Love Stitches

Shakshuka Lady

Hazel's POV

"Good morning Mommy" I hear Savannah's voice and wake up.

I open my eyes and see my six year old daughter smiling wide at me. She came upstairs all by herself at.. six in the morning? I never saw her wake up this early.

"Morning, sweetie. Do you need something?" I ask her.

"No Mommy. It is my first day of school. I don't want to be late" she says.

"Yeah. I remember" I whisper and get up from my bed.

Savannah excitedly runs to her room again. She is a good kid. She is not a picky eater. She doesn't throw tantrums to go to school. She is a fast learner. She gets good grades and she is also good at those kids games the elementary school conducts.

Savannah is a blessing, if I have to be honest. Because she is a good kid, I got through my depression stage too fast. When Adrian passed away and I realised I was pregnant, devastated is a little world.

I had no idea how I was supposed to take care of my baby when I am not even sure about myself. I struggled throughout my pregnancy. Adrian's parents were there but that was exactly how it was like. They were just there. My parents helped me here and there. I am thankful for that.

But Savannah wasn't a fussy kid. I am beyond grateful to God for that. By the time I decided to get out of my depression phase, Savannah smiled at me. The first smile of hers towards me.. I changed everything. My habits, my lifestyle, my priorities.. everything changed. And since then, Savannah is my priority.

I take a sneak peek into her bathroom and I see her brushing her teeth. I use that opportunity to brush my teeth upstairs real quick. I then help her shower and run to the kitchen.

I scramble some eggs and make some Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich. While Savannah is having her breakfast, I make a hot dog and also pack few fruits and a chocolate for her lunch.

"Is it hard mommy?" Savannah asks out of blue.

"What is?" I ask her as I take her empty plate before her.

"Nanny used to help you with the cooking at old house. You are doing everything on your own" she says again.

Sometimes, I forget that this girl is six. She talks like that. Maybe it is because she grew up with a mother who has nothing but depression.

"I am fine, sweetie. It is not that hard because I get to see this pretty little smile" I say and tickle her.

She laughs and I smile at her. But that is true. Her smile makes all the hard work worth it. Savannah gets ready for the school and I change my outfit.

We both sit in my car and we cross check if she has everything for the day. I walk her to the school. I am the one crying but she is laughing. I guess the roles are reversed with us.

"I will come back in few hours mommy. You don't have to cry" Savannah smiles as she tells me that.

"I am not crying. It is just some dust" I say.

"You are the best, Mommy. My superhero" she says and I just want to cry again.

I place a kiss on forehead and wave her bye until I cannot see her anymore. I sit in my car and cry a little more again. I wish Adrian was with me right now.

I don't know why I am so emotional today, but I am. Maybe because I am now staying alone with no one else to help. And my daughter has been a real blessing in this case.

I drive back home and just sit on the couch with a cup of coffee. In two hours, I should go meet the manager of the clothing line, Modish. I applied for a fashion adviser job for that line and after several virtual rounds, I got selected.

Today I just got to go there and see how it is like because my work starts from tomorrow. I have heard so much about my boss. Mr. Elliot Montgomery established this when he was just twenty three but in just eight years, the business boomed. Now it is one of the luxurious brand as the people like to call it.

I take a long shower and, hey! Just a random fun fact.. do you know it is believed that people who take long showers are usually lonely deep inside? I mean, I don't know.. but I guess it's true sometimes.

I decide to throw a white shirt and black skirt. Give it a classy look and then I am out of here.

I enter the office address to the GPS and follow the directions till I reach a gigantic building that screams hitec! Sometimes, I cannot believe luck. Because luck is not my best friend. But now.. I don't know if she wants to be my friend.

I walk in and I talk to the receptionist about my new job and show her the appointment letter that I recieved. She asks me to go to the fourth floor with a fake smile but I still smile at her before leaving.

I wait for the elevator to come and it takes five minutes. When it arrives, I walk in and press for the fourth floor. I am the only one in the elevator today, luckily.

Once I reach the fourth floor, I walk with confidence because I need to show off the point that I wrote on my resumé. I can work under pressure. Well, I don't even know half that but I guess faking some confidence can do just fine for now.

I guess the receptionist informed the floor manager of my arrival because she is already smiling as she welcomes me.

"Welcome on board, Miss Torres. Modish is more than happy to have you. I really appreciate you deciding to start your work a day ahead" she says and I don't try to change the last sentence.

"Thank you" I smile at her.

"Your schedule. And the boss is in his cabin. Your cubicle is right outside his. Whenever he asks the progress about a new launch from our group, you are to help him explain about how far we've come with it. Your salary and incentives are already spoken of. So is there anything else I can help you with?" She asks.

Wow she talks nice. I wonder how many days she must have practiced this. I would stutter every single word if I were to talk to someone for the first time like this.

"That will be it. Thanks. Also, call me Hazel" I tell her.

"Hello Hazel. I am Jennifer. And I am the floor manager here" she smiles giving her hand for a shake.

"Oh! Let us get into our own works. Boss seems to be in a grumpy mood today" Jennifer says and I nod.

"I'll lead you the way for today" she smiles and I just follow her.

I take a minute to look at everything here. This whole floor itself is huge and I wonder how big this building actually is! Now I have mad respect for the CEO of this. He created an empire.

I sit in my cubicle and it is almost the size of a cabin. The only difference is this doesn't have that private partition. But still a little private enough. I appreciate this though.

I take a look at the papers before me. They have the fashion structure of the new trend Modish is launching and I study that carefully. Now I see why they fired the old fashion adviser. Half of these ideas seem bullshit to me.

Halfway through my study, I see a blonde walk as if she owns the building. Her pointy heels make a little loud noise than they should. Her outfit is not at all decent. But again, who am I to judge. We all do that isn't it, who are we to judge and still keep judging. It's okay as long as you don't throw your judgement on their faces.

"For the nth time, you are late Ruby! Mr. Montgomery is going to be harsh" Jennifer says but the girl who I came to know as Ruby, just smirks.

"He won't" she winks and then walks inside.

Jennifer huffs and I see she doesn't like Ruby at all.! I walk to Jennifer and give her a smile. She just smiles back at me.

"Is she Boss's relative?" I ask Jennifer.

"The heck she is! She is her personal assistant. But the whole office knows he f***s her everyday and that is the only reason she isn't fired yet" Jennifer says.

Ow! I guess my respect for my boss dropped a little with this newfound information.

"Anyways, I am here because I don't think few of these trends should launch. They are outdated" I tell Jennifer.

"Oh! You can tell that to Mr. Montgomery himself. Only he has the capacity to stop an already approved trend" she says and I nod.

I exhale audibly and walk inside to see Ruby on the man's lap. I don't see his face but I know he must be the boss. The chair on which he is sitting says a lot. Ruby's topless back is facing me and that is how I know I just barged in while they are doing something.

"I am so sorry. I will come again later" I say.

I turn around but the boss's voice makes me stop dead on my tracks.

"Hey! The Shakshuka lady"