5

“Awe, my little munchkin,” Saba coed the small 2-year-old as he threw his legs in the air making her smile. Throwing all her hair on the other side, she took a little more baby oil in her hands and rubbed her palms before massaging the baby’s body, which was enjoying it to the fullest.

“Elena, calm down baby,” the baby’s mother, Charlotte, came inside the room with a smile on her face.

“ma.. mah,” She said in her baby tongue as she tried to run towards her mother, “Elena, be careful,” Saba was quick to hold her before she could fall down from the bed. Thank fuck to the pillow wall she placed on the side of the bed.

“My goodness, are you okay, baby?” Charlotte asked her daughter as Saba moved aside, making way for the mother-daughter duo.

“Here, drink it,” She was about to feed Elena with the bottle when Saba took the bottle from her hands.

“What’s the matter?” Charlotte asked in a harsh tone as Saba kept the bottle away from her reach.

“Mam, I just gave her a massage, it is not good for her to be fed just after it,” Saba said in a soft tone as Charlotte nodded her head.

“I am sorry, I just—“Saba just nodded her head, she did not need her fake apology, she spoke like her with her every time.

“I must get going,” She said, picking her bag from the chair nearby.

“Bye-bye, my munchkin,” she said to little Elena before nodding at Charlotte, walking on the cold street after escaping the fully heated mansion. She felt cold.

Rubbing her palms on her arms, she walked to the small bakery near her apartment.

“Hi Jesse,” She said to the girl who smiled at her before giving her a hug. Saba winched as Jesse quickly pulled away.

“What happened?” She asked, handing her the plate of her favorite pastry.

“Just a neck strain,” she said, but Jesse’s eyes landed on the small blood mark on her t-shirt.

“Is that blood? Are you injured, Saba?” She asked, moving to the mark.

“What is this?” Saba asked with a chuckle. “That’s ketchup, Elena put that on me accidentally,” She said, showing her the mark clearly.

“Oh, I thought that was—“

“Blood? “ She giggled as Jesse shook her head.

“How was your day with the witch?” Jesse asked, cleaning the counter as another customer came inside the bakery.

“Just don’t ask! “ Saba huffed as she took a bite of her pastry. Winters in Italy were beautiful, but for her it was lonely sometimes.

“Whiplashing, it was true torture, you know, as if she thinks I will take Elena away from her,” Saba said, taking another bite of the pastry.

“Well, from the way Jacob looks at you, I might have thought the same if I were her,” the spoon fell from Saba’s hands as she looked at Jesse with wide eyes.

“Sorry? What?” She asked, picking up the spoon from the floor and keeping it aside as Jesse handed her another spoon.

“Dude, are you blind or what? He moves around the town holding hearts in his eyes for you and you don’t know?” Jesse asked as Saba’s breath stopped.

“He likes you,” Jesse said, the words Saba was afraid to even say out loud. Saba quickly pulled out her phone from her pocket and started typing something.

“What are you doing Saba?” Jesse asked as she served pastries to another customer.

“Sending Jacob my resignation,” She said as Jesse snatched the phone from her hands.

“You are so not doing that!” Jesse said but Saba shook her head.

“This is wrong, Jesse, my mother did not raise me to be a home wrecker,” She said as a tear slid down her eyes.

“Hey, hey, hey, who said you were a home wrecker? Hmm?” Jesse asked, pulling her behind the counter.

“I did not know anything, I swear, that was why Charlotte spoke like a witch to me,” She said as another tragic tear escaped her eyes, her lower lip wobbled like a child as she covered her face with her hands. She could not help but cry harder.

Someone said true, ‘Words cut harder than knifes’.

“Think practical Saba, the job of taking care of a little girl pays so well, her father is more like head over heels for you, think about the money,” Jesse tried to make her understand. The world does not run on emotions but money.

You may get away from a murder with money, but if you are poor? You might be innocent but still be punished for things you never did. It influences our lives in such a way that it is too powerful to ignore.

“The money may be good, fuck that, great, but I am not taking advantage of someone’s emotions, especially when there is a child involved. I know what it is to be brought up in a loveless family, Jesse, I know,” She wiped her tears harshly. Her whole face had turned red.

“Saba, stop mixing your past with someone else’s present,” Jesse said as another customer came.

“I’ll start looking for jobs right away,” She said as Jesse sighed, “You don’t want to listen then fine!” She almost yelled at Saba but knew the outcome of this talk was going to be this only.

“Anyways, why have you not been in physics class since last weekend?” Jesse asked as Saba’s face fell.

“It continued again,” She said as Jesse pressed her lips in a thin line.

“Awe babes, heavy bleeding sucks,” She said as Saba chuckled.

“Don’t forget the cramps,” they both laughed as Saba wiped her face with a wet wipe and looked fresh as ever.

“Now give me my phone back, I need to write my resignation,” She said as Jesse handed the phone back to her.

“My job was to warn you,” Jesse said, sighing.

“I am resistant to warning baby,” Saba winked as they both laughed again. Saba was ready to leave the bakery as it was getting late.

She pulled the door open but Jesse called her,” Saba?” She turned around, looking at Jesse with a raised eyebrow.

“Meera was looking for a waitress,” Jesse said, without looking at her, as Saba smiled.

“Thanks, I’ll ask her,” Saba said with a smile on her face before she walked out of the bakery. For a moment she felt as if she was being watched. She turned around to find people lost in their own worlds.

She shook her head at her crazy thinking before making her way back to her apartment.