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And then, miraculously and to her relief it roared to life. “Thank you.” she let out a choked whisper as tears continued down her face.
She drove faster than she normally did, praying no cops would be on her route to give her a ticket, and when she reached her house, she jumped out. Her legs shook badly when she did not see the kids at the front door waiting for her, as she had expected.
What would she do if something had happened to them? She would die. She would literally die, Raina thought to herself.
Hands shaking, it took her a full minute to insert the key into the lock. She wanted to go check in the backyard, hoping that they had decided to go play there, but as soon as she entered, she heard their voices in the living room. Raina darted in and almost wept when she saw the three of them, sitting on the floor happily munching on their snacks, Christopher watching over them.
“Are you alright? Sorry I
am late.” She said in a rushed tone. She struggled to regain composure, not wanting them to see her worry.
“It’s alright, Aunty,” Chantal said cheerily, “Christopher was waiting for us.”
“Thank you so much, I don’t know what happened. I lost track of time.” The words came out in a jumble, tripping over each other as she gasped them out.
“Hey, no worries! Happy to help. And we’ve been having fun, right kids?” Christopher said, his own voice cheerful. The children nodded and laughed. She could sense Christopher’s eyes on her though and the questions behind them.
Raina fled to the kitchen, not wanting to face his scrutiny, dropped her handbag on the floor and gripped the edge of the counter. She shook so badly from head to toe that she thought she would faint.
“Hey, hey …” Christopher had followed her. His voice was calm and soothing and he put his arm around her shoulder.
She hadn’t known how much she needed that.
Raina felt herself, against her will and against her better judgment, melt into him, allowing him to hold her. The tears came again, out of control, in great heaving sobs. She clung to him, burying her face in his shirt as she did, her body heaving.
His strong arms enveloped her, holding her steady, as he rocked her gently.
“Hey, it’s all right. The kids are fine—"
“What if you weren’t here? What if they were kidnapped?” Raina’s words were a whispered plea for reassurance muffled by his shirt.
“But I was here. Don’t give it any more thought.” His arms tightened around her and the comfort she felt soothed her.
She nodded, her head still buried in his chest. Pulling away, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and looked up at him.
“Thank you so much, I have no words to express the gratitude I feel.”
“You’re welcome, that’s what friends are for, right?”
Raina gave him a small smile, swallowing uncomfortably, her heartbeat slowing down.
“Tell you what? Why don’t you go soak up in the bath and I’ll see to the kids. I’m not promising a gourmet dinner like you can make, but I can do meat and potatoes.”
Raina hesitated, then nodded once more. His eyes were warm and she saw only care and concern in them.
“OK, I’ll take you up on your offer. Thanks again.”
As Christopher had said, the boiled potatoes were nothing to write home about, but that didn’t matter, and Raina polished her plate. It felt so good to have someone take care of her for a change. After her bath and an hour relaxing upstairs, she felt better equipped to handle the rest of the evening.
“Aunty, did you find someone for Father’s Day?” Crystal asked, tugging on her sleeve.
Crap. Raina’s heart skipped a beat. It had completely escaped her mind and if she remembered correctly, the day was tomorrow. But she had promised the kids. Crap.
Maybe Kelly’s brother was still willing to … Her train of thought was interrupted by Christopher’s words.
“Well—if you don’t have anyone, I could do it if that’s OK with you? I’m sure I can rustle up a decent suit.” Christopher offered. He was leaning back in his chair, handsome as ever, watching her with a cocked head and friendly eyes.
“No … no … thank you, but we couldn’t impose on you like that.” Raina started to say, but the children had other ideas.
