Aida almost jolted when she heard it. She didn't jolt because she was told Vanessa was her mother but, because she didn't notice when Raymond joined them. Raymond took a seat beside Aida, facing Vanessa. For a moment Vanessa saw a flash of sadness in Aida's eyes which was quickly replaced with anger. Raymond took Aida's hand in his and pressed it slightly and placed it on his lap.
"You think you can show up, out of nowhere, to claim the position of being my mother?" Aida bursted which took Raymond by surprise but Vanessa looked the least affected. Vanessa smiled. Her smile irked Aida. "I'm sorry, that position was long ago given out" Aida continued.
"I'm glad someone occupied that position. For your information, Miss Aida Michaels, if I was given an opportunity to claim positions, being your mother won't have happened!" Vanessa said
"Vanessa!" Raymond cautioned with an apologetic look.
"Let's face it Raymond! I wasn't given a chance. And looking at how your pretty little thing attacked, simply meant she doesn't know the mystery surrounding her birth" Vanessa barked with disgust written all over her face.
"Can we talk privately, Vanessa" Raymond urged.
"We can, Raymond. But sooner or later, she'd get to know. Why don't you spill it out now?" Vanessa asked.
Aida's eyes met Raymond's and he closed his eyes and pinched the space between his eyebrows.
"Well, I ..." Vanessa continued.
"Vanessa, now! Please" Raymond said which came out as a plead. "Alright, excuse us. You can order for any food you want. I'd be right back" Raymond said while he pulled Vanessa's seat, took her hand and dragged her out of the cafeteria to the parking lots.
*****
Arnold didn't know why, but he felt like paying his parents a visit since his appointment with Vanessa was cancelled and he had already closed from work. 'It's a 10 minutes drive from here' he thought and drove on. He had been staying away from his parents and the place he called home because he couldn't stand the pressure from them. They had been pressuring him for more than a year now. So he stopped visiting them and used work overload as an excuse whenever they tried to find out why he wasn't visiting. But he knew his parents weren't fools. Recently, they stopped bothering him with the 'when are you introducing us to our daughter-in-law?' kinda questions. When he arrived, he realized a new car had been parked inside the house. It wasn't his parents car. 'Maybe they bought a new car' he thought. But then it struck him that the house was unusually lively. 'Wait, are visitors in there? Why did I choose to come today of all days? Damn! I can't leave now. It's obvious they know I have arrived and are waiting for me.' he thought. He dragged himself to the door and before he could knock his mother opened the door and hugged him tightly.
"I missed you so much" Kelly, Arnold's mum greeted. Arnold hugged her back and kissed her forehead.
"I missed you too mum" Arnold replied.
"Liar! You never missed me! You would have come to visit me if you indeed missed me! I came to your place and you were always away." Kelly bursted out.
That was one thing about Kelly, one minute she's all lovey-dovey, the next minute she's aggressive. Arnold knew her and nothing she did took him by surprise.
"Hey, Arnold! If your work is stressing you out, you can join your father's company" Kelly said like a doting mum.
"No, thank you! I love my job" Arnold replied and pushed her slowly out of his way so he could enter the room.
"Colonel Debra, decided to pay us a visit today!" Liam said and stood to hug his son. Their hug lasted less than a second.
"What a pleasant surprise!" Samuel, Arnold's youngest brother greeted and grinned childishly.
"Is that Arnold?"