Mrs. Cheng Heng stood watching them, waiting for an answer. She had noticed that the ladies were deep into the conversation, and with the little she had heard, it was had something to do with taking care of a child in the daycare.
"Tell me, How do you continue to take care of who?", she insisted.
"Um... we- we were talking about err...", Hao stuttered.
"Will somebody answer me? I do not have all day. What were you talking about?"
Just then, the parents of the two children sleeping in the inner room rang the bell.
Hu Wu blessed the stars secretly for the rescue. She ran... passing the space between Hao and Mrs. Cheng, straight for the door.
"Please come in", Hu Wu said with glee.
"You are welcome", Mrs. Cheng greeted them.
Hao went in to get the children for their parents while Mrs. Cheng walked into her office, making a mental note to continue the questioning later. What Hu Wu and Hao had been talking about stuck to her thoughts. Somehow, Mrs. Cheng couldn't shake it off. Something told her to dig deep into what they meant by 'how will we continue to take care of her'. Cheng didn't want any child being abandoned in her daycare.
* * *
Xue Jing was grateful that it was the weekend. It had been a stressful week both for her and Ren.
After giving Du dinner, Xue set her down in front of the television and put up a cartoon channel for her to watch. Then, she went into the kitchen t prepare dinner for Ren as he would soon be back from work.
"Mommy! Mommy! See bwod", Du called out.
Xue walked out of the kitchen briskly... "Blood? Where?". Xue knew that it was a cartoon channel she had put for Du to watch. When she got to the television, Xue found out that it had changed due to a reminder Ren had programmed on a murder investigative channel. "Oh, Ren!"
Then it occurred to her that Du had recognized blood. [But how? Wasn't it too early for her to know what that was?], she thought as she stared at her daughter who had a smile on her face.
"Why mommy? Why limoov bwod?", Du whimpered.
Xue carried Du in her arms. "You are not supposed to watch that, baby. It is Daddy's channel". Xue made a mental note to remind Ren not to program reminders any longer. If he wanted to watch his channels, he could put them when he is around and when Du is asleep.
Xue was quite uncomfortable... her mind wandered to what had happened in the daycare that afternoon.
The phone rang. Xue Jing set Du on the fur rug and walked to answer the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey!", Su screamed. "It's Su"
"Of course, I know that. No one can miss your voice... or your scream for that matter", Xue said.
"Hahaha. I am in town and I will be coming to the house tomorrow. Cook for me, okay?"
"Okay. How was your flight?"
"Perfect. I saw a fine man but he entered a taxi before I could collect his number"
"Oops. You missed out on that one"
"Yes. Maybe it's for the best. How is Du? She must be a big girl now"
"Very big", Xue said as she looked back at her daughter concentrating on the television. "She says everything now"
"Nice. We will have a nice chat then. What type of candy does she like? Or what flavor of ice cream can I get for her, Xue?"
"Ice cream would be nice. I can partake in that too. Buy the big one, Su. And blueberry flavor. Thank you"
"Hahahha... taking ice cream from a baby. Okay then. See you tomorrow"
"I missed you, Su", Xue said. It had been a while since Xue set eyes on her friend. The phone calls happened, like every two days, but it was not the same as having Su live in the same city as her.
"I missed you more, my dear"
"Mommy...", Du called as she crawled towards where her mother was standing.
"Wait, darling. I'll come to meet you", Xue said as she replaced the receiver.
"Who dat? Mawina?"
"Who?"
This time... Du pronounced the name well, without the baby tongue, "Marlena?"
It took all Xue's will not to drop her daughter.
The clarity of her speech... And whose name was that?
Xue was so confused she was frozen where she stood. Tears came to her eyes. She wished Ren was home.
She gathered herself and said, "Du? What did you say?". She feared her daughter's response.
"Mommy... teevee... teevee!"
Xue Jing let out a sigh of relief, but she knew what she had heard. It wasn't going to leave her mind and she wasn't going to discuss it with Ren. [Discuss what exactly?], she thought.
Confusion became her companion.
[Ren should hurry back home], she prayed silently.
* * *
Xue Jing was startled by the knock on the door. She was sitting in the dining area, watching Du from a distance when the knock came. Xue ran to let her husband in.
"Hi, baby!", Ren said, flashing his lovely smile showcasing perfect dentition. He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips.
"Welcome, honey"
It didn't take Ren two seconds to notice that his wife's countenance was off. "What is it?", he asked as Xue took his laptop bag from his shoulders.
"Come in first. Take a shower. I will tell you all about it while you eat"
"You know I do not like suspense. Is it something bad? Is Du okay?"
"Du is fine. But, I do not know if it is something bad... I know it is quite uncomfortable though", Xue said, walking into the kitchen to heat up his dinner.
"Okay. I will be right out"
After some minutes, Xue had set his food on the table, and Du was already asleep on a little bed Xue had gotten for her to lounge on in the sitting room.
"So... what is the matter?", Ren asked.
"It's Du. She said something weird today"
"Weird? Like what?"
Xue paused a bit, with her brows carrying worry all over them, she said; "She mentioned a name... and clearly, with all the letters pronounced properly, Marlena"