Heartbeat by Iem_Aivlis

I stopped walking when I was near the toilet. The man was still walking towards me. When the pervert was in front of me, I opened the lid of Abigail's drink that was in my hand.

"What are you doing?" he asked in an irritated tone while looking at me.

Instantly the white t-shirt the man was wearing became wet. His white t-shirts changed color instantly. Brown liquid from Abigail's drink stuck to the front of his white shirt. He started to clean the liquid using both of his hands. It seems like that t-shirt must be really hard to clean.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." I replied to the man standing in front of me. I lowered my head to hide the smile on my lips.

"What happened, why are Uncle Christ's clothes wet?" Abigail asked as she just came out of the toilet.

So I immediately held my daughter's right hand, while saying. "Looks like he can't go with us, baby." I said in a spoiled tone.

"You see the clothes he's wearing are wet." I could see this man staring at me as I talked to my daughter. Was he mad? Ah, just let it be, the important thing is that he cancelled going with us.

"Why doesn't uncle Christ try cleaning it in the toilet?" Abigail asked when she was near Christ.

"It looks like it'll still leave a mark, baby. You see Uncle Christ's clothes are white. So, it's just the two of us going, okay?" I tried to convince my daughter to agree to it.

"It's okay, Bie. Let's just cancel our plans. Maybe next time if we have time we can go together." The man said.

What did he say, Bie? Since when did he know Abigail's nickname? Only people close enough to my daughter are allowed to call her that name. Just watch, Abigail will definitely be angry soon. My daughter doesn't like people she's not very familiar with calling her by her nickname.

"Okay, Uncle Christ. It looks like Mom and Bie will also go home." Abigail replied to Christ.

Why isn't Bie mad? So, they're really that close? I'll have to talk about this later at home.

"How about I drive you and your Mom home?" Christ offered.

"Is that okay? Won't that bother you, Uncle Christ?" Bie interrupted before I had a chance to speak.

"Of course not, come on!" Christ said as he started walking out of the public toilet. Bie followed him, leaving me alone.

Why do I feel sad because Bie didn't invite me? My daughter just left without waiting for me. I had no choice but to accept Christ's ride, didn't I? Before anything strange happened I started to follow them. After arriving in front of Christ's car, Bie tried to open the front door of the car. I quickly grabbed the doorknob of Christ's front car.

"Mom, sit here, baby." I stopped Bie from sitting in the front seat.

"But I want to sit with Uncle Christ, Mom." Bie refused while folding his arms in front of his chest.

"No way. You have to sit in the back seat, baby." Without waiting for approval from Bie and the car owner, I immediately opened the door then sat in the front seat and immediately closed the door.

From behind the glass window I saw the two of them talking. I couldn't hear their conversation. Maybe the car owner was trying to persuade Bie to sit in the back seat, I thought. Not long after that they started to get into the car. And Christ started to drive his car. Every now and then Abigail would speak to show us the way to our house. Actually, our house is not far from where we were earlier. Only, I won't let the two of them go home without me.

"Thanks for the ride." I said to him when we were in front of the porch.

"You're welcome." Christ replied to me.

I got out of the car and so did my daughter. I didn't expect Christ to also get out of his car. He approached my daughter holding a gift box.

"This is a Christmas present for you, Bie." Christ said as he handed the package in his hand to Abigail.

"What is this?" Bie couldn't wait to open the package.

Bie took out the contents of the package, then a white cellphone appeared. Why did this man give my daughter such an expensive Christmas present? What is this man's real intention in approaching my daughter?

"I can contact you when I have free time, Bie. I have entered my mobile number." He said while pointing at the cellphone in my daughter's hand.

"Wow, this is so cool. Thank's uncle Christ." Bie said while jumping for joy.

"Yes, you're welcome. I'm glad that you like it. Then I'll take my leave." Christ spoke, then started walking towards his car.

I took out my house key. Then we both went inside the house. I changed my clothes into more casual clothes. As usual I clean the kitchen when I'm not working at the boutique. After finishing my work, I started looking for my daughter's whereabouts. It turned out that Bie was lying on her stomach on the bed. It looked like Bie was playing with her cellphone. I approached her and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Bie, Mom doesn't like seeing you so close to strangers." I said to her.

Suddenly my daughter turned her head towards me. Bie tried to digest my sentence.

"What do you mean, Mom?" She asked in surprise.

"Yes, Uncle Christ. Mom doesn't like seeing you two close." I explained to her.

"Mom, a stranger is someone we don't know. I know Uncle Christ and Mom already knows his name. He is a good man." She replied while staring at her cellphone screen.

"So you'll really always accompany him when he's bored?" I asked.

Bie looked confused, then she started to get up from her place and sat opposite me.

"When bored? Who? Uncle Christ?" Bie asked, frowning.

"Uncle Christ told me about how you first met. So Mom already knows everything." I said while looking at her.

"So Mom already knows everything. Uncle Christ told mom everything?" Abigail asked while lowering her head.

It seems she is disappointed. Maybe Christ promised Bie to keep it a secret from me.

"Why should you agree to it anyway? According to Mom, it's a weird agreement." Bie still had her head down as I spoke.

Maybe Bie knew that she was wrong in this matter. But anyway, Bie had already followed the agreement. What should I do to take care of Bie? Christ wouldn't accept my money to cover the cost of the cake he bought. Maybe the cake money meant nothing to him considering how easily he gave my daughter that expensive cell phone as a Christmas present.

Bie was still staring at her cellphone that she had placed on the bed, then she started talking. "Mom, please give us three months to end this agreement. After that, Bie promises not to..."

"But Mom has to go wherever you guys go. And Mom has to manage your time. Mom is afraid that Uncle Christ will do strange things to you." I interrupted before Abigail could finish her sentence.

Suddenly Abigail lifted her head and looked at me with a confused look.

"Didn't you just have to accompany Uncle Christ when he was bored? That was the deal you two made to replace the money for the cake Uncle Christ bought you in the agreement, right? Mom thought he was also upset because your cake had dirty his shoes, that's why he made such a silly deal. So before he takes revenge on you, then Mom must stay with you. Do you understand Bie?" I explained to my daughter to which she only responded with a confused face.

As if she had managed to digest all of my sentences, Abigail immediately started nodding her head.

Bie's face, which was looking confused, suddenly changed into a wide smile. Maybe my daughter smiled because she felt relieved that I allowed her to accompany Christ for three months. Like it or not, for the time being I have to accept the agreement. Besides, it only lasts for three months. As time goes by, I will find a way for Christ himself to break their agreement.

***

"I'm going now, Baby." I said while kissing my daughter's cheeks.

"Yes, Mom. Be careful and enjoy your work!" replied my daughter while kissing my cheek too.

"You have to be good at home, Baby. Remember not to leave the door open. You can only open the door for Grandma Jane and Aunty Katty." I told my daughter.

Bie nodded while chewing her breakfast. From now on, I will no longer entrust Bie to Aunt Jane. Because from now on I'm back to working until the afternoon only. I walked out of my house. I closed the door and it locked automatically. As I was about to walk, I heard a voice. I looked for the source of the sound, it seemed like the sound came from the new resident next door to my house. At a glance I saw a black object behind the front window of the house. Because I was curious, I started walking towards the house. My gaze still hadn't left the glass window. After being in front of this house, I walked towards the window and tried to peek. I was surprised because suddenly someone patted my shoulder from behind.

*Continued*