'Whatever do you mean? I am not going to seek your hand.' He picked up his water container and took a big swig.
'Of course, you shall seek my hand. Whose hand shall you seek then?' She picked up the linen and covered herself.
The moment Gina had dreaded since she started sneaking around with Richard two years ago was finally unfolding before her.
Richard loved to spend his Saturdays at his mother's feet, listening to the same tales she told him as a child. It was their little family tradition, and he loved those moments for they gave him a sense of belonging.
He felt as though he was a part of something important because, without his presence, his mother could not tell those tales.
This Saturday was not any different. He had woken up at his usual waking hour which was with the second cock crow.
He had caught fresh fish and had smoked it to his mother's taste then he sang a song that they loved to sing when they spent time together.
That was the sign he gave his mother informing her that the morning meal was ready, and it was time for their mother-son bonding moment.
Richard's mother, a fine woman who only grew younger with age. Her skin still shone like it did the very first time Richard's father set his eyes on her. She had a hair full of hair and it was a shame that her son and pride, Richard, grew bald with age.
'We must prepare to see your father.' She said.
Her voice sounded like water flowing down a mountain. It was calming but at the same time, it raged with emotions.
She loved her husband dearly and when word got to her of his failing health, a sadness washed over her. No matter what Richard tried to do to get her back to being happy, she maintained her stand with sorrow.
'Mother, I have begun preparations. We leave by the next full moon.' Richard picked up a piece of fish and stuffed it into his mouth like a starving child who had been presented with a meal.
'That is in six days. Richard, do you want to meet your father's corpse instead?' She spoke softly.
Her aging bones got weak very quickly, so she moved briskly from the door to her room to one of the chairs in the living room.
Richard had all his furniture covered in animal skin just to prove a point to his father who was well on his way to the grave.
Richard's father had always used words like 'useless' and 'slack' on him, so the animal skin was just to show that he had made someone out of himself.
You see, Richard's father was not the best person in the world. He was neglectful and also very hot-tempered. At every opportunity he got, he hit Richard or Richard's mother. It was no wonder Richard found it easy to run away from his hometown.
The women there did not want anything to have with him for they assumed he was going to turn out like his father. They tagged him a product of a bad egg, and everyone knew there was no way a bad egg could produce anything good.
But that was not the case for Richard. He was a good man with a good heart and a steady head on his neck.
'If I find his corpse, then so be it. He does not deserve your worry mother. His behavior drove us here.' Richard reminded his mother.
Richard's mother could still remember the very day they ran. It was a snowy night, and the sky had no stars.
Richard told her he was leaving but she could not bear living apart from her son and so she followed him.
Richard did love his mother dearly, but he hated the blind eye she turned whenever the topic of his father's bad behavior was spoken about.
'I forbid you from speaking like that. If you cannot revere him as his son, then do it because he is your mother's groom.' She adjusted in the chair she sat on.
'Mother, it's Saturday today, you should be telling me other things. Things that have nothing to do with my father.' Richard was very particular about their little tradition, and he hated when it got disrupted.
'Before that, answer me this, why did you not sneak in at dawn as you have always done?'
Richard had never imagined that his mother knew about his sneaking around. He could have sworn that he covered his tracks well but that was not the case.
Although old, his mother noticed everything, but she always chose to keep quiet.
'I had no reason to sneak in. I came home at dusk and spent the night.' He murmured to himself.
'I hear that men are seeking out their brides now, have you found any girl yet?' She looked at him with judgment in her eyes.
One thing that appealed to Richard's mother was marriage. She enjoyed attending the ceremonies and most times she got herself involved in the married life of people close to her.
Of course, her son was not going to be an exception and she hated that Richard had not courted any girl since their relocation to the town.
'Mother, I need your advice on this.' He admitted.
Although she sat still with listening ears to help her son out, Richard's mother was dancing in her mind. The kind of dance she did whenever her late mother prepared her favorite meal.
'I have taken interest in a girl. She is gentle and kind, but I do not know if she would want a man like me. She is so innocent and fascinating to look at. With the way I visit the tavern, one might say I am ambushing her.' He laughed.
His mother liked that he had found love and it made her happy, but she still had no idea what her son wanted advice on. All he needed to do was show up at her house with some bread or biscuits and hand-picked flowers to make his intention for marriage known...