CHAPTER 71

Genevieve Tessa Robert

 

‘Don’t do that, Nicholas. You don’t play with your food, young man, but eat it,’ I cautioned him. ‘Don’t let me catch you doing that again!’

Nicholas’s face said, ‘I am sorry, mom, but there’s so much salt in the spaghetti.’

I sighed, taking a fork to taste it. There was nothing wrong with the spaghetti, but I knew already. He wanted something else, but I wasn’t going to fall for it. 

‘The salt is okay, son. You can’t waste the food because mom works hard every day to see you eat and not starve. So, eat everything.’ I ordered, focusing on hope. 

‘Darling, do you want more?’ I asked, amazed at her empty plate. 

She giggled, ‘No, mommy. Can I go and play with my dolls? They're already missing me, especially Miss Peas.’

I smiled. Hope is giving her dolls weird names. ‘You can go. I will be leaving home as soon as possible, Miss. Estella returns from the supermarket, so play all you want now because it will be nap time soon.

‘Nap time, mummy? But…’ Hope trailed off, running to her toys. 

I laughed. She could get distracted by the barest thing. Nicholas was eating his food now, but slowly. That was better than nothing. I picked up my phone and texted Estella. We were out of cereal and biscuits. I hoped she hadn’t left the supermarket yet.

I surveyed the apartment the mayor had given us for a temporary stay and sighed. I was already missing the mansion and my parents. James was of little help here due to the work activities at Robert’s branch office. Estella was more stressed than usual. She didn’t complain, but I could see it in everything she did. She was new to the United States, and adjusting to the lifestyle was pretty difficult for her.

My phone buzzed. It was Estella. She had bought the cereal and biscuits already and will be home in ten minutes. Finally, I had a meeting with the mayor. We had done a major part of the designs for his hotel, but he had issues with the master bedroom designs, so we had to talk about solutions before I continued.

I checked my calendar. The project is a one-month thing, and my team already used one week for the hotel. Calculating and checking his mansion’s space, I could safely predict we will be done before the end of the month. I couldn’t wait to return home and be safe from the prying eyes of the mayor’s son. The young dude seemed to show up anytime I was alone. I was beginning to dislike him.

‘Mummy, the door!’ Nicholas yelled, pointing at the door.  

Someone was knocking. It should be Estella. I stood up, strolled, and opened it.

Estella was breathing hard, with brown bags covering her face. I helped her with some and closed the door with my leg. 

‘Welcome, dear. Why didn’t you let the driver help you with some of these?’

She poured water into a glass. ‘I didn’t want to stress him out. He waited for three hours while I went shopping for bits of everything, and then I had to stop by to fix my phone battery. Remember, I told you it was giving me issues?’ 

I nodded. ‘Yes, you did, but Estella, there’s nothing bad if you ask him for a little help. You aren’t as fit as you used to be in your early years.’

She laughed, ‘Don’t judge Estella by her cover, dear. I can still do a lot of the things you young girls are doing now. Thank you for helping me.’

I waved it off, ‘It’s alright. I have to go now. The kids have eaten lunch, so you just need to prepare them for a nap, and you can rest too. I kept your lunch in the freezer. You can microwave it once you freshen up.’

‘Thank you, ma. I will microwave it now. I am famished!’ she exclaimed. ‘Did Hope give you any trouble?’

 ‘No, it was Nicholas’s turn today. I managed to survive his tantrum, and I hope he won’t give you the same ordeal.’

‘If he does, I will call you, ma. Enjoy your meeting and stay safe, please.’ she said, following me to the door.

The meeting was not as long as I expected. Mayor Kim had issues with only one colour, which was surprising. He had exaggerated so much that I thought I was going to start from scratch. Thankfully, my thoughts didn’t come true. I couldn’t imagine going through that process again.

"We are having a dinner party tomorrow and specially inviting you and your brother to represent your parents. It’s my wife and I's anniversary, but we want the company’s dinner party to cover it.’ Mayor Kim said, arranging the documents he brought to explain his ideas for the mansion.

I raised my eyebrow. ‘Why are you covering your anniversary? Isn’t it a thing of joy?’

He smiled weakly. ‘It is. We just don’t want a lot of media attention this year, and my wife had a fashion blunder last week. You can guess what the favourite media houses in the city did to her. ‘

I held back a laugh. Mom had shown me the pictures before I travelled here. She had worn a white see-through gown and forgot to put on underwear. Then, her make-up artist made her look like a Salem witch. I couldn’t erase that image from my memory. It was etched there forever.

I stared at the pained look on Mayor Kim’s face. The incident still hurt him badly. I had to say something good.

‘I am so sorry, sir. I apologize for the media fall. I know how crazy they can be when the news is about public figures and celebrities. Just give them two weeks, and they will move on to another topic.

‘Of course. I hope you and your brother will grace our little ceremony?’

‘Yes, Mayor Kim. We will be there. Thank you for the invitation.’ I replied, taking my leave. 

He smiled and returned the documents, while I cursed myself for accepting his invitation. Estella was supposed to rest this weekend while James and I looked after the twins. Now, I feel like a bad person for choosing a party over someone’s health.

I hoped Estella would forgive me.