Twenty-Two

Effe's defenses come up, and she glares at him defiantly through the sharp pain his words have opened in her heart. She detests the fact that she suddenly feels so guilty. She remembers how she behaved at the hospital when she heard the police were coming for Chris. To know that Chris is innocent of the crime after all is really hurting her now, making her feel terrible, especially with Junior looking at her with those hurt eyes.

"And do you blame me, Chris Bawa? Do you blame me for doubting you, for thinking bad of you?" she shoots at him furiously in an attempt to hold on to her dignity.

Junior suddenly holds father's big middle finger and looks at his mother with hurt eyes, and slowly the bitter words die from Effe's mouth. She is suddenly aware that she is incurring the displeasure of her son, and that stops her tirade.

"I've to go, Ira," Chris says, turning his back on Effe. "Thank you very much for being here for me."

Junior tugs at his father's hand.

"We're on vacation now, Daddy," he says earnestly. "Mommy says I can spend some time with you, please."

Chris' face becomes sad as he looks at his son.

"Champ. I also want to be with you, but right now I have no job," he says. "Secondly, I have no place to stay. Let me try to fix that, and then we can spend some time together, okay?"

Junior nods, and even though tears come into his eyes, he smiles bravely and hugs his father.

"That's one of the reasons I came here, Chris," Ira says hurriedly. "My bungalow is huge, and it has a two-bedroom Boys' Quarters which is empty. You can stay there until you sort yourself out."

Junior does not notice the sudden tension that springs up between the adults after Ira's words. He lets out a cry of happiness and hugs his aunty, his face alight with incredible happiness.

"Really? Really, really, really, truth-truth really, Aunt Ira?" he asks excitedly. "You will give my Daddy a place to stay?"

Ira ignores Effe's stunned and frantic eyes and smiles down brightly at her nephew.

"Really truth-truth really, my dearest Junior. But I don't think your Daddy wants to accept it."

"Well, I need to -" Chris begins uneasily, but Junior interrupts excitedly.

"Oh, Daddy! Say yes, yes, YES! It's not far from our place! If you stay over at auntie's place, I can spend more time with you! I can even sleep over, Daddy. Say yes, please, please, pleeaaaase!"

Chris looks unhappily at Ira. He is reluctant to stay with her, especially with Effe looking so furious suddenly. However, he can't deny the fact that he doesn't have anywhere to stay, and that he has no money to rent a place in the interim. A place where he can lay his head and see his son regularly is really appealing.

"This is what we'll do," he says carefully. "We'll all go over and look at it, Champ. If you like it and I like it, then I'll accept it."

"Alright, let's go!" Junior cries excitedly. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Aunt Ira! Let's go, come on! Mommy's car is outside, Daddy. Let's go sit in it! She'll take us to Aunt Ira's house."

He tries to drag Chris toward the entrance, but Chris shakes his head.

"I'll ride in Ira's car, Champ, if you don't mind," he says quietly without looking at Effe.

"But I want to ride with you!" Junior cries, exasperated. "Okay, fine, I'll go in Aunt Ira's car too! Mommy, can I ride with Daddy?"

Effe has to drag herself almost physically to the present. Things are happening in such a whirlwind manner, and seemingly dragging her along much against her wishes! Her desperate eyes search Ira's face frantically, but before she can speak Junior reaches out, grabs Ira's car keys, presses a button on the remote control, and the car alarm beeps as the doors unlock. He opens one of the back doors and quickly scrambles inside, and then Chris also gets in.

The two sisters are now temporarily alone.

"My God, Rammy! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Effe asks earnestly.

Ira looks at her sister calmly.

"Giving the father of your son a place to stay, Ef."

"And when did you arrive at this grand idea, Rammy? You took a decision like that and you couldn't communicate it to me last night? What's going on, Rammy?"

Ira moves closer to her sister.

"What's the fuss about, Ef? He's your ex-husband. He's been in prison. He's the father of your son. You've left him, his family has abandoned him. Society calls him The Beast now, thanks to your aggrieved bridesmaid. He has no money, no work, no place to live, nothing! That Barbara girl just falsely accused him, and he could've been in serious trouble if she hadn't told the truth. He's all alone, Ef! The father of your son is all alone and despised, even by you! Is it a sin to help him, huh? This is not you!"

Her emotional tirade brings tears to Effe's eyes. She looks away and for a moment her lips tremble slightly, as if she is searching for the right words. Junior opens the door a crack.

"Auntieeeeeee! Let's goooooo!!" he says impatiently.

Ira looks at Effe for a moment longer, obviously regretting her tone of voice earlier, and then she turns and enters her car, and a moment later she drives out of the parking lot.

Effe stares after Ira's car, and then she sighs heavily. She believed Barbara, and she was mean to Chris the previous day! He has spent two nights in cell ever since he came out of prison, and she has been directly and indirectly involved on both occasions! Does she really hate him that much? If indeed she does, why hasn't she been able to tell Steve and her family that Chris has finally signed the divorce documents? Why isn't she overjoyed to be free? Why can't she forget all about Chris Bawa and throw herself into her long-overdue wedding preparations.

And why is she bothered that her own sister is helping the only man who has ever set her heart ablaze? Why is she feeling jittery all of a sudden? And why is the fact that Junior seemed so happy with Chris and Ira – and the fact that he chose to leave with them – bothering her so much?

Why is there a little thud of dislike in her heart for her own sister now? Is it because of the look of sudden gratitude she saw in Chris' eyes when Ira offered him a place to stay? Effe is comfortable. She is moderately wealthy as a senior partner in her law firm, and so she could have helped Chris, even if solely for the sake of Junior, but she hadn't. She could've rented a place for him to stay, yes. So why is she detesting Ira, in a way, for helping Chris?

Effe keeps thinking about it all the drive to Ira's bungalow, and her unease just seems to increase rather alarmingly.

The Boys Quarters is a detached part of Ira's bungalow. It is not far from Effe's residence, and so Junior can be near his father as he so desperately wants to be.

It is a perfect arrangement, but Effe finds herself going through a whole myriad of conflicting feelings about Chris staying with Ira. She knows that her sudden resentment started when she saw Chris and Ira in that very close embrace. She has never seen any act of intimacy between them before that day. Chris always steered clear of Ira, and although they were very close, there have been instances in the past when Chris had deliberately avoided Ira's company.

But that hug!

It had really rattled Effe, and it is confusing her very much.

"Chris Bawa!" Effe mutters to herself as she gets out of her car. "Don't you dare do this to me again! Please, for the love of God, don't!"