Chapter Eleven

Despite her cousin's vitality and coercive endeavours to bring her around, Esther's heart was gripped with turmoil and uneasiness.

"I'll deal with you, Esther. I surely will…"Jina muttered quietly and was pissed out of her mind. She stomped out and waited in the yard with an evil mind.

"Working for Auntie seems quite an onerous task, but I won't give up, mom, I won't." She thought. Her strong will was still unshaken despite Jina's behaviour of inducing her to a nonentity.

"Yes!" The girls screamed and engaged in a whooping delight that awakened Esther from her delirium. She raised her head and looked at her with a bemused expression.

"Esther, did you see that?" Mercy asked with vitality.

"What?" she asked surprised and flashed a sad smile.

"Sorry, I lost my focus."

"Look at that! Kelly has finally won."She screamed, motioning to the huge screen in front of them. The girls' voices reverberated around the entire room.

Jina could indistinctly hear them from outside the mansion and her anger towards Esther returned in full swing.

"She will not succeed in setting your family against you. You have to put your mind to it, Jina, before that happens." She told herself and pursed her lips, her jaw set in a determined manner.

Esther was now fully revived in her cousin's company as they chuckled and cracked jokes together amusingly.

Richard leaned against the wall swinging the car keys and sommer watched the girls with satisfaction without saying anything. Seeing them cheerful and happy reminded him of his salad days. Then he was young and innocent.

"It seems my imperfections grow with the years." He thought and smiled slyly.

"How I miss those old and happy days!" He muttered after some time. Gesticulating on the clock, he recalled his unfulfilled appointment with Julie and rapidly headed out without bidding goodbye.

"Dad, aren't you forgetting something?" Yelled Melissa with a smirk, having caught his shadow push past. He felt embarrassed that he was reminded of his obligation.

"Dad, are you leaving like that on a date; in shabby old faded jeans and a T-shirt?" asked Mercy with raised eyebrows.

Richard halted and looked at them with an amused expression on his face.

"Why are you all ganging up on me? Ok," he said, advancing and kissing them on their cheeks. Esther felt the thrill of her life. She was so happy that she would have screamed out loud.

To imagine that she could get a pinch of affection from such a generous man was incredible to her. Hugging the three of them, he explained.

"As for the date with mom, I'll schedule it first. I have to drop her off quickly and come and dress up to work. You know how sacred it is to me." The girls glanced at him in awe and smiled. His words were too plausible to be comprehended by anyone their age.

"Now if you will excuse me, I will get going." He waved to them dismissively and went out.

"Honey, I must have delayed you,'' said Richard. Jina nodded solemnly and entered the car and the two drove off.

Too many unpleasant thoughts were crowding in on her as they drove along the lane. Their friend's apartment could be seen a few metres away. Richard was lost in anticipation. The yearning to be with Julie made him lose his concentration and he almost knocked a roaming cat.

"Honey, be careful!" Jina shouts and he slows down at a very low speed. There's an expression of horror on her face.

"Take it, easy dear, I'll be more careful henceforth."

"You better do, honey. We are exposed to risk every time we don't drive…" she pursued expounding her views on the topic, speaking softly with wonderfully expressive eyes which made her appear even more beautiful.

"Yeah, I guess you are right." He conceded and resumed,

"Wow, my wife is a genius!" he inferred and stroked her arm. He had a wider knowledge of calming her nerves with flattery. Jina chuckled excitedly. It was conceivable that he would do anything to make her happy. Nevertheless, the treacherous thoughts in his mind blinded him. Without the company of Julie, he could still feel some sort of discomfort that he couldn't describe.

As they came closer to the diverging road that led to Mr and Mrs Wabua's apartment, Jina poked his arm and suggested they drop by.

"I want to check on them for a minute." Richard wrinkled his forehead. He undoubtedly didn't want to waste any more time or else Julie would surprise him with a call.

"Honey, I don't think that's necessary."

"Why?" she asked and pouted.

"As it is, you are already late. I am sorry I won't agree with you there. I too am getting late. Julie must be waiting."

"Who?"

The guy I told you about last night.

At the thought of Esther, Jina's anxiety mounted and so did her yearning to demoralise her. The essence of talking to her long time friend, Mrs Wabua, who was more of a sister than a friend for time immemorial was so crucial for her not to wait. Who else would understand her plight if not her intimate friend; one who was older than her and whose social status was no different from hers? would she be too much of a dope to give her wrong advice about the matter?

Suddenly a spurt of anger seized her and she raised her tone as if all of a sudden she had been possessed by an evil spirit.

"I don't want to start a scuffle, honey. Will you please stop the car?" She said pulling the gear lever to the parking mode.

"Honey!" Richard screamed, clutching at her hand. The car skidded in the wrong direction.

There was the hooting of the car behind

"Honey, please stop!" Her face flushed with anger,

"You might plunge us in trouble. This is a machine for goodness sake!" Anger glistened in his eyes. He had known his wife's mercurial temperament for many years to understand that she was capable of transforming into something unpleasant in her volatile temper.

"Alright, I'll pull over," he said in a low soft tone and pulled on the brakes alongside the lane.

Jina got out of the car and headed to the apartment.

"Darling, wait, we can talk about this." He ran after her and clasped her arm. Jina twirled around and looked at him rather offended.

"Alright let's get in the car. I will take you there. You don't have to be like that."

The tenderness in his voice corrupted her. Her dewy eyes were a dire meaning of her anger.

"Please, darling, don't be mad at me, I beg. I never meant to upset you."

"But you did," she said and dressed him down

"And I am dreadfully sorry." He said holding her arms tenderly.

"Please, will you smile? You look like a military woman and I am frightened."

She rolled her misty eyes and chuckled slightly. Jina was typical of the feminine race; easily ticked off. It is always difficult to envisage how they will react in a particular situation. One has to be careful with their fragility.

"Richard kissed her rosy cheek and held her closely in an embrace. Under the cohesive power of love, they were able to sort out the misunderstanding. An exquisite thrill engulfed their hearts.

"So, shall we?"

"Ok." They clasped each other's hands and sauntered to the car.