Once Upon a Time in London

Chapter 46

Tina brushes my hair while I sit on the floor by her feet. The sun is streaming in from the long panelled windows, the blinds open and curtains pushed back. I can hear a bird calling somewhere in the distance.

"There, I oiled the ends of your hair too" Tina smiles, I turn my head towards her, smiling back at her.

"Here, let me put that away" I say, standing up to take the hairbrush and bottle of oil out of her hand.

She passes it to me, placing a hand on her baby bump as she sighs.

Tina was a little over 5 months pregnant now, and was beginning to feel tired a lot of the time. She loved walking around in the gardens until a few weeks ago but now struggled to walk around much. Robbie had helped her settle down in a bedroom on the 1st floor so she wouldn't have to worry about going up and down the stairs and was up most nights with her whenever she was in pain.

I'd only gotten here a few days back but stayed with Tina most of the time so I could give her company.

"When does your job start again?" Tina mumbled, leaning back on the couch.

"Next week" I smiled, hanging up a jacket in the wardrobe.

"Aww, I'll really miss you" she looked up at me pouting, "I try to not disturb Robbie during the day because he needs to rest too since he's always up at night with me, with you gone, I'll have to get back to reading."

I laugh, "I'm sure reading will help polish up your storytelling skills for that little one."

She smiles, "Do you want to eat? I'm feeling a bit hungry."

"That's fine, I'll get something from the kitchen for you, you just rest up" I flick her on the forehead gently, making my way to the door.

"Oh, I'm so tired of resting all day but I've been getting so tired too" she holds onto my hands, "Think twice before having kids Anjali, this period is really not fun" she groans.

I laugh and then whisper in her ear, "I have no plans on making you an aunt anytime soon, seeing you like this is warning enough" I tease.

"You-" she tries to kick me but then smiles, "I am happy though, I can't wait to meet my little baby."

And I smile too because Tina really did look happy and as I leave the room with the sunlight beaming down on Tina's face as she sits there with her eyes closed, I think of how much I'll miss her when I'm gone next week.

I greet Layla once I'm in the kitchen, she's preparing dinner and smiles at me. With Tina's pregnancy, Robbie had hired a lot more help to manage the household, Layla however was one of the earliest workers so I'd known her for a few years now. I chatted with her for a while as I prepared a glass of fresh fruit juice for Tina, bidding her a quick goodbye once I was done.

I'd gotten here 4 days ago after I'd heard back from the company in New York a week back. I'd gotten in. I had refreshed the page and then refreshed once again just to make sure that I wasn't imagining anything. I'd screamed out in joy and began packing immediately, deciding to move back to our apartment in New York while I worked there. I called Tina right after, thrilled to be in the same city as her again. And although Tina and Robbie's place was far from the company, she insisted I stay with them for at least a while before I had to begin work, and so here I was.

I walked back into the room only to find Tina sleeping on the bed. I silently crept inside and placed the glass of juice on her bedside table, covering it with the saucer. She was curled up in a corner of the bed, ensuring to not accidentally touch her, I placed a blanket over her before walking out into the hallway. I sat down on the daybed by the bay window that looked out over the gardens and the pool, I could see people working out there.