Chapter 23

    "That’s my net".

 “So?, Is not as if this’s the first time." She said.

 "And what the f*ck are you talking about?"

 "I mean we’ve slept together before," she said.

  “Shhhh". Ben covers her mouth from saying more, as the men turned and looked at them.

 "You can have it," Ben said and gave Miriam a weak smile that says, "you are crazy and you will hear from me"

 "Thanks, dear," Miriam said, smiling and Ben just smile back. "Go ahead," he said.

   "Where are you going, Ben? come let's share"

 "Yeah, you can share with her" one of the men said.

 Ben just smiles at the man.

"Yeah, we will share right? If you don’t mind".

  "I don’t mind at all". She said smiling at Ben

He just walks inside the net and lies down backing Miriam who keeps curling on him.

  "Please stop, for God’s sake stop" he shouted at her.

   "What! why are you shouting like a baby?"

  "I'm here to look for my brother not to have sex with you".

   "The brother you wish dead?"

  "Seriously! Will you shut up, you don’t know what you are saying, we may have our differences but he is still my brother".

 "Just chill, will you? is not as if we've not done it before, do we all have to die in one day?." Ben turned and looked at her.

   "You’ve gone mad, I thought this your madness has leveled; I don’t know is increasing daily.

Listen; whatever we did before, belongs to the past. I use to like you before you jump to my brother’s bed, don’t you ever come near me again."

  “Are you blaming me?" Miriam asks Ben, "I thought your brother was serious and you are not."

 “Serious about what?"

  “Marrying me of course." Ben couldn’t help but laugh.

“In your dreams, you see, the problem with you poor people is that you dream of high and lofty dreams, but they are only dreaming with no proof of achievement at the end of the day. Hahaha."

   Miriam was so ferrous with what Benjamin said to her and she vow to get rich by all means, it doesn’t matter what she will have to do, she will pay any price to get to the top of the social ladder.

"But wait! Benjamin is right, even though I want to get rich so badly, I still don’t know how to go about it. But I pray to prove him wrong, the right opportunity will show itself."

   “What are you doing? are you sleeping?" Ben asks Miriam since he didn't hear her voice for like twenty minutes. Miriam heard Ben but didn’t respond, she was seriously thinking now. With that Ben drifted to sleep.

  Three days have passed with no sign of Ken showing up and the search team is getting tired of searching.

   At the hospital, all the parties involved in collapsing were discharged.

Tina could not hold in her tears, she cries every day while Ben’s mother was always by her side consoling her.

   "Please let’s be patient, I believe Ben will find him soon."

   "And where is Miriam?" Tina asks the maids. "I’ve not seen her for three days now."

   "I saw her following after Ben and she is with a bag, is like she went with him in search of Ken," one of the maids said.

   "Hmmm, that girl is something else but is okay. I like her" Tina turned to Ben’s mom and said,

“Thank you so much for being here".

   "Is fine, everything will be okay".

   "Go and see how our husband is doing, I will come after you".

   "Alright, be careful with your leg, hope is no longer painful?"  

   "Yes am getting better now". Tina said.

All the maids and gatemen were shocked to their bones, "Could this be a miracle? They were waiting for Ken to die before they make up"

One of the gatemen keeps asking.

  "Will you shut up, who told you that Ken is dead?" A maid asks the gateman.

"Then where is he? was it not madam who keep crying and saying, my son is dead, my son is dead."

   "You can only confirm him dead when the body is found, for now, he is missing not dead." The maid corrected him.

"Ohh.. really, you see? you are the only one that has something upstairs, not like the other ones here," pointing at the other maids.

"Now I understand what they are talking about, so it means that he is going to come back after he finishes missing right?."

   "Right," the maid answered and walk away from him.

   "Thank God, he will come back after he finished missing, ohh. Ken… was a good man. Ohh.." 

The other gatemen just looked at him and one by one they walk away from him.

   “And what are you talking about?" Tina asks the gateman, she has overheard him talking as she was going to her husband's quarters after bathing.

"Ohh.. good morning ma, a-am" he bows a little, "sorry ma. Is nothing ma."

   “My son is not dead, he is just missing, do you understand.?"

   “Yes ma, am sorry ma." she just walk past him with her nose in the air.

   “Has anyone heard anything from Ben?" Tina ask when they sat down to have their breakfast.

   “I have called several times but is not connecting, let me try again." Ben's mom said.

   Phone in hand, calling Benjamin, this time it connect, "oh… Thank God it has connected." Everyone rushed to Ben’s mother's side to hear the conversation.

   “What is he saying?, I can’t hear him, move aside, let me listen, they all want to hear what Benjamin is saying but they end up not hearing anything because the network is very poor in the forest where Ben is.

   “What did he say?" Mr. Jackson asks the woman.

   “I didn't hear him clearly"

   “Why? and what about you Tina."

   “I didn't hear him too, his voice was not clear."

   “How will you hear when all of you are rushing to listen?  Anyways maybe is a network, but keep trying" he said.

   “I am, but is not connecting anymore," Ben's mom said. they were all silent now, feeling ashamed of themselves, the way they have lived before, like cat and dog.

Now Ken is not with them to share this wonderful moment as a family.

  Tina is all in tears again.

   “Please stop crying, they will come back with Ken, I know it," Ben's mom said, trying to console Tina as she didn’t know what to say that will make her happy at this time.

Just then Mr. Jackson's phone rang, it was Mr. George.

   “Hello, George."

   “Hello Mr. Jackson, how are you and the family?."

   “We are fine, thank God."

   “Any news about ken?."

   “Not yet, but Benjamin is still out there with the men, hopefully, we are going to get good news."

   “I pray so," Mr. George said and didn’t know if to tell Jackson or not.

   “How is Gina, I heard she was admitted to the hospital too," Jackson asked.

   “Yes, she is, and now she is pregnant."

   “What!"

   “Yes, the doctor confirms she is two months pregnant for Ken."

   “You don’t mean that?". Mr. Jackson ask and was hoping that is true because he was kind of glad that at least Ken has a baby, in case they lost him forever.

   “Okay, we are coming to the hospital to see her."

   “What! Which hospital?" Ken’s mom asks.

   “Tina you now have a grandchild," her husband said.

   “Really?"

   “Gina is two months pregnant for Ken."

   “Oh... My God! Let’s go to the hospital right away"  she got up to go but was held down by Ben’s mom because Tina was not herself.

   “We will go there soon enough, just take your time," Mr. Jackson told her and asked Ben’s mother to take care of Tina seeing her condition.

All family members are now present in the hospital to see Gina, including some of the maids as if she had just been put to bed.

   Gina starts crying immediately after she set eyes on ken’s mother.

   “Hey.., stop crying my dear is okay, he will come back to us okay," Tina said to Gina and she nods her head like a baby.

   “Is okay, how is the baby doing?" Tina asked her and she was surprised.

   “Baby! What baby?"

   “Ohh.. sorry," she said looking at Mr. George, waiting for confirmation to know if the doctor didn’t say anything to Gina.

   “Yes, she didn’t know yet."

   “Ohh.. sweet heart, am sorry for breaking the good news to you like that," Tina said rubbing her back.

   “I still don’t understand, what baby are you guys talking about.?"

   “Gina.. dear, you are two months pregnant."

    “What? No!, is a lie, no..no..no," she shouted and wants to get up from the bed, but Mrs. Tina held her down.

   “Don’t get up dear, you will hurt yourself and you still need rest."

    Mr. Jackson asks to speak with Mr. George in private. Both men went outside.

   “Do you mean to say she didn’t know she was pregnant?" Jackson asked.

   “I think so, the doctor just told me when he examines her."

   “What a pity, children of nowadays," Jackson said and shook his head.