Sara heard whispers going on around her and grudgingly peered open her eyes. She let her eyes settle in on the wafts of curly Afro hair sitting cross-legged on the bed and playing with his toys. He was oblivious to her gaze watching him as he conversed between his toy soldiers, giving out orders they were only too happy to comply. Two soldiers ran into enemy territory stealthily, gauging the army. The fortress for General badness was the pillow and the fat green frog was only too happy being general. His minions consisted of blue pig, green Godzilla and the purple elephant. The soldiers were obviously no match for this troop.
Commander Freddie shouted out orders and the remaining four soldiers ran to join their counterparts. Soon, the army truck moved in over the fortress and the pillow was thrown towards the foot of the bed. General Frog was now very angry. He sent out blue pig and purple elephant and the army easily knocked them out. Their destination was also at the foot of the bed. Right now, General Frog was furious. He ordered Godzilla to go fight his battle. Four soldiers were killed, and two injured. The army truck was hit and Sara watched in horror as Freddie threw the truck towards the foot of the bed but it rolled off instead and hit the ground with a smash. Freddie's eyes popped open and his gaze collided with Sara's.
"That was an accident," he stated, pointing to the direction.
She nodded siting up on the bed. "I think that happens quite often."
He blinked at her words as though in thought but his focus was back on the battlefield as soon as he realized he couldn't decipher what she meant.
Godzilla had used the lack in concentration to kill one more soldier, leaving Commander Freddie and one injured soldier. In pain, Commander Freddie sent the soldier home and fought back bravely. Soon Godzilla was among the pile at the foot of the bed. General Frog huffed and puffed until he was red. He turned to attack but was no match for the commander.
"Your evil days are over, General frog. Commander Freddie has won!" Freddie declared. Frog was only too happy to join the pile.
Freddie jumped out of the bed, holding his cuddly soft puppy toy in his hands which he held high above his head, chanting. "Freddie the puppy has saved the day, Freddie the puppy has saved the day!"
It was a victorious battle! Freddie and the puppy also named 'Freddie' had fought bravely and won.
She watched him hopping from one foot to the other and she was drawn to the period when she was pregnant, and whenever he could, Lucas always read to her and his son, taking out time to use socks and ties to act it out. It was like having her own cinema with her own actors. She had enjoyed it thoroughly and he had promised he would act it out for their son once he was born. To see Freddie mimicking him brought tears of joy to her eyes.
"Are you hungry, Sara?" Freddie asked suddenly, snapping her back to reality. He was no longer jumping about as he was now piling the toys into his hand held truck. It was certain his many toys were not allowed to sleep in his bedroom.
She nodded, climbing down from the bed. She reached out to straighten her weave-on which must now be looking like a birds nest. She dragged her gown down to look presentable at the very least, after changing from the sweatshirt and pants Lucas had lent her earlier. Freddie left to go drop his truck in his playroom and ran back in to pull her along with him out of the room and down the stairs.
To her dismay, she was informed by the maid that Lucas was not yet back even though it was already late. She needed to go home, she frowned looking at Camilla who was busy setting up dinner, and at Freddie who was quick at her heels. Sara shook her head in amusement as he definitely got this mannerism from his father.
She was still standing in the massive living room, anxiously glancing at her watch waiting for Lucas to walk through the door. Didn't he say he would be back in time for her to leave? Camilla walked into the living room and asked quietly.
"Won't you have dinner at least? I made for two and the little boy will welcome the company," she intoned, clearly worried about Freddie.
Sara frowned in confusion. "But I have to go home. Lucas said he'll be back in time for me to leave,"
The older woman sighed regrettably. "I wouldn't bet my money on his words most times, Miss Sara. Mr. Lucas is a very busy man. You can leave if you really must, I'll ask the driver to take you back but I suggest you stay." It sounded more like a command and that had Sara's resolve crumbling.
"We had an agreement that I'm not supposed to leave Freddie alone until he returns to relieve me of my duty or at least until his nanny returns."
"Mathilda will not be coming back till Monday. Family problems, you see. Like I said you can leave if you want to," Camilla said, challenging her with a swift rise of her brows.
That made up Sara's mind for her. "I'll stay. It's no bother. Besides I like Freddie's company," She explained with a smile. There was no rush to go home and this way she could find out her son's schedule for the night. Perhaps, they could watch a movie or read another story. They had so much fun the last time they did.
"Good. Now I think you should join the little boy at the table. He must be starving while waiting for you."
That was her cue to rush to the dining area. True to her words, he really was waiting for her and from all indications, he was very hungry seeing that he was salivating. Dinner was a wonderful affair, with mother and son talking and laughing about their days during the week and then later digressed to Freddie talking about all the times he and his father pranked the maids at his great grandfather's house. Papa Fred had been the brain behind most of their pranks and it was obvious where the trait
came from. Later they went upstairs to the second floor to watch a movie, which according to Freddie was more comfortable. The sofa were very adjustable with added pillows, blankets and neck pillows. A maid had brought popcorn and a smoothie and they had tuned in to Netflix and selected Charlie and the Chocolate factory. The reason was too obvious.
They were getting sleepy towards the start of the next movie, Paddington and a maid came to take Freddie out for his night bath. He invited Sara to join him and she eagerly complied. It was a bad idea. The big tub was filled to the brim with water and bath soaps and Freddie climbed in. He took it as his cue to play and started splashing water all around. By the time he was dried up and in his pajamas, the maid and Sara were soaking wet. The look of disbelief on Sara's face had Freddie rolling on his bed laughing uncontrollably.
The maid was ruffled. "I could get you a change of clothes so you don't catch a cold," she said, moving to leave the room.
Sara shook her head in disagreement when she saw the sweatshirt and pants Lucas had given her earlier folded up and kept on top of the drawers.
"Mr. Lucas gave me a change of clothes earlier, so don't worry. But I'll love it if you could help me get my gown dry. I will need them tomorrow when I leave."
The maid nodded, smiling gratefully. "It's no problem at all. I'll have it ready before tomorrow."
Then she went to change out of her gown. Unfortunately her bra was wet too and she removed them together with her clothes. The maid was sure it was no bother as she added she would wash them immediately in the washing machine. Then she left mother and son to find their niche.
Few minutes later Freddie was rubbing his eyes, obviously fighting the sleep in them. She smiled at his actions and said.
"Come on, I'll tuck you in," she invited, holding his hands. He followed after her mumbling.
"I want to sleep in daddy's room."
She frowned. That would be a problem if he were to insist. "You can't, not tonight Freddie."
"Why not? I sleep there all the time."
"Because your daddy's room is locked."
He eyed her for a second before replying. "But I have the key!"
Then he ran to his room to get the key. Five minutes later, Sara and Freddie made their way into the massive Master's bedroom and to say she was stunned would be putting it mildly. His room was exquisite.
The large room consisted of a king-sized bed placed at the middle of the room, with three heavy oak doors leading out of the room at different angles. Colors of grey, beige and black were delicately woven together to give it a distinctive masculine taste. The door to the far right led out of the bedroom to the large balcony that had potted plants and deck chairs with a view that overlooked the swimming pool. The door immediate to that led to the massive bathroom that was tiled grey all round. A tub occupied a corner with an enclosed shower at the left side of it. Further left of the shower was a cabinet that held various towels and bath essentials with a wide mirror adorning half of the wall. Sara loved the decor and wondered what her life would be like right now if they hadn't gotten divorced.
Recovering from her thoughts, she strolled back into the room to gape longingly at the seemingly soft and inviting bed. She was still admiring the room when Freddie dragged her along with him to the walk-in closet. There were rows and columns containing corporate wears, as well as a shelf for the various suits he owned. Another section was filled with long sleeved shirts of different colors and hues. Next to that shelf was his casual clothes ranging from sports wears, to traditional attires and everyday wears. Next to that was the shoes compartment, ranging from gentleman shoes to sandals, flats, sneakers and hiking boots.
The column in the middle of the closet was, however, a glass-panelled rows for the different accessories he owned. The first contained ties of different colors, shapes and materials. Next row was for cuff links and tie pins. The next was for his watches. For a weird reason, Sara paused in her cursory glance to search through the glass case containing his watches. Somehow she hoped he still had it, even though she doubted the possibility.
Just then Freddie appeared next to her, smiling. "Daddy has a lot of watches. He says when I get older I can have them all if I like," he stated, his eyes widening at the view.
She nodded, still unconsciously searching for that particular one. Then Freddie ran to the shelf that housed his shirts and put his hand inside under the heap. He removed his hand holding in it a rectangular shaped velvet box. He came to stand in front of her and then pulled open the box. To her greatest surprise, inside was the watch she had been looking for. It was round with small diamond stones studded around it. She picked it up instantly turning it around to look at the words engraved on it.
"I love you, Lucas. More than this world could ever comprehend." She had signed it with 'your beautiful wife' an endearment Lucas had been stuck on calling her.
Remembering it brought tears to her eyes. She had given it to him on their second wedding anniversary when she travelled to Enugu to go see him at his company just weeks before their divorce. Some part of her was happy to see he still had it but the more logical side of her argued that he should not have it tucked away in a box.
"Why are you crying, Sara?" Freddie asked, taking the watch back to look at it.
She wiped her tears away and sniffed. "I'm happy, that's why. This watch is beautiful."
He grinned at her words. "Yeah. It is very pretty. I told daddy I want this one but he says he likes it too and cannot give it to me. I don't want all those ones. I want this one,"
She swallowed hard, understanding that his words carried meanings. "Why do you want this one?"
He looked down at his feet and mumbled. "My mommy gave it to my daddy. She said she loves him so I know she'll come back home very soon. She can't be sad anymore," he stated before placing the watch back in its case and rushing to go put it back where he had found it. Then he tugged a stunned Sara back with him into the room.
Quickly he climbed into the bed, pulling the covers on his frame.
"Climb into bed, Sara. We'll sleep in daddy's bed together."
She was skeptical though, thinking it might be a bad idea. "Where will your daddy sleep when he comes back?"
He shrugged his little shoulders at her question, clearly not bothered. "I don't know."
He pouted his lips, looking at her with pleading eyes until she relented and climbed into bed with him. Pulling the covers on her body too, she shrugged, mimicking his action. "I guess daddy will figure out where to sleep when he comes back."
A few minutes later, mother and son were out like a light, sojourning in the land of a million dreams.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First of, so sorry for the late update. I was a little preoccupied.
Hurray! Over 400 reads. You guys make me so happy. I've been feeling under the weather lately but this has brightened my day.
In appreciation, I'm updating three chapters today. So, happy reading.
As usual, our pact of voting and commenting is still on.
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