I'm Not Your Mommy

Chapter 10

Calista

After deciding to give her a chance that I didn’t get that often when I was in her shoes, I gave her a pointed look to start explaining. She fumbled at first, of course, but got to talking.

 “First of all, I’m sorry for being such a klutz. I’m not usually like this but my embarrassment against you has been piling up since a day ago and it just keeps adding up.” She said and I managed to catch what she was implying, so I looked at her confused.

“What did you mean by that?” I asked and she cleared her throat to collect herself and looked me in the eyes.

“The reason why I even tapped you on the shoulder was because of what happened the other day at the park. I just wanted to express my gratitude and say sorry but I ended up embarrassing myself more, so here we are.” She explained and sighed and I just looked at her in question.

“I’m really sorry for doubting and accusing you that day. I was just scared for Caspian and I panicked and you see how I got when I panicked and I wanted to say thank you. It was a blessing that you were the one that found Caspian because I didn’t know what I would’ve done if it was someone else who wanted to do harm to him.” She explained lowly at first but the longer she talked, the louder she got and by the time she ended, she was talking regularly having gaining confidence already.

I was so focused on being happy as she gained her confidence that her words didn’t sink in until a minute later and my mind immediately replayed everything that happened that day, but instead of feeling pained at the memories, I was pleasantly surprised when that didn’t happen. Maybe it was the fact that I knew someone out there did care for that boy like I couldn’t before, or maybe it was because my brain told me that now, this encounter would finally be closed, if that was even possible.

Despite my thoughts jumbling inside my head, I gave her one of my small but genuine smile that took her aback.

“As I have said, it was fine. I’m sure if I was in your position I would’ve thought the same. I’m just glad that at least you were worried about him. That means you do care for him and I can’t fault you for that.” I said, gently, and she looked shocked but smiled.

“Thank you so much, that means so much. I was actually beating myself up over what happened and I almost lost my job, but thankfully, his dad gave me a chance to redeem myself.” She rambled on and I looked at her in wonder when she said the last bit. What job did she mean?

“Job?” I blurted suddenly and she seemed to perk up and talked about that instead.

“Yeah, my friend actually got me this job and I have been taking care of Caspian for a little over two weeks now. I wouldn’t say it’s a nanny job because I don’t stay with him 24/7, but that’s basically it. I was so scared when I had to tell his father about it but he was just thankful that nothing bad happened to his son and told me gently that it was okay. I do only have the job till summer ends though but I’m just glad he didn’t get that angry, which was perfectly reasonable, of course.”

“Wait, hold up, you’re going too fast.” I interrupted, and she stopped entirely and looked apologetic again.

“I’m sorry, I’m probably still jumpy from earlier, but anyway, yeah, I was only hired to look after him but I cared about him of course.” She said and I nodded, a little dizzy from all her talking, but she still wasn’t done.

“Oh right, his father was asking me about you as well and wanted to know who you were, but I didn’t know your name so I couldn’t tell him anything. So umm, can I at least have your name?” she asked and gasped. “Oh gosh, I didn’t even introduce myself, gosh that’s rude. Right I’m Eri.” She offered her hand but I just looked at it. Should I even give her my name? It was a basic curtsy, of course, but I don’t think I wanted to tell her mine, so I didn’t.

“That’s great then, but I’m sorry, I would prefer I didn’t tell you my name. It’s nothing against you, I’m just comfortable if I don’t and really, there’s no need for him to thank me. I was just doing what was right. So umm, this was a nice conversation but I have to go somewhere.” I diverted the topic suddenly and her mouth formed a little, oh, disappointed at first but quickly reddened again.

“Ahh of course, of course. I didn’t mean to keep you for long. I just wanted to thank you and say sorry for being an embarrassment and now that I’ve said that, I guess you can go now?” she said, fidgeting in her seat, but I couldn’t care less at the moment as I hastily nodded and collected my things and said goodbye as gently as I could manage and went out of the café and almost ran back to my car.

As soon as I reached my car, I immediately gripped the wheels and breathed in and out to calm myself. It took me a minute or so to calm down and I don’t know why I panicked when she asked for my name. I’m sure she wasn’t being malicious or anything, but I couldn’t help but panic. Somehow a part of me feels that if I told her my name, it would only give more reason for the universe to let that boy and I meet and I was perfectly fine with our encounter just becoming another one of my memories.

I took one last calming breath and started my car. I need to take my mind off things again.

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I ended up going through the rest of my to-do list absentmindedly and right now I was on my last task, which was to buy plants. Currently, I arrived at the shop that Mimi told me would be a great place to start and as I parked my car in the space near the shop, I was already feeling a tiny bit happy and light.

The store itself was small but it still looked pretty. Mimi said most of the plants they sold were mostly flowers but they have house plants as well. As soon as I entered, I was greeted by a pretty chill and calm feeling, which was a surprise but nonetheless welcomed. Maybe taking care of a plant isn’t so bad after all.

“Good day Ma’am! Are you looking for anything in particular?” a girl, who I think is still in her teens greeted me as soon as she saw me roaming around. I smiled a little, she kind of reminded me of me back then, though less jolly.

“Ah actually, a friend told me it would be nice for me to take care of a plant. Do you have any recommendations? I’ve never actually taken care of one before and I want something easy to take care of.” I said and she nodded vigorously in understanding and gave me her customer friendly smile.

“Of course I could help you! I’m glad your friends recommended you to take care of plants. There are a lot of plants that are easy to take care of and it’s a nice hobby to have. Hold on a minute, I’m going to try and find you something suitable for you! Do you have any specific conditions? Like are you always busy?” she continued asking as she went from one pot to another so that it was almost hard to follow her.

“Umm…depends on what I’m working on, I’m pretty busy but I’m home most of the time.” I said and she hummed as she continued searching for something.

“So you’re a beginner who wants to take care of plants but has an irregular schedule, am I right?” she pointed out and I just smiled in confirmation.

“Ah, I have the perfect plant for you! Wait here just a moment please.” She beamed and excused herself before scurrying off to get something. I followed her, amused at her giddiness. She must really love this job.

Not a minute later, she came back holding a small pot and I can vaguely recognize the plant sitting on top of the dirt.

“Here you are. Cacti are great plants to take care of when you’re just starting. They don’t require that much to take care of, so I think it’s the best one for you. You could come back later if you’re confident to take care of it more, but I suggest you start with this little one.” She informed and presented the small cactus in the pot. I eyed it and back to her, who was still smiling brightly, and nodded.

“Sure umm, where can I pay for it?”

“My boss says you can have it for free! It’s always a joy for her to see people try taking care of plants.” She says as she began putting the tiny cactus to a small box so it was easy to carry. I panicked, however and offered to pay but the girl just laughed.

“It’s okay, you could just come back and pick another plant someday. For now, you can take care of this little one right here.” She air patted the plant and giggled. I was still a little uncertain but agreed and told her I would definitely come back for more. She just smiled wide and waved at me goodbye and told me to take care. That girl sure was jolly.

As I put the tiny cactus on my windowsill, I couldn’t help but smile. Maybe this is the start of something new.