Falling into you

I had gone to Jo’s apartment for a breather.

Six months earlier, I had given birth to my fourth child, a beautiful baby girl. It had been one of the happiest moments of my life.

Then my husband left.

The reality of having four children had finally become too much for him, and suddenly I was left trying to work out what came next. My perfect marriage had shattered before my eyes.

I was holding up exceptionally well for someone who had just been abandoned after a ten-year marriage. My beautiful children had kept me together. I made sure we were always busy as a family whenever possible.

Being a mother had been my lifelong dream. I was determined to excel as a loving mother, with or without a husband.

I only felt guilty that my children had to grow up without a father.

That afternoon, I sat in Jo’s stylish apartment, trying to have the tiniest bit of normality amidst all the madness of being the latest single mum in the neighbourhood.

Then I watched him.

Tall.

Handsome.

Impeccably dressed in a sharp, fitted designer suit, with an expensive watch on his wrist.

He moved around Jo’s living room with complete confidence, demonstrating a new piece of technology as though he had been doing it his entire life.

Jo’s friend had referred her to someone doing some kind of direct-sales promotion, and she had asked me to join her.

I watched the demonstration unfold.

The product was impressive.

But it was the man demonstrating it who really commanded the room.

His name was Fire.

What a self-indulgent name.

You could feel his confidence oozing through the space.

Jo was impressed enough to buy the system. Right away.

Trust me, she must have loved it because it was not cheap.

Once the demonstration was over, we sat on the sofa in her living room while Fire packed up and finalised some paperwork. The conversation naturally turned to me.

“So… what are you going to do?” Jo asked softly.

I knew she cared.

I let out a sigh. I didn’t want to be too dramatic or appear weak.

“I don’t know. Find a full-time teaching job as soon as possible, I hope.”

“But what about financially?” Jo asked.

I let out another sigh. “I don’t know yet. I’ll figure something out.”

The thought of my savings disappearing before my eyes flashed through my mind.

I meant it.

Somehow, I would.

What I didn’t know was that someone else had been listening.

Fire turned towards me.

“You’re a teacher?”

He walked over to join us as he asked.

“Part-time only. I’ve been teaching while raising my four kids.”

“You have four kids?”

He raised his voice, and his expression looked almost comical.

I smiled politely. Most people reacted that way when they found out I was a mother of four. I was used to it.

“Three sons and a little princess, just six months ago,” Jo added.

“Her bastard husband recently took off too. The pressure of raising four kids finally got to him.” Jo rolled her eyes and said it bitterly.

It took him only a few seconds to regain his calm posture before he said in his professional tone:

“It will be tough to raise four kids on a teacher’s salary.”

He paused for a second.

Then he asked, “Have you ever thought about sales?”

I almost laughed.

“Me? Never. I could never be a salesperson.”

I shook my head almost hysterically because it was the funniest thing I’d heard in a long time.

Sales?

Me?

Absolutely not.

I couldn’t imagine myself standing in front of strangers trying to convince them to buy something.

Especially not something with that kind of price tag.

Fire wasn’t convinced.

“It’s not difficult to sell when the product is good. You’re selling a better quality of life. Health and wellbeing.”

I listened.

Jo nodded like a fan.

“Most people would buy it, right? Not many people will say no to better living. I bought it, didn’t I? I can’t wait to start using it at home and upgrade my living.”

She looked at me eagerly.

She was so bought into the product.

Or maybe she was more bought into the handsome salesperson standing next to her.

More likely.

“You can work around your children,” he continued. “And if you’re good, you can make proper money.”

I studied this handsome man again.

He did look well-off.

And successful.

He looked like a model who had just walked out of a designer shop.

And don’t forget that watch.

My father liked watches like that too.

Men liked to show their success by comparing watches, just like women compared jewellery and designer bags.

Jo continued chatting to Fire while I spaced out, lost in my train of thought.

I looked around the apartment.

At my friend.

At Fire.

At the life I had suddenly been forced to rebuild.

Maybe I didn’t need to know exactly what I was going to do.

What have I got to lose? I can find a full-time teaching job if it doesn’t work out.

I chanted it in my head.

“So when can I start?” I looked at Fire.

Fire smiled, raised an eyebrow and replied,

“Next week.”

It was just after Christmas.

New Year.

A brand-new start.

And a brand-new job alongside a handsome man like that?

What have I got to lose?

I thought to myself once again.