“Daddy isn’t here yet?” Pearl checked her Hello Kitty’s watch the third time,she sat down in the school pavement waiting for her dad to come and take her home.
“Pearl isn’t your dad here yet?” Miss Amelia, her class teacher her,the teacher was surprised to see the little girl in school even though the other kids had gone home,Pearl shook her head slightly,
“I can drop you home if you want to.” She offered, Pearl declined,
“Miss Amelia never mind,I will wait for my dad.” She turned to the gate but her dad hasn’t arrived yet.
Not quite long after,Deville drove into the school,he rushed out and ran to his only daughter. She pouted and put on an angry face,he came close to her,
“Sunshine,I’m sorry for coming late.” He apologized to her,she turned the other way,carried her bag and lunch bag,
“Baby,I’m sorry,” He turned to the teacher,who stood there watching the both of them.
“Baby,I got held up in traffic, that why I came late.” He bent in front of her and held his ears,putting on his puppy face, Pearl stood up and stated towards the car,
“I wish my mommy was here.” She muttered to herself but Deville heard it,he walked past her and opened the back door for her,she kept her bag and lunch bag then she closed the door.She turned to her dad,he was faking tears and wiping them from his face,
“Daddy,I’m sorry.” She said to him, he was still crying(fake cry),she pulled him down to her level,
“Daddy,I’m sorry,stop crying.” She told him,he wiped his eyes and smiled,he carried her to the front seat,got inside and drove home.Meanwhile, Miss Amelia stood there watching the father and daughter drama,she shook her head and went inside to get her thing.
When they got home,Pearl rushed out of the car,leaving her bag inside the car,
“Daddy,is grandma in her room?” She asked her dad,
“Yes and she’s been waiting for you to come.” Deville replied her,be brought in the bag and handed it to Millie white was waiting for them to come home,
“Marisa,take Sunshine upstairs and have her freshened up.” He ordered Marisa ,Pearl’s nanny,the lady nodded to him and he gave her a death glare,
“Yes sir.” Before she could turn to Pearl,the little girl ran to her Granny’s room.
◀***********▶
Shortly after Deville brought his daughter into the Salvador, he invited his foster mom Phina,she was in Alaska but since there was a child and no mother in the house,he decided to bring her to his house.He didn’t here from Anne again,even though he hired a private investigator to help him search for her.He even included the help of his two friends but all to avail,the last thing he heard was that she left the city.Anne and Cheryl decided to leave the city,so as to help Anne start a new life,Cheryl sold the grocery shop but sublet their house before.
◀***********▶
“Grannie !” Pearl ran to where her her granny was sitting down eating strawberries, she hugged the older woman,
“How was school today,Sunshine?” She asked her,the little girl nodded and then dipped her hands in to the bowl and took some berries,
“Where’s your daddy?”
“He’s in his room.” She said with her mouth full,
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,Pearl.” The woman corrected her,Pearl frowned,
“But you asked me a question.” She dipped her hand into the bowl,took more berries and left the room hurriedly, She bumped into her dad in her way out of the room,
“Sunshine haven’t you had your shower yet?” Deville asked surprised that she’s still in her school clothes,
“I was waiting for Marisa to come call me but she wasn’t coming forth,so I’m going to my room.” She said not completely the truth,Deville shook his head and smiled as she ran upstairs.
“Mom.” He called his mother,he went and sat opposite her,
“Dev,Jake was here.” She handed him a big envelop, he opened it but didn’t peer inside to see what’s inside,
“Son,she’s back in town.” Mrs Phina told him,Deville couldn’t take his eyes off his mother as she spoke,she took a deep breath.
“She was spotted at the airport today carrying a young boy and she was with a lady.” He brought out the content of the envelop,
“Its her.” He said as he brought it out,it was a photo of Anne,carrying a young boy of about four years old and Cheryl by her side.Deville stood up and went to the wall,
“She got married again.” He hit the wall several timed with his fist until his fist bled,his mom rushed to him,
“Dev,get a hold of yourself.” She held him back from hitting the wall again with his fist,
“Let’s look for her first and then well know whether she got married or not.” She comforted him.
◀***********▶
When Mrs Phina came into her sons house,she was surprised to find a baby but no mother,except for a nanny,a wet nurse and a cook,
“Deville whose child is that?” She asked her son the night she came there,
“She’s my daughter, mom.” He answered her looking at little Pearl cooing in her crib,
“Her mother? You didn’t tell me of any marriage ,let alone wife or did you get married not informing me.” She stared at him.curiously,
“Mom,its a long story,I don’t think you’ll want to hear it.” She gave him a death glare,
“I have brains, so I’m bound to understand anything you say now.” He looked at her and sighed,he has to tell her the truth sooner or later,so its no use keeping to himself.
“Marisa !” He called the nanny, she came running to the room,
“Stay with Sunshine,I’ll be right back.” He motioned his mom to follow him and she did.He took her to his room,she was in awe when she saw photos of a young and beautiful girl hung all over her son’s room,the girl was very pretty and her eyes were that of a goddess.Deville brought out a photo from his drawer and handed it to her,
“Here’s Pearl’s mother,her name is Anne Pearl McKenzie an she’s a nurse.” Phina couldn’t take her eyes off the beauty that was shown to her in the photo,
“Wonder where that child got her good looks from.” She commented,
“Mom,remember the last time I called in sick?” She nodded,
“Well,I was diagnosed with Leukemia,blood cancer.” She widened her eyes and he nodded,
“Yes,I had blood cancer and had to undergo a bone marrow transplant but as you know,I had no relative except you.I went to Will’s hospital, he brought the idea of me finding someone that I could father a child with and then we can go ahead with the transplant.The idea was good,so I decided to go for it since I haven’t had any other girlfriend since Gail left.” Mrs Phina listened with rapt attention,
“I fell in love with her at first sight,she works in Will’s hospital, she took it upon herself to come check up on me every morning, noon and before she leaves,Will said she does that for almost every patient.She was so beautiful with snow white skin,her eyes was that of a goddess, it was the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen,she was a real beauty to behold.” Mrs Phina watched her son with ecstasy as he described the woman he fell in love with,
“I told William to help me get to her and he did,she had a fiance,Frank and they were about getting married, I mustered the courage one day and told her of my plans, I pleaded with her to allow me father a child with her and promised to pay her awesomely for her service.She bluntly refused but when I please more, she promised to think about it and give me my answer after she talks to her fiance about it.She came in the next morning ,she was looking pale and colorless but readily accepted my offer,it was a contract to her but it meant more to me.Like I heard, she had problem with her fiance, he might have told her no but she’ll try to convince him and explain to him about my condition, maybe he was firm and she got angry,something like that might be the problem,she signed the contract and came to leave with me,cause that’s what the contract states.” She was lost in his story,
“That night I slept with her,she was still a virgin and it was a really painful experience for her,I remember getting angry at myself when I saw her scalded skin in the morning.”
“What happened to her?” She asked with compassion,Deville wiped the tears that was swelling up in his eyes,
“She bathed with hot water,says it heals her.” He answered her,she stared at him for long before shaking off.
“That day she left the house,lying to Mr that she wants to get her painkillers from her house but when I got there, I saw her with Frank,I was so angry and almost pick up a fight with him.I brought her home but didn’t allow her out of the house alone for over three months and that irritated her,I guess.She came in one evening telling Mr that she’s going for a get together with some friend from college, I told her that she wasn’t going,she got angry,yelled at me and went back to her room.That night,I felt the instinct to come downstairs to drink and I did,I got Vodka and sat in the living room,the lights were out,so no one noticed my presence,then I saw her coming downstairs, she was looking stunning with a long velvet gown,opened at the back to the waist level and a slit in the front exposing her thigh,it was a Louis Vuitton new release and it looked great on her,” Deville stared into space describing Anne’s beauty that fateful night,his mom couldn’t help but wondered at the beauty of the lady,her son had loved.
“I stood up to let her acknowledge my presence,she got scared when she saw me,she wanted to defile me and go out to let some guy touch her,her gown was so s£xy and…I…got angry ..and..,I was drunk,so I didn’t know when I ….” He stole a glance at her,she was shocked,
“Don’t tell me its what I’m thinking.” He nodded slowly and remorsefully, she gave him a thunderous slap,
“How dare you Deville,” she shouted,
“I never expected such immoral act from you,I never raised you to be a rapist.” She shouted at him,anger swelling up within her,
“Mom,I’m sorry,I was drunk and she………” He tried to explain but she shut him up with another slap and left his room.
For the next few days,she didn’t talk to him,she took care of Pearl,talked to Millie and Marisa and they talked to him but she didn’t talk to him and Deville felt devastated and angry at himself.