By five o'clock, Natasha was already hugging Sasha very tightly. They had not seen other for over a month, which was the longest they had ever been apart. They proceeded to Sasha's home to catch up. They had decided to prepare a home-made meal. It had been an even longer time before she had cooked since at Brandon's house there was a help for everything. She had missed using her hands to do things. They settled on preparation of some wet fried beef, spinach, rice and freshly made cocktail juice. As they went about in the kitchen, they bonded.
"Tasha, how have you been? Are you doing better, health wise? Your relationship with Mr. CEO? I saw you on TV today, is it becoming more serious?"
"Sasha, thank you so much for your concern but I am doing mine. He has taken very good care of me. And yes, he is serious with me. He actually confessed his love for me recently."
"He did what? And what did you say? It is obvious you love him too" Sasha almost dropped the glass in her hand excitement.
"He did it. I hesitated. I did not reply."
"Why? Do you not feel the same for the man?"
"Oh I don't know Sash, he makes me cry many times, all the time when I am happy but most times, I just want to strangle him!"
"Yeah. True love indeed!" Sasha said and they both giggled.
"Leave alone me, how are you and Aunty? Is she doing okay?"
"Yes she is. Thanks to you and your very nice boyfriend, my mom has the best doctors now and they say her improvement is tremendous! She is having her rest now. I am so happy Tash. Thanks to you!"
"Me? What did I do? That is all Brandon."
"He would not be doing so if he did not fall in love with my best friend!"
Natasha's phone rang. It was her mother. She felt her mood scale go down and wondered what her mother would be calling to complain about this time. Sasha observed her friend's reaction and was confused for Natasha and her mother were always on good terms.
"Hello, mother." Natasha answered as calmly as possible. "No, I am not busy at all. I am with Sasha. No, we don't mind. Yes. I'll send you the directions. Okay." Natasha hang up and looked at her friend. "My mom will be joining us for supper." The tone of the statement was not pleasing but Sasha did not ask. They proceeded to prepare the meal as they caught up on the past month and recalled some past events in the few years they had been friends. As though sensing the meal was done, one hour later, the door-bell rang and Sasha opened it.
"Mrs. Benjamin. Please, come in. We have just served supper." Sasha welcomed her friend's mother. They had never met in person but Natasha had mentioned her often since she was her closest friend. "Please follow me." She directed Natasha's mother to the dining area and she went upstairs to get her mother. Within the next few minutes, two mothers and two daughters settled at the dining table, only that one pair was not in good terms. The atmosphere was rather awkward but the pair in good terms understood the relationship between mother and daughter. It was never easy. They ate through the food rather quietly for a while.
"I am deeply sorry to bring in such a foul mood to such a lovely meeting." Sandra sincerely apologized after a while. Natasha looked at her mother surprised.
"It is okay Mrs. Benjamin. We all understand the mother-daughter relationship. You do not have to apologize for being a mother. It is difficult and our daughters will understand as soon as they get their own families." Janet, Sasha's mother, comforted Sandra. The meal went on silently until they finished their meal. "Sasha, help me clear the table." Sasha nodded and the pair cleared the table and went to the kitchen, giving the other pair some space.
"Natasha, I am not here to cause any trouble." Sandra said to her daughter. "I am sorry I overreacted before and I am here to apologize. You know that you are my only daughter, and I would not want to see you hurt. You and Mr. Joseph belong to different worlds, social status and class. The public will be ruthless with you and if his intentions for you are not pure, then you will get hurt. I am just worried."
"I know mother." Natasha said and reached out her hand and held her mothers. "It scares me too but, he has really been nice to me. He has not made me feel like I do not belong. And besides, mother, my work is also good at the company so people know I am worth my position and did not sell myself to have it. You always tell me the real world is cruel. You also told me to fight for myself in it. Don't you think you have brought up a strong lady who is ready to face the world? I promise I will be okay."
"But what if something happens and destroys our family?" Sandra said in a panic.
"Something like what mother?" Natasha said smiling. She noticed the seriousness on her mother's face and stopped smiling. "Mother?" She called softly to her mother whose mind had drifted away.
"Oh dear, you know how the public can be. You remember how they ruined Said's family by digging out family secrets. I would not want that." Sandra replied forcing a smile. Natasha held her hand tighter.
"Mother, our family is so humble that the public can't possibly dig out anything interesting. So relax!" Natalie comforted her mother and stood up and kissed her on the cheek. "And besides, we are family, nothing can break family."
"Tasha, does he really care for you?" Sandra asked her daughter. Natasha sat down next to her mother.
"He is like a hawk. His eye is constantly on me." Natasha joked and her mother laughed. "Mother, he is really nice to me. He is cold to others but to me, he is very warm."
"But you have known each other for only a few months, how can you be sure?"
"I am sure because, he is a man of his word. Always serious and I believe him."
"Because you love him?" Sandra asked and was surprised to see her daughter hesitate. "If you do not, tell him now and do not waste time. If you do, please take care of yourself. Remember, the rich and the poor, never intermingle in this world." Natasha paid heed to her mother's words. The pair made up and discussed several things as the night grew deeper. They were soon joined by the Ryan women and it was like a girl's time together.
It was almost eleven in the night when Natasha escorted her mother to the hotel and went back to The Palace. She was feeling better after having taken her medicine and made up with her mother. She was happy both mentally and physically, but emotionally…
She walked in to the front door and thought that that was the last day in the mansion. She had to go back to her house. She should not be living there as if she was married. She took off her shoes and walked in through the door barefoot. She was tired so she decided to go straight to bed.
"I see you had a great time." Brandon's voice stopped her in her tracks. She turned around and found him seated on the sofa. Was he waiting for her? As if reading her mind, Brandon stood up and walked to her. "I have been waiting for you." He said and caressed her hair. She looked up at him and smiled charmingly.
"My mother and I made up. It took a while but we are good now. And…" She hesitated and looked down. He softly touched her face and made her look at him again. He raised his eyebrow. "Thank you for what you are doing for my friend Sasha and her mother. It means a lot." She said and hugged him suddenly.
"If it matters to you, it matters to me." He said and warmly hugged her back. After a while, he added: "Unless you want me to stop because the way you are hugging me, I shall run out of air soon and collapse." Natasha let go and him and pouted.
"You don't have to make fun of me." She complained.
"We both know that that is not true." He replied and smiled at her.
"I just wanted to say thank you." She highlighted and turned around to go up the stairs. He did not stop her but looked at her smiling. She stopped at the first step and turned around and looked at him. "With all these things you are doing for me, how can it be hard for someone to not love you- or at least, love you back." The words caught Brandon off guard and before he could clarify, she had already ran upstairs and locked herself in her room. Brandon was left feeling confused. Did that mean that she had accepted to love him back? She must clarify. He ran up the stairs after her. As soon as he got to her door, he found the door slightly opened and he got in. He found Natasha standing at the edge of the bed looking at the many things before her in shock. "What…what are these?" She asked the man behind her.
"Today was your shopping day. You left without anything at the mall. So I went back and picked everything that you looked great in and those I liked and here they are." Brandon said softly. He took a step forward. Natasha looked at the huge amount of shopping before her.
"How many things did you buy?" She asked.
"All of the things you tried out and touched." Brandon confirmed. Natasha turned around and looked at the man behind her. Her eyes had turned red.
"Take them back." Natasha said.
"Why would I do that?" Brandon asked.
"Because it is too much."
"Nothing will ever be too much for the woman I love. And that is you, Tasha. I am in love with you. And everything you will want, I shall go out of my way to give you. And…" Before he could finish his words, his words were sealed by a passionate kiss. She stopped and pulled herself together.
"How can I not love you back? Of course I love you!" Natasha said as Brandon wiped her tears. He then held her face in his arms and dove in for another kiss. He then kissed her cheeks, bit on her ears, her neck… The night went on deep in love.