3. The loving mother
1313 Words
The moment she entered the house, two colorful blurs attacked her, tackling her to the ground. The twins.
Her twins.
She laughed and kissed their little heads as they started tickling her sides without mercy. They kept doing it giggling, until she could barely catch her breath, but she could not find it in her heart to tell them to stop.
“Let your mom breathe, you brats!” a female voice scolded the children from a distance.
The little creatures ceased immediately their sweet torture and hugged Pandora tightly. That really didn’t help her breathing, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Why were you so late mommy?” Lex asked nuzzling her neck.
“The interview took longer than I thought, baby” she explained, rubbing her son’s back.
“Oh. Did you take the job?” her boy asked again and she smiled down at him.
“Of course, she did, you silly!” Zoey said before she could speak a word. “Her heart does that happy dance again”
“Really? Let me hear!”
“No. I got the spot first”
“Come on” Lex whined.
“No” Zoey replied stubbornly. “Come first next time”
“Zoey…” Pandora said in a warning tone.
“But ma, it’s true. I got here first” her little girl complained.
“Yes, you did. But we have talked about sharing, haven’t we, darling?”
Zoey nodded and switched places with her brother without saying a word. She hugged her mother from her other side and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Pandora could feel her heart melting like it did every time she was with her children. She smiled fondly when she heard Lex gasp as he listened to her heartbeat.
Her twins were almost identical. They looked mostly like her, but they had their dad's dazzling blue eyes, instead of her dark grey ones. Their characters were slightly different though. Zoey was more serious and a tad more competitive, but she was also very kind hearted and caring. Lex was goofier and cuddlier. One thing was for sure; they were both equally adorable.
“It was time for your floor to get cleaned” came the same female voice from before teasing.
Only now it sounded much closer. Pandora looked up to see her younger sister looking down at her smirking.
“Hi, sis!” Pandora waved at her from the floor.
“Are you planning to get up from the floor anytime soon or are you gonna keep rolling around with your offspring?” her sister mocked.
“I think I am gonna keep rolling around with my offspring as you put it. Feels quite nice, Andrea. You should try it some time”
“Right” Andrea scoffed. “I really don’t know why you are the eldest”
“Because I was born first?” she suggested.
“Smartass”
“Auntie said a bad word. Auntie said a bad word” the twins bolted up and started chanting, dancing around their aunt.
Andrea rolled her eyes.
“Zip it, you brats” she shouted and the children ran off giggling. “I don’t know how you put up with them”
“I love them and you love them too, so stop playing the b***h and help me up”
“Fatass” Andrea snickered.
“Yours is bigger than mine, Andy” Pandora shot back as she took her sister’s hand and got up from the floor.
“Damn my big heart, Dora, I should push you back down” the other muttered and Pandora cringed at the ugly nickname.
“Don’t call me that, you know I hate it” she murmured as she sat on the sofa and took off her shoes.
Andrea plopped right beside her and bumped her shoulder gently.
“Are you hungry?”
“Starved. Won’t you ask me about the interview?”
“I am sure you bewitched them into giving you the job” Andrea said batting her eyelashes.
“Yeah, but don’t you want to know the details?” she tempted.
“Interview stories bore me to death" Andrea deadpanned.
“You will like this one" Pandora insisted.
“Alright” Andrea rolled her eyes. “Shoot"
And Pandora did exactly that. She told her sister everything, every small detail she could remember, and Andrea was left speechless.
“Let me get this straight” she said trying to recover from her shock. “You were hired by the incarnation of Miss Havisham, without being asked about your recommendations, to be her grandson's housemaid"
“Yes, that's correct” Pandora nodded.
“And in order not to get your ass fired you must make sure he doesn't get a glimpse of you nor fail even one small task of the ones he will give you” she summed up.
“Aha" Pandora nodded.
“Good luck with that" Andrea said dryly. “Did you mention that you are the most clumsy and forgetful person on earth?”
“It totally slipped my mind” she stated with fake innocence.
“Of course, it did. When do you start?”
“Monday"
“Okay. What was the grandson's name again?”
“Evan Emmerson. Why?”
“I want to Google him. The name sounds kind of familiar”
As Andrea focused on her phone, Pandora got up from the couch and padded barefoot towards the kitchen. He shoes had come off while she played with the kids and she didn’t bother with putting them back on.
“What did you cook?” she shouted.
“Why do you always have to do that?” Andrea shouted back irritated. “You are already in the bloody kitchen, so see for yourself!”
Pandora laughed and served herself a full plate of heavenly smelling carbonara. She put the plate on a tray along with a glass of water and marched back to the living room resuming her previous position.
“What are you gaping at?” she asked amused before she ate the first forkful of pasta.
“Huh?” Andrea replied a bit disorientated.
Pandora would laugh if she was not running the risk to choke on her food. So, she swallowed carefully before she asked again.
“I asked what you are gaping at"
“Your new boss. Do you have any idea for whom you are going to work?”
“Yes, his name as stated previously is Evan Emmerson and he is going to try his best to get me fired before I even have the time to blink"
“Yeah, but he is gorgeous sis. Take a look at him" Andrea said and tried to pass her her phone.
Pandora pushed the device away from her shaking her head solemnly.
“Andy, don't. If the man does not want to see my face, I don't care to see his. I am not interested in his looks or in how famous he is. I need this job. I need the money it pays. I cannot afford to screw this up"
Andrea withdrew her hand with a defeated sigh.
“You have a degree in business, Pandora. You should be able to land a job an any decent, high paying company"
“Which would guarantee a meeting with their dad at some point. No"
“Why the hell not? It's been almost six years. Don't you think it's time for him to take responsibility of his actions?”
“Are you kidding me?” Pandora shouted exasperated. “What makes you think that the same man who told me I should have figured out he was married and gave me money for an abortion will ever take responsibility of the s**t he pulls?”
- Writer
