A BABY FOR THE CEO

CHAPTER 5

EMMA

I need to be strong at this moment and try not to panic anymore as I hold my son on my lap, who won't stop crying.

I continue to sing a children's song while my best friend continues to help me organize Benjamin's bag.

It is late, and I don't know if there are still buses available at this time, which makes me even more desperate. I keep wishing that this is all just a bad dream, but it is very real, and it is getting worse.

“Calm down, my love, mommy is here...”, I keep singing while I put warmer clothes on my son and quickly leave the house together with my friend.

I feel the cold wind blowing against my face as I walk through the door of our house, and I turn around when Coral calls out to me and extends her hand in my direction.

“This is part of the small amount that I was saving for some emergency; take this and take him to the hospital, Emma.”, she says, putting some money in my hand, and I start to refuse, shaking my head without stopping.

“I can't accept it, Coral...”

“Of course, you can and should; this is an urgent situation, and our Benjamin needs to be fine. I'll order an Uber for you.”, she says, starting to type on her cell phone, while I keep looking at the money in my hand.

I love my friend, and she does everything to make sure that the three of us get well every day. It is a sufficient amount of money to be able to take Benjamin to the hospital without the need for a bus at this time of the cold night.

But this money will not be enough to buy the medicines that the doctors will surely recommend for my son's condition. I hug him and hold him tightly against my body while we wait for the car to come and pick us up.

He continues to cry, and I touch his little face, noticing that the fever is still there. I keep rocking him as the car drives by, and I thank my friend one more time before we leave for the hospital.

Being a mother has been the best thing that has happened to me because I have had the opportunity to know and hold Benjamin in my arms, but it is also the most challenging thing that is happening in my life. Being a mother means worrying all the time about your children and their well-being. Being human, we can even stop taking care of ourselves, but we never stop caring about others.

I kiss my son, looking out the window at the city as the car takes us on our way. I don't want to think about it, but being in this situation makes me think that Alex is at his mansion with his family smiling happily at this very moment, while we are here with only the money for the Uber.

“I am sorry, Ben...”, I whisper to the baby, who is calmer at this moment and keeps looking at the car window.

I don't know how much time has passed, but I quickly get out of the car, carrying Benjamin on my lap, as I begin to give him his information at the front desk of the hospital emergency room.

Being here at this time with my son reminds me of the exact moment I was in labor and when I saw Alex.

I walk to the emergency area after filling out my son's information at the reception desk, and when I arrive, I see a lot of people, and I pray to God that this won't take too long.

It has been almost an hour since I have been sitting with Benjamin on my lap, he has finally fallen asleep again and stopped crying, but unfortunately, he is still sick.

And it was as I expected when the doctor called us; he wrote down several types of medicine that would help my son get better, but I won't be able to buy them with the little money Coral helped me get an Uber here.

I walk, feeling sick, out of the hospital, noticing that it is colder than before. I hold my son against my lap, wrapping his body as much as possible, as I walk to the nearest supermarket.

The little money is enough to be able to pay for another Uber to get home; there will only be a few coins left, and they won't be enough to buy the medicines, so I make my way to the fruit and vegetable aisle.

I take some vegetables and a few fruits, asking God that these coins will be enough to pay for this. I won't be able to buy the medicines, so I will make something warm for Benjamin to try to eat, like vegetable soup, and I ask God if this will help him.

Luckily, I manage to buy the things and grab my cell phone to order another Uber, and I see that this time the price has increased because of the late hour. I sigh at being forced to ask them to drop us off before our house.

It is very cold, but I try not to think about it as I walk home with my son. He is still sleeping on my lap like a beautiful little angel, and looking at him makes me think of Alex.

They are so much alike, and it is impossible to look at the baby and not think of that man. While holding my sick son, I think of that crazy night with Alex.

Another person would be very sorry for having accepted to have a child in these conditions that I find myself in, but I feel no regrets; I would do it all over again just to have Benjamin in my life.

All my problems seem to disappear completely when I look at my son, and always a smile grows on my lips, but this time I can't smile because I feel bad that I don't have the necessary conditions to take better care of my son.

Someone else would look for his father, but I can't do that. I can't come into his life after all this time and say that I have his child.

This is just a bad phase, and it will pass quickly. I just need to get on with our lives, and everything will get better soon. I need to believe that.

“Is he better?”, Coral asks, sitting worriedly in her chair, as we walk through the door to our house.

“The fever seems to have broken a bit, but I have no way to buy his medicine.”, I murmur, handing Benjamin over to her to take the prescription paper from inside my purse and show it to Coral, who reads everything carefully.

I sit down in the chair next to her, placing my hands against my face and thinking about what I am going to do.

“I could borrow money and pay it back later...”, I say, looking at my friend, who is holding my baby.

“That is too dangerous, my friend and the interest is always too high and becomes impossible to pay back.”

I nod my head in agreement with her, but I could do it, but I can't because something bad can happen to me if I can't pay the full amount, and I don't want Benjamin to be without a mother too; he already doesn't have a father; he doesn't need to lose me too.

“I don't know what I'm going to do, Coral.”, I say, sighing and looking at the boy who starts to move around on my friend's lap.

“You know what to do; you just don't want to accept it, Emma. You know that job is a great option for you."

“I know I need this job for Ben's well-being, but it will be hard to be in the same house as the father of my son; it will be hard to watch him with his perfect family while I am here desperate to buy some medicine.”

“You are right, this won't be easy, but do it thinking about this beautiful baby; you are his mother, and I know you can do it, Emma.”, Coral says, holding my hand as a sign of support.

“Maybe you can ask for a little money in advance tomorrow to buy the medicines.”

“But what about Benjamin? I can't leave him like this.”. I say, pointing at my son.

“I will take very good care of him, I promise!”, she says with a smile, and I do the same.

“Okay, I'll make some hot vegetable soup to see if he feels better.”

I stand up and walk to the small kitchen and start to cut the vegetables and prepare the soup for Benjamin, all the while thinking about my decision. I have a great chance to start a job where I will get a very good salary, but I will be working for none other than the father of my son.

But this is the only chance I have now, and I have to accept it. It will hurt like it did when I stood in front of him after so long, but I have to do this for my son.

He doesn't remember me, and that hurts me, but I have to use this to my advantage and behave as if I have never seen him in front of me before.

He has a beautiful family with beautiful children and a beautiful wife. I try not to think about that while stirring the pot with a spoon. I will do this for my son.

All for you, Benjamin.

After preparing the hot soup, I go back to the room, where I see my son awake and smiling at Coral. I approach him and smile as I observe the scene.

I touch his little face, noticing that little by little the fever is going away. Furthermore, I close my eyes and thank God that this is happening right now. I take the plate with the soup and, little by little, start feeding Benjamin, who seems a little better.

The hours go by, and I stay up with my son while Coral goes to sleep. I lie in bed with Benjamin awake beside me, before I start talking to the baby, as if he is going to answer me at any moment.

"Tomorrow, Mommy needs you to behave and be well because I need to start at my new job..."

“Mommy will miss you a lot, but she needs money to take care of you. Will you be good for Mommy?”, I ask, watching him touch the strands of my hair.

“I wish everything was different, but we can't change that now, but I promise everything will be better for us.”

I continue talking until Benjamin falls asleep again without waking up crying this time, and I slowly give in to the tiredness I feel inside me.

I wake up with my cell phone alarm and look at the crib, not finding my son, but I smile when I hear his laughter coming from the other part of the room. I sit up in bed quickly, starting to get organized to start my first day of babysitting two children.

Furthermore, I take advantage of the fact that Coral is bottle-feeding Ben while I go straight to the bathroom for a hot shower. It seems that God is helping me today. Before going into the bathroom, I check his temperature and see that he is normal and without fever. He still has some flu symptoms, but I believe they will pass if I buy the medicine today.

I put on the best clothes I have on before putting on my jacket because it is very cold this morning. I head to the kitchen, where I drink a cup of coffee and eat an apple before I start to make some milk to leave with Coral in case Benjamin gets hungry during the day.

Furthermore, I take my son in my lap and hug him, saying that I will miss him, but he will be in good hands here, and I need to go to work.

“Take good care of him, Coral. I will be on my cell phone the whole time, so don't hesitate to text or call me, okay?”, I kiss my friend's cheek and do the same with Benjamin before handing him to her.

“Have a great day at your new job, Emma!”

“Thank you!”

I nod to them both before grabbing my purse and starting to leave the house, but I stop walking when I see a black car stopped in front of our house.

I watch as a man in social clothing gets out of the car and nods his head in my direction.

“Miss Cooper?”, he asks, and I nod quickly.

“I am Xavier, the responsible driver who will take you to work.”, he says, opening the door, and I look at him with a small smile.

“Thank you, Xavier, but I had warned you that you don't need a ride.”, I say shyly, knowing that I have no money to take the subway to work.

“It is a very long way, and you might be late, so please, this is my job, Miss Cooper.”, he says with a smile, and I realize that he must be in his forties.