Four years later.
Karen walked into the large lobby, her heels clicking on the marble floors, a six pack of coffee in her hand and a bright smile on her face. The receptionist sighted her and smiled. Karen returned the smile with a wave.
“Good morning Miss Osborne. You looks exceptionally radiant today.” The receptionist said.
“Thank you Kelly, love the new lipstick. Is it Dior rouge 028?” Karen replied and handed her a cup of coffee.
“You guessed it.” Kelly replied with a smile she took the coffee and drank some of it. Her eyes lit up. “Matcha latte! You’re the best Miss Osborne.”
Karen waved. “Nah, it’s fine. Have a good day.”
“You too.”
Karen nodded and continued walking. She got to the elevator and waited for it to arrive. She glanced at her watch, she still had ten minutes before work started.
The elevator dinged and opened. Karen got in, heading to the fifth floor. She drank some of her coffee, staring at her reflection in the steel walls.
She looked older, sharper, more mature.
She flashed herself a smile just as the elevation opened, ushering her into the hallway. She felt someone walk up beside her and turned to see Sonia, one of her colleagues. Sonia had been working in the company for seven years, she was Karen’s superior by a lot.
“Hello Karen.” Sonia said, a smile on her red lips. “Got a coffee for me?”
“No, you don’t drink coffee.” Karen replied.
Sonia laughed. “I heard a rumor. Today could be a very good day.”
Karen raised a brow. They approached their office. “What sort of rumors?”
Sonia made a zipping motion over her lips and took the coffee out of Karen’s hands. “Have fun.”
Karen found the exchanged weird and shook her head. “Yeah sure.”
She walked into the office and headed to her desk. Greetings floated around her, Good mornings and all that. She replied to each one with a bright smile and handed out the coffee she had gotten.
“Hey, Karen. Looking amazing today as always.”
Karen raised her head from her computer to see Jasper. Jasper was a good friend of hers, they had joined the company at about the same time.
“Thank you Jasper.” Karen replied.
“Thank you for the coffee.”
“It’s nothing.” Karen replied and turned on her computer.
“I have something to tell you after work, is that okay by you?”
Karen smiled knowingly. “You found a new rare ceramic doll.”
Jasper looked lost for a while then laughed. “Oh no no. It’s not that.”
Karen nodded. “Very well. I’ll be free after….”
“Good morning everyone!” The voice of their manger boomed through the office. Everyone paused and looked up at him. “I trust we are all well rested after a wonderful weekend huh?!”
“Yes sir.” The collective voices echoed. Karen laughed to herself. Who ever rested felt rested among them?
“Anyway, we have work to do so all of you should get to work and stop chattering away! Now! You, Karen!”
Karen looked up. “Yes, Mr Woods?”
“See me in my office in an hour!”
“Affirmative!” Karen echoed, biting back a smile.
“Good! Now get to work!”
Mr Wood was a funny old man. He was always trying to assert control and be aggressive. But in fact he was a kind man who was sometimes too good for the world. Everyone knew it and pretended to be intimidated by him.
“So after work?” Jasper asked again.
Karen nodded. “Yes, after work. See you then.”
He waved and went back to his desk.
Karen checked her schedule for the things that needed to be done that day. There were some meetings to attend, a few samples that needed to be forwarded to admin for approval and of course to meet with the manager in an hour.
Karen drew in a deep breath and started working. She had a proposal she had created the previous Friday that she needed to complete and submit for approval.
Four years had passed since she left. Four years had seemed like a long time. And in that time so much had happened.
She had gotten a degree in marketing, applied for a job at one of the fastest growing companies and gotten a job. Over the years she had risen through the ranks, now an assistant manager.
She had done everything in her power to raise her son and give him a good life. And of course Shelly was still very much like her mother now.
Karen smiled to herself, she felt joyful that her life had turned around for the best. She was no longer the weak and timid girl she was once.
She was on her way to becoming the director.
***
“You wanted to see me sir?” Karen spoke. An hour later she walked up to the Manager’s desk.
Mr Wood looked up at her and his eyes lit up. “Ah yes! The general manager wanted to see you, but he’s not in right now and I’ve been delegated to relay the news to you ”
Karen frowned a bit. “News?”
“Yes.” He replied. “Your efforts and contribution to this company have been recognized by the higher ups. And a promotion has been offered to you.”
Karen’s eyes widened. Was this what Sonia was referring to.
“A promotion?” Karen asked, a smile spreading on her face.
“Yes yes.” Wood said. “You’re a really committed part of this company even I will agree to that. You always get your work done on time and everything is just flawless.”
“Oh that’s amazing!”
“Give me a minute,” He said and opened a drawer. Her pulled out a confidential file and handed it over to her. “Those are the terms of your promotion.”
“Terms.”
“Yes. You have to sign a contract.”
Karen looked down at the envelope in her hand then back up at Mr Woods. “Sure, I’ll do just that.”
He smiled at her. “Excellent. You can go back to work now.”
Karen held the envelope close to her chest, a smile on her face. She walked back to her deal and put the envelope in her locked drawer.
A promotion huh?
It was a good thing. She had been hoping for one for a very long time now.
She made a mental note to go through the contract once she was done with work.
****
After the work day, Karen drove to her son’s school to pick him up. She got out of her car and walked into the school.
She spotted her boy in his classroom, reading a book. Her heart melted at the sight of him. He was a beautiful child, having bright blue eyes and golden hair. He was calm and mature for his age, often saying things that shocked her. And he was very smart in school too.
He noticed her presence and looked up at her, A smile in his face. He packed up the book in his backpack and walked up to her.
“Good evening mummy.” He said softly.
“Did I take too long?” Karen asked. She bent down and brushed out his jacket.
He shook his head. “No, I was reading so I wasn’t bored ”
“What were you reading?” Karen asked, extending her hand for him. They walked hand in hand out of the classroom and down the halls.
“The prince.” David replied. “It’s a french book, and I don’t understand much of it.”
“You’re reading french?!” Karen asked, staring at him with wide eyes.
He shrugged. “I’ve been learning for a while now.”
They got outside and into her car. Karen strapped him down while she started the engine.
“That’s impressive.” She said.
“Thank you mommy.”
The ride home was silent. Karen noticed that her son appeared a bit sadder than normal. Normally he would have been telling her about everything that had happened at school. Instead he just sat there and stared out of the window.
“Did anything happen at school today?” Karen prompted, hoping to start a conversation with him.
“Not exactly.” He replied. “Just soem kids who tried to make me feel bad.”
Karen frowned. “How?”
“They made fun of me for not having a father.”
Karen nearly slammed on the brakes. “But of course you have a father!”
“Where is he mommy? I don’t see him.”
Karen sighed heavily. “Don’t listen to those kids okay. You have a dad. And soon enough you’ll meet him.”
“Okay.” David said, not sounding convinced.
Karen was at a loss.
A father. His father was Kai. And for all she knew he had forgotten about her and moved on with his life. She had no guarantee that she was ever going to cross paths with him again.
What does she tell her son now? Of course he was going to ask about his father one day.
Karen felt her heart start to race.
Should she tell him his father was dead? Or should she tell him that he was in another city? Or should she just ignore the question all together.
Karen sighed again. “Baby, don’t let it bother you okay?”
He nodded. “It doesn’t. It would just help if I met my father.”
“I know that. Believe me I do.”
There was a period of silence. Karen drove into their neighborhood. Shelly had bought her a house after she had David. It wasn’t far from where Shelly lived, so Karen would sometimes visit with David and they would have fun like a family.
The neighborhood was in the quiet and rich part of town. Karen decided it would be best for David.
She drove in front of their house and parked her car. Killing the engines she unhooked his seat belt and they got out of the car.
“I wonder what’s for dinner.” David asked, looking at his mom. “Can I help out?”
“No baby. Mommy will order dinner tonight, okay?”
He smiled widely at her. “Yay!” He reached out and held her hand. “I also need help with my homework. It’s a science project.”
“We can do all that after dinner.” Karen said. She walked up to the front door and unlocked it.
She remembered the envelope in her bag and placed it on the dinning table.