MIA'S LOT [Wattys 2019]

Chapter 19

Kudos to those who engage in community welfare services! There's nothing easy about it. My back still hurts from the running around of yesterday, though Ralph gave me a warm massage in bed. I still crave more of it but since we are going to Iconic today at Santorini, will just wait and get it there.

Ralph went to his father's room to have a brief discussion with him. He said he would be having breakfast with his father. I decided to have mine in bed, was too exhausted to go downstairs. Ramon had gone in search of his heartthrob. He left immediately after the event.

It's been an hour since I ate breakfast and Ralph is yet to return. He told me that it was going to be a brief meeting with his dad. Our definition of brief doesn't tally. Shouldn't brief be related to something short?
Just then, he walked in.

"Hey babe " he said. Ralph was smiling, excessively if I may add.

"What did you and dad talk about? " I inquired.

"Dad? " he asked, puzzled.

"Yeah dad. He's the only father figure I have in my life, so I decided to call him dad and he said that I could or do you mind? "

"Of course not. Sooner or later, he is still going to be your dad and the grandpa to our kids "

"Don't you feel you are getting way above your head. Kids? We are not even married "

"Yet. " he added.

"What did you guys talk about? It's obviously keeping you in high spirit. "

"He encouraged me to be happy and to go for what I wanted "

"And what is it that you want, if I may ask "

"You and everything that comes with you "

"Including all my baggage "

"Every single one of them love. I love you Amelia "

"Huh? What did you say? "

"I knows it's barely a month and a few weeks since we started dating but that is exactly how I feel and I'm not going to hold back any longer. I'm going to show you how much I love you with all of me. No hesitation whatever.

I said it then, the other day but I felt maybe I was rushing things but now,I really don't care. Matters of the heart don't involve the normal procedures. I want to show you how love is. I want you to experience what loving someone entails. I wish I could change your story and give you a more loving one but I can't and I don't regret it. So, I'm going to do what I can to show you that love without selfishness exists. "

"Those words mean a lot to me " I said to him.
"Thank you very much. I really don't know how I can ever repay the love you've shown me, you and your family "

"Shhh, I'm content with having you. That is all that matters okay? "

I nodded affirmative. I was so close to tears. Those words really touched my heart. What better time to talk if not now?

"You know, when I was growing up, I lived with my grandparents " I started and he looked into my eyes. I knew I had his full attention. This is my first attempt at telling the tales of the past. There had never been anyone I was willing to share it with.

"You do know I'm not pressuring you for an answer or sharing your story. I don't mind waiting till you are ready, till you trust me " he said, holding my hands

"I know. I trust you to keep me safe, Ralph. " I said, squeezing his hands.
"My parents, I believe, didn't know the first thing about taking care of a child. They were still immature, obviously, because they couldn't take care of me.

They were naive and didn't want the burden that comes with training a child yet. They were in love, so they said, and allowed it to blow them wherever it wanted to. They didn't see the need to use protection, and so they had me.

As soon as I could start saying my name, I started visiting my grandparents, staying with them more than I did in my parent's. I was also with my grandparents during the holidays when the news of their separation broke out for reasons known to them alone.

The fight for custody was draining. None cared how it affected me. To make peace, I had to be with neither and stay with my grandparents. They preferred it that way, not considering what I wanted.

At the house, I was exposed to so many things. It was a very big house, open to all and sundry. My uncle started molesting me at a very young age, before I was ten. When I tried to complain, I was shunned and tagged a liar by my aunt, his wife.

She hated me because I was my grandparent's favorite grandchild. She wanted it to be hers. She felt my presence took away the opportunity from them. She knew what her husband was doing but turned a blind eye.

She sometimes insulted my parents and reminded me of how worthless I was because I had been used and value reduced.

Mentally, my mouth was shut. So, I took all in and said nothing about it. After my uncle did, several others too did, those extended family members who came to visit. I was alone and had no one to talk to. It made me shut out completely from the world. I stopped relating with my friends, I couldn't trust them when I needed help and I really needed it then.

My teenage hood is filled with unpleasant memories. You once asked why I hardly ate an home made food, well this is part of it. Those pictures keep flooding my head when I try to cook. I remember being in the kitchen once and one of the guests came for a glass of water.

After getting him the cup of water he requested for, he began to look at me with lustful desires. He came towards me and hugged me, saying he was commending me but that wasn't just it. He was patting my butt too "

I didn't know I had been crying till Ralph pulled me into a hug and wiped my tears with his handkerchief. His eyes were bloodshot red.

More to come in the next chapter - Ralph's POV!
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