3

The New Year was coming up. It was the first New Year in the life of an infant that was born after seven years of marriage. Little Kate just turned 9 months.

Beautifully packed presents under the Christmas tree and pine smell is in the air.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. That appeared to be the juvenile service representatives.

'We brought a Christmas present', said one of them.

'Well, come on in', the father naively opened the door and let them into the apartment.

A man and a woman in gray clothes, in dirty shoes walked through the freshly mopped floor to the living room and sat their voluminous bums on the white sofa without even asking. The woman fumbled some pieces of paper in her hands nervously.

'We extend best festive wishes to the young families personally', the man said. 'And deliver the Christmas gifts to them'.

'You have a beautiful family', the woman said, fixing her glasses. The sound of her teeth gnashing was heard distinctively.

'Uhm, thank you', the young mother in a white sweater replied, holding her child. 'Yes, I am a journalist and my husband is an office worker'.

'Your child is beautiful too', the woman said drawling.

Little Kate stood on the carpet, held by her mother. The girl was smiling to everyone – her father, her mother and even to those two juvenile service representatives.

'Oh, you're so naive my little child', Maria thought while sense of danger was piercing her. 'You're smiling to everyone, even to such unpleasant people'.

The small woman in huge glasses nervously scanned the apartment with her eyes, trying to find any flaws, carefully examining every corner. The lenses of her glasses were so thick that they looked more like a hand magnifiers.

'The table has corners, this is dangerous for the child', she said bluntly.

'Don't worry, we always keep an eye on the baby', Maria's husband replied.

'And have ever baby fell?', she continued her questioning.

'No!', the parents replied in chorus.

'No bruises? Children have bruises all the time', the woman continued insistently.

'No', the parents replied again.

'Such a strange child you have – no bruises', the woman said.

The woman in huge glasses started anxiously grinding her teeth again. She was obviously getting all steamed up and looked like she just cannot sit still, squirming on the sofa restlessly. It seemed she intended to wrench the child out of the mothers' hands but Maria's husband was sitting between them…

… An unexpected visit of those people left dimples on the white sofa and ugly muddy footprints on the floor…

After the chance comers have departed, Maria opened the gift. A couple of cheap, even pennyworth sweets. It even seemed that the gift was just an excuse.

'Darling, didn't these people seem strange to you?', Maria asked her husband.

'They just wanted to present the gift. Don't overthink on this, sweet.'

'Okay', she agreed.

The husband hugged Maria with the baby in her arms and kissed her forehead.