CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

'I can never physically harm a woman. You don't ever have to fear me, Naya'

Naya nodded slowly without saying a word and Jason wasn't sure she believed him.

'And I know who John is… it is hard not to notice a scrawny boy that keeps gawking at me like he wants to say something but decides not to at the last minute. I just don't know what you expect me to do with him' Jason said

'John looks up to you and he wants to get to know you, if you will give him the time of the day. All his life he has been surrounded by women and younger children with few men that does not bother to stick around to teach him a thing or two about how to be a boy…he is in dire need of a man's presence and guidance.' Naya explained

'I don't know what you want from me, Naya. I am doing the best I can'

'I want more from you. The children deserve more from you more than being their cash cow'

Jason smiled when Naya called him a cash cow.

'What do you want me to teach John?' Jason asked

'You could teach him how to repair the old bus in the garage. Both of you can make it your thing' Naya suggested

'Of course I could do that but…I have to find someone to teach me how to repair an automobile' Jason feigned seriousness.

'You are joking, right? What happens when you car breaks down in the middle of the road and there is no one to fix it?'

'I simply put a call across to my mechanic or take a cab or take another car or do any other thing apart from fixing it myself. It has worked for me, Naya'

'How about you and John repaint the old nursery and make it beautiful? I believe you can at least paint a wall, right Jason?'

'No but I have an expensive interior decorator on speed dial'

'How about you teach him how to mow the lawn?' Naya suggested

'I can't operate the land mower'

'How about you teach him how to fix the wooden door that is making that creaky sound that drives everyone crazy?' Naya suggested

'I don't know anything about wooden doors' Jason answered

Naya gave up. Her face showed it and the way she threw her hands up in the air showed it too. Now, it was Jason's turn to make suggestions.

'I could teach him how to ride a bike?' Jason suggested

'He is almost seventeen, a bike ride sounds childish and ridiculous' Naya said

'Okay, then I can teach him how to fly a helicopter?'

'Please don't tell me you had your first lesson on flying when you were seventeen?' Naya asked with a serious expression.

She knew he came from money but she didn't know he was that wealthy.

'Of course not…learn how to fly at seventeen?' Jason laughed like Naya just made a joke. Naya was relieved because a seventeen year old boy had no business learning how to fly.

'I learnt how to fly when I was thirteen'

Naya rolled her eyes in resignation.

'Didn't your father teach you anything that you can pass on to a teenager?' Naya asked

'Of course he did' Jason answered

Naya came closer to hear him speak.

'There you go. Then teach John that' Naya suggested again.

'My father taught me how to play hide and seek. Since we have been playing the game close to twenty-seven years, I can only conclude on two things – either he is really good at hiding or I am terrible at seeking.'

'I am sorry, I didn't know you had an absentee father' Naya said as she touched his face gently.

'Oh… James wasn't… really totally absent from my life, he showed up from time to time when I was a child to use me as his punching bag' Jason hated talking about his father.

'I am sorry your childhood was horrible' Naya voice was a whisper

'You mean apart from the expensive private school, flying lesson, horse riding and vacation all over the world' Jason smiled and continued 'My childhood wasn't that bad, not compared to what these children outside go through every day. Once my mother stopped James from coming around the house, it was actually a really great childhood for me'

Jason kissed Naya slowly like he needed to distract her from prying into his life. He had a secret no one else could ever know and the only way he knows how to avoid spilling the family secret was to stop talking about his personal life all together.

'I will sponsor Hannah's painting class in Blantyre but I must warn you, I will remain anonymous. No one can ever know'

Jason silently prayed his grandmother Merry-Johanna can forgive him for breaking her rule but since the money wasn't directly going to the Orphanage but to one orphan, maybe his grandma would understand but one thing was sure, his mother must never find out.