Bella Donna

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Present day

"Mommy no!! You're gonna stick to the table," Damian exclaimed as Astrid tried to wipe some epoxy off her hand. It wasn't helping that she'd accidentally glued three sharpie-colored macaronies to her palm by accident.

"It's fine really," she muttered as she stood up to wash her hands she stubbed her small toe on the end of the table. "Mother-..." Astrid quickly swallowed the curse that she wanted to utter. It wouldn't do for Damian to go repeating that at pre-K.

"Come on. Time to go,"

"But it's not dry yet," Damian said.

"You should have thought of that before you procrastinated on your art project," she replied.

"It's not even edible!" the boy proclaimed.

"It shouldn't be edible," His mother shot back. "Now go grab your backpack. Mommy needs to drop you off before going to a job interview. Do not even think of sticking it into your mouth mister," she added with a stern tone.

Damian pouted but he did hop off the chair he'd been crouching on. "Mommy don't you already have a job?"

"Yes, I do but the rent is going to go up and Mommy wants to keep living here."

"I wanna keep living here too!" the boy exclaimed. "I like Auntie Heather,"

"I like Auntie Heather too," Astrid smiled.

"Now come on munchkin," she said as she herded her son out of the door along with his macaroni painting.

The Pre-K Astrid had chosen for Damian was roughly a 30-minute drive uptown. She'd chosen one that was in the better part of the city. Sure Astrid came a long way from slumming it in the shelter but that didn't mean the apartment she rented now was posh and decked out. Last year when Damian was going to reach pre-K age she'd researched which schools in the district were the best. She honestly wanted the best for her baby boy and while she had been young when she'd given birth her own mother's words had been engraved in her mind. When it had become apparent that Thuggory had left her high and dry she'd been unceremoniously thrown out by her mother with only a small backpack and suitcase and the money she'd earned from her part-time. Her father had stood by wordlessly as her mother berated her on the porch, calling her a disgrace, a floozy, and some other slurs she'd not want to repeat in polite company. Astrid had been blamed for everything wrong in the world and so had her unborn child. Her mother had shouted that her baby would just become another leech to society before promptly shutting the door.

At a stoplight, she looked at her son who was seated in the backseat. He looked happy, watching the pedestrians walk past. She had vowed that night to do right by her kid. She'd get him the best education she could even if she had to work multiple jobs. She'd be the mother hers never was.

Upon reaching the drop-off area she parked and got out of her car to walk Damian to the front doors. "Mommy I luv you," Damian uttered as she squatted down so he could give her a peck on the cheek. It was their tradition and Astrid absolutely adored it. Damian was very tactile. He loved to snuggle with her and give her hugs. Something she noted that the kids starting school were trying to avoid because their parents 'embarrassed' them. It might become different when he becomes a teen but Astrid would always cherish these moments.

She watched Damian run into the building, greeting one of the teachers near the door as he did so. When Astrid turned to walk back to her car she caught the eye of some of the PTA moms. She groaned as one approached her.

"Mrs. Hofferson, right?" The pretentious-sounding blonde that approached her asked.

"It's Miss," she corrected.