TWICE A ZING |A Nigerian Romance|

Chapter 26.

SHALEWA

"My baby, don't cry." I sing, cradling my child in my arms. Some night times are like this and this happens to be one of them.

"Nadira, please help me with coffee." I say into the phone.

"Alright, ma." She replies and the line goes dead. Jason is finally asleep and thankfully, I can get some work done.

I set out the files on my make-shift work table. Pushing my reading glasses on my nose, I hand pick the first document titled "Procurement for the month of May" and start going through it. A knock sounds on my door before it is immediately opened to reveal Nadira. She quietly drops the cup on the table and leaves, leaving me to the aromatic scent of coffee.

The financial records is the next thing I look at, lingering on the balance sheets and profit and loss records. Our profit went up this month. Two more reports and I am done with the boutique. Now onto the flower shop.

As soon as I reach for my bag, I touch the card and my thought drifts to what happened earlier.

"Timi..." My voice sounds shaky and raspy when I speak. I'm surprised I could even utter his name. I can't believe my eyes. This feels surreal. I saw him in my dreams. How then is he standing in front of me, in the flesh?

Quickly, I unfasten my seat belt and get out of the car in one swift move.

"Timi!" I say again, shocked. He takes calculated steps away from me and looks at me like I am some crazy woman.

"Hi. You must have mistaken me for someone else. My name is Francis, not Timi. And before you say it's a memory loss thing, no it is not." I take a close look at him. Now that I do, I can see some difference between them. He has smaller ears compared to my Timi, his nose is slim and pointed as opposed to Timi's which is not, he's almost the same height as I am. Timi is way taller than me at a 6ft1.

"I am sorry." I chuckle nervously. To be honest, I feel dissapointed. A part of me wanted it to be him.

"Oh, it's nothing, ma'am." He responds, smiling. Dipping his hand into the pocket of his suit wallet, he retrieves a complementary card.

"Francis Morgan is the name. I am head of marketing at Molfix diaper. We want your baby and you on our next advert. Please give me a call if it piques your interest so we can discuss further." He says, smiling at me.

"Alright." Do I want my child exposed to such fame? I'm not sure I know the answer to that.

I snap out of my thoughts and bring my mind back to the present, focusing on the work at hand.

•••••

The deal with Molfix was really huge. It brought my baby on the map. The payment received was put in a trust fund I created for him. It's not like money is a problem. I just like the idea of setting up an investment plan for my child. In future times, he could use it for what he wants without having to depend on anyone for financial assistance.

Today, on his 1 year birthday, family, friends and well wishers are here to celebrate with us. Being a single mom was never something I envisaged. Heck, I thought it would be a horror. I was scared of judgement but here is everyone, showing love to my baby. For that, I am happy.

"What's a party without the presence of his father?" A voice whispers in my ear and I become still, not wanting to turn back. First of all, who allowed him in without an invite? Shoot me! There wasn't any invite for this celebration. I grit my teeth in annoyance. Why has he suddenly decided to show his face today? I don't want anyone spoiling this day for Jason and I.

"What is it, Amadi?" I ask him, kissing my teeth in anger. I turn to look at him, taking in his appearance. In a simple Jean and polo shirt, he still looks stunning.

"Still stubborn, I see." He raised his brows, baiting me. People are already stylishly giving us sideways glances. The few of them know who the father of my child is, and I'm sure others who don't are wondering who he is.

I can't have him spilling anything unwanted to the ears of the public. I look around for Nadira, giving her eye contact to look over Jason before I reluctantly speak.

"Follow me." He nods his head and I lead the way, feeling his figure looming over mine. We reach the guest room on the first floor in my house and I lock the door after him. Immediately, I feel my back pressed on the door and he envelopes my lips with a kiss.

My heart starts to pound. Instead of me to react, I am here stuck, kissing him back. His fingers play with my hair, making me feel desire all over me. From my hair, I feel it run down my chest, down my body to my inner thighs. My heart beats erratically, taking in my body's betrayal.

"I am sorry." He says in one ragged breath, which fans my lips.

The kiss was slower this time, like he was taking his time to apologize to me. For all the hurt that he caused. All the negative utterances he made in the past. All the false accusations he melted against me.

His hand touches my shoulder, holding me in place. A moan almost escapes my lips and that's when I feel the senses kicking back into me. I pause my lip movement and take in a deep breath before slightly pushing him away from me.

"I am sorry, Shalewa." Unlike the always cocky front he puts up when we are in the presence of people, this is a complete opposite.

"Please, just allow me see my son. I beg of you. Even if it's just this once." I stare at him for a while and let out a sigh.

"Okay."

"Thank you." He lets go of my hand that he was holding. I could see the excitement in his eyes.

We take our time to fix ourselves before leaving to the event.

The moment Jason sees his father, he starts jumping and stretching his hands to be carried. What's bugging is the fact that they have never met but the outright acceptance he gives to him. Truly, you cannot break a father-son bond.

My eyes are teary at the display in front of me. I could see Amadi's body shaking too. I just sense he's trying to stay composed because this is an event.

"Come here." I hear him say before lifting our son to his chest. He places light kisses across his face while Jason just laughs, playing with his father.

"I got a gift for him. Hope you don't mind. It's outside." Amadi nudges his head towards the entrance.

"Alright." I'm skeptical but I just nod, anyway.

"Ta-da!" It's just been barely two years since I last saw her but Kaima looks bigger than her age of Six.

"Kaima. My my.. How are you?" I ask her.

"Pretty." She replies with a toothy grin.

"Don't mind her. She learnt that from a TV series on Nickelodeon." Amadi says, laughing.

"Daddy." Kaima responds with a huff.

"Sorry, Princess." He apologizes. She quickly runs to him to hug his legs.

"Is that my brother?" The question she asks throws me off balance. He told her? But she's just six years old! He gives me an apologetic look before smiling down at her.

"Yes." He says.

"Let me see him!" She hops on her feet, obviously not reaching his height. Jason laughs and as if understanding what's going on, he stretches his hands down to her.

"Now for the main gift." He takes us pass his car and there's a Hilux truck with something in its boot. The driver gets down and helps place it on the floor before unwrapping it. It's a mini-car.

Amadi places Jason on it. My son is ecstatic about this. Boys will always be boys. Kaima joins them in playing and I just watch them, surprisingly with a smile on my lips.

I can let go of some pride and bear his presence. For my son.

....My inner thoughts laugh at my excuse....