Chapter 3

JASAMINA

I feel warm. I'm in a warm bed.

It was the first thing I noticed as I woke up from my slumber. I heard the sound of my son's little giggles and a shooing male sound playing with the baby.

Male!? My husband!?

My eyes snapped open and I made a sharp move to get up but my head hurt suddenly. I grabbed it as the world spun around me.

"Lie down. You don't have to make sharp movements like that." A deep unfamiliar voice said to me.

My eyes caught the owner of the voice and I recognized him immediately. It's the drunkard that helped me three nights ago.

Only, he doesn't look so drunk anymore.

"Where am I?" My voice came out scared and scratchy.

"Safe."

I would have laughed bitterly if my face doesn't feel so heavy. I can never be safe anywhere.

"What happened?" I asked in a tiny voice.

"You fainted."

I looked down at my leg. The cut on my toe has been bandaged. I looked around the unfamiliar environment. It was cozy and nice looking. A small but beautiful apartment.

Fear gripped me at the way he had my baby. Will he take Jaimie away from me? Has he kidnapped us?

"Do you want to hold him?" He asked them, his eyes looking at me carefully.

I nodded vigorously, stretching out my hurting arms. He walked closer and placed the baby in my arms. My baby looked so happy, smiling up at me with his knuckles on his mouth. 

"He has fed and changed clothes." The drunkard spoke, drawing my attention. "I stacked a lot of baby formula and bottles there at the rack..." He gestured at a small rack in a corner filled with a lot of nylons. "That will keep him fed for a very long time."

"Uhm..." I started but he cut me off.

"There's a change of clothes for you in the wardrobe. You wear this big coat and I don't really know your size but I bought some things I thought maybe your size. Bought other necessities too. Toothpaste, toothbrush, slippers, and others you'll need for a week until you can get a job."

I stared at him blankly. He might as well be speaking Chinese because he wasn't making sense to me.

This question plagued me...

Who is this filthy-looking beard-faced drunkard?

******

   I glanced at the drunkard before me suspiciously, checking for any sudden movements, my mother always used to say stranger-danger and for once I agreed with her. I clung to my baby, throwing glances at him. 

"I don't understand what you're saying," I said to him at last.

He took a deep breath and cocked his head to one side. "What I mean is that you should stay here. No one will disturb you here, if you're running from the law, just lay low here. I've bought the basics for you and I dropped a little money in that cabinet, It will sustain you until you're able to work."

Silence descended. Even Jaimie was quiet.

"I-I don't understand. W-Why...?" I was tongue-tied, I can't get a word out.

Finally, I was able to say. "I don't know how to pay you back for all this..." My voice quivered.

He arched his brow. "I have requested no payment, lady."

That is something I can't believe. If there's something I've learned in life, it is that nothing is for free. Ever.

The drunkard is probably being a gentleman but I know what he wants. What all men want.

Tears stung my eyes. But it doesn't matter. He just ensured my baby's comfort by buying us things, what more can I ask for?

I stared at Jaimie, watching his eyes flutter. "Please, my baby is going to be asleep in a few minutes. Let me put him to sleep before we..."

The drunkard had the good grace to look confused. At least he isn't being an asshole about what he wants. It is more than I can ask for.

"Who are you?" I asked him, curious about this homeless filthy drunkard that suddenly provided a home and some money for me and my baby.

"You must be hungry, I'll go out soon to get food for you too. You can't take care of a baby on an empty stomach." He said instead like I didn't talk.

I watched him leave, biting my lips against the headache pounding my head. I really don't feel so well.

But I've got to be awake and pay him for his kindness with my body. 

For the first time in a long time, I feel hope. I have a roof over my head and some food for my baby until my body heals. I don't have to worry about where to go next, or who to run from. I don't have to worry about money.