Chapter 8

"No, I hire the workers and they never show up. My partner monitors my phones, he's paranoid. I know it's his fault," she says with a sigh.

"Well, I'll call the girls to see if they're looking for work. Would it be a problem if they brought their babies?"

"Of course they can; there's even an old play center next to the restaurant downstairs. We could arrange to supervise them when they're older and can play, taking turns. While they're little, we can take them with us."

"Tessa Rowan, I know, she's a family. Nadia Mercer, however, I think she's like me; she was a little quiet and a year younger than me."

"Well, if either of you needs a place to stay, there are plenty of rooms. There are also rooms in the back, but they need a lot of renovation," she told me.

"Okay, I'll let you rest, and you can let me know when the girls are ready to start, if they're interested. Come for breakfast in the morning too. Here," she said, handing me a key." You'll be able to come into my workshop and you'll have access to the kitchen if I'm not there, although that's rare, I don't usually go out," she laughed.

"Thank you, Maura Bellamy. You have no idea what this means to my son and me."

"Maura Bellamy: You don't have to thank me, Elara. I'll see you tomorrow morning and we'll start ordering the materials. There should be a pen and paper in the drawer, if the butterflies haven't eaten them. Write a list of what needs to be done and what you observe, and we'll go over it tomorrow," she said before looking at Milo in bed. She stroked his nose with her finger, her eyes sparkled, she cleared her throat, and nodded to me before leaving.

ELARA'S POV

I can't believe my luck. I spent all night making a list for Milo of everything I'd noticed there was to do in the surrounding area, but it's a bit difficult since I don't know half the place. I also spent a lot of time listing ways to promote the place once it's up and running, because it really needs it. I've lived in this city my whole life and never even realized there was a hotel in this part of town until I drove right past it in a taxi—on the main street, no less! Maura Bellamy won't need this information, though, until the place is actually ready to open, which is still a ways off. And that's assuming it even passes the health and safety inspections, because the place is literally falling apart.

After breakfast, I manage to track down Tessa Rowan and Nadia Mercer. They're both eager to find work and are surprised by the amount Maura Bellamy is willing to pay them, which makes me realize that it wasn't just me who was underpaid and overworked, but the apprentices in general. Tessa Rowan's mother said she would look after Tessa Rowan's baby; Nadia Mercer said she would have to bring hers, but that she could use a baby carrier and stroller. Nadia Mercer is only sixteen, even younger than me, which makes me feel a great deal of sympathy for her. Her mother was a criminal, but she died when Nadia Mercer was a child, and she has spent her entire life in and out of orphanages and foster homes.

She must have felt lonely her whole life, though she probably doesn't know any other way. She seems unhappy where she is, and I talk to her on the phone for over an hour. After hanging up, I go downstairs and talk to Maura Bellamy to ask if she's okay with Nadia Mercer sharing a room with me. There's a rollaway bed in case Nadia Mercer finds it strange to share the double bed with me. Maura Bellamy seems very excited about the idea of someone else coming and readily agrees.

The next morning, I wake up to Maura Bellamy calling me from downstairs. When I sit up, I see that Maura Bellamy is still asleep, and my jaw drops when I realize it's almost 10 a. m.: we've slept in! When I slept in the car, I usually woke up around 6 a. m." Elara, wake up, wake up," Maura Bellamy's voice says from the other side of the door as she knocks.

I hurry to open the door, embarrassed for having slept in so late. Maura Bellamy is there, a cigarette dangling from her lips, dressed in her usual jeans and tank top, an open vest, and steel-toed boots. She looks ready to kick ass; I hope it's not mine. She's a truly tough woman with a heart of gold.

"Maura Bellamy: You're finally awake. Did you sleep well? I didn't mean to wake you," she says.

"I'm so sorry..." I begin to say, but she signals me to leave.

"Don't worry about it; I got in with the master key and turned off your alarm. Come on, come on. I need your help unloading the truck," she says as she heads for the stairs. I go back to the room. Maura Bellamy is fast asleep, so I leave the door open before following her upstairs in my pajamas.

"I went shopping. I couldn't let Milo sleep on that dirty mattress, and besides, Nadia Mercer is coming over with her baby. I thought I'd pick up a few things. Turns out I have a shopping problem. Everything was so pretty, and it reminded me of when I used to shop for my son, when I first had him," Maura Bellamy says, her eyes sparkling with excitement, gesturing to the bed in her truck. I blink in surprise: she really had gone shopping! I bring my hands to my mouth.

"Maura Bellamy... I'm stunned. I don't know what to say. I can't believe she's done all this for two rebellious little girls she barely knows, one of whom she hasn't even met yet. There are two of everything, absolutely everything you can imagine! Two cribs, mobiles, sets of sheets, blankets, and baby toys, some of which are far too small for them to use."

"Maura Bellamy picks up a baby monitor and says," Look at this, there's even a camera so you can keep an eye on them while they sleep." I didn't have one when mine was little."

"I don't know what to say, it's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. You've already done more than enough, and I just met you," I say, my voice hoarse and emotional. Big tears stream down my face. How can a woman be so kind? She's shown more kindness in the last 24 hours than I've received in the entire year I've been a criminal.

"It takes a village to raise a child; let's build our own village," Maura Bellamy says before clapping her hands." Now let's get these things into the bedroom before the delivery truck arrives. We also need to remove this bed; two new ones will arrive around noon. What time will the girls arrive?" I ask." They said 10:00 a. m.," Maura Bellamy replies." Well, we'd better get going. Afterward, I'll need a coffee and a few more to boost my motivation," she says, lighting a cigarette. I laugh, and we begin untying the straps that hold everything in place.

I'm exhausted by the time we finish; the room now looks more like a baby store than a bedroom. I shake my head, trying to figure out where Nadia Mercer and I are going to put everything. Maura Bellamy pauses and gives Milo his bottle. She loves my son and has already commented on his eyes four or five times. Her fascination with them leaves me puzzled.

Hearing a truck reversing, Maura Bellamy jumps up and looks out the door and over the balcony.

"Now, please tell me it's your car. Otherwise, I just stole someone else's in the The Ashen Quarter," he says, laughing.

"What?" I ask as I get up and head toward a tow truck with my car in the back.

"Yes, it's my beast; I'd have gone back and gotten it back," I tell him, feeling bad about having spent money towing it.

"Maura Bellamy: Nonsense! Gordon owed me a favor anyway; he came to pick it up once when his truck broke down and told me he owed me one, so I just got it back," she says.

The truck door opens and a large, bald, bearded trucker gets out.

"Maura, where do you want it?" he asks her.

"Anywhere, Gordon, we've the keys to move it," Maura Bellamy reminds him. I check the time and see it's almost 10:00 a. m. I'd told the girls I'd wait for them out front, near the sidewalk, so they could find the place more easily; they didn't know there was a hotel here either, and they seemed confused when I gave them the address.

"The girls should be here any minute," I tell Maura Bellamy. She waves goodbye and goes back to tending to Milo. I smile at her. Maura Bellamy's demeanor seems different than yesterday. She seems almost happy, as if she's found a new lease on life.

ELARA'S POV

I wait for the girls on the sidewalk until a taxi pulls up beside me. Nadia Mercer gets out and pays the driver, and I help her take her luggage out of the trunk.

"I didn't know this place existed," Nadia Mercer says, looking at the enormous hotel." It's a little scary, it looks haunted," she adds, and I laugh." Anyway, I'm so glad to see you all again. I was so excited I barely slept a wink last night." She gives me a big hug.

"Is that all?" I ask, looking at the stroller and the gym bag.

"Yes, that's it, our life in a bag. —Pathetic, isn't it?"

"No. See that piece of junk?" I say, pointing at my broken shopping cart. She nods." It was a home," I say, and she laughs.

"But seriously, don't worry about the baby stuff. Maura Bellamy's been shopping. The room is full of baby things. So much so that we might have to sleep outside to fit everything in the room."

"What? Seriously? How long have you known Maura Bellamy?"

"I met her the day before yesterday. She's lovely. I've never met anyone like her," I tell Nadia Mercer, and she smiles just as a green Daihatsu Charade pulls up beside us and honks its horn several times.

"Thanks, brother," Tessa Rowan says, patting his brother on the shoulder and stepping out before he can hit his head.