Chapter Ten - Little Things
by @khalie436
By then, Tiara had learned that hunger had its own way of making itself known.
It could arrive quietly, as a hollow feeling beneath her ribs, or announce itself with enough force to make her forget whatever she was doing.
That afternoon, it announced itself loudly.
The smell of fried chicken drifted from the small food stand across the road and found its way into the supermarket whenever the door opened.
Tiara paused halfway through arranging a shelf.
She breathed in before she could stop herself.
Pepper.
Fried onions.
Something spicy.
Her stomach tightened.
She swallowed.
"God."
The word slipped out under her breath.
From behind the counter, the cashier—Aria—glanced in her direction.
"You want some?"
Tiara turned.
Aria was holding a bottle of water, watching her with an amused expression.
"I'm fine."
Aria raised an eyebrow.
"You've been staring at that food stand for almost five minutes."
"I wasn't staring."
"You were."
Tiara returned to the shelf.
"I was thinking."
"About chicken?"
Tiara shot her a look.
Aria laughed.
"Okay, sorry."
Tiara tried to ignore her, but the smell had already ruined her concentration.
Pregnancy had made food strangely powerful. Things she had once ignored could suddenly become irresistible, while meals she normally enjoyed could make her stomach turn.
She finished arranging the shelf and wiped her palms against her skirt.
Aria pushed the bottle of water toward her.
"Drink."
Tiara looked at it.
"I'm not thirsty."
"Then hold it."
"Why?"
"Because you're looking at me like you're about to faint and I don't want your body to become another problem for me today."
Tiara stared at her.
Then she laughed.
"You're funny."
"I know."
She took the bottle.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
It was such a small exchange that neither of them thought much of it.
At least, not yet.
A few days later, Tiara was sweeping near the entrance when Aria called out.
"Tiara."
She turned.
"Yes?"
"Your stomach is showing more now."
Tiara instinctively glanced down.
The bump had indeed become harder to hide beneath her loose clothes.
She adjusted her scarf.
"I know."
"You don't like people looking at it?"
Tiara hesitated.
"No."
Aria leaned against the counter.
"People will look."
"I know."
"Some will even talk."
Tiara's fingers tightened around the broom handle.
"I know that too."
There was an edge in her voice now.
Sometimes Aria could be too talkative. Some words, even when said out of love, could feel unnecessary.
Just like this one.
Aria noticed.
She didn't push.
Instead, she reached for a packet of biscuits from beneath the counter and held it out.
"Take."
Tiara frowned.
"What is it?"
"Biscuits."
"I can see that."
"Then take it."
Tiara looked at the packet, then at her.
"I'll pay you later."
Aria laughed.
"Who said you were paying?"
Tiara hesitated.
"Just take it," Aria said. "Before your stomach starts fighting you here."
Tiara accepted it reluctantly.
"Thank you."
"Hmm."
Aria returned to her work.
Tiara tucked the biscuits into her bag.
She didn't know why the small gesture bothered her. Maybe because it reminded her how much she still needed people.
She already ate Mama Bose's food.
She slept under Mama Bose's roof.
Mama Bose paid her a small amount whenever sales at the shop were good.
Now someone else was giving her food.
Sometimes, it felt as though her whole life had become a collection of things other people were helping her survive.
And Tiara hated that feeling.
She wanted her own money.
Her own plans.
Her own decisions.
Unfortunately, wanting independence did not make money appear.
If it did, Lagos would have solved everyone's problems long ago.
Aria noticed her silence.
"You're thinking too much again."
Tiara looked at her.
"Maybe."
"That's your problem."
"What is?"
"You think everything has to be solved immediately."
Tiara scoffed.
"And what's wrong with that?"
"Nothing."
Aria shrugged.
"Except that life doesn't always cooperate."
Tiara almost argued.
Instead, she bit her tongue.
She was beginning to realize that her temper could rise faster than common sense—and usually did.
It was one of the things she disliked about herself.
She could be patient when she wanted to be.
But when she felt cornered, even a harmless sentence could sound like an attack.
Aria watched her for a moment before speaking.
"So, Tiara, what do you actually like doing?"
Tiara rested both hands on the broom and thought for a moment.
"Clothes."
Aria smiled.
"I knew it."
"How?"
"The way you look at people when they're wearing nice clothes."
Tiara laughed.
"I don't do that."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You do."
Tiara shook her head.
"Fine. Maybe small."
Aria grinned.
"So you're a fashion person?"
"I used to learn tailoring."
Aria's eyebrows rose.
"Really?"
Tiara nodded.
"I didn't finish."
"Why?"
Tiara's fingers tightened around the broom.
"Life happened."
Aria noticed the shift in her expression.
She didn't ask again.
Instead, she pointed at the broom.
"Come and show me whether your sweeping is as good as your fashion sense."
Tiara stared at her.
"You're very annoying."
"And yet, you love me like that."
Tiara rolled her eyes and smiled brightly.
For a little while, the supermarket seemed less like a place where she worked and more like somewhere she could breathe.
Not because everything was suddenly perfect.
It wasn't.
Her bills were still waiting.
Her antenatal appointments were still ahead.
Her temper was still a problem.
And somewhere in the back of her mind, she still wondered how long she could keep building a life that had been thrown together so suddenly.
But that afternoon, between the smell of fried chicken, a packet of biscuits she hadn't asked for, and Aria's terrible jokes, Tiara found herself laughing.
Sometimes, friendship did not arrive with a grand entrance.
Sometimes, it slipped into your life quietly—
one conversation,
one shared meal,
one small kindness at a time.