In the luminous Wednesday afternoon, Jansen crouched on a wedged chair across an Italian glossy dining table with Mia and Isabella grasping his cutlery and slicing the fried steak on his plate, the cutlery was clanking as it scrubbed against the plate. Shiny trays of cheese and salad sat on the table beside bowls of fresh bubbly fruits.
Jansen's cheeks rolled as he was nibbling the steak, he pulled the napkin on his table kneading the sauce on his lips. He grasped a glass of chilled water, he bowed and downed a few sips and sighed, "this taste so good." He grinned from ear to ear.
Mia rolled her fork in her pasta to scoop out of it her lips curved into a smile, "I'm glad you like it." She stretched her hand toward his hand and held it and she looked into his eyes, "I'm glad hon that you are home today."
"Yes daddy!" Isabella screeched in excitement, "I wanna introduce you to a lot of my new toys momma bought me most especially to my barbie dolls."
"Really?" Jansen stared into Isabella's eyes, "I really can't wait to meet them hope they are excited to see me too." His phone beeped audibly, he pulled it from his jacket and he glanced at the screen, he sees Whats App messages from Juliet and he tapped the screen and the messages started displaying, "my love where are you?" At the end of the sentence, there was an emoji in the shape of a heart.
His eyes darted down the screen staring at other messages, "I'm cooking lunch, you're coming?"
"I'm wearing my red gown the one you say you like."
Mia noticed a reflection of excitement in Jansen's eyes and she wondered what is so ridiculous that he is smiling at on his screen, "what's that?"
Jansen clumsily slipped his phone in to his jacket in nervousness, "n-nothing hon. I gotta, I gotta leave." He rose to his feet.
"Why papa?" Isabella said in between two mouthfuls of burger. Her eyes lowered and her cheeks were turning pale, "you promised to play with me and my dolls." Tears glistened in her eyes.
"Today's Saturday. I thought that, " Mia unconsciously stabbed the salad on her plate roughly, anger was spurting through her, "you do not go to the office on weekends."
"This time I got to. My presence is needed urgently, " Jansen advanced towards Mia, he stood besides her, "I'll be back before you notice." He leaned forward pecking her on her jowl. Mia's jaw was stiff and her brows were still creased.
"Gotta go." Jansen swerved from her, he swiveled towards Isabella and he pecked her on her jowl.
"Bye daddy!" Isabella screeched and she waved at him as he was exiting the room. Mia bowed her head, she did not turn her head at any second to look at him as he was leaving.
***
Juliet strutted in the spacious dining table in her condominium placing bowls of steamingly hot meals on the glossy wooden table and a bowl of luminous fresh fruits sat in the bottom. The glass plates sparkled as rays of the dangling chandeliers in the ceiling reflected on them.
Juliet listened to the doors to the sitting room getting slammed and deep footsteps hummed in her ears she grinned in excitement anticipating it to be Jansen and she ambled towards the sitting room.
Three large fluffy brown sofas sat in the vast siting room and chocolate brown pillows were leaning on them. The room was rectangular in shape.
Jansen's eyes widened in excitement staring at Juliet approaching him. As she walked, her hips twitched and he noticed as she was wearing a sinewed red gown and he ogled her rosy red lips and lustrous hair.
"Honey..." Juliet stood in front of Jansen and she wrapped her arms on his neck disclosing her incisors as she giggled.
"Bae I've missed you." Jansen stretched his jaw towards hers and he kissed her lips affectionately. He gently moved from her arms tilting his nose sniffing audibly as the aroma of the meal flowed to his nostrils, "what smells this amazing?"
"I made beef stew and boiled rice for you and I." She fondled his lips with her finger and she let out a chuckle, "let's go to the dining." She swerved from him and he snuggled her in his arms, "I cannot wait to try it." She cackled feeling tickled in her tummy as he grasped her by her waist.
It was 5:09 pm.
Mia stood in the middle of her bedroom staring at portraits and large pictures of her and Jansen drooping on the wall and she approached there she stretched her hand towards a portrait staring at Jansen's pair of eyes, his winsome smile and his smooth cheeks she stroked the portrait softly and she tried to fight back the tears in her eyes, "what's going on? Your pictures are more present than you are."
She listened to footsteps approaching her room, it was gentle and light she immediately sensed it's Isabella's she sniffed and kneaded her jowls and she rubbed her eyes and she wore a fake smile.
Isabella stepped into the room and she paused besides Mia and she held her hand and looked into her eyes, " mama isn't papa gonna come home anymore? I'm getting bored waiting for him and my dolls too. Isn't he gonna feed me a cupcake or play with my hair and put me on his shoulders anymore? He always does. Where is Papa? I want my papa mama." Her voice cracked as she spoke and tears shredded on her jowls.
Mia nuzzled her cheeks with her thumbs, "do not be sad your papa's gonna be home."
"But when mama?" Isabella sniffed, "it's already evening by the time he comes home, he'll be already tired and would not want to play with me. I'm going to my room." She swerved from her and she was trotting in rage.
"Isabella! Isabella!" Mia screamed and Isabella scurried through the stairs heading towards her bedroom.
Mia sighed and placed her hand on her chest, "this is also affecting my daughter, " she said amid tears, "my daughter should not be distressed."
Juliet stood in front of the sink in the kitchen scrubbing a pile of plates dissolved in it. White bubbles floated over the water in the sink like a giant white cloud. Jansen advanced towards her he stroked her waist and stared at her face, "hon you look beautiful even when washing the dishes."
She scraped out of the bubbles and splashed it at his face and she giggled. Jansen felt the bubble tickling his nose and cheek and he stretched his hand towards the sink, "since that's how you wanna go...," Juliet panicked sensing him grasping some bubbles and she held his arm pulling it backwards, "don't love."
Jansen wrapped his hand on her waist and he stood so close to her their nose was almost touching and they stared deeply into each other's eyes she wrapped her hands on his thick neck.
"I can't ever stop loving you."
"I can't ever stop loving you either." She let out a chuckle.
****
Days after, in the wintry gloaming Juliet waddled on a secluded pathway heading towards her condominium, she attempted to walk home as her cab driver's cab suddenly developed a fault. The wind whistled in her ears, it was extremely biting and chilly and it was sweeping the earth dried leaves and dirts were curling and roaming on the solid thick ground. The temperature is below zero degree. The snow had stopped falling.
Juliet trembled, her arms were jerking and her teeth was clattering she was bowing slightly like someone having a hunch back she gave her coat to a pregnant lady she spotted at the sidewalk as she was exiting a coffee shop. The lady was gripped by the cold, Juliet observed her twitching and her heart sank also staring at her protruded tummy.