I took a deep breath as I cleared my workstation; I had just closed my shop for the day, and the frown on my face had turned into a sneering scowl as I watched merciless sheets of thick snow fall from the sky, accompanied by gusts of wind.
The thermometer told me how cold it was, so I decided not to bring a few of my unfinished projects home because I knew I'd have time to finish them next week. It had been snowing all day, and so many people were complaining about the weather.
How maintenance had no time to clear the roads, which were slippery and snowy, and how, once again, the city had saved electricity by halving the number of light poles, so not all of them were on. It was only 2 p.m., but the sun was setting soon; despite the fact that it was January, or the end of it, we had been up north for quite some time, and the days were short here.
I reserved extra time to clean my car because driving to Mariella's took more time, especially for the kids. It was best to take your time due to the weather conditions. I removed my apron, packed what few baked goods had been left over, emptied my register, and took the drive that was connected to my system, displaying my sales and taxes, for Charles so he could keep up.
My muscles ached, and I had been here alone, lifting and moving, selling and talking, rather than sitting, despite the fact that I was pregnant, but there was no need for me to become an invalid, as I could still be active for quite some time.
I was not thrilled with the weekend because I would have to taste all of the salvatores again, and I still had no need for blood; it was simply the fact that my pregnancies could not be easy, not by a long shot.
As I finally walked out of my shop and locked the door, snow fell in thick sheets, and the icy wind tried to turn me into an icicle on the spot. I had put on a lot of clothes, but I needed some dexterity with my car, and even though my gloves were warm, my fingers still felt cold as I finally got the brush and began to clear my car.
Using the spell was ineffective because it did not work perfectly, and because my windshield was frozen, even though I had turned on the heat, I had to scrape the ice off. My face was nipped by the wind, and by the time I had cleaned my car, I was nearly frozen solid, or so it felt.
I got in the car and huddled in the warmth for a moment before starting to back out and heading to the road to fetch Mariella first, followed by the kids. The girls had left earlier for home because Charles had picked them up from Mariella's shop, so she was also alone in there.
My wipers were almost working overtime as I tried to keep my windshield clear, and my speed was tortoise-like because the road was difficult to drive on, and my backend swerved a few times slightly as slippery snow gave way. There was no plowing machine right here, right now, because there were so many roads and only a limited number of machines, and the city had contracts in place, which meant they would only have a certain number of workers, so it was as it was.
The light was dimming by the time I arrived at Mariella's shop yard, and despite being only a few kilometers away, it had taken me nearly 30 minutes to get there. I sat in the car, waiting for her to emerge, and five minutes later, the lights were turned off, and she emerged, bundled up in thick clothes, trudged to the car, opened the door, and let the freezing blast in.
She sat down, closed the door, and said, "Oh my God, awful weather!" I swear I was frozen solid just walking to the car."
I rolled my eyes and said, "If this snow keeps falling, we'll have to dig this out when we have kids; as you know, we have to listen to daily reports and discuss if there is a need."
Mariella nodded. It was tedious, but it was also necessary; it was one of the reasons why men rarely got the kids because they did not want to stand there and listen to daily reports on what had been learned, how the children had behaved, whether there had been any problems, and how they had been eating.
We'd have to help them dress and ensure they had everything they needed. This was accomplished through the use of small beaded charms attached to each of their lunch bags; if the charm was red, everything was fine; if it was blue, something was missing, and either Mariella or I would have to check to see if it was spare clothes or a lunchbox, and then we had to find it.
So it wasn't just going to wait for the kids to be ready, but it was busy because there were 49 kids in this group, and 33 of them were finishing their day at the time, so there were a lot of adults and families, and it might take some time for us to hear the daily report because there were so many kids to send off.
Now, as our kids were still under three, their group size was usually 8 and two adults, meaning one adult per four kids, but because it was important for kids to mix and meet the others, they were sometimes grouped differently, so I might have to listen to three different reports, as they currently had five toddler groups, and my five kids might be three of them.
Seraphina and Sabrina did not want to be separated, but others had no problem; the same thing with Mariella, her triplets might have been each with their own group. And then there was always a written report for us in Friday's weekly report, which needed Damon's signature by Monday, implying that, because he had logged himself as a co-parent, he needed to be aware of everything as well. This was only part of the special grant.
So much tedious bureaucracy, but it was what it was, and it taught me patience, at least in part. As Mariella buckled herself in, I began to drive out of the yard and onto the road; now we had to drive into Roseau to pick up the kids, and the road was not in good condition, but we had time; as previously stated, those pickup times were usually so busy that we would have to wait anyway.
I grunted as I began driving down the larger road leading to Roseau, the lights dimming and the snow falling as hard as it always did.
Mariella said, "Thank God it's the weekend; I'm so hungry. I'm not sure when we'll be able to start our maternity leave. I'm actually looking forward to being at home and not having to work. It's not that I dislike it; it's just this damn weather and everything, and I'm on my feet almost all the time, and I'm not sure if I make a decent profit. I am beat."
I just harrumphed, not bothering to respond because she was as annoying to me as usual, and I was not in the mood to snap at her; I was trying to control my irritation and focus on driving.
"Oh my gosh, don't these damn drivers know how to use lights? There's no need to use all of them; it doesn't help and only blinds us," Mariella complained as another large truck passed us by, its lights blaring, and it had two heavy trailers behind it.
I'd heard from men how difficult it was to drive in this weather, and it took some skill to maneuver a heavy truck with two trailers on a road that was partially covered in snow, and not even salting always helped. I focused on driving, keeping my pace moderate, on the road to Roseau, which was heavily trafficked and had a quite damn deep ravine, or ditch, on its side.
As there had once been a railway, but this road had been raised as they built this new one, and a new railroad was built on the other side, the ravine remained with jagged stones and no railing, so it was a bit of a hazard, but the state had no money to put railings on it or make it safe because there had been no accidents in a long time.
Sometimes a drunk driver ends up in there, but usually only with bruises and whatnot because there was still some leeway before the ditch.
As we drove on, I was just randomly thinking about everything and anything, but one thing was for sure: if I ever had to come around these hoods for a mission or sniping, it would be quite nostalgic, as these roads, weather, and people were a big part of my life. And the mere thought of having to make a blasting mission or some sniping seemed almost insulting, as this was our home. But I also knew that once this time was over, the real world would bleed here, and nasty guys like Sark or Krycheck might be around as well, and it was then again a thought that made me even more pissed off.
So much so that Mariella asked, "Why in the world are you so hellishly pissed off? You smell like old and used strawberry bubblegum, meaning your rage is about to blow over."
I took a breath and pressed my rage down; my head ached slightly, meaning I was making some poisons as my fangs reacted too. Damon had not shut them off just yet, as he wanted to test my stuff. As those concoctions and what I had done to Mariella had stumped his teeth; his teeth could not understand them at first, and for Damon, well, his ego as a teeth vampire, the best, was quite damn big, and me doing that caliber stuff meant I was now a person of interest with my dental substances.
When we arrived at the daycare center, there were numerous cars parked throughout the area, making it difficult to find a suitable parking spot. Despite the longer distance, I was able to find parking for our larger vehicle. However, the wind was blowing violently, leaving little time to clear the car.
"I hate this stupid report thing," Mariella muttered under her breath as we stepped out of the car into the cold air and quickly entered.
I'd made sure the seats were primed and the kids were easy to bundle up; Mariella's three would face us, and mine would be back to us so they could see each other. This was a large car with eight seats strapped in.
It was warmer inside as we walked in, but it was still busy as usual, with parents getting their children dressed or someone listening to daily reports. If there was nothing unusual in the daily report, they would give it right away, but if there was a problem, you would have to go to the office to hear it out; there was no need for others to hear it.
"Mommy, mommy, look what I drew," I heard Sadie say before I saw her, and she was running towards me with a paper in her hands.
Her hair was once again loose and tangled; no matter what kind of braid she had in the morning, she got it out, unless Damon concentrated and cast spells and energies on her hair, but as she was more or less siphon, those weren't so surefire either.
I crouched and hugged her, looking at her drawing, which was about her and me and other kids, no men, because she wanted to be with Mommy rather than daddies; she was going through this phase right now.
Mariella's girls came to her as well, chatting and arguing; as usual, they were constantly accusing each other of anything and everything, and it took some time for Mariella to calm them down.
I was leading my horde as the rest of the kids followed me to the clothes rack and began dressing themselves. It was one thing that required time. One of the childcare assistants brought their lunch bags to me, and I thanked them. Now it was time to bundle them up, wait for reports, and go home. Oh my goodness, I was exhausted. Darien was hugging me, pressing his head against my belly, and talking to his unborn sibling; Dash was jumping up and down, eager to leave; Seraphina and Sabina were standing and watching others; I rolled my eyes because they had a pretty damn judgmental gaze.
It took me 50 minutes to get the kids dressed, make sure everything was with them, and listen to reports from three different people. Sadie had been in her new group, and she had done well, according to the nanny. She was artistic but impatient and lacked discipline to make everything perfect, but she was just a kid. Darien and Dash had been in another group; their carer told me that both boys were very athletic and energetic, the best in their group. Seraphina and Sabrina had been together, and they were not too keen to play with others but to be together, judging others.
I took those reports home to show Damon, and Mariella had to listen to three different reports because her children were also divided into different groups.
As we exited into frigid air, kids were running, and I had to tell them, "No, do not run; just walk. Too many cars. Come on, easy does it."
Mariella herded her flock to our car as well, and I heard Amber whining, "Mommy, I am hungry, my fingers are cold, and I need to pee."
Mariella said, "You just peed right before we left; food will be at the table at home, and let's go to the car to warm up."
Her voice grated on my ears, and my blood pressure shot up, but I kept my cool. It was not easy to be a parent.
"Mommy, what's for dinner? I don't want chicken," Sadie asked as I lifted her into the car and buckled her up.
I told her, "Let's see what dads have made; if you're hungry, chicken will taste great."
Mariella grunted as she reached for Tiffany to put her belt on, and Tiffany was attempting to open her coat.
"Don't open it; you'll get cold." Mariella snapped at her, "Listen to me and behave!"
Tiffany said, "But it's not nice; I don't want it."
Her lower lip quivered, and Mariella sighed as she buckled Tiffany up.
I was putting Darien in his seat when he said to me, "I love you, Mommy. You are so wise and strong." I smiled and got him into his seat as well.
Finally, all the kids were buckled and secured in the car, their bags were in the trunk, and we got in as well. Cars were still leaving and coming into the yard, and it took me some time to get out. I had turned on the heat, but the snowy boots of the kids made the air moist, and the windows fogged slightly until the moisture was gone.
As I finally got onto a larger road, we were ready to drive back home, which would take some time because the road was in even worse condition than when we arrived.
It was already dark, and because not all the lights were turned on, there were darker spots, and the lights of approaching vehicles occasionally hit our eyes, but I maintained my concentration despite Mariella muttering half-curses under her breath.
We were driving in our lane when I noticed bright lights in my rearview mirror; there was a massive semi coming behind us, and it took the other lane, as there were four lanes, two on each side, and accelerated to pass us.
Mariella muttered, "Oh my god, one of those again," as Semi approached us with two trailers. "Don't they have any...?"