LUNA'S BAGGAGE

Chapter 1

SECRETARY NEEDED, MUST BE RESPONSIBLE. SALARY TO BE NEGOTIATED UPON HIRE. The newspaper ad flew right into my face when I had taken my babies for an afternoon stroll. I wasn't looking for a job or anything, but it felt like the universe was looking out for me.

Luca had been seeing someone else for a while now, the lipstick stains on his shirt and the smell of cheap perfume that he always carried with him back to our house after his 'business trips' were enough to tell me what I needed to know.

He always said business wasn't good, which had landed me in my current predicament, but somehow he always had the time and funds to go for his so called business trips. At first he had said it was to meet up with people in the same line of business, but after a while he stopped coming up with excuses.

I had made the call from a pay phone outside a random café on a whim, like I said before, I knew Luca had changed and wanted us gone. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was already preparing a way out for us.

It had already been 2 hours into our 5 hour train commute to Thompson Springs, my new boss had offered to pay for my ticket and I had been forced to explain that I had 3 toddlers with me. Part of me had been scared to tell him the truth. Back in my town, after news of my infidelity had spread, no one wanted to hire me anymore. At first, I wasn't sure why no one wanted to give me a job, not even a dishwashing gig. That was until I had come across women talking about how I had cheated on Luca and that was why our children did not look like him.

The source of the rumor I had later found out to be Luca himself. He had needed an excuse for his cheating and I had been made his scapegoat. The cherry on top of the cake? I had cheated on him with a married man and that he had abandoned me when I got pregnant.

Luca had single-handedly ruined my reputation.

My parent's gut feeling had been right about him all long but I had been too in love and rebellious to care. My life would have been so different had I listened to them, but it was already too late for me to have regrets.

When I thought my fellow women would be my biggest support, they all turned their backs on me. After all, who would want a promiscuous employee, right? Who knows, maybe the next man I would pounce on would be their significant other? Looking back, I don't think I would have stayed in town anyway. There was nothing left for me there anyway.

I was an outcast, a social pariah. My very own existence was subject to ridicule.

Because of the selfishness of one man, my life had been completely destroyed, I had put my life at risk, putting everything on hold, practically sold my own body to be bred just to end up discarded on the streets like a piece of trash. Blame it on my foolishness and eagerness to please a man.

I know you are wondering why I did not try to get the house back from him, since it was technically mine. The truth is, I was scared of the truth coming out. I was also embarrassed, I wasn't ready for society to see me as that girl. So I picked the easy way out, a fresh start, somewhere no one knew me. Maybe I could tell them I was a widow. I would take pity stares over judgmental looks any day.

The heavens had smiled on me though, right when everything was falling apart I suddenly had someone to lean on. I didn't know who my new boss was going to be, but to me and my children he was our savior, our guardian angel. In fact, at that moment, I had sworn to make sure my children knew about him, they had to learn about the one man that had unknowingly saved us from the jaws of starvation and homelessness.

I may have lied a little bit over the phone call about my qualifications, but had come out clean when he had not hung up on me. After I had explained my situation to him, the man had volunteered to pay for my kids and even agreed to change the secretary's living quarters for one that was more child friendly.

"I did not go to clerical school," I blurted out in guilt when he was in the middle of explaining childcare arrangements.

Lord, why didn't I get such a good man? The concern was so overwhelming I teared up. He had gone ahead and suggested qualified nanny facilities in the area while I had not even gotten there yet and he was already planning ahead for me.

"Please give me a chance, I swear I can learn on the job!" yeah, I was that desperate. The silence had been too loud and I thought he was going to change his mind, but his answer had me sighing with relief.

"Fine, no one else applied for the position anyway. We could give you a one month trial with pay. If it works out, we shall keep you. If not, a new batch of advertisements will be rolled out." That was more than I could have hoped for. I was actually going to ask for two weeks of probation without pay, but because he had already come up with a solution, I was not going to kick Buddha in the mouth.

Somewhere in the middle of our conversations, it had gone from just an interview to me actually getting the job. I couldn't tell when that had happened but I was more than grateful for the opportunity.

"Thank you! Thank you! I will not let you down. I promise." and that was a promise I was going to keep no matter what.

Before I knew it, the train was coming to a stop at the railway station. I had gotten so lost in my thoughts I could barely remember the last 3 hours of the journey. Looking outside my windows, I realized that I was no longer in the bustling concrete jungle, instead, both sides of the train tracks had thick trees. There was a slight chill in the air and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck rising.

Maybe it was the fear of something new, but I had butterflies in my stomach and little beads of sweat covering my forehead, my palms were . Gathering my 3 sleepy babies into my arms, I walked out of our assigned compartment pushing our suitcase with my feet. Don't even ask me how I managed to do all that by myself. Three years of practice had gotten me here.

Could carrying three children at once be a skill written in a CV?

It did not take long for me to realize that I was the passenger that had gotten off at Thompson Springs Railway Station. In fact, my babies and I were the only passengers left on the train.

Outside, there was a man standing by himself, either he really liked the railway station or was waiting for someone. Judging by keen observation of the train. It didn't take long for me to conclude that he was waiting for us, we had been the only ones to get off the train after all.

The train pulled away right after I had gotten all of my things out. If it wasn't for how clean the railway station was, I would have concluded that it was an abandoned one. There was practically nothing in the station except for the man before me. There were no signs of life, just endless tracks and thick trees.

"You must be Alison, I am Eugene. We spoke on the phone". He introduced himself, immediately the station had gotten quiet. For such a forested area, the place was eerily quiet, there weren't even birds chirping but I didn't pay attention to any of that! Right in front of me was my savior! My guardian angel!

A big smile immediately broke out of my face, "Nice to meet you Eugene, thank you for this opportunity."

I couldn't keep the excitement out of my voice. "So where is your office? When can I report to work?" obviously I had to show him how enthusiastic of an employee I was. I had to leave a good first impression!

"Oh no, I live in the next city. I only run a recruitment agency and I was only hired to look for a secretary by a client." that one statement made me feel like the air punched right out of my gut. Did he have the capacity to promise me all the things he had? Would my actual boss be a good person?

I had been so excited about working for my guardian angel only to be handed over to someone I hadn't even spoken to.

"Everything we had talked about will still hold, besides Asher is not a bad man, just a little strict but overall a good person," I am guessing my disappointment was clearly displayed on my face as he hurriedly explained himself.

"It's OK," even though I was sad at least I still had a job, a place to stay and a nanny for the kids, I couldn't bare to ask for more.

Eugene only handed me the address and keys to my new house before calling me a taxi saying he had to rush somewhere else. Talk about looking like an abandoned puppy. It was a good thing my babies were well behaved, otherwise we would have painted a sad picture. They were now awake and sitting quietly on top of our luggage observing their surroundings.

Something about this place was weird, I just could not put my finger on it.