Mateo's birthday is in three days", Theresa said over the phone the next day.
Rita settled on her work chair at home, clutching her phone to her ear. She was gradually getting to the end of her workload and she could afford to relax when she was done.
"Ohh, why didn't you inform me earlier", Rita said.
"I know... I should have done that, I didn't want to disturb you knowing you'll be swamped with work", Theresa sighed.
"You know I'll never be too busy to help you out. You've been there for me Theresa even in times when I didn't expect it", Rita said.
"Now, you're making me teary. Okay, so you can still help me. I'm totally swamped with everything, the food, presents. I don't even know where to begin", Theresa whined.
"Okay... Okay, I'm coming over", Rita laughed.
"You're a life saver. But don't forget to come with Ramirez, I can't risk your life unnecessarily".
"Sure, I'll come with him", Rita laughed.
"Whew... Thank you, see you later", Theresa said before cutting the call.
Rita dialled Ramirez's number, informing him about her visit to Theresa's house. He affirmed that he would be there soon. Rita cut the call, throwing on some loose clothes.
Soon, Ramirez called to inform her he was downstairs. Rita made her way downstairs, bypassing her parents who were chatting in the living room.
"How are you Ramirez?", Rita smiled, climbing into the SUV.
"I'm doing quite alright, thank you ma'am", he said.
As Ramirez drove towards her house, Rita replied texts from different clients she had postponed their messages. One particular message drew her attention, it was a message from an unknown number telling her not to trust the people she called friends.
"Ramirez, can you pull over for a minute", Rita mumbled.
Ramirez did that immediately as he parked by the side of the road. He stared at her through the rear view mirror, wondering why she gave that order.
"Is there a problem ma'am?",he said with a worried look in his eyes.
"Yes, look at this", Rita said, handing him her phone.
He read through the message and she could tell that he was a bit worried about the content of the message.
"When did you receive this?",he asked.
"I don't know. There were a lot of messages on my phone but I ignored them and decided to reply some of it today only to see this", she said.
"Please check the date", he said, handing her back her phone.
"It was three days ago, the day of the attack", she shuddered.
Ramirez nodded, a grim expression on his face. Rita could tell that his mind was working furiously, trying to piece everything together.
"I'll forward the message to my phone then show the cops. They should be able to take it up from there", he said.
"Okay, thank you. Please, let's go", Rita said.
Ramirez nodded before pulling into the road. As he drove towards Theresa's house, her mind was on the message. There was no doubt that this message was related to the attack, something she found uncomfortable.
They got to Theresa's house soon. A big monster truck was parked inside the garage and Rita could tell that Marco was around.
"Should I wait for you ma'am?", Ramirez asked, bringing the car to a stop.
"No, you can go. When I'm about leaving, I'll give you a call", she said, walking towards the house.
When she got to the double doors, she pressed the doorbell as she waited for an answer from within.
Soon, the door opened to reveal the muscular face of Marco. He smiled upon seeing her, giving her a side hug.
"It's been a long time I saw you", Rita smiled, walking into the house.
"Ahh... I know, work and business takes me all around the world", he chuckled.
"How is business by the way?", Rita smiled.
"Fine carà, we can't complain", he smiled.
"That's good to hear", she said.
"How is your old man?, I've been wanting to see him to talk business. I have a business proposal to make", he said.
"You can come by to the mansion when you're free. Pops is always at home", Rita said.
"Okay, I'll stop by the moment I'm free", he said.
"Where's Theresa?", Rita asked.
"She's with Mateo who has refused to take his bath. Sometimes, I don't know what I'll do to that boy", he chuckled.
"Let me see if I can salvage the situation", Rita said, moving towards the room.
When she got to Mateo's room, she pushed the door gently and laughed when she heard his squeal and Theresa threatening Heaven and Earth.
"Can I help?", Rita chuckled.
"Oh you're here. Good gracious!, I don't know what I'll do with this boy", Theresa groaned.
Rita laughed, moving towards the squealing child. She crouched beside him, petting his head.
"I don't want to take a bath", he screamed.
"Okay, here's what is going to happen Mateo. If you allow mummy take your bath, I'll put you on my plane the moment you're on holiday from school. How does that sound?", Theresa smiled.
Mateo seemed to think about it for a while as his cunny eyes darted between his mother and Rita.
"Okay", he garbled.
There was a look of relief on Theresa's face as she gave her hands a gentle squeeze. Rita smiled, sitting on Mateo's small bed.
She watched as Theresa cooed at him as she took his bath while the little boy splashed water all over the floor.
Rita felt a sharp tug in her heart as she desperately wished for what Theresa had, she also wanted to feel the love of a child.