by Amy Field
“Can-can I hold her?” Camellia whispered hoarsely.
“Let’s clean her up first.”
Her daughter was cleaned and then placed into her arms. Her eyes were closed but she was breathing. Camellia felt her breath tickle her face and smiled gently at her. She stroked the soft skin of her daughter’s cheek and kissed her forehead.
“Welcome to the world, Amelia,” she said and leant back to relax with her baby.
Chapter Four
As Camellia had a normal delivery, she was declared fit to go home in two days.
Tracy had come by to drop her home and she had the papers with her. While Camellia was glad to see her friend, she wasn’t very glad to see the papers that she held.
“I know what you are going to say,” Tracy said.
“Do you?” Camellia said testily, cradling Amelia in her arms.
“Give it a look!” Tracy insisted. “I know you have Amelia to take care of but you need the money and this is a good job.”
“Fine, I’ll give it a look,” Camellia said tiredly.
Tracy grinned and leaned over to pat Amelia as if Amelia had helped convince Camellia. Camellia handed off Amelia to Tracy as she took the papers. They weren’t inside her apartment yet so Camellia didn’t open the envelope to see the papers. As she passed by her neighbor’s door, his face flashed to her mind and she remembered how he had watched her. Now she remembered his face, he had dark hair with bangs that had hidden his eyes and a well formed jaw. Features that was neither appealing nor unappealing.
Tracy noticed her looking and looked at her quizzically but Camellia shook her head. They walked into her apartment.
Her thoughts were still on her neighbor and she began to think how strange it was that in all the two months that her neighbor had moved in, she had never seen him. He rarely came out and sometimes Camellia would get his mail delivered to hers.
She remembered one instance when that had happened. It had been a month ago and the delivery man had given her the letter, ignoring her protests as he did so. The man left and she was left clutching it, indignant. Camellia hadn’t opened it but she was tempted to. The front of the letter was stamped with the word ‘Confidential’ and it had his address on it. Still, she had taken the letter and slid it under his door. The next day she had thought he would thank her but there was no such indication.
Camellia put away the thought of her neighbor.
Tracy helped her put Amelia down in her crib. As her apartment had one bedroom, Camellia had put up the crib right beside her bed so that she could be accessible to Amelia at night. She knew the tough days were ahead of her as Amelia would surely cry all night.
At the moment, her little angel had gone off to sleep. Camellia went with Tracy to the living room and as Tracy fixed them a cup of coffee, she thumbed through the contract. Tracy hadn’t been lying about it; it really was a standard contract. The job was the designing of an apartment complex owned by a socialite. The job required her to be on site four times a week and look over the building process. It paid well and Camellia did need the money for Amelia. She mused on it as Tracy waited anxiously beside her.
After deliberating for a few minutes, Camellia picked up her pen and signed the contract.
“Nice work,” Tracy said.
“It’s a good job and I can handle being away from Amelia.”
“I’ll tell the client. I think work starts from next month.”
“I would have liked to stay with Amelia a while longer,” Camellia said longingly.
“You’ll have time,” Tracy said awkwardly.
“I will,” Camellia laughed.
She had a good feeling about this job.
Camellia’s first night with Amelia went as expected.
Amelia started crying at one in the morning. Camellia got up and went to prepare her first feeding. After she fed Amelia, she placed Amelia in bed, examining her perfect features. Her soft tuft of dark hair and pink rosy cheeks which made Camellia grin. She was everything Camellia had imagined her to be and more. The best thing was that she didn’t look a bit like Jared. Amelia shared a lot of her features but had Jared’s eyes. Well they were a minor thing and besides nothing could destroy the love she had for Amelia. She loved her more that she could express.
And Camellia cuddled to her daughter, knowing that she was going to cry out again but taking advantage of the silence. They were going to have a wonderful life together.
Camellia’s month with Amelia was the best she had ever experienced. She learned each day. Amelia wasn’t a very fussy baby; she was very obliging as if she knew how tough Camellia had it on her own. Camellia loved taking care of Amelia. She loved the feeling of holding her and watching her gurgle with joy. The small smile or wide-eyed look that she gave Camellia…every one of her expressions was imprinted onto Camellia’s mind. Unlike some mothers, she longed for night when she could cuddle up to Amelia and chat about her day.
Camellia went to routine check-ups for Amelia’s sake, to make sure that she was healthy. Her zeal made the doctor shake his head but smile. She had her stamp for being an over-protective mother.
But as soon as the month ended, it was time to get back to reality. Her job started and Camellia had to start looking for a babysitter. She couldn’t find a permanent one but she used an agency which sent her a sitter by the name of Rita Pickett.
Camellia felt ill as she took Rita’s interview. Rita looked barely out of her teens with jet black hair and a shining nose ring. She had an almost disgusted look on her face as Camellia took her interview but seeing as no one else had come for the job, Camellia had no choice but to accept her. Rita picked up Amelia queasily and Camellia’s fear deepened.
Her cell rang and she picked it up.
“Where are you?” Tracy asked.
“I am on my way,” Camellia said, still looking at Rita handling Amelia.
“Go ahead,” Rita said bluntly.
“I might be late so don’t leave before I get home.”
She got no answer from that statement but her heart heavy, Camellia left for work hoping that everything would turn out okay.
Nick Prescott woke with a start.
His phone was buzzing beside him but as he was accustomed to do, he let it ring. He wasn’t in the mood to listen to Sam’s fears. Sam had pestered him for the last few days, panicking over what to do about the legal notice while Nick knew that it wouldn’t amount to anything. He was content with letting it pass them by but in the recesses of his heart, he was scared as well. If the lawyer pursued this…
Nick put that thought of his mind and sat up, wondering why he had woken up. His apartment was deadly quiet and empty. His computer glowed and he realized that he had forgotten to shut it off before he had fallen asleep.
The sofa had caused a cramp on his neck and he massaged it as he stood up and went to shut off the computer. The living room was a mess, the table was littered with takeout boxes that he hadn’t bothered to throw out and the floor was covered with his clothes that he hadn’t washed. Truly the bachelor life.
The sight made him annoyed but Nick didn’t make any attempt to clean up. He put it off, as he always did because he never felt like it.
Though with my money, Nick thought. I could hire a maid.
It was tempting but Nick didn’t pursue it. He knew he loved his anonymity more than anything and a maid would be troublesome. He didn’t need any help. He was fine on his own.
As he thought that, a cry pierced the air and he tilted his head to the side. It was the neighbor’s kid again. A month or so ago, his neighbor to the right had a kid. He recalled the night she had been wheeled away to the hospital.
Nick had been lying awake, checking out maintenance issues when he heard the sirens. He had gone out and seen the woman being taken. He also remembered, vividly, the way his heart had jumped when her sapphire eyes had met his. He couldn’t recall her face; it had been dark but her eyes still made him lose his train of thought.
I
wonder what kind of impression I made on her.
Nick smiled at that. He ran his fingers through his long hair, he hadn’t gone to cut it and the bangs flopped back onto his eyes. Yes, he really should go for a haircut.
He waited, as he usually did, for the cry to disappear but there was no indication of it. The baby continued to cry and Nick started to feel uncomfortable. Where was her mother or father? Why weren’t they taking care of her? Nick didn’t like to hear the sounds of the baby crying and he found himself walking to the door. Maybe the parents had fallen asleep?
Highly unlikely. With that cry, they would have woken up in an instant. Nick was outside his apartment and he saw that it was near night. He turned to go back inside his apartment and with a start; he saw that his neighbour’s door was left ajar. He looked around, but seeing no-one familiar, he walked in, closing the door behind him. What was wrong with the mother? Why on earth did she leave the door open?
He felt weird trespassing but as he looked around the apartment, it was evident that the apartment was empty. She had gone out and left her baby alone. Strange.
The baby in question was lying on the couch, still crying. Nick took tentative steps towards the baby and was awed by the look on its face.
He hadn’t had interactions with babies but now he realized he should have. The baby was very cute, beautiful actually. She didn’t have the blue eyes that her mother did and he found himself leaning forward and picking her up. The baby stopped crying and looked at him with tear filled eyes. The sight endeared her to him and he hugged her, making her smile. The smile caught him off guard and Nick gave a smile back. The baby wasn’t so bad and since he had already taken the step, he should wait until the mother came back. To be sure, he shouldn’t have entered her apartment, but he couldn’t leave the baby crying inside. That went against his morals.
Nick sat down and rocked the baby. She continued to smile and he caressed her cheek. Had she eaten? It didn’t look like she was hungry and he didn’t want to run the risk of poisoning her. He wasn’t well versed on baby care but he sniffed the air, to make sure she hadn’t soiled her diapers. There wasn’t any smell indication so he figured it was alright.
He continued to play with her, picking up her rattle and rocking her in his arms. It was the first time in a while that Nick felt absolute peace. He didn’t worry about anything else as he had the baby in his arms.
“What’s your name, baby girl?” Nick asked.
The baby gurgled.
“That’s right, you can’t speak. Should I give you a name?”
The baby touched his beard.
“I’ll call you…” Nick mused and was about to announce a name when the doorbell rang. He hesitated, who would that be? He didn’t want to be caught by someone who was visiting the apartment but it could be the mother. He would have to face this sooner or later so he got up, the baby in his arms, to open the door. He shifted her weight from one arm to another and pulled the door open.
The woman on the other side was undoubtedly the mother. She had long wavy brown hair, those blue eyes that had mesmerized him and a tired look on her face. Somehow, she looked beautiful to him and had an air of dignity about her.
The woman’s eyes focused on him and her mouth dropped open.
“Who are you?” she demanded. “What are you doing with my baby?”
Nick recoiled from the accusations and moved aside.
“Let’s talk inside,” he said.
The woman gave him a suspicious look but walked in. She reached for her baby and Nick let her take the baby without any fuss. He did look longingly at the baby but knew that he would have to appease the mother first.
“Now, can you tell me what you are doing here?” the woman asked, sitting down on the couch.
Nick explained his story and the woman became indignant but not at him.
“I don’t believe this! That nanny is going to get an earful from me!” she exclaimed. “Thank you for taking care of Amelia.”
“You are welcome.”
The woman hugged the child closer to her chest and Nick smiled at the display of love. She really loved her baby.
“You are my neighbor, aren’t you?” “I am Camellia.”
“I am Nick.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I do apologize for the inconvenience,” Camellia said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Nick said, waving his hand. “What are you going to do about your nanny?”
“I’ll have to hire someone else,” Camellia shook her head in exasperation.
“I can do it,” Nick found himself saying.
Camellia looked at him in surprise and he continued.
“I am home most of the time and I can take care of her. I do like her,” Nick said.
“I don’t know…” Camellia said doubtfully.
“Trust me. I can do it,” Nick smiled.
Camellia’s face went through a range of different expressions but she settled on resigned.
“You are hired then,” Camellia said smiling.
Nick didn’t know why but he felt really happy when he heard the news. Somehow it felt like it was meant to happen and he knew he wouldn’t squander this chance.
Chapter Five
Camellia was having a tough day at work.
The contractor was being unreasonable and it had started raining sometime in the afternoon which she knew would greatly hurt her chances to get home early. She was desperate to go home as Amelia was waiting for her. Each day was hard on Camellia; she missed Amelia a lot and wanted to be home as soon as possible so that she could see her.
It had been two weeks since she hired Nick and she had to say that he was doing a good job of taking care of her baby. At first, she had been apprehensive. He was practically a stranger but Nick won her over. He was affectionate towards Amelia and knew how to make her laugh. The first day, she had come back home to see Nick dozing off with Amelia in his arms, sleeping peacefully. The sight had warmed her heart and she knew that Nick was the perfect person to take care of Amelia.
Camellia had been ready to refuse Nick that day but something about him made her agree. Seeing Nick face to face, she had felt tongue tied. His bangs had been swept aside and she saw his intense eyes. His appearance wasn’t very polished but there was something about him that made her trust him. Camellia was usually a good judge of character (minus that one mistake she had made with Jared) and so far, she felt that Nick was a good person. He made her laugh with his ridiculous stories and had cooked her dinner, with the excuse that he was learning to cook. It was a touching gesture after she had come back from a hard day’s work and she had enjoyed eating with him as he told her about his college days.
There was still one mystery remaining and that was Nick’s work. He didn’t talk about it and Camellia got the feeling that he was well off. He was scruffy but his manner showed that he had money but he didn’t seem to work. He, himself, had told her that he had free time so Camellia was a bit worried about what he meant by that. He refused to talk about it and Camellia was hesitant to ask him. She didn’t want it to seem as if she was prying but she couldn’t deny that she was curious. He had refused to let her pay him which had alerted her to the fact that he was not without money.
But what did that matter? Nick was a good guy and she didn’t want to lose him.
The contractor finally agreed to the changes she proposed and Camellia sighed, relieved that it was over. She hailed a cab and drove home, anxious to see her baby.
When she reached home, Nick was waiting for her but Amelia was sleeping. Camellia was disappointed.
“This isn’t fair,” she pouted.
Nick shrugged.
“Blame the baby.”
She went to see Amelia in the crib and smiled at her sleeping face. Amelia was forgiven and when she exited her bedroom, Nick was waiting for her at the dining table. He had set the table for her and indicated at her to sit.
“This is nice,” Camellia said. “You are spoiling me.”<
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“You deserve it,” Nick said.
“Thank you; I haven’t heard that in a long time,” Camellia admitted.
“Anyway, how was your day?”
“Hard,” Camellia said, taking a bite of her chicken salad. “The contractor wouldn’t listen.”
“It must be hard being an architect,” Nick said sympathetically.
“It is sometimes but most of the time, I enjoy it,”
“I can’t relate. I don’t do much work.”
Camellia didn’t betray any expression but she wondered if this was his way of telling her that he was unemployed but his next sentence disapproved it.
“I have other people to do it for me.”
“You do?” Camellia said shocked.
“You sound so taken aback,” Nick laughed.
“Sorry, I just…” she blushed.
“It’s fine. I don’t blame you,” Nick said, adding. “I don’t like talking about it.”
“Why don’t you?” Camellia asked.
“It’s not very conventional,” he took a deep breath. “I actually own a website.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I made it while I was in college and it took off so I don’t have to work a conventional job,” Nick explained.
“That’s…wow. I didn’t expect that.”
“I don’t think anyone did.”
“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be in a mansion?” Camellia joked.
“I like my privacy,” he answered.
His face was overwhelmed with a faraway look and Camellia found herself moving forward to pat his hand.
“Whatever it is, it’ll be fine,” she said.
“That’s nice of you to say,” Nick said.
“Trust me. I have been through troubling things,”
“You know, when I saw you, I thought that you were married,” Nick said.
“I think a lot of people thought that but I am single.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to the baby’s father?”
Camellia was quiet before she said, “He was cheating on me so I left him.”