Leo made himself comfortable, or at least he tried to. To avoid suspicion, he ordered a cheap drink with a part of the money he had on him - currently the only thing he had in the world. Even though he shifted anxiously in his seat just outside the coffee shop, he was determined to wait patiently till he achieved his goal. He tried not to think of his current predicament; it was a conspiracy or maybe just a huge misunderstanding. Maybe his friend, Marks, had not seen him and was mocking someone else. No matter which it was, it would be fixed. He was sure of that.
Even when he had finished his coffee, Leo kept sipping at the empty cup to give him enough excuse to remain in the shop. He certainly would not dare to buy another cup of coffee, not till he was sure of his future. Hour after hour passed. He had no watch, but the clock in the shop served him well and when noon struck, he kept all his attention on the building - his building.The staff filed out in pairs and trios, to enjoy the 30-minute break. At first, Leo was apprehensive about the possibility that they could come to the coffee shop and eventually recognize him, but none of them did. He kept watching in increased anxiety until he began to fear that Mara might not come out for break, but wait! There she was.Involuntarily, Leo jumped to his feet, but he quickly recovered his presence of mind and grabbed a newspaper that had been abandoned on a neighboring table. With the paper, he covered his face and crossed the road, intercepting the girl before she could decide where to go for lunch."Please... I need to talk to you," Leo whispered softly with a slight touch on her hand.Mara recognized him immediately and was taken aback."Wh... Sir... I...", she fumbled."Meet me at that shop opposite. Please. It's important."With that, Leo walked past her and crossed the road again, back to the coffee shop. It didn't take long for Mara to overcome her surprise and follow him. Eventually, she ended up standing before the table where he was seated."Please take a seat," he urged.Mara sat down softly, all the while wondering what was going on. Why wasn't the boss at work? Why was he in his nightclothes? It seemed like he was hiding from everyone, seeing the way he had his back to the throng of employees coming out of the company building, but why? And why did he want to see her? These were just a few of the questions running through Mara's mind, but she dared not voice them out. She would wait patiently for her boss to give an explanation, if he saw fit. And he did."Look, I know this all looks queer and crazy. I'm just as shocked as you are. I think you are the only one I can trust right now and there's no better way to start than by making a clean breast of everything."Leo stopped to take a hasty breath and Mara shifted in her chair. What on Earth was going on??"Why don't you get lunch while I'm talking, so you don't waste the break period."But Mara simply shook her head, a clear indication that she would give all her attention to her boss and nothing else.Leo looked his appreciation and he felt the girl was smart for her age. Very smart."Okay. I'll make this brief," he said, leaning forward and speaking in a low tone. "I'm in trouble. As it stands, I have nothing, except my house. My clothes, cars, staff, everything and everyone, including my wife are gone. Even the company... I received a letter stating that I have been removed as CEO by the board, so I came here and I was forcefully prevented from getting in."Mara's eyes opened wide. What! From what she had just been told, it seemed the world had ended! She never could have imagined that such a thing was possible in a million years!"So I need your help right now," Leo went on. "I just need you to tell me what you noticed at the office today. Was there something strange... something unusual that went on?"He stopped speaking and searched her eyes to gauge how and what she was feeling. He still had a lurking fear that she too had turned against him. But the truth was that Mara was just shocked - too shocked to do anything but sit and stare at him with wide eyes.Suddenly, she recovered herself with a start and began to apologise for her lack of attention."It's okay. Just tell me if there was anything strange...""No, no. Nothing... nothing strange.""So who's in my office now?", Leo asked, very eager to know the answer."I don't know. I... I'm not sure. But there was a long meeting in...""Meeting?", Leo perked up immediately. "Who was in the meeting?""Your... Mrs...""My wife?"Mara nodded."And Marks too, right?"Mara nodded again."Hmm. It's clearly a conspiracy. Look, Mara," he said suddenly, grabbing both her hands on the table, "I need you to keep your job at all costs. You... My wife... you should try to avoid her. She's not very happy with you."This was no surprise to Mara and she would have come to the conclusion concerning her job without Leo telling her. But she was grateful nonetheless and she took the liberty to press his hands back in appreciation."Ahem," he cleared his throat as he disengaged their hands awkwardly. That brief moment when their hands were clasped was enough to make all the wrong thoughts run through their heads. But neither could imagine what the other was thinking. They each thought they were guilty of thinking crazy things, totally oblivious of the fact that it was in both their minds."Well, I... I gotta go back home and do a few things, so...""I need to get back to work," Mara said and hurried off, her face red with guilt, thinking that Leo had guessed at what was in her mind. She crossed the road without looking back and made straight for the office building even though there was still over twenty minutes left on the lunch break. It was only when she arrived at her cubicle that she allowed herself to breathe again."Whew," she sighed as she slumped down on her seat. Just what would Leo think of her now? Imagine the way she squeezed his hands in such an intimate manner, looking into his eyes all the while. Christ, he must think she was a slut or some greedy opportunist looking to replace his wife and stand a chance of becoming wildly rich. Even she couldn't believe she had done such a brazen act. What had given her the courage???With an effort, she shook her head to clear off these thoughts. The pressing matter was that Leo was in serious trouble and she was very eager to help in any way she could. It wasn't just for him. It was for her too. And her baby. She looked down beside her at the sleeping infant and shook her head again. Would they be homeless and helpless again?? She so wished she could read her future!He was deep in thought as he climbed off the taxi, planning and arranging his next line of action. He knew that his enemies were determined to put him down and keep him there. With all that had happened, it was clear that this was no warning or a dry run either. Whew! What a tough life.Absentmindedly, he pushed the gate so he could get in, but to his surprise it didn't budge. Woah. He didn't remember locking it, so what was the problem? With a quick sweep of the eye, he found what the problem was: he had been evicted."Huh?", Leo gasped as he went closer to read the notice pasted on the gate. What on Earth was all this? Surely, this had to be against some laws? He had rights, didn't he??He looked around to see if he could find anybody who could give the slightest clue as to who had pasted the notice and locked the gate, but the entire place was quiet. Christ! This was the biggest blow yet. Where would he live? From a billionaire to a homeless beggar, in less than 24 hours?Confused,
"Please make yourself comfortable, sir," Mara said, showing Leo to a sofa as they stepped into the house he had given her back when they first met."Thank you," Leo nodded with a smile and he couldn't help but sigh in tiredness as he slumped on the soft piece of furniture. That walk from his house to the coffee shop was a long and tedious one under the hot sun. He could use some cool water now, but he felt it would be disrespectful to ask for it so soon."Here, sir," Mara said, bringing him a glass of cold water in anticipation of his need.Leo didn't even remember to say 'thank you' before he grabbed the glass and downed its contents in a few gulps. He was that thirsty! When he was done drinking, he looked up to find that Mara was holding out a jug, offering to refill the glass."Thank you," he rasped as he held out the glass to her and she filled it for him. Whew. His wife never did this for him. He wondered where Mara had learned to be so nice and attentive. He never really did get
Leo walked fast, casting his eyes all around him at the quiet and peaceful environment. It was very much unlike the city. No noise, no crowd of constantly moving people, vehicles and stationary buildings. It was all sunny, calm and quiet with the occasional chirping of insects and birds. This was why he had chosen this spot to have a secret retreat. He had been looking forward to surprise his wife with it before Mara came into their lives and he had to put that plan on hold. Good thing he did. If his wife had known of the house, he would have lost it too and both he and Mara would have been completely homeless now.Shading his eyes to see better through the glaring sunlight, he caught sight of a house up ahead. It was a house on a farm. It would do for what he had in mind. Doubling his steps, he made straight for the building.When he bought the bungalow that now housed Mara, he had not had the time to take a detailed tour of the area to know his neighbors. Back then, he had thought i
As Mara celebrated the retention of her job, Leo was there at the farm stumbling through his. It was no easy task for him. He had been saddled with the task of digging out stumps of trees from a small area of land. All the trees had been cut down and chopped into bits and all the grasses had been burned too, but the roots of the trees were still in the ground. These were the roots Leo had to take out.The area he had to cover was just less than half the size of a football field and the sun was blazing hot. So, shovel in hand, sweat streaming down his body, grunting and huffing with exertion, the former CEO was hard at work doing something he had never thought he would ever do, at least before he lost everything. Once in a while, he took a glance at the old man who was seated in front of the farm house and staring at him with the ghost of a smile on his face. He didn't need anyone to tell him that the old man was quietly mocking him, and it made him even more determined to prove himsel
When Mara returned home, she had no idea she was beaming until she walked in to find Leo in the kitchen. At the sight of her happy face, he gave her a bright smile and then turned back to his work. But somehow, something felt off to her. His smile though bright did not seem to reach his eyes. Involuntarily, her own happiness dropped a few notches and she found herself dying to know what was wrong or what had happened in her absence. As far as she knew, he was much happier when she left him in the morning.Mara could ask him what had gone wrong, but she knew he would deny it. Not that she could prove that he was unhappy or bothered by something. There was just no concrete proof. All she had to go on was a gut feeling. She just knew in her heart that everything was not okay."Whew," she sighed and put the sleeping Little Leo down on the couch."How was work? Busy day today?", Leo asked, thinking she had sighed from exhaustion."Hmmmm. Not much," Mara shrugged, keeping her eyes on him to
"You came back."It was half-question and half-statement. The old man was very much surprised to see Leo back on his farm, ready to do more work. He just stood there staring at him in disbelief. He thought he had been broken and defeated the previous day!"Well, uh... I guess you want more work?", the old man stammered, finally recovering from his initial shock. In response to the question, Leo nodded eagerly. He was all smiles and confidence.The old man looked at him from head to toe again, thinking perhaps it was his twin brother. Was this not the same person who had limped out of here just yesterday??Even though he found all this very amusing, Leo was beginning to feel a little embarrassed from all the staring and shock the old man was displaying."I'm wondering if there's any work to be done?"The sound of Leo's voice seemed to knock him back to reality and he shook his head as if to clear the fog from his brain. "Yes... yes, of course. There's work... there's always work. But a
Later that night, after they had all had a quiet supper with no mention of what had happened earlier in the day, they each went to their respective rooms and were soon fast asleep. Assured by Leo's promise that he would never do odd jobs again, Mara had gone to bed happy and quite satisfied. She knew that he would keep his word. She trusted him completely.Leo, on the other hand, did not fall asleep so easily. He stayed up for a few hours thinking about his current situation, his increased reliance on a young girl and what exactly the future could hold. He was not a pessimist, but he was sure that Mara's expectations were too unrealistic.If he was going to be the man she predicted he would eventually become, the best way to achieve such a goal would be to work towards it. But she didn't want him to work! This, as far as he was concerned, was a serious dilemma. How on Earth was he going to overcome it without hurting her? He was not really a fan of prayers, but he soon found himself m
The next day, Mara woke up with a little headache. She had not slept much through the night. For some reason, little Leo had refused to sleep after waking up. He had peed in his diapers and the discomfort had made him cry out. After Mara had changed the diapers and put him back to bed, she thought he would fall asleep almost immediately, but the young rascal was in a playful mood and wanted his mother to join in or he would make sure that she and the entire neighborhood would have their ears ringing with his cries.Mara had no choice but to oblige him and they played deep into the night. Each time she felt that he would soon get tired and fall asleep from exhaustion, he only proved that he was ready to keep her up all night. At the end, she was the one who became exhausted and involuntarily dozed off to sleep. When she woke up over an hour later, it was daybreak and her son was very much wide awake. Obviously, he had not slept a wink!"You'll never cease to baffle me, Leo," she murmur