100 Days With Mr Romero

CHICAGO:

“I need to be take two weeks off from work” Emma pleaded with Sam while they were having lunch.

“Okay that’s fine with me. ” Sam had assured her without finding out why she needed to take the weeks off.

“I’ll speak with the General manger. ” Sam had promised her after sipping his wine from the glass.

“You will be off the duty list for two weeks. ” he told her and she nodded with a smile.

After she was granted the two weeks leave, Emma had shut down her cellphone and stayed indoors all through. She was glad Mike had gone to spend some time with his grandparents in the city so she wouldn’t have to explain to him why she had been home, sad and devastated all through.

While Emma was way from the bar, Sam dropped by once in a while to see whether he could catch a glimpse of her but Emma never showed up. He tried calling her phone severally but it was always off. He fought the burning desire to check on her at home because he thought maybe she needed some privacy.

He was right. Emma needed some privacy. She spent the first week of her leave relieving fond memories of her lost Ryan. The next week was his death anniversary. Her Ryan died a year ago and there was no single moment that Emma never thought of him.

Sometimes at night when she was alone, she will imagine Ryan playing with her hair screaming Mama. The thought of him playing in her arms, his infectious smile and chubby cheeks were fond memories Emma always had in her mind.

Ever since she moved to Chicago, Emma had become an expert in masking her grief especially when she encountered moments that reminded her of her Ryan. One time when she was working as a waitress in the restaurant down her street, she had hid in the toilet and cried when she saw a boy of Ryan’s age running around the restaurant. The tears began to flow ceaselessly when she heard the 3 year old asking for Chicken sauce which was Ryan’s favorite.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

For the past two weeks, she had been blaming fate for bringing her closer to Gideon Romero. He caused the death of her son, an act she considered a sin which she had promised to avenge. She blamed fate for giving her Ryan only to steal him from her away afterwards. She cursed the night she met Gideon.

It was the 1st of July : The day Ryan died. Emma sat in her blank apparel gazing at the blank wall. Her face was gloomy like a plantation that had been robbed of rain forever. She was seating on the carpet of her living room, her legs wide opened and she held a portrait of Ryan across her chest. These past days, she had been crying a lot so much so that the tears weren’t flowing at that moment. She was grieving to the core.

Suddenly, Emma had her door bell ring. In fact, it has been ringing consistently for over thirty seconds which Emma didn’t hear. Her senses were withdrawn from her body. She sat there on the floor un moved. Suddenly, the door was pushed open and Sam walked in. Emma had forgotten to shut the door after she went to dumb the garbage in the van that arrived that morning.

Sam quickly went to her side and sat opposite her. He was shocked at how shrunken she had suddenly become. Her face was swollen and her eyes went deeper into her face. His eyes narrowed down to her hands where a portrait of Ryan was. He carefully took out the picture from her hand and examined her dark apparel.

Emma was grieving bitterly and Sam needed not to be told for it was evident.

“I am so sorry. ” he said slowly caressing the picture of Ryan he had collected from Emma and at the same time wondering who the cute little boy was.

“Emma Can I do anything to help? ” he asked placing his left hand on her shoulder.

Emma shook her head signaling no.

“Who is he? ” Sam finally asked pointing to the portrait of Ryan in his hands.

“My Son. ” replied Emma and Sam was immediately taken aback.

“Your son? ” he asked expressing his shock.

“He was my son. Ryan was my baby ” answered Emma with her eyes staring at the ceiling.

“He died a year ago. ” she said and pulled her legs close to one another.

“I am so sorry for your loss. ” Sam said placing back the portrait into Emma’s hands.

Sam wanted to question Emma. He wanted to know what happened to Ryan, how he died and whether Emma was married or a single mother. He looked carefully at Emma and realized what she needed the most was consolation not an interrogation.

“Wherever Ryan is, I am certain he is doing okay. ” Sam assured Emma then he got up and headed to her kitchen.

Few minutes later, Sam had returned with a cup of coffee and handed it over to Emma.

“Thank You. ” she said while collecting the cup from him.

“I am sorry I invaded your privacy. ” Sam said to Emma while seating next to her.

“Your line wasn’t going through. You never showed up at the gym so I got a bit worried and I came here. ” said Sam. Emma nodded appreciating his kind gesture.

“If you need more days to sort yourself then fine I’ll talk to the General manger. ” Sam said to Emma who was now getting up from the floor. She went to the bathroom and returned with her face a bit brightened. She had cleaned herself.

“My leave ends tomorrow. I will resume work tomorrow Emma declared while sitting on the sofa adjacent her TV set.

“Are You sure? asked Sam. You can take your time. ” he said to her.

“I will be fine Sam. I need to work so I can get back and handle that son of a bitch. ” she said with a bitter tone.

“Who is that? ” inquired Sam. He was referring to the son of a bitch that Emma mentioned.

“My ex husband. ” Emma revealed while applying the lotion she had poured into her palms on her hands.

“He cheated on me, caused the death of my son and ruined my life. He is the reason I lost my poor baby. ” she said with her voice quaking.

Sam was shocked over Emma’s sudden revelation. He had never imagined that Emma was ever married or even had a baby.