His Diamond

Bella She struggled to look through her bag for the keys. It was a dark night, and she didn't want to be out in the open any longer if she could help it.  “Finally,” she let out an exaggerated sigh as she pulled her keys out of her handbag. As soon as the door was open, she went straight for the nearest chair and flopped down on it. A few minutes later, she was alerted when she heard a jingling sound at the door. “Who’s there?” she shouted, cautiously heading for the baseball bat that hung in the hallway. “It's just me Bella,” her mother shouted as she pushed the door open. “MOM! You scared me”  “I should be the one scared because there’s not a single light on in this house. What are you doing sitting in the darkness?” her mom quickly questioned. “I arrived just a few minutes before you, I was just.... catching my breath” Bella replied while switching on the lights and grabbing her bag.  “Am off to shower, then I am going straight to bed,” she said, walking to her room.  “Aren't you hungry?” her mom called back.  “No Mom, I am good thanks. Goodnight” “Goodnight baby” Lying on her bed later that night, Bella followed her mom’s activities as she heard her moving around in the house. Their two-bed roomed home sat on a small portion of land her dad had the foresight to buy when Bella was 2 years old. They started living here shortly after her father passed on 10 years ago. The house was barely finished when they moved it. It still isn’t. If you think about it, it was just a skeleton of a house. The brick walls stood unfinished and if you looked carefully, you would notice numerous tiny holes lining the different walls in the house. There was a gap that lay between the roof and the walls of the house, and it wasn't uncommon for stray cats to wander through this gap into the house. The house was liveable at least. Bella thought to herself before she remembered last winter.  Air conditioning was a luxury they couldn't afford. It got so cold that Bella and her mom cuddled together on the living room couch with all the blankets in the house to try and keep warm. When the tips of their fingers started turning blue, Bella had the brilliant idea of using leftover coal from a barbecue they had months back to light a small fire in a rusted metal container and bring it to the living room to help keep them warm. They almost died of carbon monoxide poisoning that night. She shivered at this memory and quickly brushed off that sordid memory.     Her mom was now in the kitchen. She's making tea, Bella guessed. Bella soon dozed off but was startled from her sleep as she heard her mom switch off everything, lock the door and move to her bedroom.  This had been their routine the last couple of months since Bella’s graduation. She had high hopes of landing a job and finally being able to help her mother in more tangible ways. That dream went down the drain when she hit the shitty job market and found out her diploma gave her no advantage. She sent her resume to countless agencies and companies, but nothing came forth. Eventually, she decided to take a volunteer position at a community center close by. The job paid nothing, but it gave her something to do as she continued job hunting. Plus, she loved taking care of the kids at the center. Many of them were abandoned and abused and seeing them smile despite all they went through always lifted Bella’s spirits. It gave her hope.  But every night, when the day wound down, and she lay on her bed engulfed in darkness, she felt guilty that she couldn’t help her mom as she should. Her phone pinged, and Bella contemplated checking it. She stretched and turned lazily, reaching for it. Her phone’s screen was cracked because of numerous falls over the years. Amazingly though, the phone still worked. She unlocked her phone and squinted to read the message.  Woman, tomorrow, our spot, 3 pm.  Bella took a minute to ponder her reply…. Got it. See you then. Don't be late.  She’s got nothing to lose, right?  Colin “Are the contracts ready for tomorrow?” “Yes sir, I’ve left them on your desk. Here are copies in case you want to look them over tonight.” “Thank you, Grace, and I apologize for keeping you this late on your last day,” Colin said, finally looking up from his phone. “It's no trouble sir, but I am still not comfortable leaving you without an assistant. I could stay longer if you need more time to find one.”  “Don’t worry about it, I think we have established that finding your replacement is going to be a long, gruesome process that will take a while. Plus, if I remember correctly, you and Joe are leaving for your cruise in two days….” he finished with a smile. “Yes, we are, I can't thank you enough for that, sir,” she replied, smiling. Colin waved her off. “You have been invaluable to me all these years, that is the least I could do”. Standing up from his desk, he walked up to her, and for the first time since they met, he hugged her. Startled, Grace stood stiff for a moment before returning the hug.  “Take care of yourself,” he said, ending the hug and heading to his office.  From the years she spent working for him, she knew this meant goodbye. Grace had been working at the company for 10 years now, and she was one of the few people who knew Colin’s gentle side. He rarely showed it to anyone. Through the years, his kindness and generosity shone through on very rare occasions. This was one of those moments. With a smile, she turned to her desk and picked up her handbag, then her box of belongings, and headed out. I hope he will be okay. She thought to herself as she walked out of the building.