She fights me only a little, before stepping into the room. I’m not prepared for what I see. Her eyes are haggard, and worn, deep bags lining the un...derside of her silvery eyes. Her shoulders are slumped, and everything about her bespeaks of exhaustion. She isn't even wearing her light suit. She looks decidedly different without the light dancing along her smooth pink skin. But none of that is what truly surprises me.Lela is pregnant.Her stomach is noticeably larger than the last time I'd seen. She now told them.“That her and their moms were now going to leave them for a few hours.And some nice ladies were going to spend some time with them.The ladies were like teachers and they would be teaching them some very important things.”Valentina smiled to herself.When she saw the looks the boys gave her when she said the ladies were teachers. She now left the room.The boys in the room now got excited when they heard the bell sound.The girls at the last minute decided not to call the boys out. We were living then in a small 1BHK flat in Mulund, Mumbai. This was a flat on the top floor and there were 4 flats to each floor. 2 of the flats, on the opposite side, were occupied by elderly families who were retired. The 3rd flat was unoccupied for a while and then one day a young man, around my age came to stay as a tenant there.The elderly couples used to treat me like their daughter and they used to drop in every now and then or have me visit their houses and used to treat me to lovely. Now every time I spoke with a male colleague I would find myself watching them closely to see if I could pick up on any glances, or signs that I was speaking with my mystery man. I still get embarrassed when I think of the way I got flustered when Joe, in I.T support, asked me a simple question and I took it completely the wrong way. “Do you need me to come stick a big cartridge in for you?” he’d asked. “Joe! I think that’s hardly an appropriate thing to say to me,” I had scolded through red.
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