Bittersweet

The Orphanage

~Never judge a book by its cover, many times we tend to.~

As Sarah stared at the exterior of the five-storey building, she couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful it was. One wouldn't expect an orphanage home to look that extraordinary—not that an orphanage couldn't look beautiful.

The driver, whom she now knew as Tom, stood by the car as instructed by Mr Snow.

They were ushered into the building by a lady who seemed to be in her late fifties. She was still very beautiful with her petite form and her kind smile. The interior was even more beautiful, to her utter astonishment.

"Mr Snow, it's very nice to see you again." The woman beamed at Mr Snow with a beautiful smile.

'Again?'

'He'd been here before?'

"I always enjoy the children's company and yours as well Mrs Jobs." He said politely.

"Of course." The elderly woman really looked happy to see him.

"The children love you very much."

'What?'

"I'll take you to Miss Catherine's office." He nodded.

She wondered who that was.

As they passed through, they could hear children playing and laughing.

Mrs Jobs turned to Mr Snow with a smile.

"They're having recess now."

Mr Snow nodded in response.

Sarah loved children, she couldn't wait to have one of her own. She wondered if Mr Snow loved children, would he ever want...children? She shook her head discretely, it wasn't any of her business. No, it wasn't.

Soon enough they reached the office and Mrs Jobs left them to attend to the kids.

Sarah saw a beautiful woman seated behind a nicely carved desk. She was wearing glasses and they rested firmly on her pointed nose.

Her office was medium-sized with various cabinets occupying the room, no doubt housing important documents. All in all, it was simple and tidy.

She stood to greet them both.

"Welcome Mr Snow, how are you this fine afternoon?" They shook hands briefly.

"I'm fine and you Miss Catherine?" His voice levelled, face-still stoic.

"Never been better." Her smile unwavering. She turned to Sarah, beaming.

"And you must be...?"

"She's my PA." He said before Sarah had the chance to answer.

Sarah nodded.

"Please, have a seat." She gestured to both of them. So they did.

She turned to Mr Snow, her grey eyes beaming.

"I've been expecting you, Mr Snow, I was starting to think you wouldn't make it today, I understand you're a very busy man but I'm glad you were able to come."

Sarah felt guilty, she knew it was her fault they were late. She didn't dare look at her boss at that moment, so instead, she kept her head down.

This was her first day and she was nervous, she hoped she did things right.

"Thank you for your generous donations, sir, the children thank you as well." She continued, the smile never leaving her face.

"Thanks to you sir, the children can eat three square meals every day now and of course we express our deepest gratitude for the renovation of the entire building."