Chapter 10

The family dinner has been suddenly ruined by the woman who has the same features as Irye. Grams for some reason gets angry and would like to throw the woman who is now sitting on the couch, out of the house.

The whole family have inexplicable looks of fury and hatred in their eyes which makes Irye suspicious of them knowing something she doesn't.

But at that time, that particular time, she does not want to mix other things with the matter at hand.

The woman, Abigail steadily looks at Irye with different emotions. Irye notices and steps forward.

*******

Apparently,the family stopped eating after seeing the their guest.They walk to the living room and sit in the big couch whilst the woman makes herself at home already,looking around the house.With the exception of Irye who's still standing at the dinning table,the rest sit on the couch as if they are ready for a fight.

She now walks to them seeming frozen in time.

******

"Mom"her voice wavers not sure whether to cry or smile.Whether to hug her and tell how much she misses her or throw a tantrum and accuse her of being a bad mom.

"Mom"she calls again more like a whisper. She is now five steps away from her.

"You remember me?Abigail asks surprised.

"How could I not?"Irye chuckles sadly. The familiar feeling she gets when she is with her,her face,her speech, her smile,she remembers it all. All she wanted was her love and her warmth.

"How could I not remember you?"she says suppressing her tears."I waited for you, crying myself to sleep after counting the days you've been absent. You always came back on the third day whenever you left home for days."

Irye breathes slowly, but steadily.

"So..."she chokes. Her eyes teary.She swallows and closes them as she breathes through her mouth.

"I waited, a couple of days couldn't faze me so I waited more.."she opens her eyes and sniffles."Even some more, I waited"

Those years she has bottled for years now force themselves out.

"And, and...for the years that came.."Irye pauses,trying to control herself,to stay cool as she always has been.

Taking one more step,she continues "I waited".Her words sounds like a whisper. She sniffs and run her hands her hand through her hair.

She can't bring herself to hate her even though she left her at a young age. Maybe because she was stubborn to do do so or she keeps telling herself that her mom had a good reason for leaving her.

Abigail just sits there with a little guilt in her eyes and another kind of emotion. Grams intrude when she senses Irye breaking down any minute.

"Why are you here?"she asks fuming. Walking to close the gap between her and Abigail,she taps Irye on the shoulder. "Go into your room darling"she tells her and gestures the others to take her.

"We need to talk" she says as she pulls Abigail from the couch after making sure the others are out of sight.

The cousins sit her on her bed and watch helplessly as she gathers herself from the earlier depression.

"Are..are you alright now?"Evie asks sitting beside her."Should we get out of her and breathe in some fresh air?"

"I know it's very easy to sneak it at times like this"Gerrard lightens up the atmosphere."Do you like to go somewhere ma'am? I can let my driver take you there"he smiles.

"When did you ever have a driver of your own?"Claude asks jokingly.

"You really have a knack for putting smiles on our faces huh?"Irye chuckles trying hard not to get them worrying about her."How 'bout we do that? I've been wanting to do that for some time now."her shaky voice continues as she stands.

The others notice it is all an act she is putting on to hide her feelings. They all look at her with worry.

Grams pulls Abigail out of the house and decides it'd be safe there to say all she seen wanting to say.

"Did you come to make a mess out of my son again after running off with his brother?"Grams flares up."Do you have no shame? Not to go there. Don't you carry the weight of guilt as a mother? You left your child who was just five and now you reappear like this without notice? Think for a second what she is going through and....."

"I thought of that before coming here"Abigail cuts in."I was in the neighborhood and thought I should come here and say hello.That being one reason, there is another reason I decided to step foot here."

If those words were to come out from Grams mouth, she would be vomiting already because they taste so bitter.She wonders how a mother can say all this after abandoning her child.

"Don't worry,am just staying the night and will leave first thing tomorrow" Abigail finally says.Grams glare at her for a while before speaking.

"If not for Irye still having affection towards you,I would have thrown you out of here!"She spits"Make sure you leave before sunrise".Ending her sentence she leaves Abigail to herself.

"Let's go"Irye says and the cousins look at her blankly before Evie jumps up from the bed.

"Alright"she excites."C'mon"Evie stresses pulling Gerrard towards the door. Mae and Claude stand there confused.

As they open the door, Irye gets a phone call.

"Hey girl" the person says.

"Blake?"Irye asks after hearing his voice."How did you...."she pauses recalling Blake taking her phone one time in class."Oh that was why".

"You guessed right" Blake laughs on the phone."How are you?"

A smile draws on Irye's lips.The cousins, Evie especially looks at her suspiciously and nudges her.

"Who is that?"she asks teasing Irye.

Irye keeps quiet for a while before running of the room shyly.

That night, after everything bis calm, the other family arrives.They finish settling down and come down leaving Richard who's is sleeping already. Mirabel is taken aback by the new person she is seeing there in the living room. She senses the trouble and tension in the room. She stares at her for a while before familiarising her with Irye.

The others excuse themselves after Mirabel and her daughters sit,leaving Abigail.

Abigail casts a glance at Anne back to Bethel for some seconds before standing up.

"Are you Irye's mother?"Mirabel asks stopping her in her tracks.

As if Abigail can read her mind, she responds with a question "Why do you want to know?".She chuckles and walks her way up the stairs.

****

The next morning, Abigail enters Irye's room. She is still on bed stretching her whole body.She seems to have had a good night's sleep seeing how she unconsciously smiles anytime she hears her name.

"Irye"Abigail calls for the fourth time.This time shaking her vigorously.

She wakes up as she ass who it is with her hoarse voice.Her blurry vision gives way after a while of rubbing her eyes.She sees her mom standing beside her bed.

"Mom?"she says sitting up.

"Am leaving"Abigail tells her with a smile on her face.