3 I WANT A MUMMY

Chapter 3… I WANT A MUMMY!

The next morning, Selena watched as the children did their class exercises in silence. They were all five or four year olds but they knew their way around the alphabet.

A while later, they were done and she began to pack up their books. She gathered them on the side of her desk since she would be staying extra hours to finish marking them.

The bell for recreation time rang and the classroom Nanny and keeper came to take the children to the playground after they had their lunch.

Selena was alone in the classroom and decided to mark the exercises to save her time. That way, she didn't have to spend any extra hours in the school.

She had only begun marking when her phone beeped, indicating a message. She glanced at it to see that it was her brother, Rick.

He hadn't returned home all through the night and he was only texting to apologize now.

She picked up the phone and sent a simple reply: 'You're so dead when I return home!'.

When she sent it she turned on some music and continued to mark the books by her side.

*****

When the bell for closing rang, the kids started to disperse one by one. Until they were all gone. Bella's driver came earlier than usual to pick her up.

Selena grabbed her purse, phone, and key and closed the door behind her. When she got into her car, she sat in silence for a while, letting her head wrap around things.

She had to drop by Megan's cake store on her way home. Megan was her best friend from childhood. She was of African descent -just like her. Only that Selena's mother was African- but had lived all her life in Canada.

They had a few things to discuss about her new job. She had only taken this teaching job a few weeks ago -barely a month- when she lost her job as a lawyer due to what she believed to be a conspiracy.

Of course, it must be a conspiracy. Otherwise, how would one explain case files going missing from the firm with no trace, whatsoever?

Taking a clear breath, she started the car and zoomed out of the school compound.

Meanwhile, in Timothy's office, he was having a hard time talking to his four-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

He was trying to understand why she would let her teacher forcefully bring her to her house. But, the child was adamantly refusing.

Bella was starting to get tired of explaining simple things to her father. Was he dumb or what? She had been explaining for hours but he wasn't listening.

"Fine!" She yelled, giving up on talking to him. "If you don't believe, then don't. Miss Scott didn't force me to go home with her. I wanted to. She was scared but I insisted."

"Why would you insist on going home with her then?" Timothy frowned, holding his temples. He could feel his head burning. "For goodness's sake, Ella, she's a stranger-"

"To you!" Bella interrupted, tears already pouring down her face and it was weakening Timothy.

"She's not a stranger to me." Bella sobbed. "I like her. I want her."

Timothy frowned. "You can like her, okay? You can't 'want' her. What is she -some kinda of ice cream?"

"I want her." Bella retorted calmly and folded her arms across her chest.

"Want her? As your tutor? Fine!" Timothy said with a glare towards the four-year-old. He had spoiled her too much.

"No! As my mummy."

Timothy almost choked on his saliva. "As your what?"

"MUMMY!"

"Are you crazy, Isabelle Reese Lancaster!?" Timothy yelled. His voice was so loud that it brought his assistant, Marcella, into the office. When Marcella saw that it was a father-daughter discussion, she quietly retreated without anyone noticing.

"How would you want a total stranger who has only been your teacher for three weeks-"

"Four weeks!" Bella corrected with a smile. "She's been my teacher for four weeks."

Timothy hissed. "Whatever! My point is you don't even know her. How could you want her?"

"Fine, Daddy," Bella said calmly and returned to her seat on the couch.

She didn't say anything else to her father and this scared Timothy. Whenever Bella was silent on an issue, be sure she had a plan you would love to hate.

He stood up from his chair and went to sit beside her. Timothy didn't say anything until after five minutes of waiting for her to speak in vain.

"What do you want, Bella?" He asked calmly, bringing the baritone of his voice to its lowest form possible. "Tell me."

Bella kept her eyes trained on the walls. "Nothing Daddy."

Timothy raised a brow. That wasn't true. "Bella, wh-"

"Just want to return to mummy." She said with a grin then turned to face Timothy who had turned as white as a plain sheet. "I want to go back to America. To mummy."

"Are you crazy?" Timothy whispered, clutching the hand of the couch so tight, he saw his knuckles turn white.

Bella turned to her dad and frowned. "I need a mother, Daddy. Everybody in my class does. Except me."

"But you have me"

"You're my daddy, not my mummy." Bella sighed. She leaned on her father's chest and wrapped her tiny arms around his waist.

"I want a mummy, dad."

Timothy gritted his teeth at the sad memory of his wife. He hated to think of her. Even the mere sound of her name caused air to hang in his throat.

He shook his head and refused to think of her. Raina had put him through so much pain to last a lifetime.

He sighed. Pulling his daughter closer, he placed a lingering kiss on her hair. Her lavender hair oil wafted through his nostrils and aided in calming his raging mind.

"Daddy?" Bella mumbled. She knew her father didn't like to talk of her mother, and neither did she, but she threw it out as her last trump card. If he didn't agree after this, he would never agree.

"Bella," Timothy called in a barely audible tone. His body had weakened drastically. He had so little energy left in him to argue with Bella. "Why do you want her as your mum?"

"Daddy, would you do what I ask if I told you?" She asked, looking straight into his eyes. Her brown eyes told him she was serious.

"Would you tell me?" He asked. "I will do what you want after it."

"You promise?"

"I promise"

Bella smiled. "Okay…"