"Welcome dad," Jack welcomed his father who had just arrived home.
"Hey Jack, how are you?" Mr. John spoke.
"I'm fine, Dad. How was today's work?" Jack asked him.
"I bless the Lord, Jack." Mr. John replied.
Jack collected his office bag and took it to his room. On coming back, Jack saw his parents kissing. Jack froze for a moment.
"Dad! Mom!" Jack called out.
"Oh, Jack. Any problem?" The two souls stared at Jack, and he also stared back at them.
"For goodness's sake, mum is not feeling too strong, and you're trying to make her do something that would end up in the hospital. And mom, why will you easily let him touch you when you know that you can't withstand him when he goes deep into it?" Jack spoke with a serious tone.
Jack wasn't jealous nor was he angry because they were making love. He was only concerned about his mom that hasn't regained her full strength since the day she fainted.
"Sorry son, she said good news has landed, and I decided to show her how happy I am." Mr. John said while raising his hands in the air showing the sign of surrendering.
"And you are showing her your happiness with a kiss?" Jack asked as stood in a particular spot like a pillar that had been built to support a building.
"I have surrendered." Mr. John replied.
"Better," Jack said and walked up to where they were standing.
Jack walked up to his mom and examined her as if he were looking for something on her body.
"What happened Jack?" She was confused and she decided to ask.
"I don't trust Dad, he hasn't done this before, and I'm suspecting that he has become a vampire, and he is trying to suck your blood with sense," Jack whined to his parents and burst into laughter.
"Hey! He is a vampire. See his teeth." Jack jokingly said and ran away, but his father pursued him.
They were running around the cushions seats in the living room. Their race was like that of Tom and Jerry. Mrs. Elizabeth sat quietly with a smile on her face as she continued watching the two happy souls as they were busy playing and laughing with each other. This seems like a dream come true for Mrs. Elizabeth because even when she was still young, her parents, who were already late, always advised her to pray to God for a happy home. And now it's happening for real that she is enjoying her marriage.
When Mr. John got exhausted from the wonderful race with his son, he decided to take a rest.
"I surrender, I am no longer doing." Mr. John said and rested his hands on one of the seat heads.
"I won!" Jack screamed.
"Yeah, you did," Mr. John said.
Jack was also resting his hands on one of the seats closest to a passage that leads to Mr. John's room. They were both breathing heavily and sweating at the same time.
"Oh, I remember something. I have a surprise for you guys." Mr. John said as he stood and headed to his room.
"No! We also have one for you. Let's present to you ours first." Jack responded.
"No! I'll go first." Mr. John said with a visible smile on his face.
"No! I oblige that I and mom go first. Mum am I…" Jack stopped abruptly.
"Gotcha!" Now I have caught you, say what you said a few minutes ago." Mr. John holds Jack's hand so tight that he won't take it off him. The room was filled with laughter as the three family members burst into laughter.
"Okay, okay. I surrender." Jack said.
"Are you sure?" Mr. John asked him.
"Very sure," Jack assured him.
Mr. John freed him and went to his room and came back with a brown envelope in his hand. Before Mr. John could come out of his room, Jack, and his mum, had brought out their presentation.
"Here is the $1 million the girl promised us." Jack and his mum said in chorus.
"Wow! This is good." Mr. John exclaimed.
"Yeah, it is." Mrs. John supported.
That happiness and smiles filled their faces again. The atmosphere was filled with joy that gladdens the heart.
"How I wish I was around to see her and thank her myself." Mr. John said.
"Well, you can still see her if you'd like to." Mrs. Elizabeth responded.
"How?" Mr. John asked.
"Your son," Mrs. John replied, pointing at Jack.
"Oh, I have forgotten about that. I didn't even ask him about his relationship with the girl." Mr. John said while staring at Jack.
"Now, Jack, how did you come across the girl that she volunteered to help us, or do you both have anything in common?" Mr. John asked Jack and crossed his hands on his chest with his envelope in his hand.
"Probably, yes," Jack replied.
"Which is?" Mr. John asked.
"We…." Jack wanted to answer but stopped. He looked at his father and looked at his mother and then back to his father.
"Jack, you what?" His mother asked him, but he still kept dumb.
"Have you suddenly become dumb?" Mr. John asked the confused Jack.
The room remained silent for a while. Jack was thinking that they might stop him from dating Kate, despite what she did to them. He was afraid that his parents may get angry at him and stop him from seeing her or stop him from going out. They may even deprive him of the freedom to meet others outside, but he had no choice but to tell them the truth.
"We are dating." Jack finally opened up with a shy face.
Mr. John and Mrs. Elizabeth stared at each other for a while and then burst into laughter.
"What's funny here?" Jack asked, looking confused, but they didn't mind him and continued laughing.
Hmm! Jack sighed and sat on one of the cushions.
"So, you have started keeping girls?" Mrs. John asked him as she was trying to force herself from laughing.
Jack couldn't utter a word.
"At this early age, you have a girlfriend." Mr. John said.
"Am I not up to each? Have you forgotten that I have clocked 19 years?" Jack asked his father.
"Oh, sorry. You are indeed 19 years, but age doesn't matter Jack, for God's sake, can't you see the condition of this family?
If a girl can give you a huge amount of money like this to settle your problem, then you are meant to know that she is from a rich home. And it won't be easy to get such girls because their parents would always expose them to their rich colleagues' children and not people like us." Mr. John explained.
"Dad, what matters is the love we have for each other and not the money. She knows that we aren't rich, but she still loves me. How would her father try to stop her from getting what she wants?" Jack responded to his father.
"Jack, you seem not to understand me. What I am saying is that…."
"Dad, I understood what you meant, but believe me, we will be fine." Jack cut in.
"Alright then. Since you insist, who am I to stop you?" Mr. John said.
Mrs. Elizabeth doesn't always like joining their arguments because she believes that they can sort themselves out.
"So, what's inside the brown envelope?" Mrs. John finally broke the long silence.
"Oh, this? Hmm. Here are 5000 dollars offered to me by a very kind God-fearing girl and a billionaire's daughter. Because, by her appearance and the bodyguards she was with, one doesn't need to think twice about the type of family she came from." Mr. John explained with excitement as he removed the money from the envelope.
Once more, happiness filled the atmosphere as the family jubilated to the glory of God.
Mr. John explained how he came in contact with the girl, and Jack and his mom were so flabbergasted and excited.
"So, dad, what's the girl's name?" Jack asked.
"Hmm. She said her name is Ka… wait, what do you need the name for?" Mr. John didn't finish pronouncing the name and decided to ask Jack.
"Nothing," Jack answered.
"Then, forget it." Mr. John said.
"Alright, no problem," Jack responded.
"Make sure you take Mr. Roland's money to him tomorrow morning before you go to work, please," Mrs. Elizabeth said.
"No problem darling. You don't need to worry about that." Mr. John replied.
(R_I_N_G_I_N_G)
Jack's phone was ringing inside his room and he went for it. Kate was calling him. He almost rejected the call because he was meant to call her to confirm if she had reached home, but he didn't. While it's not his fault, his phone was insufficient.
"Hello, Kate." Jack finally picked up the call.
"Hey, Jack. So, you couldn't call me to confirm if I have reached home, or does it show that you don't care about me?" Kate spoke with a low voice.
"No Kate. It's just that, since my dad came back, we have been jubilating the help you rendered to us." Jack replied.
"Oh, I see," Kate responded.
"Kate, we appreciate your help. Words can't express our gratitude to you. We would be forever grateful. You need to see how my parents were filled with joy. Thank you for everything." Jack appreciated it.
"You don't need to be thanking me like your God. All glory to God who let us meet." Kate responded.
Kate and Jack make phone calls for almost an hour. They were now like paper and a pen, glued together.