Don't Leave Home

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You've been taking care of Megumi for weeks, and many of your predictions were correct.

Some of them were concerning the boy himself: he was a smart child, quick to understand direct commands and some complex concepts, so that from time to time he would surprise you with his inquiring green eyes, as if wanting to know why you were telling him to do this or that, or when an object caught his attention, he wouldn't take too long to discover their function. You haven't seen such cleverness in a child of that age in a long time, and you were enjoying that more than you could tell: Megumi was sparing you from most of your work, and you were really becoming attached to him.

His easygoing nature became easy for you to introduce him to new, good habits, a necessity you've noticed since your first days with him, however you've been waiting for him to get used to your company until you could work on it: the list left by Toji for you that day included all the important things, except hours and periods, so Megumi didn't have a specific time for each activity such as sleeping and eating. It was obviously a consequence of his father's routine, but the effects of this in a child's development would be soon evident if nothing changed, and you took this transformative mission to yourself.

You would prepare his food at the same hour every day and put him in the same spot in the table to eat, helping him in everything; despite the size of his hands, however, he already knew how the spoon was supposed to be held and even tried to do it by himself. You took the chance to start teaching him, taking care not to cause a mess in the kitchen and leave him hungry. After that, you would clean him and leave him close to you while you organized the table and washed the dishes; he would watch you as you worked, replying with enthusiasm when you talked to him.

When you noticed the evening approaching, you knew it was time to give him a bath and organize his toys. After that, you would start catching your things to spend the last moments with him, for you knew his father would come back at any time.

Just like he told you, Toji never came back exactly at the same hour. There was one day when he was back at 3 or 4pm and Megumi was still awake; the other day, he came at 6pm and even you were taking a nap beside the baby (you would always feel a bit embarrassed by the smirk he would give you every time he came and had to wake you up).

As the days passed, Megumi got used to the schedule you created for him, so your last hours of the day were always calm. You had the sense of not letting him sleep on your lap on a daily basis, in order to not spoil him and to spare your arms: instead, you would put him on the sofa, by your side, where you could observe him with no difficulty. You decided you would take advantage of this free time and started bringing books from your course to study until Toji came back.

One day, he asked you what you were studying. That was a surprising question, for he never showed much curiosity about your life beyond the role of babysitter; still you replied with politeness.

- Human Resources.

He raised his eyebrows.

- That's a clever choice. What do you like most about this area?

- The security it has to offer for anyone who chooses a career on it. There are multiple choices, for various types of professionals.

Megumi was sleeping on the sofa at that moment. Toji approached and took him in his arms. The baby moved a bit, but didn't wake up or make a sound. He adjusted his grip around him while speaking to you.

- It's a great advantage, really.

You were about to leave, with your bag on your shoulder; you took a step toward the corridor and tightened your fingers around the bag's strap. Something in his tone made you feel like he wasn't satisfied with your answer. That didn't please you: for someone who barely talked to you when you came or leave, there was no way to speak like that and not sound intrusive.