Chocolate Umbrella

Chapter 11 - Chocolate Umbrella

CHAPTER 11

February 2006

It was Valentine's Day, a little more than a month after Alena gave birth to Lily, who was named after a hymn, Lily of the valley. Alena hardly remembered how she went through this second pregnancy. Since the day she visited Dr. Nora, she and Emile accepted this baby as a surprise gift. Amazingly, the morning sickness, fatigue and change in appetite did not bother her as much as it did when she was expecting Candy. It was truly a blessing.

"Hey Julia. I'm going to pick up Candy from school now. I just put Lily down for her nap. Here is the baby monitor. Remember what to do if she stirs?" Alena asked the helper that Emile insisted hiring since the baby was born. She impatiently put on the snow jacket, ready to dash out of the doors.

"Yes, ma'am. Let her cry five minutes and see if she will go back to sleep on her own. If not, pick her up and try to rock her back to sleep." Julia replied with a smile.

"You've got it." Alena was already out the door when the last word had the chance to come out of her mouth. It was one of those days when it took longer than she planned to put Lily down for her nap. It was already three fifty in the afternoon. She was running late. Fortunately, she had Julia to man the house when she was gone.

Since Lily was born, they lived through every day with the little faith they had, otherwise, it would have been really hard for them to cope with everything else. Emile's company was not doing too well. Though the new products made some noise in the industry, but the sales cycle of the new products was longer than expected. Companies took longer to make their purchase decisions. As a result, Emile's company began to experience the pain of killing the cash cow a year ago. They had the second round of layoffs just several months before Lily was born. Emile had no choice but to run an even a leaner team, hoping sales would pick up in the next few months. As much as he wanted to get the company out of the woods, it was really up to the sales team to close the deals. Though he tried to stay in town as much as he could, he spent half of his time meeting with clients all over the continent.

On the other hand, though Mark had shown some improvements when he was first administered the new drug almost a year ago, the effect of the drug began to wear off. He was getting weaker and weaker every day. By now, everyone had accepted that he was indeed a terminal cancer patient. Every single breath he took was by the grace of the Lord. He was not as active as he was just couple of months ago. He spent most of the time resting. Occasionally he and Rhonda would come visit their grandchildren, spent an afternoon in the playroom with Candy while cuddling Lily in their arms. They cherished every minute they could spent together. These days would not last forever.

Alena rushed to school and Candy was the last kid waiting in the classroom. All the other kids were either picked by their parents, or were sent to after-school care, waiting for their parents to get off from work. Candy was sitting on the floor legged crossed with her back facing the door. She was chatting with her teacher who was busily cleaning up, ready to leave for the day.

"Thank you Mrs. Kingston. Sorry I'm late." Alena was still catching her breath by the door after running across the parking lot and hopped up a flight of stairs. Candy turned her head around at the sound of Alena. She clumsily climbed up from the floor and ran to her, hugging her tightly.

"Mama." This word came out in a sweet sigh of relief, as if she was worrying that Alena would not come. Alena squatted down and kissed the top of her head.

"Hi Mrs. Au, how are you?" Mrs. Kingston was in her mid forties and she was a very compassionate teacher.

"Thanks, I'm fine. Sorry, Mrs. Kingston. I always keep you here. I will try my best not to be late again." Alena stood up and apologized once again, feeling so embarrassed that being late seemed to becoming a habit of hers. She used to be the first mom waiting for class dismissal before Lily was born. But now, she was always the last one there. This fact did not sit well with her. She felt bad that the teachers had to wait for her till the very last minute. She also worried that people might think she was neglecting Candy. But worst of all, the sight of Candy being the last child in the classroom waiting to be picked up, hurt her most.