Throughout the rest of the day, Mara lived in suspense. Whenever she heard any footsteps, she started in fear, thinking it was Leo's wife come to throw her out of the house or Leo himself coming to ask her to leave.
Earlier in the morning, after fixing her with her worst withering glare, Leo's wife had left her alone and she had not seen her since. She knew she was somewhere in the house. God knows the house was large enough for many people to live in it and still not come in regular contact with one another. But she had seen Leo and despite trying so hard to see if his manner towards her had changed, she could not find any proof of it. Instead, he had eagerly asked about her health and went on to play with the baby after she had repeatedly assured him that she did not need to see a doctor.
He seemed happy to have her in the house and he and little Leo (she had decided to keep it as the baby's name) were strongly attached to each other. This made Mara wonder when or if his wife would ever express her displeasure at having them in the house. Not that she had received any guarantee from Leo himself that she was welcome to stay, but she had seen enough of his kindness and good sense to know that he wouldn't throw her out if she had nowhere to go. And she was sure that he knew she was homeless and helpless, even though she had not told him anything about it. Somehow, they had this mutual understanding of each other.
The dreaded blow eventually came on the morning of the next day. After breakfast and breastfeeding little Leo, her host came to see her personally. He was as happy and solicitous as usual and played and laughed with the baby for so long that Mara was beginning to think that her stay in the house was guaranteed for now, but eventually, he asked to have a little talk with her. Mara's heart sank.
Struggling to breathe evenly, she composed herself and prepared to meet the inevitable blow. Leo began by clearing his throat.
"Ahem. You see, I've thought about it and I think it would do you a world of good if you and Leo were to move to a more conducive environment. This place usually... um... I mean, it gets crowded sometimes and... and a lot of people come to visit... and it could be very noisy, you know."
Mara nodded as if she really knew. But in fact, her heart was pounding like a jackhammer.
"So I think you should go to somewhere better," Leo continued, his confidence boosted by her apparent agreement. "I have already seen to the arrangements, so all you have to do is um... go there. It's a really beautiful place, small and warm. In fact, I'm sure you'll like it."
"Thank you very much," Mara croaked with tears in her eyes. She would have loved to give him much greater thanks, but she could not trust herself to not break down in tears. Ha! She would not be thrown out after all. Even though she knew that the idea to move her to a new place was certainly his wife's, she appreciated the manner in which he had expressed it to her - with so much care and concern. Christ, she loved this man!
*****
*****
It had taken a while before Mara and her baby finally moved into the new place. Leo himself had driven them there. That was the first time Mara had a view of the compound and its occupants. It was grander than anything she had ever imagined and it was clear that Leo owned it all.
The large number of staff she saw, many of which looked like bodyguards, as Leo led her out of the house was nothing short of shocking to her. She never thought so many people could work in one compound. Her father was the richest man she had ever known, but he seemed like a pauper compared to Leo. Everywhere she turned, there was someone anticipating their needs and there were several others bowing to Leo.
She loved that he was nice and warm to all of them and it only made her love him more than ever. Christ, she wished she was his... his sister. She couldn't dare imagine herself to be his... his... Christ, she couldn't even think of the word. He was already married, even though he was clearly a young man, and she could only imagine what his wife would do to her if she found out the kind of thoughts that were going through her mind.
Eventually, they had gotten into a car the like of which Mara had never seen in her life. But despite all the people around, Leo himself got her and the baby into the passenger side before getting into the driver side and she overheard him rejecting a suggestion from one of the men around that he should be allowed to drive them.
This was the first time Mara had seen Leo come close to something like anger. Obviously, the man had made the suggestion before and clearly, it had been rejected, and he was making it again, to the chagrin of his boss. Just what rich guy would personally drive a homeless girl when he had so many people available to do it? This was a question Mara couldn't help but ask herself. Obviously, Leo was one in a million. And again, she wished she could be his... Oh Lord.
After Leo had taken her to the new house, which was a small bungalow in a semi-rural area, nice and warm, with fields all around, he had decided to hire a maid for her, but Mara begged him not to do it. He had already done so much for her - a total stranger. If he did too much more, his wife could find out about it and there would certainly be trouble. She didn't tell him all this, but he seemed to understand in that queer way they understood each other.
Before he left, he showed her around the house, pointed out the fact that everything she needed was available and if she ever needed anything else, she should simply call him. Mara was grateful beyond words, but she could only thank him with words. She wished she could hug him, but that would be going too far. If only she was his wife, she wouldn't have to worry about that, would she?
Over the next few days, Leo came by often on his way to work to check on her and play with the baby. It was on one of those visits that he hinted at getting a job for her in case she felt the need to do something when Leo got old enough for pre-school. Mara seized the opportunity immediately. She was so glad to be of use. That was how she ended up working for him as a secretarial assistant which was in fact a fancy word for office messenger. But neither of them could ever have imagined what lay ahead for both of them, especially Leo.