48 For What Reason?
That night, Caroline sleeps late, staring at the flowers and the chocolates in the bedside table. Whoever sends her the flower knows her. No one would waste their time and money sending this kind of stuff unless there's a reason behind it and of course the sender knew her by name which bothered her a lot.
She was wildly guessing who could be the one doing this? And for what reason?
It would have been much better if there was a name of the sender or a phone number so that she can directly ask the sender why he or she was giving her flowers?
Of course, that person knows her and she doesn't know the sender.
Although it's not yet a reason to feel afraid and worried. She will just treat this incident as one isolated case of a mysterious stranger's random spur of the moment whim to send her flowers.
She reached for the box of chocolate and inspected it. The chocolate was not manufactured locally. Although the chocolates look yummy, she dared not eat a single piece because she was afraid it might contain a poison or anything, not desirable for her health. Unless she will personally meet the sender, she won't touch the box of chocolates. On the contrary, she likes admiring the flowers, they're beautiful to look at.
She picked up the box of chocolates and put it inside the drawer of the bedside table.
It's near midnight already and she's not sleepy yet, why is that? How about if she will take a shower? just a quick one, she might be able to sleep by then. She glanced at her daughter sleeping soundly in the crib.
She rose from the bed and entered the bathroom without closing the door just in case baby Cathy will awaken and cry, she can hear right away.
She stripped her clothes and let the water run on her neck and body. She clips her hair at the top so that it won't get wet with the water.
On her left side.
Just across the shower, she can see the bed and baby Cathy's crib in line with her vision.
Caroline watched the flowers above the bedside table, it's visible from where she was standing having her shower. She was wondering again who sent her the flowers?
A few minutes later she already finished showering.
She took the towel and dried her hair then she wiped her body dry and put the towel back on the hook outside the bathroom. She then ambled casually towards her closet in her birthday suit to get her sleeping attire. With the garments in her right hand, she walked towards the bed and starts dressing up right there while admiring the angelic face of her sleeping daughter.
She turns on the bedside lamp and went to the door. She switched off the main light and retrace her steps back to the bed.
Climbing on the bed, her attention was drawn to the flowers.
She keeps staring at the beautiful petals until her eyelids were dropping, signaling that she was about to fall asleep.
And finally, she falls asleep.
~~~o0o~~~
The next day.
Caroline woke up to a sunny day.
The sun was shining outside. She glanced at her daughter, baby Cathy. The infant's eyes were already wide awake, her eyes were roaming around her.
Caroline rises from the bed and picked up her daughter. "Not hungry yet, baby?" she nuzzled her cheeks.
Baby Cathy reached for her mother's fingers and starts sucking it.
"Ah, I see, you want your milk now. Wait for a second baby. I will prepare your milk downstairs," she said.
Caroline went to the bathroom to pee and splashes water on her face.
Done in the bathroom, she walked towards the closet and change her dress.
"I'll be back baby," she said and exited the door.
Caroline went to the kitchen and saw her mother busy preparing breakfast. "Good morning, Mother," she conveyed her greetings. She prepared the baby formula in the table. "What are you preparing for breakfast?" she asked curiously upon seeing that her mother was preparing the ingredients for the fried rice.
"Fried rice, scrambled egg and ham," Thelma answered.
"Wow! That super yummy! I can't wait for breakfast!" she said excitedly.
"Is baby Cathy awake already?" Thelma asked.
"Yes. It's time for her milk feeding. I will go back to my room now," she said.
Thelma nods her head.
Caroline went back to her room and placed the bottle in baby Cathy's mouth.
While feeding her daughter, her eyes landed on the flower vase, she can't help but admired the roses.
A few minutes later after baby Cathy finished her milk, she picked up her daughter, carry her in her arms and they went downstairs.
In the living room.
Caroline, Lily, and Jacob spent their idle times watching a television show.
One hour later.
Done preparing the breakfast dishes in the dining table, Thelma informed her children. "Kids, breakfast is ready!"
The whole family gathered around the dining table to start eating breakfast.
...
That afternoon.
The family gathered in the living room two hours after devouring their mid-day meal.
The agency called Caroline on the phone informing her that the housemaid was on her way to start working on their house.
"Ma'am, I just want to remind you that, Merle Rosetta, will begin servicing your family staring today. She brought with her all her clearances including the Police and NBI Clearance and others. Thank you so much for your patronage on our services, Ma'am. Just in case you want to hire a nanny for your children for a short or long term, we can also provide manpower services, anytime, Ma'am," the receptionist said.
"Thank you, Miss, for the information. I will consider your services if in case I need one in the future," Caroline replied.
"Thank you, Ma'am, and have a nice day!" the receptionist said.
"Have a nice day too, bye!" Caroline responded politely.
The phone conversation between Caroline and the receptionist of the agency finally ended.
Caroline put her phone in the center table. She glanced at her mother. "Mom, I'm going upstairs to take a bath. Please take care of baby Cathy for me," she said.
"No problem, take your time," Thelma answered while looking fondly at her granddaughter.
Caroline went upstairs and indulged herself in a luxurious bath in the bathroom, this time she closed the door.
When she exited the bathroom a few minutes later, she was naked walking towards her closet to change into dry clothes.
After dressing up she went downstairs to wait for the housemaid's arrival, any moment from now.
At exactly 5:00 in the afternoon, Merle, the housemaid arrived in front of the gate.
Caroline opened the gate and allowed Merle inside holding her meager belonging which consists of one bag only. "Hi Merle, come inside. We are glad to have you here in our home," she said.
"Thank you, Ma'am Caroline," Merle responded shyly.
"Oh, don't be shy. Let's get inside the house so that you can meet my family," Caroline said.
They step into the living room and Caroline introduced Merle to her family.
"Listen up guys...please meet...Merle Rosetta our housemaid," Caroline began the introduction. She looked at the housemaid who is only 18 years old. "Merle, this is my mother Thelma...my siblings...Lily and Jacob and my daughter...baby Cathy," she pointed at the baby lying in the portable bassinet.
"Nice meeting you all," Merle smiled shyly at her new bosses.
"Merle, please follow me, I will bring you now to your room," Caroline said as they went to the stockroom located near the kitchen that was converted as a room for the housemaid. It's a small room that can accommodate one single bed only with a cabinet mounted on the wall for clothes storage. "Here's your room. You can now put your clothes in the cabinet and after that, come back to the living room so that my mother can brief you about your household daily routine in the house," she instructed.
"Yes, Ma'am," Merle answered obediently.
Caroline closed the door behind her and went back to the living room to join her family.
A moment later.
Merle comes into the living room.
Thelma stood up and faced the girl. "Merle, come with me into the kitchen. Help me prepare the dishes for our dinner," she said.
"Yes, Auntie," Merle answered and followed Thelma into the kitchen.
Back in the living room.
Caroline placed a call to her sister.
"Caroline," Catherine said.
"Hi, sister...I just want to ask if you're not busy this coming Saturday?"
"Not really, I'm just homebound taking care of the kids. Why?"
"I invited cousin Grace to go with me to the beauty salon for pampering. I'm just thinking that you might want to join us?"
"That would be nice. I will ask John if he can take care of the kids for a few hours, if he said yes, then I will join you guys," Catherine responded.
"I'm sure, brother-in-law John will approve of our bonding session," Caroline said excitedly.
"Let see, by the way, did mother Clara called you again?"
"No, not yet. Maybe next week or tomorrow. Don't worry I will inform you right away if Auntie Clara will call again. Wasn't she online in her social media accounts? You can send your private message there," Caroline suggested.
"That's the problem, she seems to be invisible and not answering to our messages," Catherine sighed at the other end.
Caroline's brows creased. "Did Auntie Clara and Uncle Hector had a quarrel or misunderstanding?"
"Yes, sort of. But it's more than that, it's complicated," Catherine said. "I will tell you one day," she said.
"Okay. I won't press you on the subject. Just inform me if your husband permits you to come with us to the salon this coming Saturday."
"Yes, I will. Bye for now, sis, baby James is crying," Catherine said.
"Alright, take care, sis!"
"You too! Give my love to Mother, Lily, and Jacob."
"Sure!" she responded. Caroline placed the phone in the center table and watched the live motocross off-road racing competition showing on the flat-screen TV.
