn't going back to any night club again, ever. She needed to catch up with her kids on their life, the way they used to do. 

Before, it used to be the three of them together, after school and work they'd chat and gist and have fun, but the increasing stress at work had put an abrupt end to that. She had to take on herculean tasks discarded by the others just so to earn extra to pay bills and stuff. So, most often than nought she turned to drowning her sorrows at the bar, getting Marlee or a babysitter to watch over her kids.

Remembering all that, she couldn't help but think she was an irresponsible mother to her kids. Take for example what happened earlier today. But, thankfully, the kids had gotten over it. Yannis, whom she'd been afraid for, had gone to sleep on arriving at home and now he was awake just as bubbly as can be. It'd been a great relief to her, for she remembered a story she'd once read where two boys had witnessed a suicide and the younger one had gone into a shock for a very long time, emphasis on the "very".

'Okay, no chancing, Mommy, it's our turn to watch TV.' Yannis had come to sit beside her and he bent forward to snatch the remote from the glass-topped coffee table.

She pulled him to her and ran her hand through his fiery red hair. She was really lucky to have had Yannis in good health, his period of birth had been anything but easy. Then things had been difficult for her, and she'd had no choice but to combine going to school with taking care of herself, the baby inside her, and a two year old daughter. And she'd still had to pay bills . . .

'I don't know why you're smiling like that, but it's sending just one command to my brain; run!' Naima said appearing in her front.

'You . . .' Taissa sprang up to grab her but the young girl eluded her grasp and ran. Taissa didn't hesitate to follow. Yannis joined in and soon they were running around the loungeroom, laughing and trying to catch one another.

Yannis was the first to stop. 'Mommy, you know, I think I'm hungry all of a sudden again.' He sighed, slightly wheezing and pat his tummy.

'Welp, I think I'll pop you two some corn,' Taissa answered, then added firmly, 'after which you'll go to bed to dream of the Tooth Fairy.'

'Meh, tell me something I don't know,' Naima said. 'I rather like the popcorn idea.'

'And, Mommy, you forgot, we wanna watch—' 

'Ah, yeah, right, I almost forgot. Your pink dinosaur show.' Taissa rolled her eyes and both kids chuckled. It was nonsense if you asked her. She didn't see the point of watching a pink T.rex do unnecessary things with kids on the TV. But then what did she expect, they were kids after all.

'Okay I'll go pop the corns. And, new flash; you're spending just twelve minutes before you're off to bed.' She turned on her heels.

'Mommy!' they both complained.

'Don't Mommy me.'

                                               ~•~•~

The next morning brought the alarm blaring its way throygh hell. Taissa groaned and blindly reached for it to turn it off. Then she stood up and stretched, glancing at the time. It was just six forty. She moaned loudly as she thought of all the stuff to do: prepare the kids for school, cook, take them to school, head over to the office, get drowned in work. She groaned some more at the last thought. She so wasn't looking forward to it, but did she have a choice? She only wished she'd at least get a good client, it'd help greatly to reduce her stress. But things weren't the slightest bit of a funfair for her. Potential clients preferred to go to the more reknown ones, whom they were sure wouldn't disappoint them based on their reputations, rather than try out the oh-not-so-popular ones.

Taissa discarded these thoughts as she stood up to go brush her teeth. Then she opened her door and crossed over to her daughter's room. 

Naima was asleep with a pillow clutched to her stomach. Taissa reached for the switch and pressed it, flooding the room with white light. Naima groaned and twin green jewels flashed open. Taissa smiled at this. Naima had always been a very light sleeper.

'Wakey, wakey,' she said, going to sit on the rocking chair facing the bed.

Naima turned to the clock radio. 'But it's just some minutes past to seven, Mommy.'

'I know, but sweetheart you've got to revise for the written test.'

Naima's eyes grew big. 'You remembered!' she said, surprised.

'Of course, I did. I wouldn't forget something as important as that. Why the surprise?'

Naima cast her eyes down and said softly, 'It's just that you've been pretty busy these days, you've been working rather hard. I know it's because of us, but, still . . .' She broke off and shrugged.

Speech escaped Taissa for some seconds — what she was going to say got drowned in her throat. Did Naima actually notice all that? Who was she shitting? She didn't need Sherlock Holmes to figure that out for her. Even Yannis would've noticed.

'I'm sorry.' She finally found her voice. 'I'm tryna put a stop to it.'

Naima scratched the base of her neck and nervously looked up at her mother. 'Mommy, are we gon' be poor?' she asked.

Taissa almost choked on her saliva. Where in hell did that idea sprout from? Even if she was going to be insolvent — which may be anytime soon with the way things were going — her kids would be at the bottom of the list of people to tell. She knew Naima enough to know she'd try to shoulder her burdens, a task which was as possible as Taissa getting rich overnight.

'I knew it,' Naima said emphatically.

'Naima, stop it, we're not gonna be poor!' Taissa said, raising her voice. 'Whoever told you that balderdash!'

The poor girl looked taken aback. Had Mommy actually shouted at her? Oh, yeah she did. She must've really pissed her off. She looked down apologetically. 'I'm sorry, Mommy.'

Taissa sighed and rubbed her eyes. She shouldn't have shouted at the kid that way. She didn't have to be mad at her because she'd somewhat guessed the truth.

She sighed again. ''I'm sorry, too, darling. I shouldn't have raised my voice at you in the first place. Now, you study for your test and go bath when it's seven thirty.' She stood up to leave.

'Mommy?'

'Mhmm hmm?' She paused.

'Love you.' Naima looked very shy saying that.

'Love you, too, Naima.' Taissa replied, a gushing emotion ballooning in her chest. She bent to draw her into her arms for a tight hug. 'Why we being so emotional?' she said deliberately to mask her feelings.

Naima pouted. 'Because I love you, Mommy.'

Taissa pulled her closer, smiling. 'Love you, too, baby.'

'I'm not a baby, I'm eight!'

'Point of correction, Daughter — you're gonna be eight.'

'Anywho,' said Naima.

Taissa rolled her eyes and left the room.