Romance in Kitalo City Book 2
He believes in all the clichés about love and thinks that true love is worth taking a few risks for.
She's recently stopped believing in true love and thinks love isn't worth the risk of a broken heart.
Who will win t...
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I greeted my sisters with hugs and kisses after squeezing my bags into Nella's trunk. Her last stop before we officially hit the road was Namiko's place and as we headed in that direction, we chattered excitedly about the weekend ahead. The four of us would be joining our mothers at a resort in Kisho Valley to celebrate their birthdays, which coincidentally fell on the same day.
"Hi, girls!" Namiko sung as she entered the car and strapped on her seatbelt. "How's everyone doing?"
Namiko loved asking that question, always ready to volunteer her services to whoever might need it. I loved that about her. Over the years of she and Nella being best friends, I'd grown to consider her a second big sister. She had always been naturally wise and nurturing, very easy to get along with and loads of fun to be around. In the past I typically spoke to her about the difficult things I went through, because I knew she'd always help me make sense of it, but lately I'd found that in Chimwemwe and had unintentionally forgotten about Miko's important role in my life. Ironically, the things that sat at the forefront of my mind now weren't things I could actually talk to Chi about, so Namiko would have to be reinstated. I just didn't know how to go about reinstating her when I was still shy to tell the girls about the changes that had recently taken place in Chi and I's friendship.
"And you, Aisha?" she prompted, pulling me away from the thoughts that had distracted me. "I haven't seen you in a while, you okay?"
"I'm good." I said. "How are you, Miko?"
"I'm good, too." she smiled and turned back around, her eyes on the road. "I think this girls' trip will be good for us. Especially you guys. You need it after the last couple of months."
"You can say that again." Nella said. "We definitely need a distraction from Joseph Mujulizi and everything that his shocking reappearance in our lives has brought up. In fact, no one's allowed to say his name on this trip."
Ketura chuckled dryly beside me and looked out the window. "As if not saying it automatically means not thinking it."
Nella craned her head towards Kay with worry etched on her face as I stretched my arm and took her hand. She'd been going through so much since that first family meeting with Jacob. She seemed to be taking it the hardest, and Nella and I were worried, but we understood that people experienced and processed loss in different ways so all we could do was let her grieve without trying to push her into feeling better. Lately, we'd only see glimpses of her usual self occasionally, like on the night we'd gone to the arcade, but otherwise, she was closed off and quieter than usual—often isolating herself for long stretches of time and randomly visiting Joseph's grave or the art gallery in Musomi.
"Hey, Kay. Come here." I said, tugging on her hand. She readily shifted in her seat and stretched herself over my lap, lying back with her knees now in mid air. I begun to run my hand through her hair as I said, "It's okay. We'll have enough fun to keep your mind off it."
