GarenGaren couldn’t let those words come out, it felt good in his head but the words couldn’t come out. He stood there watching Mavwe leave, it finally done on him that when it came to Mavwe, the love of his life, it’s either he comes clean with her or keep lying and wear a mask to cover up. The thing about lying is that one little lie turns into continuous lies then eventually you can’t stop and later you become the lie. While wearing a mask, you also eventually become the mask that you can’t distinguish between yourself and the mask.‘I don’t want to lie to her but her reaction couple of minutes ago, says it all. Even after months…………. She’s still afraid the godfather will hurt her’“I don’t want to hurt you” Garen yelled in frustrating.*******************MavweShe made sure everyone had left the house before coming out of her room, ‘I didn’t want to take chances of bumping into Garen…….. oh! No ‘the Don’………..’ She thought within myself, ‘It’s virtually next to impossible that I won’t see or bump into him, we live in the same house and it’s kind of silly but I don’t just want to see him. It’s still not clear where I stand in all these, whose side was I on? Actually am on no one’s side, I just want to meet the godfather and get it’“So you do leave your comfort zone” Garen said behind her, making her startled and snap back to reality.“Good to see you, you do a pretty nice job avoiding me but it’s clumsy we live under the same roof”“I am not avoiding you” Mavwe told him preparing breakfast.“Ok suit yourself, we both know the truth”“What do you want me to tell you?”“That you’re scared of the godfather”, Garen said leaving“It’s not funny, and what’s your point exactly! What do you want?” Mavwe asked almost yelling, Garen turned, took four steps towards her before speaking.“Give me a chance to show you who I am”Mavwe looked at him critically without saying a word.***********“I really need to be strong right, it seems my friend technically soon to be my friend doesn’t want to be straight. I have just me against everything” Mavwe said to herself, “I wish Tim would be by my side-” a knock on her room door interrupted her.She opened the door and found Mia standing there with a huge grin on her face, she looks silly actually. It’s like she found something or over excited about something.“Come in” Maven said opening the door wider.“I don’t think I have been in here since you first arrive”“I think so too……. I don’t mean to be rude but you have some sort of smug satisfaction look plastered on your face, what is it? Its silly having to see you grinning like that……… Wait is it Mr. Smith?-”“Are you expecting?”“Yes, I mean if Mr. Smith is up to something………… Wait whaattt? Expecting? I don’t understand” Mavwe said puzzled after she realized Mia actually asked her something.“You are PREGNANT right?” Mia asked emphasizing on pregnant then squealing in excitement.“What in the world? Why would you ask that?”“Well, are you?”“No”“You are joking right?” Mia asked with a stern face“I am not pregnant Mia, if I was you would be the second person I’d tell. You are family” Mavwe said sitting beside Mia on her bed“Who’s the first person you would tell?”“Seriously?” Mia nodded almost immediately, Mavwe sighed, took a deep breath then continued. “Nana, my grandmother. But she’s dead now, she passed on few years ago”“I am sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up the past” Mia told Mavwe gently squeezing her hands.“It’s ok, Why would you think am pregnant?”“Well, you spend lots of time with Garen which is awesome, you guys look so happy together, so cute…And I don’t mean to prey into your privacy but I saw you and Garen almost kissing…uh…kind of…smushy and cozy and stuffs with each other, and You haven’t been coming out of your room, it’s obvious you’re hiding from people and you unconsciously rub your stomach a lot. I mean your hands are always caressing your stomach and you smile while doing-” Mia stopped talking when she noticed Mavwe was in shock, more of her mouth agape and her body still, her eyes almost popping out of it socket…….“Mia!!!”“Come on, seriously, I have seen the way Garen looks at you, Smith looks at me that way too. He talks nonstop about you. In case you haven’t notice, Garen is bending and breaking the rules for you. He’s a good guy and you have my blessing. I really want to be a grandmother.” Mia said grinning.“Huh!!!!” Mavwe exclaimed then furrow her eye brows.“When the stay becomes more than a stay, the job becomes more than a job, a decision to be between families or happiness let me know.” Mia told her then patted her hands before leaving.“I have no idea what you just said but……… Will do just that”———————-“Am sorry about the other day” Mavwe said standing in front of Garen who seem pretty engrossed in his work.“You are not going to say a word?”“It’s pretty hard ignoring someone right in front of me” Garen told her without looking at her.“You can’t even look at me?”“Well, in between working and getting a lash out and you hiding from ME! Yeah! I can’t even look at you.”“I deserve that” Mavwe sighed“What’s going on?” Garen asked Mavwe looking at her.“Since I came here, you have been my only friend besides Smith and Mia who I look up to like my parents and really good friends, it’s just you. And can I get a week off to visit my family?”Garen looked at her without saying a word.***************“Tell me about you” Mavwe said taking her seat besides Garen in the garden.“You never asked me that before… So ask and I answer. It’s better that way so it’s more precise.“What’s your name? Like your real birth name”“Garen Dominic, later on I added Smith to it. Colleagues call me Dominic at work which was shortened to Dom and translated into Don”“Number one priority?”“Protecting my family?”“Hmmm, family man. That’s awesome, single?”“Not single, however, it haven’t been approved that am taken officially off the market. It would be nice to see the one you love fighting for you” Garen said smiling.“I don’t understand that but moving on Uh….are……are you the godfather? Sorry don’t answer that. It was stupid of me to………..to even think that much less ask you” Mavwe went on mumbling, Garen stared at her smiling, watching her struggle for words, knowing she’s right isn’t pleasant but honesty this is one-heck-of-a-sight and moment.‘I wish moments like this would last, no lies, no fears, no after thoughts, no walking away, no decision making, just both of us comfortable with ourselves, just pure chemistry-.’“Why are you laughing?” Garen ask jolting out of his thoughts. Then practically drool over Mavwe’s laughter. In physics, the theory of entertainment states `that some specific sound increases the rate of your heart beat`, Mavwe’s laughter is the only thing Capable of doing just that.“You were day dreaming…… but it’s kinda……..uh…..it looked more of drooling” Mavwe said with laughter in her voice“Delphine, the briefest connection makes the strongest indelible impression, in the short time have known you, have completely fallen in love with you. Have been in love with you from the first day I saw you at your dad’s company with Timon, you looked so exhausted and worn out, I thought to myself that you were pretty then your mom’s secretary said something funny and you laughed. In that moment seeing you so tired then lighting up and laugh………you were prettier and more gorgeous then when you were tired. I want you and no one else, I want to wake up next to you every morning, share my life with you, good and bad times, hear your childhood escapades, your first crush, take you places, show you off to the world, make you my better half that completes me, my love for you knows no bounds, I want to always be here for you, I want to make you the happiest woman on earth cause you deserve it. I don’t want a life without you in it, I admire your courage for standing up to the godfather, that only made me love you more and there’s no one else in my life……….. Those ladies from training camp were trying to get Keith sitting beside me to fall for them not me. You didn’t see him because those ladies were in your view. You don’t know how much it hurt me that you thought I wanted to make them my toys. I would never do that but I don’t expect you to echo those same feeling for me Delphine, but I wanted you to know that I truly love you from the depth of my heart, with everything I got.”Mavwe wasn’t surprised about him professing his love, Smith and Mia hinted on it several times but still it’s WOW!!!, she just stared at him as he left.“Where does all these leave me?” Mavwe asked herself.
Written by – Gere Ochuko
