LOVE AND DIAMONDS(EPISODE SEVEN)

RAYMOND

 I found myself pacing around the sitting room. It was two hours since I had beentrying to get through to Nene  but the number  always rang out and went to voicemail. I wanted to remind her of our date tonight even though I knew she wouldn’t forget. I could bet she was looking forward to our date night just as I had been since morning. I had even lost concentration during the board meetings of the editors of THE COMPASS thinking about Nene and our date and suspended the meeting till Monday. Many weird thoughts crossed my mind “what if she was involved in an accident’. I ruled that out because Nene was a very good driver maybe even better than me though I wouldn’t tell her (ego things). What if she had been robbed? I cancelled that too because the phone would have been switched off by the thief due to the incessant calls. What am I still doing here? I askedmyself. I looked at the clock on the wall, it was 6.47pm. I took my car keys from the table; I dashed out of the house after informing Lauretta that I would be coming back later.

Preye opened the door to let me in, when I entered their compound. I had looked towards the garage and seen Nene’s car parked at her usual parking space.

“Hey,” I greeted Preyewalking into the house behind her.

“Hi, Ray, good evening. Thank the heavens you are here.” She replied .

“What happened? Is Nene okay?”

“You just came at the right time Ray. Kaine has been in her room ever since she came back from the hospital. We don’t know what went wrong at the hospital but we heard her sobbing. We tried talking to her but she would neither budge nor open the door. We know she is like that sometimes locking herself up in her room but this one has passed the normal Kaine’sdeaf and dumb mode’ syndrome. Maybe you can use that your magical touch to coax her into opening the door and bring my friend out. You know how it works for you guys in the lovey lovey things.” Typical Preye,making light of every situation.

“Haha Preye, lovey lovey things eh?” I chuckled. “You never cease to amaze me but I will surely get back to you on this.” I retorted back at her.

“Oya please continue going to where you were heading to. Remember your girlfriend needs to be dragged out of her room.’

“Yes ma.” I said and left the room. When I got to the front of Nene’s door, I knocked three consecutive times and waited for a response.

KAINENE

I woke up to the incessant knocking on my door. I wiped my eyes to rub off sleep and grabbed my phone. Twenty-two missed calls; fourteen from Ray and eight from Chris. I let my mind drift back to the eventsthat happened earlier today at the hospital to the call from Chris. I remembered the  conversation I had with Chris.

“Christopher Meludu.”

“Yes, it is me Adanne. I am sorry for what happened. I am sorry for leaving you and mum after dad’s death.”

“Did you just come back from the land of the dead because the brother I knew of had been declared dead?”

“It’s the Chris you know,your brother. I am not dead. I came into the country few days ago in search of you and mum. I just got your number from Barbra yesterday. I am very sorry Nene. I just called to know if I can see you in person to apologize and know if Ican see mom. How is she Kaine?

"Mum is dead Chris. She died five days after you left to God-knows-where. She died on her way to Aswani market. She died thinking of you Chris. Mum died because of you. You left without notice, without informing anybody. You left when we needed you the most.” I shouted my voice rising ten times higher.

“Yes I know Adanne and that’s why I have come back to Nigeria to mend my ways. I can explain what happened.

 

“You owe nobody an explanation.”

“I do okay. You are my family.”

“Correction, I was. I have to go. Goodbye Chris, we have nothing to say to each other.” I finally said and disconnected the call.

     Another knock brought me back from my reverie. I felt so exhausted. Since I wasn’t dressed properly to answer the door, I walked to the mirror and the image of me wasn’t encouraging but I couldn’t care less at the moment.  My face was swollen, my eyes red and my head was like something that got itself into a battle of the titans sighed. The knocking continued, I covered myself with my bathing robe, proceeded to the door and turned the knob. Ray was at the door. He was clad in formal dinner jacket then I remembered. “Oh”, today was supposed to be our date night. “I am sorry Ray.” I said as I felt the first drop of tear on my cheeks.

“Come here.” He said as he held out his arms. I went into his waiting arms immediately and sobbed. I couldn’t pray for a better comforter than him. He patted my back. ‘It’s okay Nene. I am here now okay.” My sobbing turned to wailing as he pulled us into my room closing the door and sitting us on the bed.

RAYMOND’S POV

I walked us to Nene’s bed and sat down. I cradled her in my arms as she wept profusely. I felt so distraught and helpless not knowing how to help her even though I had promised to be always there for her. I wondered what went wrong at the hospital. I felt a thump on my chest. Nene  was thumping my chest harder as the tears continued  flowing down her beautiful face..

“Oh God why me?” Thump

“Why will all these happen to me? Why will I be the victim of a malicious attack when I know I have not wronged anybody?” Another thump.

“Why will my brother who abandoned me for years come back now claiming he is sorry and asking for forgiveness? Tell me why Ray? Why?” She said as she continued pounding my chest, this time harder. I held her tightly not saying anything because I felt it was better she let it out. After some minutes, her cries subsided to just a few sniffs until she was silent. She had fallen asleep. She looked so peaceful, nothing like the woman whom I saw when she had let me in. This was bad. What had happened must have really had a grave effect on her. The last person I had seen cry like that was my mum when my father died in my teen years. He was shot while embracing my mother on his return from work one evening. She had locked herself in her room for two days refusing to talk or eat. I watched her sleep for a while until I eventually gave in to sleep. I was coming out of sleep two hours later when I felt someone stir in my arms.

“You are still here.” Nene asked.

“Yes sweet, I couldn’t leave you like this.”

“Thank you.” She said her face lit up in a smile.

“You are welcome. Would you like to share?” I asked with hope that she wouldn’t keep me out as she had done to her friends. She nodded and sat up to face me.

“Now the parents of Fatai have threatened to sue the hospital and if that happens, I ...

“Shh…. Nothing will happen okay,” I said cutting her off.

“How sure are you about that? What are you going to do? She lifted her eyes looking at me quizzically.

“Just trust me on this one Nene. One more thing, don’t forget to keep me in on the updates okay.” She nodded.

That night, I left Nene with a promise to myself that I was going to get to the bottom of this and for her brother, well I had not met him yet but I would make sure he doesn’t put her through yet another pain all in the name of family.

KAINENE

I was having breakfast two days later in the kitchen when Amina came in and went straight to the fridge without even a glance at me. She took a bottle of water, drank some of it and placed it on the table and sat down. I knew she and Preye were angry at me for keeping them out of the loop. I had wanted to tell them but I couldn’t bring myself to, at least not yet. That night after Ray left some minutes to midnight, I had locked my room refusing to let anybody in. On Sunday, I went for the early morning mass and afterwards retreated to my room. I heard Kiki’s voice in the house, she had come knocking on my door but I didn’t let her in. I was not happy with her. At least she would have told me what had happened before I went into the children’s ward. So much for keeping a friend.  I planned to tell the girls tonight after the meeting with the hospital board. I had gotten a call from chief requesting my presence at the meeting with the hospital board as the parents of Fatai would come with their lawyer  to the hospital that morning. I knew Amina had a lot of questions on her mind. I could sense it from the continuous tapping of her fingers on the table.

“So Kaine, what’s up?” Because I had food in my mouth, I resisted before I answered, “Nothing”

“Huh”

“Nothing”

“So what happened on Saturday? The usual ‘deaf and dumb’ mood, refusing to talk, ignoring us?”  Amina had the ability to question people and she could be pretty damn blunt in her questions. Preye chose that moment to make her entrance to the kitchen.

“Yes tell us. Your boyfriend came into the house and you just let him into your room.” She made a gesture wither hands. “And you shut us out since Saturday. I mean what are friends for, not just your friends but people you live in the same house with if you can’t share your problems with us. Seriously Kaine, I am not happy with you at all.” She said joining us at the table. She took a slice of bread from my plate lading it with butter. I was short of words. I knew I was wrong for shutting them out and now they were visibly angry with me.

“I am sorry guys. I had planned to tell you but ... let me just say it now.” They both nodded. Just then my phone vibrated on the table. I picked it. “Hello” After some talks with the person at the other line, I picked my bag from the table.

“I am sorry guys, I have to leave you now.”

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The call I had gotten that morning was from Chief informing me that the meeting was brought forward to 7:30 a.m because Fatai’s parents were travelling to their home-town that morning to perform the final burial rites for their son. My suspension letter was waiting for me on my table when I got to the hospital. I had expected it but not this soon. I picked the letter and made my way to the administrative block where the meeting was going to be held. Chief was already present and so were the heads of various units including Dr Biola and the hospital’s lawyer. I avoided their stares and sat down on one of the empty chairs. Not long after I sat down, the parents of Fatai and their lawyer made their entrance. The meeting commenced without any hitch, both parties presenting their cases. Everything was going smoothly until Fatai’s mother Mrs Mogaji asked of the doctor in charge of her son. I flinched. She came towards me, her eyes bloodshot but daring. She looked me up and down.

“So it is you eh, the one who killed my son.” She snorted. Just look at yourself, you probably don’t know what it means to carry a child for nine months, a child who suckled your breastsand then you lose him at only two years due to your carelessness.”

“I am sorry ma, it wasn’t my fault.” I blurted out without even thinking.

“So whose fault is it eh young woman? Whose fault is it? Accept the fact that you killed him. You are a murderer. You will pay for this. You must pay.” By this time, she had come very close to me and was pulling my shirt rather aggressively. The tears flowed freely down her face marring her make-up. 

“Baba Fatai, she must pay for this. They will pay for this. I must avenge the death of my son. You cannot let them get away with this. You are not fit to be a doctor.” She finally spat at me before her husband pulled her away and sat her down whispering some words to her. The tension in the room rose. I could feel the eyes of every other person on me. After some moments of deafening silence, Mr Mogaji cleared his throat. “It is obvious that this meeting cannot continue any longer because the presence of the young doctor is affecting my wife and we have to head to our home-town now to conclude the burial rites for our son. We will let you know when next we are coming to the hospital through our lawyer but one thing is sure, the person or persons responsible for the death of my son must be punished. Good day gentlemen.” And with that he left with his wife and the lawyer, a stocky black man trailing at their back but not without a cocky glance at me. Chief asked me to meet with him and the lawyer in his office. Two hours were spent discussing the way forward, involving the security and the police in the investigation. The lawyer suggested I should not let out anything to the public as the press had been hovering around the hospital premises. The Mogajis were a very wealthy and prominent family in the society so it was big news that his only son from his third wife had died in the hospital mysteriously. I was about entering my car when my phone alerted me of a message. 

“Do not think it is going to be easy for you. This is just the beginning.” I checked the details of the message. It was sent by a short code 5000. This may just be a prank message from one of all those people looking for money online. I did not give it much thought but then another thought crossed my mind. What if the sender knew something about the death of the children?. I put the thought at the back of my mind and decided to call Ray. He picked on the first ring.

“Hey babe, what’s up?”

“I am fine Ray. How is work?” I enquired.

“Boring. I can’t wait to go home. Are you still at the hospital? How did the meeting go?”

I narrated everything except the strange message. He sighed deeply at the other end. He made me promise him to be very careful. We talked for about fifteen minutes with him feeding me bits on Naeto, the boring meeting and not forgetting the interview he had with a young prospective assistant just coming out of her teens who kept flashing her cleavage at him throughout the interview. I laughed picturing the scene and how Ray must have been disgusted. We said our goodbyes and hung up.

That evening, we were in the sitting room relaxing over a bowl of pop-corn and coca-cola when I told the girls about the incident at the hospital and also about the possible promotion to the head of pediatrics when chief retires. We immediately went to work. The girls suspected that it was possible the malice started from there. Amina asked me to make a list of all the personnel working at the pediatrics unit. I got my laptop from my room and logged onto the hospital’s website. We got the names numbering about one hundred ranging from the surgeons to the physicians, nurses, cleaners and the rest of the other workers. We set the task of ticking out unsuspected names until we were left with twenty possible names. Preye turned to me. “Kaine, you said you got a strange message on your phone?” I nodded.

“Can you give it to me?” I picked my phone from the center table and gave it to her looking at her confusedly.

“Stop looking at me like that. I won’t eat it okay.” She said and went upstairs. Fifteen minutes later she was back with my phone.

“Kaine, who is Stephanie?”

Edited by Oge_writes. She blogs at http://yougeecash.wordpress.com/

LOVE AND DIAMONDS (EPISODE SIX)

KAINENE

'Eww, that is so so ...' We heard Naeto say behind us. We quickly pulled apart. Jeez, I felt so embarrassed. I couldn't look up neither could I talk.

Ray turned to Naeto, 'Hey buddy, what’s up?'

'I am thirsty my daddy.'

'Here, take this.' Ray said handing Naeto a pack of fruit juice. He sat down and drank his juice.

'Nene.' I looked up slowly and saw Ray smiling at me mischievously. I bet he was having fun at my expense. I smiled instead and focused on Naeto. 'Sweetheart, are you having fun?'

'Yes I am' he said and came close and hugged me gathering his little arms at the back of my neck. I hugged him back tightly enjoying his baby scent. 'I love you Nene' he whispered to me. I laughed feeling on top of the world.

'I love you too honey.' Naeto chuckled as he tried to tickle me. We spent a little moment playing totally ignoring Ray. I could feel his gaze on us. He had a puzzled expression on his face wondering what was happening. He joined us later. We stayed there talking more with some of the people who had also come to the falls. It was late evening when we headed back home. Naeto was already asleep. We had a little talk about what happened in the afternoon and decided to try  dating  and see how far it would take us, possibly to marriage but we weren’t certain.. Ray gave me a kiss on the lips and I left the car promising to keep in touch.

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    In an uncompleted building located somewhere in Kuje, three haggard looking young men dressed in faded jeans trousers and torn t-shirts sat smoking weed and drinking alcohol. They were  notorious robbers and famous political thugs used by the political class to ruin elections.
Dr Biola was seen approaching the uncompleted building. She had been informed by her friend, Ajoke that any type of dirty work she needed to get done could be effortlessly handled by these young men. As she got closer to the uncompleted building located in an isolated area, she got a bit scared but she kept on moving till she got to the building.
‘Hello!’ She called out but got no response.

‘Hello!’

“Na who be that now?”

One of the young men whose name was Sector came out of the building smoking weed. He took a good look at Biola assessing her appearance. ‘this one looks like a good customer’he thought.

 ‘Eeh madam, na who you dey find?’ he asked.

‘Please I am looking for a guy called ‘Tarzan’. I heard he stays here and I need him to do a job for me.’

‘Oya wait here make I inform am.’ When he had gone, Biola took her time to survey her surroundings properly. There was no sign of any living creature. It was so eerie. Not long after the same guy returned and ushered her in. The young man entered and Biola followed suit. They passed through what looked like a hallway then turned left and after three rooms they turned right into a big room where they met two other men sitting, drinking and smoking. The room was quite furnished for a hideout with four plastic chairs, a bench and a table where packs of marijuana, cigarette and alcohol were deposited.

‘So madam, what can we do for you?’ the one called ‘Tarzan asked in perfect English.

‘Yes, my name is Biola and I need you to do a job for me, very clean job.’

‘You no get problem madam.’ He said, switching to pidgin.

‘But I hope say your informant yarn you say we dey charge fifty grand no matter the type of job.’ He poured some alcohol into a filthy glass cup there on the table and offered it to Biola. ‘No vex madam, na only this type we fit offer.’

Biola darted her eyes from Tarzan to the glass and back to Tarzan. She drank alcohol but she couldn’t imagine herself drinking that. ‘Quite disgusting’ she thought. Adjusting herself on the bench she was sitting, she replied ‘No thank you, can we go straight to business?’ She wanted to leave the place as soon as possible.
‘Okay.’
Biola gave them the assignment along with some pictures. They discussed the total payment, the instruments needed for the operation and the time.
‘I need this job done within the next two weeks and please do not disappoint me.’ Biola said opening her Prada designers’ handbag. She counted fifty thousand Naira and handed over to Drew, the third man who counted the money and confirmed it was complete.
‘We have done so many jobs and we have not failed or been caught. Be rest assured we fit handle am. Na small matter now madam.’
‘I guess we are done here.’ She said as she stood up adjusting her dress. Tarzan brought forth his hand for a handshake. Biola looked at the outstretched hand, ignored it and put on her sunglasses .She looked at the three men and smiled, ‘Good day gentlemen’ she said and quietly exited the building.

##################################################################################

KAINENE

I woke up that morning to a text message alert on my phone. I picked the phone from the bedside table and clicked on the message button. It was a message from Ray.
‘Morning love, how was your night. I hope you dreamt of Shrek?
Well if you didn’t ... I don’t know what else to write.
Have a nice day dear. Don’t forget our date tonight. I love you xoxo.’
I smiled and sent a reply. I stretched my body and stood up from the bed and went about my usual morning routine. One hour and thirty-five minutes later, I was ready and dressed for work. I didn’t bother waking the girls up because it was a Saturday morning and they don’t usually work on weekends. I did not feel like having breakfast. I made my way to the front door and left for the hospital.
I entered the hospital to resume work when I noticed that I had gotten quite a lot of stares that morning from the gatemen to the nurses and even some of my colleagues. I walked up to the reception and greeted Kiki.

‘Good morning Kiki, how are you?’

‘Fine Doc.’

‘Did you check the charts today?’

‘Yes I did doc, you have just one surgery by 12:30pm.’ She replied quietly pretending to look down at the book in front of her. ‘What could be wrong this morning? Why was everyone looking at me like I had horns on my head? Hmm’ I sighed. ‘Thank you Kiki.’ I said and walked towards my cubicle.
One hour later, I was done with the paperwork on my table, I grabbed my coat and left my cubicle moving towards the children’s ward for the morning ward rounds. I could feel the eyes of the nurses and people staring at me as I made my way into the ward. I went from bed to bed meeting the children. I talked and played with them asking them some questions. We were about rounding up when I noticed someone was missing, Fatai, a little boy of two years suffering from hernia. I turned to the nurse and asked where is Fatai?’

‘He died this morning doctor.’

‘No! No! It’s not possible. He was fine yesterday after the surgery.’ I said in shock. I was going to sign his discharge papers this morning.

‘Yes doctor, he was fine yesterday. From what was reported, I gathered that the nurse on night duty found him shaking so violently on his bed. All her efforts to calm him down was futile until she managed to take is blood sample to the lab and the result showed that he was injected with an overdose of morphine. He died some hours later. I think it was around 4:24 a.m.”

‘But I didn’t even prescribe that. I know I specifically told the nurse not to administer any drug to him unless according to my prescription.’

‘Nobody knows how the drug found its way into the boy’s body system. The nurse on night duty said she had given the children their medication by 8:00p.m. Also, the boy’s family had come to the hospital and threatened to sue the hospital on grounds of incompetence and negligence.’

‘Oh no! That’s not possible. I have to see chief and talk to him about this.’

 As I turned to finish up the round and proceed to chief’s office, there was another child shaking and convulsing violently on the bed. We tried to calm him down but to no avail. After some minutes of struggling, the little boy went limp in my arms. Time of death: 9:47 a.m.
I felt cold shivers run through my body. I wanted the ground to just open up and swallow me. I knew I had to be strong  to be in this profession but it was so hard. I was supposed to help save lives and here I was  losing two patients in six hours. I gave the nurse some instructions and dragged myself to my cubicle. There, in the privacy of my cubicle, I pulled off my coat and shoes, sat on the chair, lowered my face on the table and cried. I cried for the two children who were once the apple of their parents’ eyes. I cried for the parents of these children. I cried for myself and my parents. I cried and cried. When the tears stopped coming, I took the Kleenex from my bag and wiped my face. I looked at my wristwatch and it was almost time for the surgery. I straightened my clothes and went to the OR to get ready. When I left the OR some hours later, my phone beeped. It was a message from chief asking me to report to his Office immediately I was through in the OR. When I entered chief’s office, he was on the phone talking to somebody. He signalled me to take a seat and I did. I took the seat on the left admiring the latest picture of chief and his wife with their children and grandchildren placed on the table. Some minutes later, he ended the call and turned to me.

‘Kainene, I got some disturbing news from the ward this morning about the death of two children in your care as a result of overdose of morphine found in their blood stream. One was supposed to be discharged this morning and the other boy was to go in for surgery this morning. I have known you to be very careful in handling your patients and this came as a shock to me. What do you have to say about this?’

‘Honestly chief, I don’t have anything to say about this. It is equally a shock to me because the second child  died in my arms and I couldn’t  do anything to prevent it.’

‘The parents of Fatai came to the hospital to pick his dead body and they threatened to sue the hospital. Shortly after that, some members of the hospital board came to my office insisting that I do something about it because it happened in my department. Investigations have started and they requested that the doctor in charge be given a query and her work transferred to another doctor. I suggest you handover your work to Dr Biola for now.

‘No problem chief. I will do just that before I leave. I will get to the root of this. I will find out who did this.’

‘I know you will but please be very careful. It is obvious the person involved in this is aiming to tarnish your reputation. Ever since I put up your name as the person to succeed me when I retire, I have gotten quite a number of letters advising me to drop your name and put somebody with better experience. I know it’s my hospital but I can’t really vouch for the behaviour of some of the staff that works for me. I am assuring you of my trust, you have nothing to fear.”

‘Okay sir. Am I still allowed to come to the hospital?’ I asked because it seems that this matter is going to be on for a long time.

‘Of course you are my dear until the board concludes their investigation.’

‘Thank you chief.’ I said and left his office. After handing over my work to Dr Biola, I left the hospital and drove straight home. I was
about leaving my car when my phone rang. It was from an unknown caller. ‘Hello.’ I spoke into the phone.

‘I am sorry Nene.’ The voice at the other end said. Who could be apologizing to me, I thought.

‘Who is this?’

‘It is Chris, your brother.’

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LOVE AND DIAMONDS(EPISODE FIVE)

Hello friends, new episodes ofLove and Diamonds will be up on Sundays till it ends. Special thanks to @oge_writes for editing this episode. Enjoy this episode.

RAYMOND

The past two months had been quite fun for me. I had never felt so alive since Olivia’s death. After the dinner with Nene, I wanted to see her more and more. Sometimes when she is leaving the hospital after work, I would corner her and convince her to go out with me to one of the restaurants located close to her house or her church to sit and talk. We had talked about different things. I had gotten to know her better through our talks. Talking to her had achieved a lot of things I couldn’t achieve even with all the visits to the psychologist after Olivia’s death. She was so good with Naeto maybe because she was a paediatrician but to me she was a natural. Nene made me see a different aspect of life ;the bright and funny side of life as she called it. She told me about losing her father at an early age to lymphoma. Her mother also passed on shortly afterwards and her brother who was a teenager then left the country in search of a better life and she hadn’t heard from him since then. I  felt sorry for her at that moment but I was amazed at how she had grown to be a very successful young woman. I asked her her secret and her response was ‘It’s God’s doing Ray. You know that trying moment when it seems that all hope is lost, when you have nowhere to run to, when the tunnel is dark? I experienced that Ray but the moment I handed all my worries to God, he took care of my troubles,I didn’t have to worry anymore. He already knows what you are about to ask him even before you do. Some people may think that you are putting all your eggs in one basket but there is nothing wrong in doing that because you trust the basket not to break the eggs. That’s my secret Ray, trusting God and he has never disappointed me.’ I was not really a church going person. The last time I remember going to church was at Olivia’s burial but I made sure Naeto went on Sundays with Lauretta. Nene had taught me  o say some thanksgiving prayers to God because that was the first step to being close to God. Sometimes, we ended our outings by attending the late evening mass at her church. Last Sunday, I had found myself in Church. When we did not see during the day, we spent hours talking on the phone till we slept off.
Naeto and I were driving back from our usual Friday’s night out when he called me from the back seat where he was, ‘my daddy.’
‘Yes buddy.’ I answered focusing on the road
‘Can we go on a picnic with doctor Nene tomorrow?’ he asked chirpily.
‘And why is that? I thought you saw her when she took you out for a milk shake yesterday?’
‘Because…….because….’ Naeto stuttered.
‘I am listening’
‘Because I want her to be my new mommy.’
I felt a sharp pang in my chest. I had thought I was the only person thinking along that line, I didn’t  know  my little boy was also thinking the same. It was no surprise that she had gradually warmed her way into our hearts and had decided to say.
‘Let me be the one to decide that buddy but you will still be considered okay. About the picnic, ehhm let me see.’ I pretended to think about it. I had already made up my mind to see her. We hadn’t really had time to talk or see each other that week due to my business. I had been trying to finalize the take-over of an almost liquidating newspaper and fortunately it came through yesterday. I really missed her smiles and laughter.
‘Don’t you have homework to do?’ I asked
‘My daddy, our teacher didn’t give us any homework.’ he replied pouting. I could see him from the front mirror.
‘Okay, you are lucky son but it depends on ...’
‘Depends on what my daddy?’
“If she is going to agree.”
‘She will dad.’ He said sounding so sure of himself.
‘And how are you so sure of that?’
‘Because I like her, she likes me, she likes you and you like her my daddy.’
‘Hmmm, we will call her when we get home okay.’
‘Yes, yes, I love you my daddy!’ he screamed excitedly from the back.

We got home and after showering and having dinner, Naeto came up to me and asked,’dad, can we call her now?’ I picked my phone from the side stool and dialled Nene’s number. It rang about twice before she  picked. She sounded so tired. We spoke for about three minutes. ‘Naeto wants to talk to you.’ I said and handed the phone to Naeto. We had decided to go to Gurara waterfalls. They chatted for about 20 minutes before Naeto yawned tiredly telling me he was already feeling sleepy. He handed the phone back to me and laid on the couch.
‘ I hope he didn’t wear you out because he has already fallen asleep on the couch.’
‘Haha, No he didn’t, you know I actually forgot I was so tired till he yawned. Thank you for the invitation. I was just thinking of a very good way to spend tomorrow after all the stressful time at the hospital.’
‘I wasn’t the inviter. It was Naeto who brought the idea. ‘Oh that’s so nice of him. Please don’t forget to give him two beautiful kisses for me.’

“I will dear’ I said. We talked for some 10minutes before we said our goodnights and hung up. I picked Naeto from the couch and carried him up to his room. I tucked him and gave him the two kisses Nene requested I watched him sleep for some minutes remembering how he was talking so animatedly to Nene and when he declared his love for her. I smiled. I can’t wait for our little family to be complete and with that smile still on my lips, I walked to my room, said some thanksgiving prayers to God and slept off.

KAINENE


I woke up in the morning feeling quite energetic. I felt a smile creep up to my lips. I knew the reason behind my smile. I was so looking forward to the picnic. The last few months had been wonderful. You know that feeling you get when you are meeting a need somewhere or that you are filling a vacuum created in someone's life; that was exactly how I felt. Knowing more about Raymond was a hell lot of experience. It was full of ups and downs; how he had struggled from a young age to make ends meet having come from a polygamous home and the only son of his mother with two elder sisters and a younger one. I went about my usual morning routine after which I showered and wore a long maxi dress and a pair of blue flat sandals. I went downstairs to the kitchen to have a light breakfast and pack some food for the picnic. I was discussing with the girls when the bell rang. When I opened the door, it was Ray and Naeto. They looked breathtakingly handsome clad in white vests and black jeans trousers, black and white all stars sneakers and baseball caps to complete the appearance. I hugged Ray and lifted Naeto up and kissed him on the cheeks and tickled him which earned me giggles from him. I dropped him back on the floor and opened the door widely. 'Come in guys, please make yourselves comfortable I will be right back.' I went into the kitchen with Naeto trailing behind me. The moment Preye saw Naeto she screamed in amazement, “Wow, who is this handsome little man we have here, Kaine?”

Naeto smiled shyly and greeted 'Good morning aunties.'

“Morning my dear.”Amina responded.

'And he even has good manners, so beautiful.' Preye said with open admiration..

'He is Ray's son Naeto; Naeto, these are my friends Amina and Preye.' After some playful gestures, Naeto eventually warmed up to the girls as they tickled him and fed him some of the ice-cream from the freezer. We soon left the kitchen taking with us some food and drinks which we transferred to Ray's car and left for Gurara falls.
******

After some hours of playing in the water and tossing balls, we ate some of the food we had brought. Naeto was some meters away from us playing with his toys while Ray and I were sitting on the mat munching some apples engrossed in our silent thoughts. A few minutes of silence passed before we both spoke up at the same time.

'I'

'You know'


We both laughed then Ray motioned for me to continue.

'I am so happy to be here. This place is so relaxing. Nature at its best. It is as if Naeto and I are now beginning to think alike.'

'I feel the same too. I have wanted to unwind too. You know that take-over deal I have been trying to close finally came through yesterday. I am now the new owner of The Compass.'

'Wow, congratulations Ray, this really calls for celebration.' I said pouring some wine into the wine glasses we had come with. 'Why didn't you tell me yesterday?'
'Because you were so tired and I didn't want to bother you.'

I passed one of the glasses to him and  I sat down with the other. I toast to joy and more blessings. We sat together in silence for some minutes occasionally sipping the wine.
'Nene.'

'Hmm.' I answered my eyes darting to Ray's. The look on his face was expressionless but it was serious enough for me to listen. He dropped his glass on the mat and took my free hand with his two hands.

'Nene, I can't thank you enough for what you have done in my life and Naeto's. Ever since you came into our lives, we have experienced joy, laughter and happiness. Before we met you, we had lived our lives indifferently without any anticipation to see tomorrow but now, we look forward to seeing another bright new day. You gave us a new meaning to life. Even Henshaw noticed it the other day he visited. My boy even thinks of you as his mother and as for me, you are irreplaceable. I would have been worse than you met me. I love you Nene. I don't know but I am thinking of moving to the next stage with you if you will let me.”

I didn't know what to say. For a few minutes, I pretended not to have heard what Ray said. I looked down at the mat and drew some imaginary circles on it. He stared at me for a while before he used his finger and tilted my face up to look him straight in the eyes.
'Nene, I just want an answer.'
'I don't know what to say Ray.'

I  thought everything was happening too fast. You never know what the future holds for you. I liked Ray, I really liked him a lot maybe the 'love' word wasn’t a part of it but I couldn’t categorize it yet. I know I felt butterflies in my stomach and a surge of adrenaline down my spine whenever we were in close proximity. As for Naeto, he was so adorable. When he pouts especially when I am trying to be strict on him I can't help but grant him what he asks for.
'Just say yes Nene' Ray said his eyes filled with hope.

'Yes Ray.' I said deciding to take a risk at love even though I had loved before but it was all thrown back at my face. 'I will like to move on to the next stage with you but I need an assurance Ray, I don't want to be disappointed.'
'I promise not to disappoint you Nene.' We continued looking at each other oblivious of everything happening around us when Ray leaned forward towards me. I hope it was not what I was thinking but it was too late. I was already mesmerized by the look of love and admiration in his eyes. He continued leaning closer till our lips met when suddenly we heard someone shout behind us...

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