Chapter 44

Alondra reasoned that she could go home to them first while her stomach was still small, so they wouldn't wonder why she hadn't returned for nine months. It's possible, but she's afraid she'll throw up when she returns and she's finally home with them. She didn't want to tell her parents another lie. She entered the house a few minutes later after finishing an ice cream cone. She discovered Garret drinking coffee and sitting on a bench in the shade of a tree. It appears to be far away while carrying a cup of coffee. What can he possibly think?
"Have you eaten yet? Daisy cooked before she left," Alondra asked as she took a seat next to Garret.



Garrett replied, "Not yet. I don't feel like eating, so I'm just having coffee."


"Why, do you have a problem? You can tell me."


Garret exhaled a sigh.
"Nothing. I'm just thinking about a lot of things and I'm tired from work," Garret said, shaking his head. "But I'm happy because I love kids, which is why my parents are pressuring me to get married; otherwise, they'll find a girl for me."
"You cannot go for it because love is not forced," Alondra replied.

"Yeah, I know that, but knowing them, everything they want is followed. It's good that my brother Kazmer married Daisy right away because his wife is kind, so my parents like me as well as Timothy because since his parents died in the house where he grew up, he would have married another woman if Dianne hadn't gotten pregnant. After all, he was rumored to be gay."
Alondra wanted to burst out laughing because her first impression of Timothy was homosexual. And she has no idea what happened or why he ended up with her friend Dianne.


"Why don't you start looking for a woman to date? So you can introduce someone to your parents?"
"I don't know what to do, Alondra," Garret answered and took a drink of coffee.
"It's good they didn't come to your house or they would have seen me here," Alondra said.
"They don't know this house. Only my brothers know." Garrett replied.
A few minutes later Garret told him to leave. So Alondra got dressed so she could follow the departure. He will go to the boutique and stay there for his online class. He is outside the house, waiting for someone to ride after he locks the gate. Just in time, a tricycle passed by so he stopped it.
"Why ma'am?" asked the driver.
"I'll ride to the city.", Londra answered and saw that he was carrying two tubs of fish.
"You are not allowed to ride here. I have a fish with me, ma'am." answered the teenager hesitantly.
"Where are you going?"
"In the city."
"It's because I'm going to the city too. I'm in a hurry so I can't wait for someone else to ride." Alondra said.
"But that fish stinks. Besides, you might fall behind me if you ride here." the boy said.
"It's OK."

"I used to be as difficult as you, so I worked hard and made progress, as long as I don't give up on my life's dreams," Alondra replied.

"That's correct, but I'm having difficulty riding a tricycle because my income is slow, and what I'm having trouble with is that I only rented this tricycle, so I always have to preach to the owner, but I reason out that people can't be forced if they don't want to ride," replied the teenager.



As a result, the adolescent was forced to give Alondra a ride. And she held on tight because she didn't want to fall and hurt her baby. Fortunately, the adolescent was not driving too fast.
"Are you going to sell them?" Alondra inquired.
"Yes, but they only ordered me to deliver this fish in the city. My life is just traveling and finding passengers. I didn't go to school because of the hardships of life. Sometimes no one rides because everyone else has cars. And just now, a rich rode my tricycle, so I'm ashamed," the teenager explained.

Alondra burst out laughing.






Alondra sympathized with this.

"I have a boutique in the city. Maybe you want to apply as a carrier of my stocks, and then you won't have a problem with where to live because you stay in and everything is free, and you will pay me a lot as long as you are hardworking and kind, and you can buy a better motorcycle," Alondra smiled.

"Ma'am? You're going to put me to work?" the boy asked, wiping his eyes.

Alondra could tell he was crying. And she felt sorry for him because he was not ashamed to cry in front of her. He was, after all, frail. Despite their difficult circumstances, she had not cried or shown signs of weakness.

"Can I come? I don't even have new clothes," the boy asked.





"You don't have to worry about the clothes. You will be working in a boutique so all the items are there. And you can borrow money from me or you can get some things for yourself and you pay for it if your salary came. So no need for you to cry. I'm willing to help you in any case."
"Thank you so much, ma'am. The sky fell on me. It's really good that you insisted on getting a ride in this tricycle if it's not, I'm going to regret it."

Alondra just laughed because she could see in this young man that she wanted to get out of trouble. It's not that easy, but each person has a different way to rise in life. She told the boy where to drop her off so a few minutes later she reached the boutique.
"You'll meet me here later. We'll talk more." Alondra said.
After he gave the payment.
"Alright, ma'am. I'll just deliver this fish and then I'll come back here."
"Okay."
Alondra went inside and saw her saleslady busy so she went straight inside her office. Harley didn't notice her come in because she was too serious about the paying customers.
Alondra looked at the clock on the wall. It was eleven o'clock in the afternoon. She doesn't know if her staff is eating. A few minutes later she came out to talk to Harley. Good thing there aren't too many customers.

"Did you eat?" Alondra asked.
"Yes, ma'am, Sir Garret brought us food early."
"Good. When someone comes looking for me, just let them in and make us some food," Alondra said.

Then she went back to her office.  She was just sitting when the door opened and Harley entered with food, followed by the boy.

"Sit down, and what's your name?" Alondra asked after Harley had left.

"My name is Yohan," he replied from the side.

"Why are you standing? Sit down," Alondra joked.

"Perhaps your seat smells like fish, ma'am, but it's still clean," Yohan replied shyly.


"No problem, but how can we talk if you're just standing there?"
Yohan did nothing but sit across from her.

"All right, when do you intend to begin?" she asked.x

"Anytime," Yohan replied.

"It's possible today because we're open twenty-four hours because there are many customers," Alondra explained. "You don't have stocks to carry yet, so what you have to do first becomes a salesboy."

"Any job, ma'am. It doesn't matter if it's a toilet cleaner or a floor sweeper. I'm fine as long as there's work," Yohan replied.

"That's part of what you'll do because you're here every day," Alondra explained with a smile.

"That's fine."



Alondra took a ballpen and a notebook.


"Now go home and return the tricycle you rented, as well as properly say goodbye to your parents; you can't return the one you rented if you don't have money to give for the months you haven't paid, right?" Alondra asked.

"Yes," Yohan replied shyly.

"Don't be shy because you'll be working for me, so you can also pay the money I'll send you home with today; how much will you give to the tricycle's owner?" Alondra asked.

"It's $100."

"OK, I gave you $300, and the money left is for your family," Alondra said as she handed the money to Yohan.

"Thank you so much, ma'am; I'm truly grateful."

"You're very welcome."

She stood up briefly to call Garret. She will lend Paul the motorbike for a short time. Allow him to accompany Yohan home so that he can get a ride back.

So she dialed Garret's number.

"Where have you gone?"
"At the clinic, why?" Garret replied on the other end of the line.

"Can I borrow your motorcycle, and where is it?" Alondra inquired.

"No, you're going to ride a motorcycle?"

"No, I'll let Paul use it; I just hired a new employee, and I'll take him with Paul because he'll be back today; he'll just say goodbye to his parents," Alondra explained.

"All right, I put it in the warehouse."
"Noted, and thank you."
She and Yohan left, and he directed Paul to bring the motorcycle inside the warehouse. And he parked it next to the tricycle outside the boutique.

"Perhaps your house isn't too far away, Yohan? It won't reach the province?" Alondra speculated.

"Not at all, ma'am."

"All right, be cautious."

Alondra returned to the boutique after Yohan and Paul had left. Perhaps the darkness will not overwhelm them when they return here. Alondra didn't go into her room first. Instead, she was browsing the boutique for interesting items. And she noticed Cristine and Yanny raging over the scattered items as a result of the customers.




"Who runs the warehouse?" Alondra asked.
"Zsa Zsa and Salome, ma'am," Christine replied.
"All right, do we have new plain and printed t-shirts? The ones that don't get purchased very often?"

"Is it for boys or girls, ma'am?" Salome, who had just left the warehouse, inquired.

"Boys."

"It is, ma'am."

"Please get me five plain and five printed ones, as well as five pairs of pants, and put them on the counter," Alondra replied.

"All right, ma'am, what size pants do you need?" Salome asked.

"37. And if you like something here, like bags, blouses, and pants, just bring them to the counter and please list them with Harley," Alondra said.
Alondra noticed that their expressions had brightened. She understands the desire for beautiful items, which are all available in the boutique. Bags, shoes, pants, and blouses are too expensive. There are cosmetics and sandals.