I agree everybody deserves 2 read dis beautiful story

i absolutely agree,this story deserves to be on fp.

Front page thíngs!!!!
Yay!!!!!!!!!
Oya eyin friendship mi we dey fr nairaland, let's mk it happen!!!

Joy4mi: i absolutely agree,this story deserves to be on fp.

padi mi joy!! ose love!!!

Batty5: I agree everybody deserves 2 read dis beautiful story

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
thanks so much

Episode 10 continued

It took a long while before Joe could let the fact sink in that his ex-wife was carrying his child. He tried to give himself the benefit of doubt that what if the child wasn’t his? How was he sure she had not been seeing someone else who was probably responsible for her condition. No! He knew the child was his. Something in him confirmed that he was responsible and there was no way he would push it to someone else.

He was going to be a father again.

Guilt pricked him that he did not mention Amanda’s death to his family including his father and that he had allowed his temper to take over him in the hospital. Bonnie and Denver. He had acted wrongly towards them but he didn’t know how he was going to apologize. He was going to have to stand firm and take his stand like the man that he was going to face this situation not run from it like his father had said and he was going to prove him wrong.

As for Tiffany and the wedding, he was going to have to look for some sort of excuse for her.

He had no other choice than to postpone the wedding.
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

The Graham’s family was hospitable and Bonnie was already beginning to get convinced that Maria
Actually come over and stay with them for a while before finally travelling back home. Maybe a week or
two. She couldn’t be happier that her friend was going to be discharged tomorrow and then, she
could start explaining things to her that would help to jog her memory. The doctor had suggested a
physiotherapist that would be coming to see her for the first week of her stay away from the hospital
and Bonnie thought it was okay. She tried to forget the stinging words of Joe and wished he wouldn’t
even come near Maria after she was fully recovered. The nerve on the man, so he actually thought he
was better than anyone else. Now, she believed worse about him. How had her friend coped with the
man all these years? Was it possible Denver couldn’t be any different from his son? She chided herself
to be very careful and watch out for both father and son. At least she was smarter than years ago and
she was going to keep her eyes wide open this time.

she had been staying with the Grahams for a week now although Denver had suggested a hotel
for her if she really wanted any privacy she seemed not to be getting at the Grahams but she was glad
for them. They fellow-shipped together and that was what she always wished forever since she lost her
own family. Sara even held a Sunday school for children and once asked her to help out if she felt
obliged to. She loved listening and watching but was still asking God if he was leading her to. She didn’t
feel up to the task. Not yet. She was getting to love them as a family and she felt Maria wouldn’t feel
any different. Was it Trevor who loved going over to the hospital to see how she was improving, or
Danny his cousin who was either stepping on Trevor’s toes or playing video games or eating chunks of
Cake baked by Susan, Trevor’s sister or Susan who had this lovable aura around her and a heart for
people. Maria would definitely feel at home.

She glanced at the wall clock in the room and sighed. 8a.m already. She had to get up and make
herself a hot cup of coffee after her morning prayers and probably help to get some groceries for Sara.

She remembered the woman mentioned she had a meeting she had to attend to after school hours. She
was actually the school principal of a high school down Green island and lots of cases seemed to be
popping up with teenagers these days.

She left the room and found the house strangely quiet. Even Danny’s grumbling voice about school or
Trevor’s voice was not heard. He had probably gone to his apartment or gone over to check Maria again.

She went over to the kitchen and saw the soiled sink and shook her head. The house was looking like
something Danny left behind. Susan had probably gone out with her girl friends…, but this early? She
went over to the coffee pot and smiled. They didn’t even bother to leave coffee for her today. She was
going to have to do most of the work in the house today and surprisingly she was glad. For a while, she
thought they had been spoiling her for not allowing her to do anything and now, they seemed to have
overdone it.

Just as she was about rolling up her sleeves, the bell rang and she went over to answer it wondering
who it was. She almost lost balance at the person standing at the door.

‘Denver?’

‘hi.’ He greeted holding a big bunch of flowers and a big wrapped teddy bear. ‘am I allowed to enter?’

‘sure.’ She answered unconsciously still surprised at the early morning visit. She closed the door behind
him and turned to look at him for some explanation.

‘the flowers are for you and I thought I did buy you a bear that could keep you company.’

‘a teddy bear? What do I look like, a ten year old?’

‘I just wanted to apologize on my son’s behalf and if I might have offended you in any way…, and so I
bought you this nice smelling flowers and this since you don’t seem to like chocolate.’

‘how do you know I don’t like chocolate?’

‘your last order was enough for me to reason it out and you mentioned it once though…, unconsciously.’

He pushed it towards her and she accepted it but was still lost in thought before she felt him close to her and he kissed her cheek. ‘good morning, beautiful.’

Bonnie was grateful for one thing. Her color was doing a good job hiding her excitement or she would have been so embarrassed for the pink flush on her skin.

‘thank you.’ She managed and inhaled it. It smelt wonderful. She couldn’t remember the last time someone gave her flowers and a teddy bear…, gosh! She felt like a spoilt child.

‘so, am i forgiven?’

‘a little.’ She smiled and went over to the dining table to drop her morning present. ‘I have lots of work to do and I can’t afford too much luxury.’

He followed her into the kitchen and saw the neat disaster. He pulled off his jacket and began rolling up his sleeves.

‘what are you doing?’ she asked surprised

‘lending you a helping hand.’ He replied simply and began removing the plates. ‘I’ll do the dishes while you can attend to other things that need attention.’

‘I don’t know what to say.’ She dropped her hands and looked away. If he saw the look on her eyes, he could mistake it for something else.

She left the kitchen immediately wondering what the rest of the day would be like. If he could insist on helping with the plates, then he probably would want to help her out in other things throughout the rest of the day.

After she had cleaned up, she entered the living room and would have thought a housekeeper was responsible for the job well done. Everywhere, including the kitchen was looking clean and he was helping himself to a cup of coffee. She went over to join him on impulse and sitting on the kitchen stool poured a cup for herself.

‘thank you.’ She murmured and raised the cup to her lips.

‘you’re very welcome.’

She sipped the black substance and sighed. She needed to get breakfast and she wondered if he’d had any that morning.

It was as if he read her mind because he asked. ‘wanna go get something to eat?’

‘I was thinking of preparing something.’

‘frozen beef in the microwave?...that’s gonna take long. We could grab a bite in a good restaurant instead of spending extra hours to cook. Sara even told me you needed to get some groceries and thought I could help out in the afternoon. Morning seems fine to me.’

‘’on second thought, you’re probably right. I’ll just grab my bag and the list on the table, then we’re off.’

She started to leave when his voice stopped her. ‘you look great Bonnie.’

‘thank you.’ She smiled briefly and left to return with her bag and the list. She informed him that they should take the back door instead and lock up the front.

Throughout the rest of the day, bonnie could not deny the fact that she enjoyed shopping Denver not excluding the breakfast meal they had together at a good restaurant not far from her new residence. Denver suggested they go over to the museum before getting the groceries. That would be the last thing they would do.

Bonnie had never been to the museum before and thought it boring to waste her time on art work but Denver made it interesting by adding funny comments and fake history behind some stories in which he later admitted was just a joke. They finally stood before a dinosaur structure and Bonnie could only gasp.

‘I can’t imagine these things actually lived on earth.’ She grimaced. ‘they’re ugly.’

‘then you need to go over to the amazon.’

‘now, that is one place I will definitely not go! I’d prefer to go to the jungle on missionary work and probably die going to heaven than go over to some Amazon and get eaten up by animals I’ve never even seen in real life.’

‘then we could go to the zoo. Tomorrow maybe.’ He chiped in

‘Maria is getting discharged tomorrow.’ She said without looking at him. She pretended to be interested in something else and moved further.

‘quite insensitive of me, you would say?’

‘suit yourself.’

‘bonnie…’ he reached for her arm but she slipped away quite easily still not looking at him.

‘why do you always do that?’

‘because i’m being reasonable and you are not.’

‘excuse me?’

‘look.’ She turned to look at him finally. ‘you’re a great guy Denver but I don’t see more than friendship working between us. Fine, you’re a great guy, charming and irresistible to most women out there but not me. You’re white, old enough to be my father or my uncle, you’re the father-in-law of my best friend and we only met because we’re handling a fragile situation here. I don’t want to get involved with someone like you. I hope you understand.’

‘all guards up.’ he nodded. ‘so, you prefer if your next missionary work is in china or India?’

‘I never said I was doing missionary work.’

‘it seems to me like you have men plugged out of your mind in such a way that if God is actually leading you to a guy under your nose, you would never see it.’ He shoved his hands into his pocket and whistled. ‘And you seem to want a
‘black’ prince charming.’ It’s so good to know a lady racist.’

‘now, don’t make me feel guilty Denver. I never said I disliked white folks.’

‘umh….she even calls us folks.’ He persisted.

‘look!..., I’m sorry if I ever mentioned anything that sounded discriminative. Please, just forget I said anything.’ She pleaded.

‘didn’t hear you!’

‘oh yes, you did!’ she tried to hold back the smile tugging at her mouth at the way Denver was acting childish.

‘did not.’

‘Oh puh..lease.’ she sighed and laughed at the same time.

‘okay, apology accepted on one condition!’

‘no, you’re not going to bribe me this time.’

‘hey darling, you just insulted me and I just swallowed it. I should get a hug for that.’

‘there’s no way I’m hugging you Denver Brandon.’ She was already walking away when he walked up to her and slipped his hand across her shoulder. Before she could turn, she was staring at his phone camera and the flash light it produced.

‘Denver!’ she almost cried.

‘don’t make a scene darling. Like you said, we could just be friends and friends can take pictures together right?’

‘right.’ She replied sarcastically and shook her head.

‘I’ll send it to you on your phone when you’re ready and we could laugh over it at dinner tomorrow.’

‘make it Tuesday.’ She agreed.

‘wow!, am I glad!!!’

‘don’t make yourself too excited. I might just disappoint you.’

He moved closer to her. ‘I know you better than to leave me stood up at dinner.’

‘and how sure are you?’

‘sure enough to know where you live and make dinner for the both of us, or maybe force you out to a nice expensive restaurant that would make your brownish eyes glow under the beautiful lights and then we could dance…’

‘you should be a poet. A terrible one with secular thoughts.’ She waved a finger at him. ‘and you should have a warning tagged on your chest. ‘addictive!’ I don’t know how God could handle someone like you.’

‘umm…she likes me already.’ He said looking heaven ward and then back into her eyes. ‘you’re not bad yourself.’

Bonnie pushed him away playfully and watched him come over to take her hand as he led her out of the large hall. This time, she received his hand and they left together making her wish she could give him the other side of her heart.

After all, God had mended the broken part, but she was taking time to heal

Is this how love make two grown up, infact a grandpa and a grown up lady to behave like my kids

tanx GLOW for keeping to ur promise.
read the story all tru wit a smile on my face.


also GLOW, I have endorsed ur story for fp.
hope ur fans do theirs too.

LET US ALL BOMBARD THE ENDORSEMENT PAGE MY PEOPLE!!!

Its time for our GLOW to GLOW On fp.

nite nite GLOWING GLO.

oyestephen: Is this how love make two grown up, infact a grandpa and a grown up lady to behave like my kids

"Kids" ? I wrote kid sister

oyestephen:
"Kids" ? I wrote kid sister

LMAO!!! i was beginning to wonder about your family life...hehehe
tanx fr everything guys joy stephen etc

11

the next day, Maria reminded herself she was going to be discharged that very day and she was both happy and sad at the same time. she was glad that she was going to leave the all too familiar hospital that had held her captive for three weeks like this but she suddenly became afraid of the outside world and how it would affect her. If it would help her remember, that was okay, but if it would only make people take advantage of her memory loss, then she was going to be extra careful.

Maria glanced by her bedside and noticed her flowers had been changed. She was grateful to Joe and his new attitude for the past three days. He had been sending her flowers and sometimes when she woke, she saw him sleeping by her bedside on the chair. Once, she had touched him to see if that would jog up something from her memory, but it didn’t and he had woken up staring at her half asleep, uttered some words and dropped his head. She slept back and by the time she woke again, he was gone. She remembered the conversation that had ensued itself and she hoped they would never have such intimate conversation again.

‘hello Maria.’ He had greeted.

‘hello.’ She replied avoiding his eyes.

He came over to join her and could feel his gaze scrutinizing her.

‘I’m sorry about the accident.’

‘the first time I came here was worse, so I should be grateful I can walk on both legs now.’

‘but you feel a whole lot better, right?’

‘yes, I suppose so’ she replied briefly and froze when his hands began to caress her face. Using his hands to cup her face so that he could see all her bruises, his gaze caught hers and she couldn’t help but be mesmerized when she stared into them.

‘I’m glad it wasn’t worse.’ He murmured dropping his hand to look at her fingers. ‘still aching?’

‘a little.’ She replied like a girl as he held on to her hands a moment longer than normal which made her uncomfortable.

‘were you this concerned about me after the divorce, I mean, Denver told me we’ve been divorced for three years.’

‘’it’s quite complicated.’

‘for how long were we married?’ she asked again.

‘five years.’

‘and I don’t suppose we had kids within that period.’

Joe’s jaw clenched and he looked away. ‘like I said, it was quite complex.’ He wasn’t going to tell her that part of the story. He was still mourning his child and he wasn’t about to take a woman’s tears.

The silence between them was uncomfortable but Maria broke the silence. ‘so, this baby I’m carrying is yours…, now that is quite complex.’

Joe searched for the right words but all escaped his head.

‘so, what were we doing that led to the baby, getting drunk? Or just fooling around?’

‘none.’ His eyes bored into hers like lasers but she looked on. ‘so, would you mind telling me?’

‘’I’m sorry, but I can’t.’ he stood up immediately trying to stop himself from the sudden trembling and shaking.

Maria noticed this and so she kept quiet wishing that she could remember the whole incident. Why in the world would he sleep with her when they were divorced? There was a missing link and she was going to find out. She had to, even if not now, but later.

Right now, all she could do was think of how well she could get that missing link

Just as she sat thinking of how her life was going to be, the door flew open and Bonnie and Denver came inside followed by Trevor and his father.

‘darling!..., you are as bright as ever!’ Bonnie cried.

‘thank you.’

‘you’re coming home with us today honey…, you’re going to stay with the Grahams and I’ll tell you they are the most amazing people you can ever keep in touch with.’

‘Trevor’s family?…, I mean would Brian want me to stay with him, I mean I don’t want to inconvenience anybody.’ She stuttered

‘believe me, if it’s because of you, Trevor won’t mind.’

‘and we can face the inconvenience since it’s you honey.’

‘don’t mind him Maria.’ Brian interrupted. ‘you’re not going to inconvenience anybody. Sara has everything prepared for you and you’re going to love staying with us.’

Maria laughed. ‘Seems to me you already have my life planned out for me.’

‘is that a bad thing?’ Bonnie asked worriedly

‘it’s a good thing.’ She giggled

Bonnie suggested they all excuse them both while she dressed up for her in the new dress she had gone shopping for and she wanted to see how well it would suit her friend..
Maria got down from the bed and obediently went over to meet Bonnie as she pulled out a pretty dress with huge printed flowers on it. Although she had lost a little weight, it fitted perfectly and showed a little rounded part of her stomach and it stopped directly above her knee. It was like the dress was perfectly sown for her figure. Bonnie couldn’t help but admire her especially when some of her curls found way to her face.

‘wow! Am not a man…, but I did say you’re an attractive woman Maria. The dress is not too conspicuous of your shape but it makes you look gorgeous… and now, your hair. I have to put a comb on that hair of yours.’

‘thank you Bonnie, I don’t know how else to thank you.’

‘what are friends for?’

And all Maria could do was stretch out her arms as she moved forward to cover the distance between them. She held on tight as Bonnie’s hands received her warmly.

She didn’t know when a tear came rolling down her cheek.
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Maria sat at the table to help herself to the dinner Sara had prepared and watched Brian murmur a blessing over the food.

‘father, we thank you for the meal set before us, we thank you Maria’s life and for keeping her through it all. We pray that you continue to bless us abundantly as you do every day and help us to be more thankful to you. In jesus’ name Amen.

‘amen.’ Everybody responded and opened their eyes. Trevor who was sitting by her left helped her with the vegetable bowl and added some into her plate. His mother noticed the unnecessary attention he had been giving to Maria for a while now, not excluding this but she just smiled and shook her head. She thought it best to keep quiet for now. After all, she had no right to speculate any suspicion of hers.

‘Welcome to our home Maria, once again.’ Sara greeted.

‘thank you.’ She said quietly and dug her fork into her food. She felt they were trying to bring her into a conversation that was about to ensue and so she asked.’ What does Brian do for a living?’

‘a coach.’ He replied simply. ‘football coach although Trevor here decided to go for basketball’

‘really?’

‘don’t mind him Maria. What can you expect from the best coach in town. The last championship was given to his team’

‘wow, he acknowledged me today as the best…, I thought I was ‘just’ a coach.’

Trevor laughed and his wife interrupted. ‘I remember the last time Trevor had an accident and he was in a sick bed. His mouth was too heavy for him. He wouldn’t even laugh…, all he could say was ‘why me…, why me oh God! You know my dream!’

‘really…’Maria grinned and looked at him.

‘Mum!’

‘even worse my dear. Trevor is very naughty and not till you caution him will he stop.’

‘I know who I got it from.’ He said defensively.

Brian looked up. ‘you did not get it from me Trevor Graham!’ he warned.

‘I wasn’t going to mention you Dad…, but you just spoke up.’ he grinned mischievously and Sara had to spank her son’s hand playfully.

‘you two keep talking and I will take away your dinner. You can forget about your breakfast tomorrow.’

Everybody laughed at the comment and they all fell silent.

After dinner, Trevor asked Maria if she wanted to take a walk outside. She agreed immediately and
followed him to the door where he helped her with a jacket and threw another one for himself.

When they got outside, he shoved his hands into his pocket and walked beside her. He was so tall that
she would have been a little intimidated if she had not grown to know his gentle nature. With his
height, people turned their heads. Why hadn’t she guessed before now that he was a basketball player?

He even had the shoulders of a football player. She marveled at the way he lived his life simply
compared to a few she had watched on the television in the hospital.

‘I’m glad you are alright and you’re standing on your feet.’ He started quite nervously.

‘thanks to you big guy.’

He smiled and they kept on strolling. ‘You know, you can always feel at home here Maria. I would love
you to, especially when I’m not here and that will be for a while

She nodded quietly and moved closer to him. So suddenly, she hugged him and all Trevor could do was
embrace her warmly although he wasn’t expecting it.

‘you’ve been a very good friend Trevor and I thank you for saving my life.’

‘hey sunshine, thank God, not me. But I’m glad you’re okay, you’ll remember in time darling, I assure
you of that.’

‘excuse me?’

Maria released herself from Trevor’s embrace and turned at the sudden interruption. She frowned on
noticing her ex-husband’s presence.

‘hi Joe.’ She greeted casually and shoved her hands into her jacket. ‘what are you doing here?’

‘came to see how you were doing.’ He sounded hurt. ‘And I see you’re doing fine.’ He looked up at
Trevor who was about leaving them together.

‘hey man, I guess I should leave you two guys alone. Don’t keep her out too long Joe and everybody’s
inside if you want to greet the family.’

At that moment, Maria wished she could follow him but she stood still in the cold that was almost
seeping into her.

Joe passed her a bunch of wrapped flowers. ‘I thought you might like this.’

‘thank you.’ She replied and suddenly turned back to the house without receiving the flowers.

He pulled her to face him. ‘don’t you want the flowers?’

‘I don’t want your flowers Joe, not anymore and you can stop pretending you like me when you don’t. It’s because I carry your child that you’re concerned.’ She jerked herself free from his grip and
continued walking away.

‘and so, I came all this way for nothing?’

‘You can as well go back to where you came from and let me move ahead with the new life I’ve found
and not the rotten one I had with you.’ She yelled and opened the door. Without even saying goodnight,
she slammed the door in his face.

Joe began wondering if the amnesia had suddenly made her to be worse than the Maria he knew when
She was alright.
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Episode 11 continued

Maria loved living in the Graham’s house and with someone like Bonnie living in the house, not
excluding Danny and Sara when she came back from work. Brian had travelled to Texas for
the next football game in two weeks time while Trevor headed back to his place in Chicago before his
next game which was going to be after thanksgiving, they had both gone the week before. Maria had
grown to love him as a close friend and told him she was going to come over with the rest of his family
to watch him play.

Bonnie was initially worried that perhaps she was falling in love with him but she just
assured her that he was quite younger than her. four years in fact but she was fond of him. It was going
to take a while before they saw each other but he promised to keep In touch anyway. Danny was a little
quiet around her and somewhat shy but she knew that he was not. He was hyperactive most times but
she didn’t mind.

She was given enough privacy and for a week now, she actually thought they were
spoiling her but the walks she took and the grocery shopping with Sara or Bonnie sometimes made her
day lively, not to talk of the women talks they had at the café. Godly women’s talk and she always
wished she could add something positive but she enjoyed listening to them anyway.

Today was a new day and as she sat on the couch and started to relax, there was a knock on the
door. Thinking it was Bonnie who had returned from the restaurant, she rushed to the door and opened
it. She was surprised to see Denver standing before her. He hadn’t called earlier to say he was
coming and so she was surprised. It was just three days before now he had come over to check on her
and now, he stood standing before her looking so younger than his age. No wonder Bonnie had that
secret smile for him. She even told her that she could trust him and she did anyway. He had that
charming attitude about him that made her want to trust him also. Quite more than his son.

‘sweetheart.’ He greeted and planted a kiss on her cheek. She smiled at him and moved back to allow
him enter.

‘hello Den.’ She closed the door behind him and wondered what he was contained in the bag he
brought.

‘How’s the baby doing?’

‘Great. You have something for me.’

‘Yeah, I do.’

‘Yummy?’ she teased as she invited him further into the living room. ‘so, what’s this stuff?’

He brought out a tape and several discs and a large album and she accepted them curiously settling back
on the couch. ‘what are these?’

‘I thought maybe I should bring you a little reminder of your past. The album contains the wedding
pictures and some of your life with Joe. I thought it would be quite useful for you. The disc contains
some of your past memories, sweet memories I guess.’ Denver didn’t add the fact that he had kept it
because Joe didn’t want to keep them again and he had his own copies anyway.

‘Wow…, I don’t know what to say, but thank you Den…, I wasn’t really expecting this.’ She said in shock
and fear of opening it. She didn’t want to do so before her father-in-law and so she kept on hoping she
would see something encouraging. Would she finally get her memory back through this video and
album. She was scared of what she might remember if she opened it. Denver sensed her tension and he
stood up. ‘I guess I’ll be leaving you now’ he moved towards her in a brief moment. ‘whatever you see
or remember Maria, I want you to know that they’re still people who love you enough to care about you
and I want to you to trust me.’ He said and patted her cheek like a father would do and all she
could do was nod her head slowly and watch him leave through the door. She settled back unto the
couch and closed her eyes.

She was just learning how to pray and so she just murmured inside her. ‘ oh God, please
Help me to accept anything I see and I pray you’ll make me strong enough.’ She opened her eyes and
pulled at the album one page at a time. she saw the colorful pictures and traced it with her fingers. The
smiling faces of Bonnie, Denver, and different people she couldn’t recognize at her wedding pictures. She saw herself with Joe beaming like it was the best day of her life. Joe was smiling too and he
was holding her like she would leave him or run from him. Like he possessed her. And then, she saw the
cake and the cake sharing between the happy couple and still no memory. Everything looked strange to
her. She turned to the other pictures and she could see herself at the beach with some people she
couldn’t even recognize. Out of the whole pictures, the friendly smiles, the excitement revealed and the
lover’s nest, there was nothing to tug at her memory. And then the last five pages caught her attention.
A child was staring back at her with a big smile. The toothless baby was in the next page once again, but
in Joe’s arms this time and then once again, they were both taking pictures with the child. In the last
picture, the child seemed to be struggling with a toy and so didn’t look up. Maria closed the large book
and took a deep breath.

She was suddenly afraid and worried. A child?..., so this womb of hers had
carried a child once? She shook at the thought that she couldn’t even remember a mother’s touch on a
child and the whole album was displaying her life. The child had been so beautiful, her child?...with
golden curls and lovely brown eyes. She wanted to see her child. She would ask Joe about it the next
time he came.

She needed to hold her baby in her arms. The girl would be grown now, Joe had said they
had been divorced for three years and since they were married for five years, the girl would be at least
seven or eight. But Joe never talked about it and Denver didn’t mention it either. Or perhaps, it was not
her baby…, but it had to be. Maybe Joe was keeping her away because of her present condition. She
dropped the album and picked the disc to insert it. She waited patiently and watched everything about
her wedding but still no progress. She stopped it as soon as she started sensing an headache and so she
ejected it and went over to pick a good book to read. Probably that would make her relax. She needed
it.

She sighed and collapsed into the couch. She wasn’t through with the first chapter when she began
to feel sleepy. She adjusted one of the cushions and dropped the book on her lap.

Soon enough, she was fast asleep.
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;


It was all very dark and quiet and then so suddenly, noises from a distance tore through the
darkness. There was so much noise, angry noises. A door flew open and a tall huge man, quite elderly
with thin black mustache barged inside. He was boiling with fury and moving towards the familiar face.

He hit her angrily on the face and the girl fell to the ground.

‘idiot! You foolish girl’ he shouted in an heavily accented English. ‘?que? what did I hear you say?’

The girl continued crying with her face on the floor. He jerked her by the arm and forcefully dragged her
on the floor breathing hard. She struggled to break free. Leaving her arm, he grabbed her hair and
pulled her outside the door. ‘you girls of nowadays think you can continue schooling for free without
paying the price.’

‘let go of me!!! Isueltame!’ she screamed

‘callarse!’ he yelled at her and slapped her again. ‘you should do something useful with your life. Your
mates make money by several means and you sit down here, eating my food. You’re useless! Inutil! You
must do business!’

''I don’t want your useless business!’ she shrieked but received another slap which flung her to the floor.

The man was on drugs again. She could smell it. Tears rolling down her cheeks, she turned to look at the
man above her who was already removing his belt. He lashed her at the back and she winced in pain. He
struck her again and this time, her body jerked at the pain. Just as she was about screaming, she choked
and seemed unable to breathe through the pain.

Maria jerked up from the cushion which was already half soaked with sweat. Her whole body
seemed to tremble.

The dream….

The dream had looked so real and she felt like she was the one being beaten although she couldn’t
tell why. Those lashes made a chill run down her spine and she gulped in fear and looked around. She
didn’t get the full detail of the girl’s face but the face of the man she could describe. He had a cruel face
and taunting lips. Who could he be? Was her dream about something that had happened in the past. So
many questions were still racing through her head when the phone rang.

She shuddered at the sudden ring and quickly snatched the phone as if it was her source of escape
from her terrible nap.

‘Hello?’ she squeaked

‘Maria, is that you?’ Sara’s voice brought a pure feeling of Joy and calmness.

‘Oh Sara!..., how are you?’

‘Fine and you?..., you sound a little worried. Is everything alright?’

‘Yes, I’m fine. There’s nothing to worry about.’ Looking everywhere, she concluded that Bonnie was not
Yet back. ‘I just had a little nap.’

‘Did I wake you?’

‘Oh Sara, please, stop treating me like a baby. You didn’t wake me okay.’

She giggled over the phone. ‘just wanted to call you and ask how you were doing. We didn’t get the
Chance to talk or even see each other before I left for work this morning and so, I thought I should do a
Little babysitting and call you.’

Maria laughed. ‘so, you’ve finally concluded that I’m your baby, fine with me.’

‘and my second baby?’

‘Bonnie went to get Chinese for the past three hours and she’s not back.’ She didn’t add that she had
probably gone out with Denver. It wasn’t uncommon these days.

Sara understood her. ‘oh, I see. Hope you told her not to keep late nights.’

‘She’s an adult. She can take care of herself and if we don’t find her, we’ll call the cops.’

‘911 don’t forget.’

They laughed a little and talked more before Maria finally dropped the phone. Sara was becoming dear to her heart and she was already wondering how she would cope after she leaves. And then, the dream she had earlier came back to memory and she twitched again.
The terrifying man and the frightened girl…

How in the world did they relate to her?

Joe is in for big trouble...
I feel her memories will return sooner than expected....
@glowingscenes well done

The plot, the explicit description of the scenes, the characters, the simple language, the suspense.........am in love wit this book....keep the good works goin Glow

honeeyplum: The plot, the explicit description of the scenes, the characters, the simple language, the suspense.........am in love wit this book....keep the good works goin Glow

thanks honeeyplum!!!

Let Maria go for Trevor jare! Age is just a number. Suspense is overkilling. Keep it rolling dear

oruchechuks: Let Maria go for Trevor jare! Age is just a number. Suspense is overkilling. Keep it rolling dear

hahahahaha...thanks dear...lets see abt that then

12…..

It was a bright new day and it gave credence to the sun that shone brightly in the sky. The earth seemed to be fruitful and appreciative to its creator as new flowers sprung up in the garden. Maria stared outside her window and watched how the roses seemed to be in harmony with every other flower that grew in the garden. She loved it and she couldn’t help but assure herself that when she gained back her memory, she was going to have a garden of her own. Sara was really doing a great job of it and had even mentioned it that Susan was going to come and take over when she came over for a vacation. This was her second month in their house and abdomen was beginning to swell although it wasn’t huge.

The thought of something missing in her life made her shiver and she settled unto her bed in her room. She had been given Susan’s room for a while and she knew that when the girl came back, she was going to have to return back to Kansas with Denver and Bonnie. Was she going to keep feeling empty or was something new going to pop up and change her life. She was thinking so hard that she didn’t hear when Sara knocked on the door. The woman entered surprised.

‘darling, are you alright?’

Maria jolted and relaxed immediately. ‘Sara, I didn’t hear you come in.’

‘i grew tired of knocking and so, I found my way in. hope I didn’t intrude anything.’

‘nothing.’ She shook her head

‘then why are you still looking undressed, up, up, up, young lady and put something on. I thought you’d be ready by this time.’

Maria looked bemused. ‘for what?’

Sara placed her hands on her hip and gave her a stern look. ‘that sulky look isn’t going to work today darling. You get some clothes on and something for that oily face while I go and tell Den to get the car ready. Joe’s been here for a while now.’

‘I thought it was just a picnic with few people.’ Maria frowned when Joe’s name was mentioned. ‘and this is just one o’clock.’

‘Joe is not a majority and the picnic is for familiarity, not for cold welcomes.’ She headed for the door.

‘well, since it’s just a picnic…., I guess I should just…’

‘oh, you need to put on something very nice Maria, and comfortable because you’ll be doing lots of fishing.’

‘Fishing?,,,..’

But Sara had left the room and Maria had to wonder how they had all these planned without her full consent.
‘;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

‘wow! This place is so beautiful…, and natural.’ Maria exclaimed collapsing on the carpet grass carefully with the picnic baskets. Joe dropped the fishing rod and other equipments used for fishing beside him in the grass and looking around again, he sank to the floor stretching his long athletic legs before him.

‘this seems like a perfect spot.’ He observed and turned to look at his father and Bonnie who seemed to be talking and leaving him to himself. Brian and Sara were captivated by the huge mountains that surrounded them and so he turned to look at Maria.

She looked flustered.

‘you okay?’

‘yeah…, why do you ask?’

His gaze went to her abdomen. ‘I was thinking maybe you were uncomfortable.’

‘I’m fine.’ She snapped and stubbornly struggled to her feet but he was fast enough to catch her in time as she was about falling back to the ground.

‘easy…’ he cautioned and held her hand and her waist. She relaxed against him and settled back on the floor.

‘I feel giddy.’ She whispered and looked sadly into his eyes. ‘I just feel…, I don’t know.’

Joe suddenly softened at her vulnerability. ‘what do you feel?’

She laughed nervously. ‘I feel like I’m carrying more than one child. I feel so heavy. Is it me or is it the baby?’

‘I guess it all looks new to you because you can’t remember the last time you carried a child.’

Maria looked at him curiously as the picture of the child she had seen came to mind. She had tried asking Bonnie but she had insisted she would find out at the right time when Joe wanted to tell her. She did not want to say anything he wasn’t ready to tell her yet.

‘what happened to our baby Joe?’

She felt him tense and so she sat upright and continued. ‘I understand that we had a baby before my accident…, a child who is probably grown.’

Joe kept quiet and looked away. ‘I don’t wanna talk about it.’

‘well I do, because I’m tired of you putting me in the dark about my life and my child?..., Joe how can you allow me to keep speculating when you have all the answers to my questions.’ She yelled and the other couples had to turn to look at her.

‘you’re going to make a scene!’

‘I’m asking you about my life Joe and you’re concerned about me making scenes?’

‘because you’re making everything worse Maria by trying to force out things from me…’ he stood up. ‘she died before your accident Maria…, are you happy now? She wasn’t really coping with her environment and she died right in my arms…’ the pitch of his voice had gone high and he didn’t realize he was yelling till his father cautioned him.

‘joe, take it easy…’

He continued. ‘ she was dying silently but we both didn’t know it. We thought she would make it but she didn’t.’

Maria was staring back at him with tear filled eyes and raised her hand to cover her face. She couldn’t contain it. Her child had died…, a silent death? Had she been so careless that she didn’t know what her child was going through never known was dead…, her child…, the beautiful girl in the pictures? She had to leave…, get up and leave and probably be alone.., no she needed someone. She wasn’t strong enough to handle the news. She placed her palms against the floor and pushed herself forward.

‘I have to go…, now.’ She pleaded with red eyes and felt herself collapsing once again but joe was holding her carefully. She fell against him weakly and began to cry.

‘Please.., take me home, away from this nightmare…, I was a terrible mother. Is that why we got divorced? I couldn’t tell that my child was dying….’

‘I’m sorry.’ He pleaded unconsciously and patted her back. ‘I’m so sorry.’

She continued crying till Bonnie came over to hold her. Still clinging to Joe, she closed her eyes and released herself.

She looked at him and blinked.

His hands were familiar. He had begged her before…, his pleading voice…, she had been crying this same way in his arms.

It was so familiar and she weakened at that little flash of her past.

‘y’alright?’ bonnie asked worriedly

‘I’m fine.’ She nodded and looked away. She stepped further and raised her hands to her head. She was having a headache and couldn’t handle the sun rays and the next thing she felt was her world going black before she fell to the floor.
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

‘you will do as I say!’ the dark man ordered as he jerked her from the bed. She struggled to her feet and lifted the sheet to cover her shame. Her whole body shook in pain and anger and she trembled violently. A man terribly driven by lust was having a field day due to her father’s foolishness.

‘I’ve given in to what you want, what do you want me to do again?’ she held herself from crying.

The man stopped and released her so he could look at her. He smiled wickedly letting his eyes roam over her. Her head was bowed low but she could feel his towering presence over her. She thought he was going to hit her again but he held her face instead so that she could see his eyes. His eyes were red and he looked high like he would break her neck. She wondered how he was able to stand and look stable.

‘it’s a pity I’m the one who has to break the news to you novia, but this is your life now and right here, you stick by the rules till your padre pays every dime he owes Damon and the rest of us and we both know he’ll never pay back because he’s as useless as the word itself. If you’re good, we can let you in the family business but for now, you keep giving us what we want and when we want it and to whoever seems interested in you.’

The feeling of trepidation suddenly crept through her and she looked at him wide-eyed. He chuckled at her expression allowing her to swallow the news. She was being sold.

‘you can’t do this to me…’ she croaked with tears in her voice. She fell to the ground and held his leg using her free hand to keep the sheet that covered her in place.

‘please…, just let me go back to school and do something. Let me finish my exams…, please Bruno…,I promise I’ll pay every single money Sanchez owes you. Please…’

He snatched her from the floor angrily and dug his fingers into her cheek bone. She whimpered as the tears began to fall.

‘don’t try to act pathetic like your father did, it won’t do you any good.’ He released her and kissed her. ‘you know I’ve always desired you…, every single man who stares at you can’t help but wonder what you’ll be like, and till I have my full satisfaction, you’re not going anywhere, and besides, Damon is not ready to let you go anywhere.’ He released her. ‘you can still think about school?...’ he scoffed. ‘be wise and forget about ever returning to school.’

Maria jerked from the bed and opened her eyes just to find herself in a dark room which she later discovered was hers. She checked herself and found out she was dressed and sighed with great relief. The dream looked so real and scary and she felt like she was the girl in the dream who was pleading covering her shame of unclothedness. The girl was the same as the one she had seen in the former dream she had had. Why was she consistently seeing the girl?…, was there any link between them?

She hurried out of the room hoping to run out of her nightmares and headed for the stairs. Sara saw her coming and smiled up at her.

‘finally, you wake…, hope you feel better.’

‘I do.’ She squinted her eyes. ‘what time is it and why are you not at work?’

‘it’s Saturday honey and you fainted on your picnic day. We got the doctor to check on you and he said you were fine and you needed lots of rest and so we let you rest.’

Maria suddenly remembered how she had fainted due to sun stroke and probably how she had been trying to remember something and so that energy had led to her world going black and all. She looked around and wondered where everyone was. She was about to ask when Bonnie and Denver came from the kitchen carrying dinner plates.

They saw her standing in the living room with Sara. ‘darling, you’re awake’ Bonnie greeted. Dropping the plates, she went over to hold her hands and as an invitation to the table.

‘where’s Joe?’ she asked simultaneously

‘went back to his hotel, he says he’ll come over for dinner.’

‘he’ll be here any minute.’ Just then, the bell rang.

‘probably Joe, I’ll go get it.’ Denver suggested and went over to answer the door. He smiled at his son as the young man found his way inside.

‘glad you could make it.’ Den commented as he watched him going over to greet his ex-wife.

‘you okay?’

‘yeah, I am.’ Her gaze went to the pack in smarties in his hands. ‘candies?’

‘I got it for you. I remember that as one of your favorites the last time you were pregnant.’

‘really?’ she looked amused as she collected it from him. ‘never remembered eating this. Thanks for remembering me.’

‘yeah…, sure.’ He smiled nervously and tried to avoid her gaze. He asked instead. ‘and the baby…, is she alright?’

‘guess so…, in some months time, she’ll be battling for space.’ They smiled together ignorant of the people that were around them.

‘you really think our baby is a girl…, or will be a girl?’

Joe gulped. She had just said ‘our’ baby. This was their baby and in some months’ time, he’ll have to decide what to do about it.

‘if it’s a boy…’ his voice trailed off.

She laughed and looked into his eyes. ‘you really think it’ll be a boy? I bet he’ll be as stubborn as you.’ Noticing the expression on his face, she added. ‘I didn’t mean to say it won’t be a girl.’

‘we can check that out later.’ He suggested

‘that would be great.’ She was glad the tension between them wasn’t as strained as before but she knew that he wasn’t still comfortable looking fully well into her eyes. If she had been a bad mother, then she was going to do everything within her power to create a new image for herself

‘when you two have finished making family and baby plans, you can come and join us for dinner.’ Sara teased and watched them come over to join her. She smiled within herself as she thought of what she had said and hoped everything was going to end up well for Maria, especially when she remembered.

When Joe left the Graham’s place, it was already late and he hurried back to his hotel room after telling Maria goodnight at the porch steps. Walking on the street alone, he suddenly felt the cool November air and inhaled deeply and the loneliness he had once been afraid of facing was about to surface again. He shut his mind against it as usual and found his way upstairs to his hotel room and locked the door behind him. He released his breath and sighed at the sudden stillness of his room and his clothes and his laptop staring back at him blankly.

He thought of how he could get in touch with Salma and probably her brother who was abroad. The last time he heard of him, he was through with school and probably willing to settle in America, but that was about four years ago. Right now, he didn’t know anything about her family.

He thought about his life and how long he had spent in his hotel room and without Tiffany. He hated how much he gave her excuses and he was afraid to start worrying what the girl might do if she ever found out what was going on in Niagara falls. He couldn’t continue lying to her and neither could he tell her the truth. What would she do. The girl had been overreacting over the phone whenever he called her and tried to tell her that he was going to be staying longer than he expected. For a month and a half, he had been away from her and he knew she might not fully trust his excuses but all that mattered was that he was going to come back and get married to her no matter how long it took. As for this case with Maria, he was still contemplating on what to do with their baby.

His work was the least to suffer as Phil, his colleague got him busy with the new development just coming up and Niagara Falls was another venue they were interested in and would love to make some exchanges with a certain company who was willing to sell off to them and they were willing to buy. The meeting was going to be in a week’s time and his colleague had sent him everything he would be needing for the meeting. Phil thought everything was working out the right way as
Joe was over at Niagara at the same time they needed someone to be there while Joe thought his life was turning out to be a mess. He had been preparing for the meeting for a while now and he tried as much as possible to concentrate.

His phone suddenly rang disrupting his thoughts.

‘hello?’

‘sweetheart, it’s Tiffany.’ Her voice sounded coolly from the other end

‘tiff.’ He sighed.

‘honey, is something wrong?’

‘no…, nothing is wrong…’ he sank into his bed and pulled off his shoes while he talked with the phone on his shoulder.

‘just tired, that’s all.’

‘you sound strained…, I sent some messages into your email box and I’ve been trying to get across to you for a while now. I was worried.’

‘I’m sorry darling, I’ve been busy lately.’ ‘yes!, of course, with your ex-wife’ A sarcastic voice tormented him from within and he thought better to end the conversation early before he exposed himself. ‘hope you’re good.’

‘how can I be good Joe, when I’m missing you already. I was thinking today and I was wondering if I should come over to Niagara and probably check on you. Just two days, we can spend to ourselves…, it’s been two months Joe…’

‘one and a half…’

‘whatever!’ she snapped. ‘and I’ve been waiting like forever to say ‘I do.’. doesn’t our love count to you…, the love that we both share…, doesn’t it mean anything to you?’

‘did you call me to yell at me?’

‘I’m not yelling Joe, I think you’re just overreacting…’

‘overreacting?!’

‘look, Joe, all I’m saying is that…’ her voice trailed off sadly and joe closed his eyes to prevent himself from telling
her everything. He actually thought he was going to cry. He didn’t deserve any of this that was happening to him. A dead child, A pregnant ex-wife and a postponed marriage and a lonely life in the midst of it all. He had never been alone all his life but now, he knew the feeling of what loneliness was. It didn’t matter if people were around you or you caught every woman’s attention. All that mattered was the kind of person he was deep inside. He never imagined it this way and that was the missing link. Was Tiffany going to take that loneliness away or a bigger hole was going to be made? Was he as selfish as Bonnie had said and was that why he was suddenly feeling lonely? When he was with the Grahams, he was eased of that feeling a little but he was facing his own reality right now and it was scaring him.

‘I want you to trust me, that’s all, with everything.’

‘I trust you.’

‘I’m not Maria, Joe and I would never betray you.’

Joe swallowed hard. Did she have to bring Maria into their relationship? It was his fault for ever mentioning it in the first place.

She continued. ‘I know you still feel bad about Mandy’s death but it was not your fault Joe, it never was. I just want you to tell me everything you feel and I’ll be there for you.’

‘I’ll call you.’ Was all he could say.

‘okay.’ She replied weakly

‘and thanks Tiffany…, for everything.’

He could hear her smile nervously and then the line went dead. He threw his cell phone on the bed and fell flat on his back staring back at the ceiling. If God truly bothered himself about men’s affairs as his father had once said, He needed Him right now and he needed help. Most important of all, he needed direction. He shook his head in disgust.

God had no business with the likes of him, and would probably never will.
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Am always checkin 4 new update because ur story is so wonderful. Ride on nd BRAVO 2 u.

oruchechuks: Let Maria go for Trevor jare! Age is just a number. Suspense is overkilling. Keep it rolling dear

i see maria and joe ending up together again

I hope joe nd maria get back togeda

omo1 doll: I hope joe nd maria get back togeda

lets keep reading to find out

Happy sunday GLOW

Anytin for us

Joy4mi: Happy sunday GLOW

Anytin for us

hahaha..okay...here it comes

Maria wore her night dress but knew she wasn’t ready to go to bed. There was something she had to sort out with Sara this night and she wasn’t ready to face another round of nightmares.

Bonnie had long gone to bed while Sara was still awake probably doing some late school work since she could still hear some shuffling of papers and a little humming which had seized for a while now. Or had she finally dozed off. If she had, then she could postpone it tomorrow but she still wanted to get something to eat. She was suddenly feeling hungry and hoped she wouldn’t be looking like an elephant before the baby was finally due.

Finding her way downstairs, she headed to the kitchen and was not really surprised to see Sara and this time with her glasses revealing she had been working for some time now. She was pouring herself a cup of coffee when she turned at the intrusion.

‘darling…’ she greeted sweetly except she looked more of a strict professor . ‘couldn’t sleep or Junior was hungry?’

‘both.’ She replied and walked over to the fridge and was glad when she saw the bowl of ice cream that Bonnie had gotten for her earlier in the day. The sight of Sara’s coffee repulsed her when compared to the bowl before her.

The older woman smiled and covered her cup on the slight observation of her repulsion and settled back unto the kitchen chair to continue what she was doing.

Maria noticed it wasn’t paper work but more of the bills. Sitting before her, she peeped. ‘quite tasking huh?’

‘Yeah…, but what can I do. Brian won’t be home till probably next month and I have to sort it all out. He trusts me enough to handle it on my own and with God’s strength, I pray I should.’ Not looking up, she continued her work leaving Maria to marvel at the two-sided beauty of the woman. Her mahogany hair was still packed into a neat bun and her rosy cheeks that accentuated the fine features of her oval face. She was beautiful, no doubt and Maria wondered what Susan would look like. Her inner qualities even heightened her beauty the more and she began to wonder if she could ever be like this calm woman sitting before her. Sara had told her she wasn’t perfect and there were times she had thought she would lose it but God had seen her through. But the Sara Graham that was sitting before her didn’t look like someone that had gone through so much in life.

‘How long have you been married to Brian?’ Maria found herself asking.

‘Twenty five years.’

‘wow, that long?’

The woman nodded, her eyes still fixed on her assessment.

‘so how did you guys cope together…, I mean how did you know you were meant to be for the two of you to have stuck together.’

‘’I’ll define it in one word..’God’s grace.’ She finally looked up and looked into Maria’s eyes sadly as past memories began flooding her head and she smiled nervously. ‘I don’t know how long I could have lasted if not for God. There was a time Brian thought I was a freak show. Trevor wasn’t any better.’

‘but Trevor adores you. i’ve seen it in his eyes. He even calls home like almost everyday.’

‘the years of hard work and prayer gives you that end result darling…, if you ever knew what I ever went through, you’ll thank God for me.’

Maria watched her silently as Sara continued. ‘Brian and I got married after his wife died and left him with a son. A beautiful kid that was as stubborn as the word itself. She died in a plane crash and Trevor couldn’t take it. He didn’t accept the fact that his mother died and so he refused to talk to anyone, most especially me.’

‘how did you and Brian meet?’

‘oh’ she laughed to herself. ‘we met at a Christian music concert. Den actually introduced him as his friend. He was my best friend at the time and we shared everything we knew and talked about our feelings, about God, about our temptations and I don’t know…, he was like the brother I never had.’

‘wow…, that was so sweet.’

‘and so, he got tickets that for the both of us to this great Christian concert at Oklahoma and after the worship session, we collided with a friend of his. I guess they both went to the same high school. At first sight, I didn’t really think he was cute and had my mind on something else then. I had so many things I wanted to do and his thoughts were definitely different from mine, I mean compared to Denver with whom we shared common interests, although Den was still married at the time. Brian and I had no common interest. He could sit for hours in a place and study while I loved to move about when studying the word to make it stick. It made me energized. Strange huh?’

Maria nodded dumbly.

‘I loved animals but he was so indifferent. I loved sightseeing and he just loved to sit and stare at nature, probably drawing something or thinking. He loved thinking. he was still brooding over his first wife when we got married. He broke the ice by buying me a dog. It all felt funny but I was happy. He wasn’t very romantic but he said words that he meant to me…, he wasn’t a poet either but he could gaze into my eyes and say…’ from the first day I saw you, I knew God was telling me to move on…, with you and I’ll never regret that day because he gave me my perfect half.’

‘I don’t know what to say…’ Maria’s eyes pooled with tears. ‘did you love him?’

‘I did…, I really did. He gave me everything I wanted but it took a long time for him to give me his heart…don’t get me wrong, God has to be in complete control of your heart and he built a special place in each one of us to love him and live for him…, I mean he’s our first love but Brian still loved his late wife. She was perfect…, I actually saw her that way with the things he said about her. And then, the worst day of my life was the day we were having an argument and he brought up her name. he compared me to her to be more precise and he said if she was the one in that situation, she would have known better. He realized what he had done but he couldn’t take back his words and then Trevor wasn’t making things easy for me. He never even listened to me. He wanted his own way, no other way. I remembered the last time i saw some dirty magazines in his bag and he could almost even throw it in my face. He even had his arm and his back tattoed, his ears pierced. With the two men in my life frustrating me, I couldn’t hold it any more. I wanted out. I had to leave before I go crazy or do something I would later regret. Maybe he wasn’t the one for me…,maybe I’d heard God wrong or probably been too blind by what I was feeling for him. Maybe it was his blond sandy hair bleached by the sun I fell for or his blue eyes or his good looks or his calmness.’ I thought to myself. I told Denver that I wanted a divorce and so filed for one. I had my lawyer and I was so determined.

I didn’t care about God’s word anymore. I wanted to leave. God wouldn’t want me to suffer and probably He would definitely punish Brian and his son for breaking my heart. I was so fragile; I didn’t even know what to do. To my amazement, Brian agreed but suggested I do something before he signed the papers. We could take some time off and talk alone…, probably in candle lights but I couldn’t even stand him anymore.

When he saw I disagreed, he suggested I go alone, anywhere in the world I wanted to go and he would spend everything he had to for me to get that satisfaction. I refused and then Denver talked to me for a while and so I decided to go on my own and decide if that was what I really wanted and if I was also concerned about God’s view. And so, I sat alone at the airport with flight ticket in my hands and I didn’t know when tears started streaming down my cheeks. I never wanted this. I didn’t deserve it. I moved my bag closer and then watched everything before me and then God spoke to me. It was like someone was actually sitting beside me as my face was buried in my hands. He touched me and said. ‘the thoughts I have for you are of good and an expected end.’ And then I raised my head and didn’t see anybody except those words ringing in my ears and I knew that I had even sinned by thinking God did not want anything good for me even in the midst of my trials. It was just a trying time for me and I was letting my guards down. I stood up and then the next person I would see standing before me was Brian clad in white T-shirt and Jeans with a black leather jacket and I realized how much I loved him.

It was like he felt my torment to touch him because he moved closer and lifted me in his arms. It was like I couldn’t get enough of him and I realized that God had really made us for each other. I would have made the worst mistake of my life and probably keep getting married till I’m frustrated and then I would have myself to blame. And then, he looked into my eyes and knelt before me. ‘I’m sorry for ever hurting your feelings.., and I just want you to know…, that I love you and I’m willing to spend the rest of my life with you and our kids in the home we’ve made’

‘our kids…’ I broke into tears and embraced him again, this time drinking in the love God had planned for us and then he kissed me.’

Tears were already falling down both women’s cheeks and Sara added. ‘when we left the airport, he told me God had told him to come for me and that I would be waiting for him. At that same time, God was right there speaking to my heart and making me to realize that I could do all things and handle all things, no matter what comes next, through Christ who strengthens me. Now how many people have such grace to return back or even listen to God’s voice when he’s speaking? But he was merciful.’

‘Oh Sara…, I don’t know what I would have done if I were in your shoes.’ Maria sniffed and was glad for the tissue box on the kitchen table. Sara also helped herself to one and blew her nose into it.

‘I better comport myself if I want to finish up these assessment.’ She concluded with a sad smile and fixed back her glasses.

After a while, Maria asked. ‘So God actually talks to you?’

Sara nodded. ‘He talks to everyone; it’s just how much we tune in to his voice that counts.’

‘I want to hear him speak to me too Sara…, will you teach me…, I don’t even know how to tune it. Everything scares me these days. My past life, the baby, the divorce issue and my whole life and I’ve been having nightmares recently and it’s making me think twice about what kind of person I really was, and if I was actually responsible for our child’s death.

Sometimes, I get some sort of brainstorming of things crashing all at once and then I go so blank Sara and I’m confused about who to tell, what to do and how to live my life even when I remember.’

‘What do your dreams look like?’

Maria shook her head nervously. ‘I see this girl being oppressed and tormented most especially by men and I’m wondering who’s this poor girl, who are these cruel men?..., oh Sara!...you don’t want to know what I see, what I actually feel after these dreams. I feel like I’m in the middle of everything and there’s a missing link to these dreams. It’s like a puzzle I can’t fix and I find it hard to tell anybody. Not even Bonnie.’

Sara held unto her hands and she could feel her panic. She released her and cupped her face in her hands gazing into her eyes. She felt for the child of sorrow that sat before her although the person sitting before her was a fully grown woman.

‘I can introduce you to someone who can help you because I can’t and I can’t promise you that a psychiatrist will but Jesus can and he will because he loves you so much he went to the cross for you. God loves you so much he sent his son Jesus to die for us that we may both live. That we may have life and have it more abundantly and he’s willing to accept you if only you’ll accept him.’

‘of course…, I’m so willing. I want him Sara. If he could make you the woman that you are, if he could make my life meaningful, then I’ll gladly accept him. I look at you and I see you giving him all the credit. I see that peace I can’t explain and joy that’s so…so…oh I don’t know Sara.’

‘do you acknowledge that you’re a sinner?’

‘oh, most definitely. I know I’ve done so many things not worthy of praise and I don’t know what kind of life I ever lived but I want him to make all things new for me. I want a change Sara. I really do.’

‘oh darling, I’m so happy for you.’ Tears of Joy spilled on the older woman’s face and Maria joined her too.

‘this is so wonderful…, thank you Jesus.’

Maria fell on her knees as Sara held her hands captive and told her to say some words after her. As she said those words, she suddenly felt herself becoming a new and different person and knew that this Sunday; church was going to be different for her.

She was now joined unto the family of Christ.

13…

Bonnie dropped the phone and looked at Denver who was still negotiating a price with the man in the store. She wanted to walk away. She felt tempted to. She had been walking away all her life and she felt this shouldn’t be any different, but why did her heart seem to be breaking into pieces at the full realization that she had to return back to Chicago and continue with her life as usual. Initially, she couldn’t wait, but now, she lingered.

Probably, she didn’t have someone in her life then.

She wanted to act like a king’s kid and relax in God’s arms about where he was leading her but that defensive side of her wanted to guard her heart desperately. So much that she was missing what God was saying to her. Maybe God probably wanted her to live the rest of her life a single woman to help the needy and live for him alone. She was starting to think that was why God created her and definitely why Marcus had backed out.

At the thought of the only man she had ever given herself to, bitterness swelled within her and she didn’t know when tears began pooling in her eyes. She shut them away and tried to look strong like she had always been. All she knew was that there was no way she was going to allow Denver do the same to her and she would leave next week after contacting Salma and Antonio, Maria’s brother. They were the ones who could know more about her life and help her from where she stopped. She would still help her, but now, she had to work a little on herself and get back to her work before Vanessa, Camilla and Yang sold it off.

She laughed at the thought.

‘now, let’s try that on the princess standing here.’ Denver disrupted her thoughts and was soon placing a bracelet wristwatch on her wrist. He clipped it in place.

‘do you like it…, or you would prefer another one?’

Bonnie stared at the silver wristwatch in form of a bracelet and forced a smile. ‘how much?’

‘forget the price.’ Denver said.

‘I wasn’t talking to you.’ She snapped and turned her attention to the sales man but Den was already ushering her out of the store.

‘Den…;

‘a simple thank you would do it.’

She smiled weakly. ‘Thank you.’

He smiled and held her hand. ‘we could have lunch after some sightseeing.’

‘no…, I’m not hungry.’

He ignored her. ‘Dinner if you like. I’ll come and pick you by seven.’

‘I’ll eat in today.’

‘then, should I come over for dinner? You’ll cook or Sara?’

‘they serve food in your hotel don’t they?’ she asked coldly.

‘so you want a picnic date then?’

She stopped in her tracks and removed her hand from his uncomfortable grasp.

Did she have to feel this way towards him?

Did her heart have to jolt every time she looked into his eyes or he talked to her?

‘what is wrong with you Den! You never listen to me…, it’s always your own way over mine. Don’t I have the right to say what I want and who I wanna go out with?’

Denver stood petrified at the high pitch of her voice.

‘look, i’ll be going back to Chicago next week and we’ll only be fooling ourselves if we continue with these dates and bible study together and all.’

‘what are you trying to say Bonnie?’

She struggled with her feelings. ‘all I’m saying is there’s no way we can work. I’m going back to my life and I’ll appreciate it if you can understand and leave me alone…, please. I think God will be happy if you give me that space as well. Let me think and please let these dates stop. I’ll be keeping in touch with Maria when you take her back home and I’ll call her sister.’ She looked away and closed her eyes. There was one final thing she needed to do to forget him. She glanced at the wristwatch he bought for her and removed it. She opened his palms and placed it there.

‘thank you Den, but I won’t be needing it. I hardly walk with wristwatches in the kitchen. I can’t afford the luxury of something precious getting soaked. You can give it to the woman of your dreams when you find her, but I’m not the one. I assure you of that.’

With that she walked away, leaving Den staring after her without saying a word.
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tanx for the update GLOW.

I was really blessed wit these updates.

so far,chapter 12 is my best chapter in this story.

God bless u real good.

Joy4mi: tanx for the update GLOW.

I was really blessed wit these updates.

so far,chapter 12 is my best chapter in this story.

God bless u real good.

awwwww thanks babe..im glad u were blessed

Susan Graham watched her friends talking to the young celebrity of their school and turned away. With the way her friends idolized the guy, she didn’t think she was going to remain the same anymore.
That same guy had made a pass at her and she had barely escaped with her dignity and now, she felt so filthy. For days she had tried to get over it but she felt depressed. She only had a little comfort in the fact that the young man didn’t have his way fully…., but that didn’t mean he didn’t feed his flesh a little.

It had been a beautiful date which had finally turned into a nightmare. A bad day and she couldn’t tell anyone.

Even Patricia and Debbie had asked how it went but she had just told them it didn’t work out between them. Her two
roommates were overly infatuated with the young man’s charms and his looks but she knew he was coldblooded inside. A reptile without feelings…’ she thought to herself. It was after their date she found out that he had slept with other girls…, probably half of the whole school and she wasn’t going to be the first. She tried telling her roommates but it seemed like she was just ranting.

They wanted to go out with him and let him sleep with them. They were so blinded by infatuation just like she had formerly been. They were Christians like her, she thought. Debbie’s father was even a well known pastor and Patricia’s parents were like the most respectable Christians she had ever set eyes on and their daughters were nothing like them.

They went for parties and came back in the mornings still smelling of alcohol. The last time, Debbie was vibrating and trembling while throwing up and she had been scared to death but that was long before it now became part of her. Patricia flirted with men like she was having a dress rehearsal and she wondered how the girl coped with so many men in her life, none to call a commitment or a permanent one.

And yet, she was in the middle of all this still trying to live amidst the worldliness of her environment.

She didn’t know if this was going to be the beginning of her initiation or if she was going to back out and move somewhere else…, but where could she go and she won’t be faced with something worse. At least she knew Debbie Reynolds and Patricia Redwood and had known them since when they were little and she could still manage with them. She knew what they could do and what they couldn’t do…, they couldn’t commit suicide or murder but their love life was nothing to write home about, she couldn’t even talk about it.

They never listened and wouldn’t even listen to her. As far as they were concerned, she was still a virgin and would probably remain so if she kept pushing her nose up at everything. They had pushed her into going out with Jake Bruce and she fell for it. The guy had seen her and like he said, they could work out something. She saw the lust in his eyes but didn’t give heed. She saw the way he looked at her but she went right ahead into his trap. His apartment of all places. She refused to see it because she was infatuated by his charms and looks and her friends kept on emphasizing his nice lean fingers.

She knew she didn’t feel too good when she was around him but she still went ahead and took his invitation. From admiring her long overly long hair, one thing was about leading to another before she snapped back to her senses and she got up immediately. She knew the sin had already grown into a battle and he wasn’t ready to put an end to it yet. He was even going to rape her and she ended up crawling and running for bare life after kicking him.

‘What if he had had his way?’ she thought to herself. How much worse would she be feeling now. Her friends would just tell her to forget about it and continue living. She wasn’t the only girl he would sleep with, but she knew the sin had started right from her heart and had allowed it to go far. She even went as far as sipping the champagne he had given her and she never drank. She didn’t want to be rude and say no and so, she tried to act sophisticated and sipped a little of the substance.

She moved over to her closet and picked some clothes. Enough thinking, she had to go home. Thanksgiving was in two weeks time and Trevor was going to be playing soon and she had to go over and watch the game. She missed her family.

At least, those people in her life made her glad she existed, and their love. She knew this was her last year in college and she needed to return back to college soon. She was twenty four and she couldn’t boast of a good spiritual life and a love life. She had an answer for her parents if they asked anyway.

‘no time.’

Patricia entered into the room noisily with Debbie disrupting Susan’s thoughts.

‘Hey rapunzel, did you miss us?’

‘Not really…, I could see you two from the window.’

‘Talking to prince charming.’

‘I’d tag him the frog prince who remained a frog for life.’ She blurted out without looking at them.

Debbie laughed. ‘oh Suzie, I’m gonna miss your charm when you leave.’

‘or her ‘holier than thou’ attitude.’ Pat cut in rudely and sank into her bed. ‘When are you gonna get a life Suzie.
It’s not that you don’t have a good face or a sweet voice but you just keep locking yourself in.’

‘you mean wrapping herself around that impossible hair of hers. Cut it and I bet you’ll look more attractive.’

‘I’ll see what I can do about the hair.’ She zipped her bag and threw it on her bed. She smiled at her friends. ‘I actually thought I was going to be a record breaker if I left it to grow impossible.’

‘so what happened?’

‘change of plans.’

‘so, what about Trevor, when next will he play?

‘I suppose after thanksgiving.’ Was the brief reply

‘you could hook us up.’ Patricia chipped in.

Susan scoffed. ‘there’s no way you can go out with my brother Pat.’

‘why…’ she asked coyly. ‘think big strong handsome brother can break my heart?’

‘I’m not worried about him breaking your heart…, I’m concerned about you doing so.’

Her eyebrows shot up. ‘me…’

‘you know what you want in men Pat but Trevor can look strong on the outside, but deep inside, he’ll never break a woman’s heart and so, I don’t want you to give him the wrong impression that you’re something permanent.’

Pat felt hurt but pouted her lips in defense. ‘you know guys these days are not into commitment and so, I don’t want them to hurt me and that’s why I back out and just give them something surface.’

‘well, good luck to you.’ She said and picked up her phone. She had to call a cab and leave. She still had a long way to go.

‘you don’t need to feel bad about Jake.’ Debbie broke in

Susan shivered but tried to look composed. She was still mourning over an impure heart and here was her roommate driving the nail in. she knew she had to leave. Now!

‘say hello to Simon and Ellen for me.’ She said without turning back and hurried towards the door.

‘we’ll call you!’ the girls giggled mischievously as she closed the door behind her. Pat came to the window and opened it.

‘happy thanksgiving virgin Susie.’ She teased. ‘if you don’t find someone till thirty, don’t worry, we’ll hook you up with Santa clause, or probably the red Indians. Happy thanksgiving.’

She stopped and heard the eruption of laughter from the room she had just left. She was glad that the dormitory was almost empty or else, she wouldn’t have been able to handle her humiliation.

‘so much for standing for God.’ She thought to herself. ‘And so much for wanting to be different.’ She had barely walked out when she threw her sunglasses on. Not because of the sun rays that had begun to bath her in its glory, but because of the tears that were beginning to pool in her eyes.
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The day was looking as bright as ever as Maria sat on the floor of the living room staring at the ceiling blankly. She didn’t know how God was going to speak but she supposed it’ll be in a loud and clear voice such that she would hear alone and since the whole house seemed to be quiet, he could speak now. After reading her bible, she lapsed into a short nap and was woken by the bell that rang just to find out that it was the pizza guy. At least, she wasn’t being woken by another terrible dream of some girl who seemed to be looking so familiar and yet she couldn’t place it. Rising up from the carpet, she rubbed her stomach and the feel of the life inside her stirred her soul and then so suddenly, she felt a little thump.

For a while, she stood petrified at the feel of such kick in her womb and then she relaxed. It was the baby. Her baby. He was so alive and she could feel him. How could she have thought of getting rid of it in the first place? She smiled and held herself from crying as there was another movement in her abdomen. God was so good to her and she couldn’t express how she felt. How she wished someone else could feel what she was feeling. Even if it was Sara or even Joe, the father of her baby, if he could feel it with his hands. And then she remembered she had to call him. It was only two days ago they had talked about the baby and she wanted to go for her scan today. At least, she wasn’t doing anything now and she wanted to know if it was a girl or a boy and how soon she would be due. Her abdomen seemed to have increased in size and she was feeling bigger and heavier every day. The last time she had been in the hospital was when she had the accident. Now, she really needed to see the doctor as Sara had insisted.

She was about calling Joe when the bell rang again and she strolled over to open it.

‘Joe…’ she breathed with relief. ‘I was just about to call you.’

He frowned and his eyes went to her swollen stomach ‘is something wrong?’

‘not really, come in.’

He entered into the house and she closed the door behind him. ‘wow, you must be a mind reader because I was just about to call you.’

‘just in time.’ he commented.

‘didn’t shave?’

‘no, I had to do some paperwork. I have a meeting scheduled for Thursday and I’ve not been sleeping well lately.’ He forced himself to smile at her. He noticed her round form and raised an eyebrow. ‘is it my eyes or you’ve been eating so much?’

‘both.’

He shrugged and glanced at his wristwatch. ‘if I’m not mistaken, you have a doctor’s appointment by two and so I came to pick you up. are you ready or you want to keep eating pizza?’

She covered her mouth in a little embarrassment. ‘you caught me. Wait here while I go inside and change. I’ll be right back.’

‘don’t stay too long.’ He cautioned and went over to settle on the couch.

Five minutes later, she was out and looking much like the Maria he had first gotten married to, except now, she was acting quite different and friendly. Although she looked bigger, she looked chubby and a little childish and she had this childish glow about her. She wore a bright pink loose blouse over a black Avenue plus size chandelier border print crinkled skirt. Joe ushered her to the passenger side of the car before going to take his place.

‘ready?’ he asked glancing at her.

She nodded dumbly.

‘you’re not holding your breath, are you?’

She released her breath with a great sigh and laughed. ‘how did you know that?’

‘you always do that when you’re nervous, especially about cases like this.’

‘what about now, am I better…, I mean, do I look fit to see a doctor, I mean, I don’t want the doctor to diagnose me with high blood pressure or something or tell me some news that my baby….’

‘hey, look at me Maria.’

She looked at him.

‘it’s our baby, and she’s going to be fine. The more you keep worrying, the more you’ll make me scared.’

‘are you scared Joe…’ she looked at him innocently.

Joe looked into her doe eyes and was lost for a moment. He was scared. So scared but he hid it so well. But he didn’t really know what he was scared of.

‘I know we’ve been divorced Joe for some years now but I want you to be my friend. I want you to act like you’re the only friend who understands how I’m feeling with this child. Will you do that for me? ’

‘yes.’ He nodded and turned the ignition key.

‘thank you.’ She whispered and relaxed

Joe felt her relax beside him and wished he could hold her and tell her he was more worried about her and the baby than she could imagine and he wished he could be more than a friend that she requested for. He leaned towards her and pulled her seat belt across. His hands swept her swollen abdomen and he jerked away immediately at the sudden thump.

‘did you feel that?’ he asked dumbly

She giggled. ‘it’s coming from me so why else won’t i?’

‘the baby…, is he hurting you?’

‘no…, he’s just confirming daddy’s hands.’ She said unconsciously but that was before Joe moved away and started the car. She could tell she had embarrassed him and she didn’t know how to take back her words without saying something worse.