Chapter 4
970 Words
Third Person's Pov
It's been more than four months since his wife, Delancy died and everyday has been harder than the other. Losing her and the baby has been traumatic for him, it was just a month ago he had resumed work, although most of his work were done at home.
Zara, Amber's daughter was the one who kept him company most times. Her parents were the busy ones, so most times they leave her with him till it was evening time when they were back from work, mostly to cheer him up.
She went toddling through the garden leaves littered in the yard, giggling her high pitched baby laugh as Mayor raced towards her. Zak was ready to shout when the guard dog stopped some inches away from knocking her flat.
Zak couldn't help the smile on his face as she ran towards him, already getting steady with her chubby little legs. He cherished the few days he spent with her, especially since these days he's been too busy to spend time with her, most times she'd be taken to the day care. "Time for lunch, Zara." he called.
"No! Yam non comi."
Zak laughed. The two years old girl's speech was really funny. Everyone's two years old was knowing people's names and learning the alphabets but his niece's was different. One of the first phrases she learnt was, 'No, I'm not coming'.
His happiness faded as he thought of Delancy and their baby. If they were both alive, he knew how she'd be thrilled to play with their child every minute. He remembered how she spoke of the child, the names they'll give to him and so many things. He remembered the day the doctor told him they lost the baby and his wife.
*Flashback*
"Doctor, Please tell me, how is she? How is the baby too?"
The doctor shook his head and Zak did the same, trying not to believe what the doctor was intending to say.
"Mr Torres, I'm really sorry."
"No Doc, tell me they are fine."
"We lost the both of them, She already had the miscarriage before the ambulance got here and there was nothing we could do, and Mrs Delancy, she didn't make it."
"No!" He screamed.
*End of flashback*
"Un-cu," Zara called. He must have been lost in thoughts as he didn't notice when she came close. "Want eat." She pointed at her mouth.
He smiled and carried her, he looked over at Mayor who was leaping, jumping in a guard dog frenzy that would have scared anyone who doesn't know he was a cupcake, rushing at him.
"Mayor! Heel!" The dog ignored him and ran into the house.
Zak sighed. Delancy had been the only person who had control over the big canine creature. He carried Zara into the house as she pulled his hair. "Ow!"
The little girl laughed. He shook his head and settled her on the little dinning set beside the dinning table.
He was about to go to the kitchen when he heard the door bell ring. He walked towards the door after thinking about who might be there, almost immediately he remembered he was meeting with Tracy Richards, Leonard Richards' wife who survived the explosion. Sometimes he can't help but wish Tracy had died instead, but then again, he knew that was selfish.
"Good afternoon." He said as he opened the door and saw that it was only Tracy, Leo wasn't there.
The male inside of him leapt to attention even as he didn't show any interest in the woman. He knew Tracy but there was something different about this woman, like he was really closer with her. He was trying to shake the thought off when her voice helped him.
"Good afternoon, please I'm asking of Mr Torres." She said, very uneasy with every word she was saying.
Zak furrowed his brows but then he remembered that she lost her memory so she doesn't remember anything. "I'm sorry. I-I mean I'm Zak. Come in."
"Thank you," She said.
He gestured for her to sit in one of the comfortable porches in the sitting room. "Do you need anything?" He asked. He didn't understand why he had the urge to take care of the woman. "Tea, Juice or anything."
"I'll take water, thank you."
"Okay." He hurried to the kitchen to get a glass of water and used the other hand to take the already made omelet for Zara.
"Here." He gave her the glass of water. "Please, I'll be back, I need to feed that little girl over there." He pointed at Zara.
Her lips curled up at the corners, "Is she your daughter?" Tracy asked, her smile deepening every moment.
The smile that accompanied her question radiated a warmth he hadn't felt in months. It poured over him, easing the lonely ache that held his heart.
"No, She's my niece and she could be my daughter as we have a great connection." He stopped. He couldn't say anything about Delancy or their own baby. The fact that Delancy was the surrogate mother of Zara makes it more difficult to talk about. And he knew he could break down if he mentioned her name.
"I need to go feed her, I'll be back." He turned and left.
Immediately he left to feed Zara, Tracy felt an ache in her heart, it was like she had been longing for something for so long and already had it close to her but she was losing it again.
She thought it was probably Zara, as she lost her baby. But how come I didn't feel this with Gretchen? My own biological daughter.
"Bark!" Mayor barked and rushed towards her, cutting her off her thoughts.
"Mayor! Heel!" Zak shouted immediately he noticed but as always the dog would always ignore him.
"Mayor! Sit!" Tracy said. To Zak's astonishment, the dog stopped and settled on the ground at once, not before moving closer to Tracy.
- Writer
