Cora pushed the door of her bedroom open with her shoulder. Her daughter's choice of clothes for the day in one hand, shoes in the other and a piece of toast stuck in her mouth. She entered and saw that Isabella her six years old daughter whom she stopped earlier from playing dress-up inside her walk-in closet has now found other activities of singing and jumping on the bed to occupy herself with
Cora saw one of the beddings that were neatly laid before she left Isabella by herself was now scrunched up all around her feet, while the rest and all the pillows were strewn on the floor. She sighed deeply, draped the clothes in her hand on a chair and the shoes, she placed at the foot of it before removing the toast stuck in her mouth so she would be able to talk.
However before she could say anything, Isabella turned and became aware of her mother's presence.
"Mommy see how high I can jump!" She paused her song to say excitedly and immediately resumed singing, her neatly braided blond pigtails flying in the air as she jumped.
"Five little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said
No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" She sang on.
"Yay! That's pretty high honey, now quit jumping like a monkey and come get dressed for school, while I have a quick shower. We're running late as it is!" Cora replied with lackluster.
She arrived home yesterday feeling on top of the world. The new branch of Sweet & savory that she came to New York to open was progressing smoothly, all foreseen problem that she thought she might encounter was easily dealt with without any glitch. Life was great and she was happy.
She relaxed in her favorite chair with a flute of champagne in hand hoping to enjoy the rest of her evening before finally retiring to bed but her hopes were dashed when a piece of news she saw on the entertainment news channel threatened to bring to a premature end all her hard work for the past four months
"We're always running late mom" Isabella replied her mother with a shrug and a toothy grin, interrupting her mother's train of thoughts without stopping what she was doing
Her daughter was right. They were always running late. Even though Cora found her stay in New York enjoyable, she was still not used to being a single mom without her parents who had always helped with Isabella. If not for her cousin and best friend Lisa who has been helping her to settle down in the city, Cora had no idea how she would have coped
She looked at her daughter who was enjoying herself with no care in the world, oblivious to what was going through her mother's mind. She decided to let her continue with her playing, they would get dressed together when she was done with her shower
Cora walked towards her walk-in closet to pick out the clothes she would be wearing for the day. She opened the door and nearly had a cardiac arrest when she beholds the mess her daughter made on the floor.
Shoes, bags, and some of her clothes that were organized by category and color, similar to the way clothing items are displayed in boutiques were now scattered all over the floor. Her makeup bag was overturned on top of the white evening gown that she planned on wearing at her branch grand opening.
'Aaghhh! I thought I told her not to play dress-up with my stuff?' Cora groaned and thought to herself in frustration. How could she wreak havoc so fast? It's just been five minutes since I left her by herself! First the bed, now in here!? My poor dress!' She painfully thought looking towards where Isabella was still happily jumping.
If they were back home in Spain, she could just imagine what her mother would say to this...
'Leave the poor child alone Cora, she's just being her age. You were much worse than this when you were her age. I could remember this one time when...'
And she would go on and on, telling Isabella whatever prank her mother pulled when she was about the same age as her. Isabella would be cracked up in laughter while her grandmother would take it upon herself to clean whatever mess she might have created at that particular time.
She missed her parents and Isabella who was always asking when grandma and grandpa would come to visit obviously missed them too.
Her parents might have spoilt her daughter a little bit but Cora knew they were very good with her. If it wasn't for their help she didn't know how an eighteen-year-old teenager would have made it through college and culinary school, not to talk of growing her father's small bakery business to the point where they are now opening a branch in New York City.
Cora sighed and massage her temple where she could feel the beginning of a headache. She loved her daughter so much but it's high time she let her understand that there's a difference between playing and making a mess for mommy to clean up. Coping without her parents' help is hard and Cora is yet to get used to life without them.
"Isabella come here for a moment, mommy needs to have a word with you," Cora said towards her daughter firmly
"Uh-oh..." Isabella said and immediately stopped her jumping. Her shoulder dropped and her wide smiling lips immediately turned downward like she was sad about something. Without taking her eyes off her mother's face, she sat with a plop before dragging on her bottom to the edge of the bed, taking the rest of the beddings that was not already thrown on the floor along with herself
"Am I in trouble?" She asked in a small voice, taking small steps towards her mother with a pitiful look on her face.
"What? No baby, you're not!" Cora exclaimed with surprise. "Why do you ask that?" She asked and immediately bend on one knee so she would be able to look into her daughter's eyes. Did she raise her voice too high when she spoke? Did she speak in a way that scared her? Cora wondered to herself when she saw her that her daughter's happy countenance had now turned sad.
"Because you called me Isabella!" Isabella answered without meeting her mother's eyes
"Yes honey, I called you Isabella cos it's your name. Do you now have a problem with the name?"
Isabella shook her head vigorously in reply. "I just love it more when you call me Isa. You only say Isabella when you're not pleased with me"
"Oh!" Was the only word Cora could manage to utter in surprise. She wanted to knock herself in the head when she saw her daughter's reactions towards her. It was just four months without the help of her parents and she already felt like the worst mother in the world.
She pulled Isabella into a tight hug before she properly explain herself
"Isa, honey... I'm sorry if I made you feel that way but I assure you that was not my intention. I love calling you Isa as much as I love calling you Isabella, see... It doesn't sound any different to me. I just wanted to discuss with you, you're not in any kind of trouble" She said and Isabella nodded, her happy smile returned to her face in a flash
—
Five minutes after their mother and child discussion where she made her daughter understand how happy she would be if she didn't play in mommy's closet. Cora went to the bathroom for a quick shower leaving Isabella to dress by herself. When she was done showering, she selected a sophisticated and yet casual-chic style of clothing, skin-tight ripped jeans, a white cotton shirt with a black pump, and a tote leather bag.
The day was going to be a busy one for her with so many appointments to keep, with the plumber, electrician, and interior decorator before shopping for baking and kitchen wares. But first, she needed to speak with her cousin, she needed advice fast on what to do concerning the bad news she saw In the entertainment news.