i did one thing right

7

After helping me with Nathan's bath, Lola and Ding left. I'm the only one left with the little guy right now. Regina's maids rarely approach us unless I ask for a favor or call them. So I spent the rest of the noon playing with Nathan. When he seemed to be getting upset, I took him up and rocked him to sleep. He eventually fell asleep at three o'clock in the afternoon, and I also fell asleep. I genuinely don't know how Regina managed to do all of these for nearly a year. Around 5 pm, when I woke up, Nathan was already awake. He was simply lying there, like an angel, without making any noise.

"Are you hungry?" I ask, as if he understands or can answer back. He just stared at me and tried to reach for my face. "You're not alone," I said as I stood up to carry him. As we made our way downstairs, I noticed the maids cleaning up the living room.

"He's quite exhausting," I said, pointing to Nathan and making the maid laugh.<br />
"Ma'am Regina did request that I prepare some food for you both," she explained.

"I feel like Regina's second child," I joked, making the others laugh. I picked Nathan up after we finished our meal, but I now regret it. I just smelled the worst smell I've ever smelled in my life. "Man, are you lactose intolerant? I swear all babies are. Your poops are out of this world," I asked, and all Nathan did was laugh, as if he understood my dismay. I leave the kitchen with Nathan and return upstairs to change his diaper. I place him on his table and open the diaper to get a better smell of the world's stinkiest poop.

"Smells exactly like yours," someone says, and I turn around to see Brian and Ding.

"Have you ever smelled mine? I swear you're strange most of the time," I say, I then switch my gaze and point towards Ding "didn't you just leave a few hours ago?"

"Ate Regina told me to come, I guess she doesn't trust people who used to have feelings for you," he explained.

"Right... I totally can't hear you Ding," Brian says as they both remain outside due to the stench.

"You two are a huge help," I said as I continued changing Nathan's diaper on my own.

"It's practice for your motherhood," Brian says. "Are you finally agreeing to co-parent with Regina?"

"As if she has the guts to say no," Ding remarks, so I fold Nathan's diaper tightly so it doesn't burst and throw it their way.

"Disgusting," Brian says, making me laugh. Before we went downstairs, they waited for me to finish changing Nathan's diaper. Brian also had the audacity to ask Regina's maids for food. When I asked him why he was here, he said they wanted to talk but since we were still waiting for Mara, he said he would eat first.

Nathan fell asleep in my arms again after a bit of playing. A round 7 pm, Mara arrived and did the same thing, she also asked for some food as if it's their own house.

"Does your back hurt from carrying him?" Mara questioned as she kept eating.

"Yeah, are you offering to carry him for me?" I ask, and she shakes her head no.
"Was just curious," she explained, continuing to eat as if she wasn't in her boss' house. I just keep on rocking Nathan bit by bit just to make sure that he's sleeping just fine.

"Your heart grew fonder of the little kid, huh?" Mara asks after she had finished her meal.

"I guess so," I replied, despite the fact that I had only met him yesterday, I had never really complained about how exhausted I was. I mean, changing his diaper is a completely different subject, but he seems to be a little ball of sunshine.

"What are you thinking?" Brian asks as I stare into the distance.

"Have you ever wanted to watch someone grow in front of your eyes?"

"No, the only thing I've seen grow is my stomach, and I'm not a fan of it," Mara says, making Brian and Ding laugh.

"Do you feel that way about Nathan, ate?" Ding asks, prompting me to nod.

When Regina and Ali arrived, our conversation was cut short. Brian and Mara rose to their feet, as if they have the utmost respect towards Regina.

"Good evening, boss," Mara said with so much enthusiasm.

"Boss" Brian saluted. He doesn't even work for her.

"I thought you were going to your department's dinner?" Regina asks of Mara.

"Brian said you had more food here, so I decided to ditch," Mara admits honestly. Regina gave her a puzzled look before switching her gaze to mine.

"Hey, have you eaten?" she asks with a change of tone.

"Favoritism at its peak," Brian says quietly.

"How to be Narda," Mara whispers back.

"Dinner? Yeah-" I was then cut off by Brian.

"Not yet.. she's very hungry." I turn to face him, but he kept his gaze on Regina and nudged me.

"I'm craving pizza right now," Ali added.

"Me too, we share the same braincell," Brian says to Ali.

"Some pasta would be nice as well," Mara added.

"Narda, what do you want for dinner?" Regina asks, cutting off the other people's suggestions.

"Ate Regina, can we get some pizza?" Ding asks.

"If that's what your sister wants," she stated.

"Shut up, Ding, none of our suggestions are relevant," Brian says quietly.

"I don't mind pizza," I said, prompting Regina to nod.

"Ali, here," she said, taking out her card so Ali could use it instead. "I'm not hungry yet, so I'll take Nathan upstairs," Regina says, walking towards me to get him from me.

"Do you want me to set aside some for you?" I ask her as she takes away Nathan from my arms.

"No, it's fine; there's still food in the kitchen if I get hungry," she explained. Regina has a very noticeable perfume scent on her. It's not strong, just enough to linger in people's noses.

"All right," I replied. When she finally had Nathan in her arms, she didn't take a step back and instead looked at me, while Brian, Mara, Ding, and Ali are busy picking what to order.

"Are you tired?" she asks, probably because I had to look after Nathan all day.

"A little, but it's fine," I said.

"Can you still do it for many years?" she teased, making me shake my head. "We'll go first, don't hang out for too long so you can rest," she said before turning around, giving me a warm smile.