"What are we going to do?"
It was a month after Anna had called her father. Their condition
had not changed. If anything, it had become worse. Jane and James had stopped
going to school as they could not afford their fees.
"I don't know mommy. Are we poor mommy?"
Anna could only smile as she watched her children playing with
their toys. She decided to ignore her son and continue gazing at the living
room ceiling. Her husband was out trying his best, which was unfortunately not
enough, to earn money for the family. She was stuck at home, forced to take
care of the kids as they were unable to hire a babysitter. She could not use
her better education to find a better and more stable job because John was a
terrible babysitter. The last time he had tried taking care of the kids Jane
had nearly burnt her hand.
"I'm home honey!"
"Daddy!" Both children ran to their father gleefully.
For the first time in ages, John was looking ecstatic. He hugged the twins
before walking towards Anna and giving her a kiss on her cheek. "How was
your day, love?"
"The same as usual. Nothing to do but chores, housework and
more chores. What's with you today? You look like you just won the lottery. Not
like we have enough money to buy it."
"I may not have won the lottery, but I finally got a job that
will not only be able to feed us, but might even be able to let us lead our old
life of luxury!" John said.
Anna gasped. She could not believe it. "Don't tell me.... You
aren't doing anything illegal are you? You're not stealing from anybody right?
If you are then I would rather stay poor."
"Of course not. Didn't I promise you I would never do such
things again? No, I'm doing legal things now."
"Good."
"There's just one thing though. If you don't mind, my job
requires me to go to the U.S. for a month. But after that I will come back and
work here permanently."
"When do you have to go?"
"Day after tomorrow. But it's alright, they said that they
can handle everything. They even gave me some money in advance so that you and
the children will not starve. Seriously, this job is once in a lifetime."
"I don't get it. What are you doing and who are you working
for? Isn't this offer just too good to be true?" She was starting to get
suspicious of this 'once in a lifetime' job.
"I assure you that everything will be fine. Just let me go
for my business trip and we can live happily ever after all over again."
Anna was still adamant on letting John go but in the end she reluctantly
allowed him to leave for his trip.
On that day, a company car arrived to send
him to the airport. John had packed all his clothes (five shirts, three long
pants and a pair of shorts, exclusive of undergarments) for the trip into a
suitcase they had taken from the junkyard. He gave Anna and his children a kiss
each and walked to the car with his head held high like the old days. The
chauffeur helped place his luggage into the boot of the car before opening the
door for John. John looked back one last time, smiled slightly, waved goodbye
and entered the car. Then the car drove off, turning around the corner and
disappearing from sight.
20 DAYS LATER
Anna was cooking when someone knocked on the
door. She was surprised that someone was actually knocking on their front door.
No one, not even salesmen had knocked on their door for any reason. You didn't
need to be a genius to realize the owners of this house were as broke as
beggars on the street. She and John had no real close friends to invite them
over and anyways, they most definitely did not want to invite them over to the
place they called home but what others might call a dump.
Anna offed the fire and went to open the front door.
Standing outside was a man dressed in a suit and tie, very professional
looking. Behind him was a black Mercedes so expensive looking that Anna
couldn't even dream of owning it. "Excuse me, may I know who you are
looking for?" Anna asked.
The response that she got was not what she expected. "It's
her." said the man into a microphone. The person he was talking to replied
him but Anna could not hear their conversation.
"Mrs. Anna, I would like you to cooperate with me. Would you
kindly enter the car over there? Someone would like to have a chat with you.
It's ok, you don't have to worry about your children. We promise you it won't
take long."
Anna was speechless.
How did this person know so much about her? Her name, address and the fact that
she had children was not made very known to the public. Whoever this person
was, he or she had done their research quite well. Anna cautiously approached
the door. She could not see who was waiting in the car as the windows were
tinted. Reaching the car, she slowly moved her hand towards the door handle.
She opened the door slowly. When she saw who was inside, she gasped.
"Hello, Anna. You really are an ungrateful daughter aren't
you?"
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