Chapter 2
1981 Words
The two sneaked to the parking lot avoiding the paparazzi and numerous friends who were around. They would have delayed them. Even Anita had not met her parents Fred and Cathy Brown since she got the ring. When they got to the car peter got the door for her and quickly turned around. He was about to escape when he saw Kristen walking towards him. Puffing with anger.
“Am sorry” peter said.
“So you know what you did?”
Peter
She was my best friend. My little sister but bold and a personal attorney for my family matters. She would defend me when no one would and I told her everything even my crushes. There were something’s that Kristen knew about me that not even my parents did.
“It was last minute” I said looking around just in case mum and dad were coming.
“Not a legitimate excuse pit, where is she?”
She went round to Anita’s side and opened the door.
“Kristen” Anita said with open arms.
“You played me, but you’re my girl congratulations” she hugged her tightly and came towards me dragging me afar from Anita.
It was private conversation and I could guess it was not that good. If it were she would have been free to tell in front of Anita. I still couldn’t see mum and dad anywhere. Not that I would have wanted to see them then.
“What is it kris, I was trying to take my fiancée to a date”
“Why did you keep this a secret to everyone even mum and dad?”
“It was a surprise to my girlfriend, she likes it to me that’s good you know as they say, too many cooks...”
“Save me your proverbs brother, congratulations though am happy for you”
“I know how about mum and dad?”
“Don’t worry about them, go have fun with your girl” she said pushing me away.
I kissed her forehead and her hair then rushed to my car. I found Anita busy on her phone and atypically quite. Was she mad? I didn’t want to make her mad after the pressure of proposing to her out of nowhere.
“Are you okay babe?” I asked roaring the engine to life.
“Yeah am good”
“Sorry I took so long, what are you looking at?”
“The blogs”
I snatched her phone away keeping my eyes on the road. She was new at the celebrity thing and the paparazzi would have crushed her by digging up some dirt that she was not ready to deal with. Among the few things that I wanted but I was not able to protect her from and yet we were just getting started. A good start was something we both wanted.
“Don’t mid them” I said giving her phone back.
“They were not really attacking me, what are you worried about?”
“They will start soon, I don’t want you feeling like this is a bad idea”
“It is okay peter” she said staring at me, “it is okay for you not to save me from everything I can take it am grown ass woman”
“I know...”
“No buts, just drive peter, take us wherever you’re taking us am starving”
“It’s a few meters away, you’ll love it”
“Something less exquisite please”
Another thing she was also getting used to it was the use of money for pleasure. With that one we were having differences. I was even afraid of buying her expensive gifts because she would easily say no.
“Too late, I booked the reservations already”
“Ooh my God” she said when I pulled over the most popular restaurant in fort canon, the Gideon’s restaurant.
***
“Thank you” Anita said when Peter got the door for him.
The happy door man grabbed the keys to the Audi R8 as peter and Anita walked in the restaurant their arms entangled. He kept waving to the people who knew him, most of them were business men and women making the effluent class of fort canon. It was the most exquisite restaurant in the city bragging to have hosted the likes of Ben Richards, Mayor Thomas before he got thrown to jail, the president of canon Islands the list of celebrities was endless. Anita kept looking around. She had only read about the restaurant in papers and seen it from the outside.
“Welcome Mr. Philips and congratulations on your engagement” a waitress said.
“Thank you, is the table ready?”
“Yes sir” She said showing the way.
It was a private room. Glass walls showing sliding images of nature with text flicker messages of conservation, a beauty for the eyes. A small veneered round table in the middle two gravity defying cantilever chairs on opposite sides. Candles and a bottle of red wine with two wine glasses. A plate of roasted goat ribs with all the necessary cutlery. The room was smelling roses. There was a banquet of them on the table. Red and white roses with a mixture of tulips. The ceiling was white with a waterfall chandelier hanging above it.
“Welcome!” The waitress said.
“Thank you...shall we” peter said getting a hundred dollar bill from his pocket.
The waitress left smiling broadly. The tips from the Gideon’s restaurant were sometimes more than the monthly salary itself. Just like the sisters of Mary hospital, a Gideon’s restaurant waitress could tip a not so well off client.
“the password” she said rolling he eyes.
They kissed each other rubbing their noses both of them burst into laughter and stopped to look around just in case someone was watching them act childish. They realized the room was sound proof. Peter kissed her on the forehead before they sat. As usual she said a word of prayer before they started eating. They were both hungry. Clouded by love and happiness and joy of being around each other, the two had not bothered to pay a visit to the self-service kitchen at the wedding. As long as they had each other, hunger was nothing.
“Did I tell you how beautiful you look today?” Peter asked taking his time to have a closer but pellucid look at her.
“No you didn’t” She said feigning sadness.
“Come on baby am sorry, you know you always beautiful even on gloomy days” peter tickled her.
She smiled and dropped her guess shying away.
“Look at me”
She looked at him rolling her eyes and tacking her hair. Peter held her hands. The butterflies and anxiety were evident even he was feeling it. They had agreed on s*x after marriage but from the look of things it was not going to work. There was some new unresolved tension between them. They had both, at some point of their short dating period thought of it yet none of them was willing to break their vow first.
“Are you keeping something from me?” Peter asked.
“No, are you?”
“Of course no” He said massaging her hands softly.
“Okay is there something you want to tell me?” she asked staring at him with lazy, sleepy eyes. “A lot...I have a lot to tell you if I start I won’t stop”
She wiggled on her seat, cleared her throat her elbow on the table her palm on her cheek. Her long black lustrous hair covered her face. She tucked it and exhaled sharply maintaining eye contact and making Peter so curious.
“I have one thing to tell you but first promise you will consider it and won’t get mad”
“Okay where are you going with this?”
“Just promise”
“I promise” He said raising his right hand, his left was on his chest.
She smiled leaning backwards.
“Do you think we can break the ceiling on...?”
“s*x?” Peter asked surprised.
“Yes” she said shyly and looking confused, “Am sorry I brought it up”
“No, I have also thought about it and Scott has been telling me we look like we want to doink each other all the time”
“So we get a room or what?”
“No, I want the first time we make love to be special, let’s go home” Peter said getting on his feet.
The two walked out of the restaurant briskly.
****
The Philips dinner table was dead quiet. One would have thought something tragic had happened. Seated at the head of the long table was Cole angrily munching on a plateful of rice as though it was sand, on his right was Gabriella. She was busy on her phone taking up a spoon once in a while. At the far end of the table was Kristen. She was the only one enjoying the meal.
“You guys okay or what?” She asked wiping her mouth with a hand towel.
“Don’t even start Kristen you must be enjoying this” Gabriella said.
“Talk to your brother about this Kristen” said Cole, “Selina is his soul mate he just needs some time to realize it”
“You know I can’t do that”
“Don’t beg her Cole we will handle this ourselves when he comes back” Gabriella said keeping her phone away.
“You are not going to ask him to marry Selina when he has just proposed to Anita aren’t you?”
They did not answer that one. From the look of things they were not going to because Cole left the table and Gabriella went back on her phone acting as though Kristen was not talking to her.
“Well, good luck with that am sure Peter is not coming back” Kristen said leaving the table.
“Speak of the devil” Gabriella said.
“Hello everyone!” Peter said happily, Anita was by his side waving.
Cole came back downstairs. They had agreed to work together in solving their son’s marriage but he was having second thoughts. His son was looking happy with someone else apart from his own family. That was rare. It could only mean he trusted and loved her and something else, the tension between them was visible they looked like they needed some time alone. Cole concluded it was not the right time.
“Welcome home son” He said standing behind Gabriella.
“We need to talk” Gabriella said.
He squeezed her shoulder when she looked at him he shook his head, but Gabriella could not to be stopped even though she got the signal. It took a lot for her to put on an act of congratulating her son settling for less back at the wedding. The shame and embarrassment he had caused them was enough. She couldn’t take it anymore.
“Sit down”, she ordered pointing at a seat.
“Not now mum, come on guys I have something to show you” Kristen said going upstairs.
“Sorry mum I will see you later I promise” Peter said following his sister while dragging Anita along.
“Peter! Come back here”
“Let it go” Cole whispered in her ear.
She just glared at him and clicked her tongue. It was obvious she was the only one concerned with the public image and the future of their family. And she was going to stop at nothing to get Selina as their daughter-in-law.
- Writer
