NO PERFECT MARRIAGE

NO PERFECT MARRIAGE EPISODE FIVE

The date with Cedric went well and all my doubts had cleared up. We walked hand in hand and when we got to his car and before he opened for me to get in he gently pushed me onto the body of the car and leaned in so close staring into my eyes. My heart beat fast and there were goosebumps all over my body. Whenever Cedric stood that close, my legs grew weak and his touch was like an electric shock that made me give in to his teases and demands.

Cedric: I can't believe I almost fell for Dom's trap earlier. I will never allow him to have you..you know why?

I shook my head biting my lower lip and staring at him as he spoke. Cedric had very attractive and kissable lips that made me want to kiss him every time he was being all cute and romantic.

I shook my head and he leaned in even closer and kissed my neck gently brushing his face against mine then whispered in my ear. " because you are mine"

I felt like an ugly girl who had finally had someone notice her and ask for a dance just when she thought things couldn't get any better. Cedric shook the ground beneath me and made me fall deeply in love with him.

smiled and hugged him then planted a kiss on his lips

He dropped me home and I knew if I wanted to keep this relationship I was going to have to do away with Dom and this time for good. Cedric kissed me goodbye and watched me get in the house before he left. I prepared myself for bed and then called Ivy to thank her for the evening and after we chat for a while, I told her goodnight as she was ready for bed as well and I could hear Derrick in the background. Derrick was her fiance and Cedric's younger brother. I hung up and was almost tucking myself in bed when a text came through my phone.. "give me just one day to prove to you how much I love you"... That was Dom and with that, I blocked his number and blocked him everywhere on social media. I needed peace of mind and he wasn't part of anything peaceful.

I went to bed and the following morning my alarm sounded loud enough to awaken the dead, I tapped on the other side of the mattress to reach for my phone and when I grabbed it, I switched off the alarm. Why would it ring that loud yet I wasn't going anywhere that early, that might have been some sort of a reminder...

I went back to sleep and when I woke up,, it was because of the loud knock by the door that was quite persistent and I could not ignore whatsoever.

I fumbled out of bed and lazily found my way to the door in my very short and transparent night dress. I opened the door halfway awake, halfway asleep and when I opened my eyes, there stood my mother with a fully packed bag and another Small handbag in her arm...

Me: mother!..

She looked at me from head to toe not having much to say about my very transparent nightdress and she walked in without saying hello or waiting for me to invite her in...

"You hanged up on me when I asked you for money."

She said dropping her bag down and finding her way to the living room. I followed her not knowing how to pick up on the conversation because I was already starting to boil inside not sure if I was mad because of how she showed up unannounced or how she never said a word to me.

Me: you show up at my house this early unannounced because I hang up on you, mother I'm not a child anymore, what if you walked in on my fiance in a towel?..

"And what do you think I have not seen, are you the first one to have a fiance, now that I can't get your attention in the village, I brought myself, and maybe seeing me here will make you act quickly to get rid of me so that your fiance can walk in the towel all he wants"...

I was speechless for a minute and because she was my mother, I could not do anything to her but so help me God if she were someone else, I would have kicked her back to the hole she crawled from...

I went to my bedroom and dressed decently before going back to the living room and taking her bags to the other room. My mother rarely visited and it did not bother me because we were not best of friends anyway. We fought a lot and I hated her at some point that should I have been given an option to another mother, I would not have thought twice. A mother is supposed to be her daughter's best friend, she's the one I'm supposed to confide in when things overwhelmed me but I never had that friend in her and I gave up on trying when she accused me of setting her up so that my father could chase her away. It was one incident, one incident that turned us into sworn enemies but she was still my mother. At least that's what I thought...

I got back to the living room and asked if she wanted to take a shower but she did not respond, instead, she gave me an attitude and I didn't know what to do with her.

Me: I'm just asking because it's been a long the journey from the village...

Mother: or Maybe you think I've carried bed bags from the village to your house...

Me: if you don't want to shower just say so, don't put words in my mouth mother...

Mother: it is a good thing you know I'm still your mother so watch that tone, Stella...

I went to the kitchen to get breakfast started since it was almost eight. I went back to the bedroom and spread my bed then walked out with my phone back to the kitchen. I was not happy that morning but a text from Cedric made everything better...

He said, "good morning beautiful?" And those words gave me butterflies, see you can hear those words so many times but if it doesn't come from the right person, you would never get goosebumps.. for the first time in my life, someone thought I was beautiful.

"Morning my baby, how was your rest?"

I asked with a smile on my face and waited patiently as he texted back.

"Could have been better if I woke up beside you, did you sleep well?"

"Yes I did and I wish you were here too"

I sent that with a blushing emoji and he blew me some kisses. Where had Cedric been all that time I was looking for love and bumping into men who didn't know how to make my heart beat like this. What had he done to me that no one else seemed important? I had fallen for him and I fell hard...

"Is there anything to eat in this house or you don't have money even to feed me leave alone to cater to my needs?"

Her voice startled me and I put the phone on the kitchen counter and checked on the tea that had already boiled. I ignored her eyes on me the entire time and I also ignored the beeping on my phone...

"Mmh!"

I heard as she walked back to the living room. Whatever had brought my mother, I had to find it and give it to her before I ended up killing her with my bare hands and reporting myself to the police station. She was being extra and I had taken enough...

I checked my phone before taking the tea to the living room and Cedric had requested if we could meet up later in the day as he wanted to introduce me to his friends.. that was one test I was afraid of. Ladies, there is nothing like an introduction to friends, the purpose of that introduction is for the friends to confirm that he got the real deal or if he needs to go back to the drawing board. Yeah, I had kissed a lot of frogs to know everything I needed to know...

I took the tea to the living room and served my mother who was flipping through the channels like she was the new owner of my house...

Elsewhere

Ivy had woken up and was going to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Cedric's family when she passed by Aunt Sandy's door and heard her talking on the phone. Ivy was not the type to eavesdrop but it's what Sally said that attracted her attention.

"Are you sure you have totally given up on Cedric because he brought another woman here and from the look of things, he loves her."

Ivy could not hear the other party but she heard aunt Sandy say, if whoever she was talking to was serious, she was going to slow things down but she was going to have to up her game. "Imagine losing everything to that woman Diana, you can stop whatever he thinks he has with that girl. I don't like her but Becky seemed to have loved her.. do something!"

Ivy tip toed from Aunt Sandy's door and quickly made her way to the kitchen before anyone could see her.

"Rotten woman!"

She said to herself fetching water in a source pan before placing it on top of the cooker.

"What is she planning now and who has she been talking to?"

Her thoughts were interrupted by footsteps headed to the kitchen and when she turned I was Derrick, her fiance...

Derrick: you thought you could sneak out on me...

He said grabbing her and planting kisses all over her neck and she giggled trying not to be heard. Derrick was jovial and playful most of the time. He loved ivy so much that he could not imagine his life without her. Derrick was to go abroad but because his relationship with Ivy was still so young, he canceled his plans and choose to stay home with her. Everyone in the family loved her as she was very friendly and easy to talk to.

Ivy: shhh!.. we will wake people up.

Derrick: let's go back to bed.

Ivy: it's past eight.

Derrick: so?.. I want you...

He kissed her

Ivy: babe stop, we will get caught making out in the kitchen, you know your aunt, she will shout the whole house down...

Derrick: okay... I will make a reservation tonight, you and I can go out and do it in the bathtub, on the floor, bed everywhere... You can make those noises without me having to cover your mouth...

She blushed... Derrick was silly but cutely. He still had her waist in his arms when someone cleared her throat and he gently let go and Ivy turned to check on the boiling water...

Sandy: you guys know this is a kitchen right?..

Derrick did not bother responding to her. He walked out and Ivy got busy looking for milk in the fridge hoping she would not start her lectures. Ivy didn't like Sandy and now it was going to be worse now that she realized she was up to no good...

Sandy: Cedric didn't come back last night did he?..

She asked walking to the sink and she started to wash her hands and looked up at Ivy briefly.

Ivy: he must have gone back to his apartment.

Sandy: i saw you bonding with his girlfriend, you guys are close?..

Ivy: not really, I just met her the other day like everyone else...

Sandy: I see...

Ivy: any reason for asking?..

Sandy: nop, she looks like the perfect match for Cedric.

Ivy: I think so too.. she will make the PERFECT WIFE for Cedric...

She said stressing the two words and Sandy looked at her stopping the scrubbing of her hands for a second but before she could say anything, Becky walked in and their attention shifted to her. Becky was the boys' mother.. she was the type of mother that everyone loved to have around. She was playful and so full of life. She would sing and dance to songs that no one knew their origin and she would make the house lively all the time.

She leaned on the kitchen counter and looked at Ivy then at Sandy.

Becky: good morning, it's a beautiful morning isn't it?..

Ivy smiled at her and then responded on her way out...

Becky: did I walk in on something?..

Sandy: not that I know of...

Sandy responded as Ivy pretended to be busy preparing the tea.

Becky: well, how did you see Cedric's girlfriend, we have not had a chance to talk about that.

Becky asked then walked past her and drew the curtains in the kitchen, not that she had heard her talk on the phone but Sandy had been acting weird ever since the young lady visited...

Sandy: she is okay..you know I don't have a problem as long as Cedric is happy. That's all we have always wanted right?

Becky smiled...

Becky: my happiness is to see my sons happy. I was worried about Cedric moving on.

Sandy smiled like she was not enjoying the talk but she had to entertain Becky who was now getting the cups to set up the table for breakfast.

Sandy: men will always be men. They move on that fast. I wonder if Diana has... what about the baby?..

Becky: she refused to hand over the baby so Cedric is supporting him wherever he and the mother are.

Sandy: don't you care about your grandson?..

Becky: I do and that's why we came to the agreement that Cedric will be supportive even if they are not staying together. Marriage is not forced Sandy, you of all the people should know that...

Sandy helped her ferry the breakfast to the table...

* *

Mum the tea will get cold. Aren't you hungry?..

She said she was then took a sip but she didn't seem to be enjoying her breakfast...

All of a sudden she was gloomy, you know the sudden face someone wears when they get bad news about something, yes that's how she looked and I thought maybe it was the money issues, what did she need so much money for?..

Me: mum, I will get you some money if that's what's bothering you but at least you need to give me until the end of this month.

Mum: well, I will wait till the end of the month but that's not what really brought me my daughter...

When I heard that I was shocked. My daughter is a name I had never been called in a long time so this really had to be good.

Me: Okay, what brought you?..

Mum: when you brought your boyfriend home, I had a lot going on and I did not welcome him the way he deserved to be welcomed. I noted that he is not a bad person and he is the one suitable for you. You deserve to be happy when you finally find happiness...

Those words brought tears to my eyes. It was hard to believe that those words were coming out of her mouth. My mother was like a chameleon, one minute she was very abusive and moody and the next she was a saint or maybe she had an alter ego, I don't know.

Me: yes, I was very disappointed. He noticed that he was not welcomed in our home...

Mum: I'm so sorry... I'm planning to go back home tomorrow in the morning, maybe you can bring him here we prepare dinner and tell him how sorry I am.

Me: you mean that mum?..

Mum: yes... I regret what I did and I want to start a good relationship with my future son in law...

She smiled and I did too. That was the best news I had heard... I promised to call Cedric and ask him to come over for dinner..this was going to be good.