Chapter 380 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“I know what it is,” Desmond cut in with a wide appreciative smile.

“My dad liked it when I got it for him, and since I’ve not seen you on it before, I decided to get it. I don’t know if it will fit though,” she said, still feeling somewhat nervous.

“I’m sure it will fit. Thank you very much, Celsie. I love it,” Desmond said, and as though to prove it to her, he took off the sneakers he had been wearing before and put them on.

“I’m glad you do. Happy birthday once again,” Celsie said with a relieved smile as she stood up, ready to return inside.

“If you are not in a hurry to get back inside, do you mind keeping this old man company?” Desmond asked before she could leave, and she sat back down.

“You are not exactly old. Sixty is not old,” Celsie pointed out.

“Tell that to my wife. Ever since she clocked sixty last year, she has been going on and on about how old we are getting,” Desmond said, and Celsie looked at him in surprise.

“She is older than you are?”

Desmond smiled when he heard the surprise in her tone, “Why do you sound so surprised?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because she just doesn’t seem like the type who would marry someone younger than she is, even if it’s just by a month,” Celsie said, and Desmond chuckled.

“You seem to understand her personality quite well. I can assure you that she has changed a lot now, compared to how she was when we first started. Apart from the age issue, I had a difficult time convincing her to be with me since she didn’t even want to get married back then. You can’t imagine my amusement whenever I hear her bugging our kids about getting married now,” Desmond said in amusement, and from the way he talked about his wife, Celsie could hear his affection for her in his tone.

“She didn’t want to get married? Why?” Celsie asked since she couldn’t understand how Evelyn, who looked so homely and motherly, could have ever considered not getting married.

“Her background. She had a rough time growing up. Her family was dysfunctional in every sense of the word, and she was scared that she would end up becoming like her mother or marrying someone like her father,” Desmond explained.

“That must have been tough,” Celsie said with a sigh, trying to reconcile this part of Evelyn she was hearing about to the woman she knew.

“It was. It took me four years to convince her,” Desmond said, and Celsie blinked at him in surprise.

Four years? That was the same time it would take to get most college degrees. Patience must run in their family line, Celsie mused.

“I think you are like my wife in many ways,” Desmond said, making Celsie wonder if Benne had told him about her decision not to get married.

“Why do you think so?” Celsie asked curiously, and Desmond shrugged.

“Because I see her younger self in you most times when I look at you. And I think maybe she sees it too,” Desmond said, and Celsie sighed.

“Are you still mad at your mother?” Desmond asked, changing the subject so abruptly that Celsie blinked at him in surprise since her brain was yet to finish processing what he had been saying.

“I don’t know what your mother said to you, but I hope you can forgive her for it,” Desmond continued without waiting for a response.

“Did she tell you what she said?” Celsie asked, and Desmond shook his head.

“I didn’t ask. There was no need to ask since she was sad and regretted it. I’m certain that all of this is not easy on you right now. We don’t expect it to be. But you will feel better if you don’t add anger at your mother to the list of things already weighing on you,” Desmond said, and Celsie’s eyes teared up.

“Being a parent is difficult. We have to be responsible for both ourselves and our children. Often times as parents, we set unrealistic standards for ourselves. We want to be everything and do everything for our children without understanding that there is a limit to the things we can do for them. We are scared too. We get scared of making mistakes because we know they won’t only affect us but our kids too. Your mother might be older than you, but inside she is still just a person like you, saddled with the responsibility of being responsible for herself and you too. So forgive her for not being perfect and not being able to say the right things or be there for you as you would want her to,” Desmond said, and Celsie felt tears roll down her cheeks.

Desmond stood up and went to sit on the bench beside her as he draped a hand across her shoulders to console her, “Let it out, dear. Cry it out as much as you want, and resolve whatever it is you need to resolve within you. And when you are done, forgive your mother. Forgive her for being human.”

Sonia was rolling on the bed with laughter as Jade narrated all that had transpired between her and Harry when they met again in her apartment four years later because Benne had sent him to make sure she was okay.

“I swear, you are both a match made in heaven,” Sonia said as she wiped a tear that had dropped from her eyes because of her laughter.

“His bluntness was very annoying at first, I can assure you. It’s a surprise that I have somehow gotten used to it,” Jade said with a small smile.

“That’s interesting,” Sonia said and then listened attentively as Jade told her how she had hooked Harry up with Aurora and how they were planning to go on a date soon.

“Oh-oh! That doesn’t sound so good,” Sonia said, and Jade sighed.

“It’s what I get for being a meddling bitch. So it’s either I just sit still and let nature take its course, or I find a way to sabotage their date,” Jade said, and Sonia wriggled her brows, an evil smile playing on her lips.

“I’m all up for sabotaging their date,” Sonia said, and Jade giggled.

“I didn’t expect anything less from you,” Jade said since she already knew that Sonia was the type to do crazy stuff, “If Celsie were here, she would probably advise me to let nature take its course,” Jade said, and Sonia nodded in agreement.

“Yep. That’s definitely Celsie. So what are you going to do? Sabotage or not?”

“Since I’m a perfect blend of both your personalities, I will figure out a way to balance it,” Jade said with a brilliant smile, and they both looked at the door when someone knocked on it.

“If it’s Celsie, come in. If it’s not, get lost. We don’t need you,” Sonia announced, and the door opened.

“Oh!” Sonia’s face flushed red in embarrassment when Evelyn walked into the bedroom.

“Should I get lost too?” She asked, and Jade laughed gaily at the embarrassment on Sonia’s face.

“That didn’t apply to you,” Sonia said and pressed her lips together.

“What do you want, mom? I thought you said you were tired and wanted to sleep?” Jade asked curiously.

“Yes, I am tired, and I need to sleep. But I also have to talk to you. I’ve not seen you for a long while,” Evelyn said as she sat down, and Sonia got off the bed.

“But we talked outside…”

“That was barely a conversation. Besides, you were busy being a daddy’s girl. You don’t think I’m going to just let you sleep tonight and leave in the morning without catching up on everything going on in your life, do you?” Evelyn said, and Jade rolled her eyes.

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