Once the matters in K City were settled, we moved on to a new place and thus a new chapter began.
Four years later.
Time flew by in the blink of an eye. We moved into an old property located in one of R Province’s alleys.
That being said, it was not exactly old, as it had been revamped previously. At first impression, it would not look markedly different from any newer property.
There were two stories and four rooms. It was not particularly big overall, but the yard was comparably spacious. The walls enclosed our area and separated ours from the neighbors’.
The environment and weather in R Province were pretty decent. Apart from the locals, most of the residents who lived here were retirees, seeking to enjoy life in the countryside.
With the huge yard, Summer had more space to be active in. I watched as she tottered until she grew to become swift and steady on her feet.
The longer the days, the more there was for remembrance.
Summer was not able to adjust to life in R Province when we first arrived. She used to cry in the middle of the night and nothing that I tried, worked. As the frequency grew, I often found myself crying alongside her.
I ended up very sick on one occasion. When she turned one, she became more obedient once she was able to comprehend my moods better.
R Province was a very remote place, and I only started job hunting when she turned three.
On her first day of kindergarten, she tugged at my hand. “You have to come to pick me up in the evening, Mommy. I’ll be waiting.”
In the three years that came, Summer healed me. She helped me recover from my longing for my lost child, and to forget everyone in K City and J City.
It was as though our lives no longer had anything to do with them.
I held her close and kissed her. “Mommy will be here on time!”
This child had already melded with me into one inseparable entity.
There were basically no listed companies in R Province and no tech companies which developed advanced technologies here either. The first job I could find as a single mother was the position of dishwasher at a small family restaurant.
In the corner to the back of the eatery, I scrubbed down the utensils. While the revelry went on around me, I enjoyed in solitude the comfort which the soft foam brought me.
Though this way of life lacked the grandeur and excitement that K City offered, it was where I felt most at ease.
At five in the afternoon, I went to pick up Summer and brought her over to the restaurant where she would help with the dishes at the back.
She would often ask this of me, “Do I have a father, Mommy?”
“Do you want a Dad?” I asked her.
Surprisingly, Summer was more sensible than I expected. She shot back, “What about you?”
I smiled lightly. The darkness slowly descended over the city. On the way home, I gave her a bag of freshly baked chocolate buns.
The buns tasted delicious as we savored them, sitting on a stone bench in the yard.
Sometimes, I would dream of a young Macy running towards me with her arms full of mangoes.
We would slice the mangoes up and mix them with sugar. Our entire afternoon would be dedicated to doing only that.
I started sleeping better after Summer had gotten used to living in R Province. In fact, the sun was usually already high in the sky whenever I woke up.
There was a resort next to the R Province lake that was constructed about half a year ago. After finishing work at the restaurant, I headed over to the hotel to start my janitorial job.
The job was relatively easy. I only took up the job because it was near Summer’s school, so it was convenient for me to drop her off and pick her up.
It was late evening when I finished cleaning the hotel and changed into a set of new clothes, preparing to pick Summer up from school.
“Going to pick your daughter up?” Colin asked, leaning against a door frame.
Colin was the hotel manager—a tall, broad man in his late thirties with a handsome face. I turned to look at him, nodding. “Do you need me to help pick Michael up too?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I intend to go together with you.”
Colin was the one who interviewed me when I first applied for a job here. Looking confused as he read over my resume, he had asked, “You graduated from a reputable university, so why are you applying to be a janitor?”
“I believe all work is equal.” I shrugged. “Besides, the salary of a janitor isn’t that low.”
He had raised an eyebrow, smiling in amusement. It was true that the rest of the job positions in the hotel had trial periods and promotion periods, with everyone sharing the same low salary in the beginning.
However, the janitor position was different, and it had a fixed, above-average salary.
It might have been fate that brought the two of us together. We eventually became closer after learning that we were both single parents.
Due to his job as a manager, there were times when he couldn’t pick his son up from school and would occasionally ask me to pick his son and Summer up together.
We left the hotel premises in his car. The drive to school took less than ten minutes.
Many parents were waiting outside the kindergarten entrance. There were also several senior citizens in the crowd, sitting in the rest area outside the school.
“We still have five minutes. The sunshine is really bright today, so why don’t you sit down over there for a bit?” Colin pointed to an empty seat under the shadow of a large tree.
I laughed. “I’ll be fine! Five minutes isn’t that long.” Perhaps it was the postpartum side effects, but my body was easily prone to becoming sore and tired in recent years.
He chuckled and decided not to push the topic any further, glancing at his watch. “There’ll be an opening for a position with an attractive salary package. The only downside is that you will have to make business trips. I can talk with the higher-ups and make some arrangements for you if you’re interested.”
“I can’t go on business trips. Summer gets scared when she’s home alone.” I refused, shaking my head.
“I knew you’d say that.” Colin wiped at his forehead and grinned. “There are not many business trips to attend to. Besides, you will receive two paychecks—another one as a receptionist. After all, R Province is a small city. There wouldn’t be many business trips or reception. So, the company believes that they could get one person to take up two roles.”
I blinked owlishly. The offer did sound tempting. “How much is the pay?”
“Eight thousand!” He paused briefly, then said, “You’re a graduate of a well-known university. Being a janitor is a waste of your talents. Plus, living costs are going to increase as Summer grows up, and your current salary isn’t going to cut it.”
He wasn’t wrong. The expenses and cost of buying a house after leaving J City had left me with little savings.
Summer was already five years old, and most kids started developing hobbies and interests at her age. I was considering signing her up for an art class just a few days ago.
I thought the idea over, looking up at Colin. “Are you sure?”
“I promise!” He nodded.
“Then, could you please make the arrangements for me? Thank you!”
“Of course,” he promised. “Just a thank you won’t suffice, though. You’ll have to treat me to dinner someday.”
“No problem!”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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