If I took care of the water and electric bills, that would take about a quarter of the money I had. It was still early in the month, and who knew when Diana would give me the next allowance? In any case, I had no choice because we needed water and power. We couldn't use water from buckets and candles for light. Diana was certainly not going to take care of it, and no one else was going to help me.
In this life, I wouldn't let Diana's antics stress me out. I would cook and clean for myself and make money my own way.
I went to the large kitchen and checked the cupboards and fridge to see what was inside. There wasn't much to cook with, and the fridge was empty because there was no power.
"Let's go take care of the power and water bills and then let's go shopping to get ingredients," I told Tony.
After preparing ourselves to go out, we left the house and rushed to go pay the bills before the offices closed. We then went to the grocery store to get ingredients to make dinner.
Returning home I was glad to see the power was working and we had water. Tony and I began to prepare dinner. I had him help me either cut some ingredients or put them into the pot.
"Mmhmm, mum this is really good!" He commented as he ate. "I didn't know you could cook!"
I smiled as he complimented my cooking. I'm glad he didn't have too many questions about why I knew how to cook. I had years of practise unbeknownst to him. We ate dinner and washed the dishes then I had him prepare for bed. After he brushed his teeth, I tucked him into bed
"So tomorrow you're really not going to see Daddy?" he asked.
I recalled that on Sundays when Keith didn't go to work, I would go to his home (our former home) and demand to see him. He never let me see him of course.
"No, I'm going stay with you," I assured Anthony. He smiled at me with a look of relief.
"Sleep tight, Tony. I love you," I told him and kissed him on his forehead.
"Goodnight mum," he told me. I caressed his hair as he slowly but surely began to fall asleep.
I watched him as he slept for a while. My whole day replayed in my mind as I did. I couldn't believe I'd died and come back again. Regardless of how it had happened I was just so grateful to have been given this second chance. Looking at Tony's peaceful sleeping face I realized I had taken so many moments like this for granted. Funny how you appreciate something once you lose it. In this life I wanted enjoy every moment with my son after experiencing the regret I felt earlier. I wanted to have no regrets this time.
After a while of watching him sleep, I got up and quietly left his room, closing his door behind me.
With him now sleeping my mind then went to worrying about our finances. With less than 1000 dollars and a whole month ahead of us I had to figure out how to make more money. The only good thing about my situation was I didn't have to pay rent. Keith owned this property. Hopefully, I would find a job soon, so we didn't have to worry too much about our finances. After making sure all the doors were locked I went to my room and began to work on my CV and research open job positions. I was hoping I would finish soon so that by Monday I could already start applying.
The next day Tony and I stayed at home. As I had promised him, I didn't go anywhere. I decided that this would be a good tie to clean the house. It was a mess from Of course my previous self-had tried to clean things as best as she could since she had no maids, but the work was sloppy. It would a few more years of having to clean for myself before I really got used to it.
Tony helped me as well and by the afternoon the house was immaculately clean. Once we were done, I took him to the park after lunch. It was relaxing not having to stress myself worrying about Keith or Diana. Just having fun with my son.
"Tony, you have school tomorrow remember to make sure all your books are packed, and your bag is ready," I reminded him once we returned home .
Suddenly his expression changed. It went from being happy to nervous and sad. A look of concern then appeared on my face.
"Yes, mum," he responded and went to do as I had told him.
I instantly knew he was worried about school, and it was most likely because of the situation we were in. There was no doubt in my mind that the other children were talking about our situation and giving him a hard time. I knew from my past life that when my friends stopped talking to me after they switched to Diana's side their children that were Tony's friends as well turned away from him as well. It was unfortunate that he was suffering as if he had done something wrong.
Tony went to a prestigious private school for wealthy families. At the very least despite kicking us out of the house Keith allowed Tony to remain enrolled at the school. Diana couldn't interfere with that because it would be obvious to Keith if he suddenly wasn't enrolled. Diana only inconvenienced us in things she knew Keith wouldn't find out about.
Diana's son, Marco, was also enrolled at the school which made me nervous. Since he was a year older than Tony, he was a grade above him. So at least they weren't in the same class. However, they would still occasionally bump into each other. I worried for Tony when they bumped into each other. I wondered if it was awkward for them. Was Marco also bullying him?