Chapter 211 - A hunch - meters
Guadalupe
Astrid made us breakfast, the men left, but not before telling the blonde guy that they were leaving the most valuable thing in his hands. Each mom left her child ready, and I took care of Clarisa's kids, Melisa and Sebastián. They left, and I stayed with the six children, bringing them all into the playroom.
The twins were already crawling, and I set the older kids to work on puzzles. Whoever finished would get a prize. I don't like making them compete against each other, as I think that breeds rivalry among children. But if everyone meets the goal, they'll all know there's a reward.
Enrique was at one table and Melisa at another, very focused on their pieces. Isaac and Sebastián were playing with the ball, and the twins were my main focus to watch over, as they were very restless, climbing on everything. I had a radar for them. As their mother said, one was an earthquake and the other the aftershock.
The morning passed. At ten in the morning, Arnold entered the playroom with Astrid, who brought the snack. I was changing Milena, who had made a mess in her diaper. I gave her two kisses and put her back on the floor. Fortunately, the place was covered with a baby-friendly carpet, which looked like foam but wasn't. You had to enter in socks.
"Thanks, Tadpole, for keeping them all in one place. That way, I don't get stressed out wondering where they are in the house."
"Are you watching us?" He showed me the laptop where he could see all the cameras.
"If you pick your nose, I'll know." Gross! "And that face? Doesn't the Tadpole get boogers?"
"Yeah. But I take them out in the bathroom."
I felt uncomfortable talking about that, and the idiot laughed at the change in color on my cheeks. Astrid handed me the two baby food jars for the twins. The older kids had natural juice with a little cake, and the younger ones had the same juice in their special cups with a small cake. Milena was nearby.
But Andrea was on her way to the shelves; she had an obsession with those jars. I picked her up, sat them both in front of me, opened one jar, and fed a spoonful to one, then to the other. They finished it in no time, and then I did the same with the second jar.
"You're good at this, Tadpole."
"Miss Guadalupe, what time should I serve lunch?"
"The twins usually sleep after lunch. Enrique is old enough, and I don't know Melisa and Sebastián's schedules."
"They sleep too, from two to three."
"Thanks, Astrid."
"Mrs. Luisa told me the girls eat their soup like a puree." I nodded. "And Isaac eats everything now."
"He makes a mess, but he eats everything." They left us alone. Arnold kept watching the kids.
"I'll leave you to it. If you're going to put the kids to sleep, put them in one room, at least for today, Tadpole."
"Stop calling me Tadpole. And I'll do as you say."
He raised an eyebrow. He didn't say anything. I had seen that the closet in this playroom stored three mattresses, so we would make makeshift beds for them to sleep here. After lunch, we locked ourselves back in the playroom. The older kids had already fallen asleep on the bed Astrid helped me set up.
The middle ones were drinking their bottles on their own, and I was feeding the hungriest of Mr. Simon's daughters. But Milena was sleepy, and she falls asleep when rocked. She was about to start crying, and I was halfway through the bottle.
"Just a moment, love."
It was impossible; Milena could skip the bottle, but never her rocking to sleep. At that moment, Arnold came in, picked her up, and I looked at him gratefully. He started walking with the baby, who, with a pout, laid her head on the giant's shoulder and began to calm down. Andrea finished, and after burping, she was out like a light. We laid them down at the same time, covered them with a blanket, and now I had an hour, maybe two, to rest.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, let's go." I looked at him.
"Are you worried about something?"
"Tadpole, I really believe in Gustavo's shaman's premonitions. Go, rest a bit. As soon as one of the kids wakes up, I'll let you know."
He left, and I looked out the window. There were four men guarding the front of the house. And if we have to run, I have six kids... I looked for Astrid.
"Hello." I found her in the kitchen, smiling. She was a short woman with a round face. "By any chance, do you have a large travel bag?" she asked. "Astrid, this is just a precaution. Pass me a change of your clothes, in case we need to leave quickly. Also, give me two complete changes of clothes for the Bermúdez children."
I set to work. In the black bag, I packed clothes in separate plastic bags. Clarisa was very organized and had plastic ziplock bags in various sizes. I packed three changes of clothes for each of the twins, two for Isaac, and the rest of the children. I took one change of clothes from Astrid and one from myself. I was bold enough to take a change of clothes from each person staying in the house.
I took them to my room, then went to the playroom for some tape to label each person's package. Then I went to the kitchen to get the bottles, labeled them, and packed a thermos with water and several bottles of water. I loved Clarisa's kitchen; she had a lot of jars. I packed each person's food and took the milk for the older kids and the twins.
I put all of that in the bag. Astrid came in and handed me a portable bottle warmer. I smiled at her. I packed diapers for the children, blankets, and everything they might need. I grabbed my hands-free bag and put my papers in it. Astrid looked at me.
"You're making me nervous, Miss Guadalupe."
"Let's just say it's a hunch."
I carried the heavy bag and went to the office where Arnold was. He had a worried look on his face.
"Arnold, could you put this in the car you'll use in case we need to leave quickly?"
"Is that it?"
"Things for the kids. They're babies. If we need to run and they're hungry, they won't understand that we're fleeing."
"Are you going to be like Gustavo?"
"It's better to be cautious," he said, taking the bag.
"Are you carrying rocks instead of diapers?"
"There are six kids."
I accompanied him to the garage. I saw the car seat for the twins. I took it; it was special, narrower, a single seat with two spots. Night fell. Although Arnold didn't say anything, I had seen him worried. He met with several men who were guarding the house.
It was already nine at night. The children were in their pajamas. The only ones awake were the older kids. I had put the four babies to sleep. The moms told me they'd be back around ten. They had called throughout the day. I had a bottle in the fridge for each of the children just in case.
Nerves took over me. I went to find Arnold in the office. He had his gun in hand, and my heart raced. He gestured for me to stay silent.
There were men outside the house, about seven of them. In theory, there were more men here. Güerito turned up the volume on the camera recording the men who seemed to want to enter the house.
"There should be about six men," said a guy in strange Spanish, giving instructions to four men. "We have information that only the nanny, a cook, and the two children of one of the cartel members are here. He's the only one with kids. We need them alive to blackmail him. He's at the clinic with his wife now." I looked at Arnold.
"We just kidnap the kids and that's it?"
"Exactly. We kill the guard and then we can enter the house."
"Lupe, we need to get out of here. All day, I've seen three trucks circling the house repeatedly. We need to get the kids into Cereza's SUV. It's bulletproof."
My hands were shaking. I felt cold, while he seemed so calm. He cupped my face in his big hands.
"Look at me. We're going to get out of here. Do you trust me?" I nodded. "Alright, little one, we have to take care of six kids. These guys will be in soon, and I want the kids in that car. While you get them ready, I'll gather everyone's papers."
"How do you know where they are?"
"We always keep them in the same place."
We ran to do our tasks. I went for the prepared bottles in the fridge. Andrea would soon ask for food. Then I went up to the playroom. Astrid was watching them.
"We need to go."