The eyes of eons. [Slow Editing]

Chapter 9

     I haven’t seen Alex on Sunday, neither on Monday and nor on Tuesday. I could hear him, but kept strategically avoiding. He said himself - here’s the kitchen and there’s your bedroom - so, that was exactly how he wanted. I didn’t even used his kitchen. My breakfast and coffee I’ve been getting from the neighborhood deli, so as lunch and dinner. The only thing I’ve been using of his was my small separate space to sleep.

      Swiftly the week shifted to Wednesday, which was the day of my interview. The craving to get the position made me self confident and even slightly arrogant. I was up before dawn and used this time to throughly prepare myself for the meeting, but to kill the rest of the morning hours I called Billy. She was usual Billy, after the line of greetings she began expressing her anger towards our mother, who hasn’t told her anything until the plane landed in India.

     “Can you imagine...India. Who is going to babysit. I was so looking for her assistance with kids. Charlie is driving me nuts with her outfits today. She got sick and I left her home. I had to sew three different damn costumes. One in green of a Mermaid, another in pink - like Barbie, and third one is in blue of Cinderella.”

     “Have you been sewing it all night long.”

     “Yep, all night long and had no sleep for the past seven years.”

     “How is Sam and Tommy?”

     “Tommy’s been struggling with alphabet. I don’t know what they do there at school if he can’t read it properly and Sam, she is fine. I’ll breastfeed her until her graduation if I need to. I read somewhere that it makes a huge difference in kids development. With Tommy I had no milk and look, he can’t remember alphabet.” Something distracted her. “Charlie,” she shouted out, “stop running around kitchen in the dress. You’ll mess it up. What? Who...Hold on Alex somebody is at the door. Can you occupy Charlie for a minute, I'll go to take a look who came so early.”

     “Okay,” I agreed and heard the receiver to be tossed into Charlie’s hands. “Hello, Charlie.”

     “Hi, aunt Sandra.”

     “Hi, sweetie,” I strolled to the kitchen and stopped by the kitchen counter where stood my unfinished cup of coffee from breakfast. “Do you like your dresses?”

     “Yes, mommy made them very nicely. I am a mermaid.”

     “Really?” I smiled. “What do mermaids do?”

     “They swim in the ocean and sing songs, and they wear beautiful necklaces and little crowns and they have long hair.”

     “I see. Do they have tails?”

     “Yes,” she giggled, “they won’t be able to swim with legs so fast. Do you know a mermaid song, aunt Sandra?”

     “I don’t, sweetheart. I don’t know what songs they sing. Do you?”

     “No, I was hoping you can sing me one.”

     “I know only Alice in wonderland song.”

     “Can you please sing it?” she exclaimed bouncing from excitement.

     “Oh, you want me to sing?”

     “Please...” she stretched.

     “Okay,” I nervously touched my nose recalling the words, “okay.” I started. “Um...cats and rabbits, would reside in fancy little house...and would...dressed in shoes, and hats, and trousers, in the world of my own. All the flowers would have very special powers, they would sit and talk to me for hours, when I'm lonely in the world of my own...” I couldn’t remember the rest and hummer some of the passage. “That’s it. It’s all I can perform with.”