Looking into her eyes, Mr. Smith could see the need for help...
The urge to know what to do, how to do it, and when to do it...
What order to do it...
He knew she couldn't do it on her own...
She needed his help...
And as a helpmeet that he truly was, he was going to take in and fulfill his responsibility as that helpmeet...
"You are not going to doing this on your own...!" He gently whispered.
"You're not in this alone...!" He added.
"We're in this together...!"
"And I don't know what she wants to know, but as much information that she needs, and 'is' gonna need, we would provide her...!"
"But those that need to be concealed, we'd conceal...as we have to be careful of what we let out of our mouths...!"
Mrs. Smith gave off a sad smile as she said;
"She didn't know what I went through to carry her in me for nine months, about two hundred and days, and all I get is... it's her life?" Mrs. Smith asked as she lowered her head and she'd silent tears.
"Mum...!" Temi called.
As Mrs. Smith was about to turn her head in the direction of her daughter's call, Mr. Smith swiftly grabbed her face by her chin and turned her to him.
Though his move was quick, his grip was soft...
Turning her to face him, Mrs. Smith's eyes bulged out a bit as she appeared surprised.
Smiling done at his beautiful wife, Mr. Smith said;
"You weren't the only one that carried that child in you for nine whole months...!" His voice was stern.
"We were both carrying the child...!"
"You, in here...!" He said as he pointed down at his wife's belly and placed his palm, wide open on it softly.
"And I, in here...!" He said as he carried his wife's hand and placed her palm on his chest...
The region where the heart was situated.
Mrs. Smith smiled.
"Is we both carried the baby within us...!" He said.
"And we are 'both' going to raise her to a stand where...even the devil would have to stare at the sunlight beaming on his face...!"
"We are both in this together, and we both gon' finish the race together...!"
At the hearing of this, Mrs. Smith's face turned from a second of happiness to an aura of sadness...
She almost wanted to cry, but Mr. Smith stopped her.
"Hey, hey, hey...!" Mr. Smith gently called.
After some more time...
Mrs. Smith looked at her husband as she continued crying...
"Beautiful...!" He called.
"I'm your helpmeet, right?" He asked.
"If I'm your helpmeet, I'm here to help meet all your needs...all your wants and yo satisfy you...!"
"I'm here to make up out happy when you feel sad...!"
"I'm here to lighten your mood when you feel down...!"
"And I'm also here to help train our kids... especially the one that's 'bout yo leave for the Uni. now...!"
"You're not the only one that took her in here for nine months...!" Mr. Smith repeated as he placed his open palm on his wife's flat but beautifully firm stomach.
"Because for those nine months, my heart always felt heavy for you...and the baby...!"
Mrs. Smith frowned.
"I don't understand...!" His said.
Mr. Smith smiled gently.
"I might have not told you, but...all those days when I didn't get back home from work on time was because...!" He paused as he let out a little laugh.
"Well, you asked multiple times and I always refused to tell you, but, it was because...I was either down with the flu...malaria...or something else...!"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Mrs. Smith asked.
By now she had stopped crying and her eyes bulged in surprise.
Mr. Smith looked at his wife.
With a gentle smile on his face, he asked;
"Why should I gave told you...?"
"Why shouldn't you have told me?" Mrs. Smith asked back as she cut in.
Mr. Smith laughed.
"Oh, so you think this is funny...?" She asked in disbelief as she looked at her husband in disbelief.
"You haven't seen your face...!" Mr. Smith said.
"Forget about my face...you were sick all those times and you never...!" Then she paused.
Looking at her husband sternly, she said;
"No wonder, you've always been on your own most of the time...!"
Mr. Smith smiled.
Holding her husband's face, she looked at him concernedly as she opened her mouth to say something.
But as she did so, she was cut short by her husband.
Holding his wife's hand that had been placed on his cheeks and looking into his wife's eyes, he said;
"Perhaps there was something special about our daughter, that made the prophecies about her to be like that...the way they are...!"
"I hope that one day...she'll understand...!"
His voice sounded sad...
And his eyes glistened as if...teary.
Temi heard what her Father said.
'What are they hiding?'
'Why aren't they telling me anything...?'
'What's wrong?'
The more her parents whispered to each other, the more she became curious...
When Mrs. Smith heard what her husband said, she couldn't stop the tears that welled up in her eyes as she turned her head away and silently sobbed.
Mr. Smith smiled gently, but sadly and Temi noticed this...
But gently turning his wife back to him, he took her in his arms and hugged her, causing her to cry the more.
"Mum...!" Temi called.
"I'm sorry...!"
Mrs. Smith looked at her daughter for a while before turning back to look at her husband...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Mr. and Mrs. Smith were having their 'secret' conversation, Temi watched their faces alternate...
Their expressions kept on changing from happy...
To sad...
To tears being shed...
And then back to her...
What had she done...?
What were her parents not telling her...?
Then seeing her Mother cry and then her Father saying something about her being able to 'understand one day...!'
She just couldn't take it...
Seeing her parents...
"Mum...!" Temi called.
"Yes, Dear...!" Mrs. Smith called as she turned to face her daughter.
Temi got up and took light steps as she walked over to where her parents sat and slowly knelt before her parents...
Placing her hand on her Mother's thigh and looking up at her, she said;
"Mum...!" Temi first called.
At first, she couldn't say anything as her mouth opened but closed back before opening to call her Mother's name...
"Mum, I am sorry for whatever I might have said that may have caused you to cry...but...!" She paused.
Pausing, she looked down. Not knowing what to say for some time, she let out a gentle laugh as she said;
"I...I don't know what to say!"
Her Mother's eyes that held hopes and glistened, dropped as she turned to look at her husband.
Mr. Smith saw the look in his wife's eyes, therefore he looked at Temi, right below them, sitting on the floor...
Temi saw through her Mother's eyes that what she had said had caused her to be unhappy as she looked at her Father.
Sensing the displeasing aura emanating from her Father's area, Temi knew that her Father was bound to say something.
So as soon as her father opened his mouth to say something, she beat him to it...
"Mum...Dad...!" She called.
Her Father's interest piqued as he turned his full attention to her, but not with his hand off his wife's shoulder.
Her mother looked at her also, but with a solid face.
"I know, what you guys may be thinking...!"
Her mother raised an eyebrow.
"I know you guys might be thinking, that...well...' look at what we're doing for her, and, she's not appreciating all our efforts...!' "
" 'What kind of a daughter is this anyway?'...!"
What she said and how she said it had her Mother laughing as if she had heard something really funny...
Temi gave off a nervous smile as she looked down, but looking back up at her parents again.
"And I know, I also think myself that way sometimes..!"
Her Father frowned as he gave off a confused smile and shook his, thereafter he turned to look at his wife, who only smirked...
"But there's only one thing that I'm certain of...That I had always promised to myself...!"
"And what's that?" her Father asked when he noticed that she had given some time to silence with her head lowered.
Hearing her Father's voice had her raise her head to look at him as she darted her eyes between both parents, hesitating before saying;
"To always make my parents proud of me, in any situation!"
She stated boldly.
"Whether it's at home...!"
"Or at school...Or at work.. !"
"Or even at the kitchen...where I find myself, though...?" Temi said, causing her Dad to chuckle.
Looking at her husband as she smiled a bit, she shook her head at him and then turned to look at her daughter below her.
"You can not get serious...!" Her Mother said chuckling.
"I am...!" Temi responded as she laughed.
After laughing for a bit, Temi loomed at her Mother, while her mother looked down, her smile off her face already...
Looking down at her daughter, Temi could see something...
"You know Temi...!" Mrs. Smith said.
"It's not all things, that you need to know...!"
Temi swallowed as she looked at her Mother.
With her mother looking into her eyes, with some sort of a sad smile as she turned to look at her husband.