Tommy's father

 Walking into the house, Melissa was welcome by the one person who was always happy to see her.

 "Mum it's great, I love it." Tommy beamed as Melissa handed him the toy car he had been asking for.

 "Hey young man, what do you say after getting a gift?" She asked playfully raffling his hair.

 "Thank you, mum." He hugged her, then took his toy car to play on the carpet.   

 Glued to the spot, tears filled Melissa's eyes as she watched him play. Her son was the light in her life. The only good thing she got from that night.          

 He was so obedient and well mannered, she felt proud to be his mother. But all credit went to her aunt. Without Betty, Melissa didn't know how she could have managed to raise him on her own.

Dropping from university when her parents died. Then later finding herself pregnant with no money to support them. Was hard for her to comprehend. Luckily her aunt was there to support her.

 That fateful day when her aunt found her in the small apartment, she was on the bed half conscious. For days she had not eaten. She felt all alone in the world. Even her best friend had bailed out on her.

  As they broke the door to get to her, Melissa stared at her aunt lost for words. Her aunt was the last person Melissa expected to see.

 When she lost her husband and son, Betty moved to the province. At the time Melissa lost her parents, she didn't have a way of contacting her leaving her alone with no one to turn to.

 In the blink of death, as Betty and the neighbors rushed her to the nearby hospital, Melissa had given up on life. When the news came, her perspective changed.

 That day she found out she was pregnant, giving her something to live for.

 "For you, I will do all I can to get through this."

 Touching her flat belly, Melissa felt a connection she had never experienced before.

  Not eating or taking care of herself almost cost her child's life. She had to be closely monitored at the hospital. And a few days later she was discharged. 

 Though she had lost all she had, Melissa decided to live for her child. Her parents were no longer with her but she had the little being growing inside her to take care of.

  From the hospital, her aunt took her to the province.  

 Though she had not seen her sister's daughter for many years, Betty loved her. She always inquired about her and when she got the news of her sister's death, she dropped everything to come to Melissa.

 Finding Melissa in a broken state caused Betty unimaginable heartache. She had helped take care of Melissa when she was a child. After college she lived with her sister for some years, spending most of her time with Melissa.

 To her, Melissa was like a daughter she never had. 

 Melissa too loved her aunt a lot. She was thankful to her for supporting her in raising  Tommy.

 Walking from the kitchen, Betty found Melissa standing blankly in the living room. 

"Melissa dear, what's wrong?" Concerned Betty questioned heading towards her.

Shaking her head to clear her mind Melissa turned and hugged her aunt. "It's nothing aunt, I'm just tired." Though her aunt never questioned her about Tommy's father, she knew one day she had to tell them who he was. 

"Okay dear, go to your room and freshen up. Then come for dinner, it will be ready in a few minutes." Betty tapped her on the back. Walked back to the kitchen to check on the food she was cooking.

Moments later when Melissa came out of her room, she found them sitting at the dining table waiting for her. 

 "Thank you, aunt." Melissa grinned as Betty served her the tantalizing meal.

"Tommy, are you excited to join the school?" Betty asked, adding food to his plate. 

 "Yes, Grandma. I heard the school is cool and I get to make lots of friends."  The little boy chimed cheerfully.

"Tommy, you don't go to school to only make friends but to study as well." Melissa cautioned him with a smile on her face. 

"Mum, I'll study very hard so that when l grow up, I'll get lots of money to take care of you and grandma. You won't have to go to work every day mum. Also, I'll look for my dad so he can keep you company. You won't be sad anymore." Looking at the little boy who tried so hard to make her happy, Melissa felt tears fill her eyes.

"Thank you, son. As long as you and grandma are here, I don't have to be sad or lonely. Now eat your food okay." She touched his cheek as her voice cracked from all the emotions she felt.

 After dinner, she cleaned the dishes. Clearing everything in the kitchen and the dining table, Melissa went to her son's room. 

 Stopping at the doorway, she watched the two most important people in her life feeling blessed for having them.

 "I have to turn in now. There is a meeting I need to attend early in the morning." Knocking lightly on the door, she spoke walking in.

 "Okay dear, go get some rest." With a storybook in her hand seated beside Tommy, Betty smiled at her.

 "Goodnight." Kissing Tommy's hair, Melissa went to her room. 

...

"Hey Melissa, come. I saved you a seat." Stepping into the hall, Lisa called out to her.

She and Lisa started working in the hotel sometime. At first, Lisa didn't like her much. With their supervisor and manager often praising Melissa, most of the employees speculated that she was in an intimate relationship with the manager.

Lisa was no exception but after Melissa helped her with difficult clients. At times covering up her mistakes and taking most of the blame. She realized what everyone said about Melissa was not true.

 Working together for years, they became best friends. Although Melissa was promoted to be a supervisor, she did her work like everyone else.

"Morning Lisa. You came before today." Sitting beside her, Melissa complimented her with a smile on her face.

 "Do you want to say I'm always late?" Lisa glared at her pouting her mouth.

 "We both know you hate these meetings. That's why you always come late. At times not showing up at all."

"Well, there is some truth in that. Most of these meetings are boring but not this one. Today's meeting is very important. I couldn't afford to miss it. Didn't want to sit at the back either." As Lisa exclaimed.

Glancing at her, Melissa could see the excitement in her eyes.

 The hotel was privileged to host one of the top most wealthy CEO in the country. It was the first time for such an important prominent person to stay at the hotel thus exciting all the employees. More so the staff who impressed the guest would get a tasty bonus at the end of the month. 

With the manager anxious about the client he needed all the employees to perform well.

 Making their client comfortable and happy with their services, would open many business opportunities in the future. Which meant a higher salary for everyone.

 To serve such a person, the hotel had to select personnel to cater to his needs. Moreover, everyone had to play their part perfectly.

The manager had to choose a group of personnel to handle all the client's needs. At the meeting he named them and as Melissa was the head of housekeeping, she had to lead the team. She had to personally see to it that everything was according to the client's orders. 

 With only a week to prepare and organize her team to welcome the client, Melissa left the hall with Lisa who couldn't stop bubbling.

"Hey, I heard he's the most wealthy handsome man in the country. Guess what, he's not married." Lisa effused, leaning on Melissa's arm.

"He's just a client Lisa. Besides those rich handsome men have women everywhere they go, so don't get carried away." 

"Do you say that because of Tommy's dad?" Melissa glared at her. "Sorry but look, if one guy breaks your heart it doesn't mean they all will." Lisa voiced, staring at her.

 Melissa never talked about Tommy's dad. She also turned every guy that showed interest in her into an enemy.

"Let's get to work. It's not worth talking about."

 No one knew that Tommy's dad was a one night stand. She never spoke about him with the hope of forgetting what had happened but Tommy was a constant reminder.

 Though she and Lisa were close, she couldn't tell her about him. She never told her aunt either since she felt ashamed for getting herself into that situation.

...

 Soon the week was up.

 When they got word that the most awaited guest was on his way from the airport, all the chosen staff had to wait at the hotel entrance to welcome them.

 Being in charge, Melissa was very nervous. She had served many important clients before. She was good at her work but this one was prominent. 

 His visit would change not only the hotel's status but the whole community.

 The manager had put so much pressure on her to handle everything. More so she could not get time to spend with her family which was somewhat depressing for her.

 For the next five days, while the client was around, she had to live in the servant room in the hotel's presidential suite. She had to serve him around the clock. She also had to supervise other employees' work in her department. 

Although the work was too much, she could handle it. She needed to get a good bonus at the end of the month since she needed the money for Tommy's school. She had to work hard and impress the big client.

After some minutes, the big awaited client arrived. As he stepped out of the car, everyone's attention was on him.

 "No!"

 With her eyeballs almost falling off their sockets, Melissa stared at the man she never thought she would meet again.

 "This can't be!" She exclaimed, taking a step back.