It had been more than a month since Swalha had seen Cherry. She couldn't help but miss her friend of ten years and despite the escapades that unfolded the last couple of weeks, it was impossible to overlook their longtime friendship. Besides, it worried Swalha a lot that Cherry had been ignoring her calls and everyone else's, well, it had only been Wale and her that kept on checking on her but she wouldn't pick up however, as per her parents, she seemed to be coping well.
Knowing Cherry's parents, if they kept insisting their daughter was fine, it was a clear indication that something may be up. They were such sweet old souls, who often felt guilty for burdening others. They loved Swalha just like their daughter and her being an orphan, she'd often frequented Cherry's home while in college. She'd even lived a couple of months with them when Cherry and she had been searching for work from one company to another. Reminiscing over that, Swalha shook her head, a gentle smile on her face. Hustling for work had been tough for her she had to start her private practice since she had gotten a lot of job offers that dissatisfied her. She felt finding work is one thing but settling for less than she deserved was beneath her.
Cherry's parents had welcomed her like a long lost daughter, of course, scolding her why she had disappeared for months without coming to visit. When she had come, Cherry had been sleeping in her room from a doctor's appointment which she had gone to with her mother so Swalha took the time to catch up and gift them too, after all, they were the closest people to parents to her.
"Are you dating now sweetie or are you still engrossed in your work?" Turning to her husband, Cherry's mother continued without waiting for Swalha's response, "Honey, there was that handsome boy you mentioned before... the son of our neighbour, Freddie, if he is still visiting his parents maybe we can introduce Swalha to him..."
"Oh, honey no need for that. Don't you know your daughter here prefers to have something for herself? He looks like a fine young man however, children these days prefer having fun before marriage, don't you know?
"Oh stop you an old sandwich!" Cherry's mother returned her gaze to Swalha, who had been smiling just watching them. She had missed their little arguments. "Sweetie, don't listen to him, listen to your mother instead. I can arrange for you two to meet up. I'm a very good matchmaker you see. I've helped a couple of my friends meet their special someone and besides, I have plenty of time to look for a good match for you and I assure you, sweetie, Freddie is the new hot cake in town," Cherry's mother concluded with excitement. "I watch a lot of current TV shows so I know what you people like these days."
Swalha enjoyed their discussions and even though Cherry would have scolded her parents for often meddling in their lives, she felt their concern for her love life sweet. Cherry's mother had been relentless so she finally agreed to meet the guy she kept praising. Cherry's father however was dying from jealousy as he watched his wife praise the neighbour's son's good looks.
"Honey, it would seem you want to meet Freddie more than our daughter here," he complained. "Last time when you praised my good looks, I should have known you just needed money for a new handbag..."
"Oh, you old sandwich..."Cherry's mother ignored him and turned to face Swalha, "Don't mind him, sweetie, I'll go check some of Cherry's clothes for you to try out. You will meet him tonight since I will invite him for dinner." She said and quickly rushed to Cherry's room.
Swalha looked at Cherry's father, knowing full well she had been putting up an act. He was always like this, too playful for his wife to notice, or maybe she knew about his mischievous nature. "Don't mind her. If you do not find him to your liking, I'll support your decision, though I must warn you, she is not going to stop there. Cherry's pregnancy has had her extremely excited so now she has set her eyes on you."
Laughing, Swalha responded, "Don't worry Dad, I expected something like this when I came here. Besides, I'm curious about this Freddie guy, is he good-looking?"
"Oh...if your mother says he is, then he must be. She chose me after all!" Cherry's father replied with confidence, it almost felt like he was beating his chest. They laughed about it for a while until Cherry's mother returned with a pink dress and gave it to Swalha. "Cherry won't fit into most of her clothes anymore but she had set this aside saying you'll love this the most. You should go and get dressed up in her room since she is awake now. I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on. In the meantime, this old sandwich and I will finish up dinner preparations sweetie okay?" Swalha nodded, glad she had come to visit them. She had missed them both so much.
Cherry was happy to see Swalha but didn't show it and Swalha didn't want to push her luck with her considering how tired she looked. "I woke up a while ago, the baby was kicking a lot I couldn't sleep well," Cherry said, reaching for her wardrobe and then scanning some of her clothes. Most of my outfits don't fit me now so you can check anything you like. I'm glad you agreed to meet this guy though, mom has been on my neck with my pregnancy and all so this will entertain her for a while."
"Cherry, before that, how are you doing now? Mom said you two had gone to the hospital today. Is everything okay?"
"Don't worry yourself about such trivial matters and just focus on getting mom's attention away from me for a while," Cherry replied, taking one of her clothes and giving Swalha to try on. She tried a couple of dresses from Cherry's wardrobe and finally, they settled for the pink dress Cherry had chosen for her beforehand. Swalha remembered the last time she had seen her friend, the pregnancy had not progressed this much and without waiting for her permission, she reached to touch her belly, rubbing it and smiled from the satisfaction of it. "Do you know the gender?"
"I don't care. I want this child out of me as soon as possible to finally move on with my life. Only three months left for me now then maybe I'll ask mom to set me up with someone too." Smiling, she asked Swalha, "Was that the reason you came here? To check if I haven't done an abortion for the sake of Wale and that arrogant lover of his? Did they both send you here? I know there was a reason you two have been running my phone out of battery with your annoying calls."
"Cherry I came here for me. I was concerned for your well-being and the child's too.."
"Oh cut the crap! You all only care for the child so do not lie to me. If I was any of you, I'd hate myself for what my sister did to Kind so stop with the pretence. After the blind date tonight, you can leave and tell them I'm not conspiring with my sister against any of you and your precious Kind."
"Seriously Cherry, don't you even feel any remorse over what happened to Kind? Of the two of us, he liked you the most. He admired you as a big sister, he'd do everything to see you happy even though it hurt him. As long as you were happy he contended."
"Don't you think I know that! That's why I hate him so much! If he cared for me so much he should have told me from the start how much suffering he was going through seeing Wale and me together yet he selfishly chose to remain mum about it and I continuously build castles in the air about my relationship with his beloved Wale! Even now, I can't put a picture of anyone else in my mind. I still want Wale yet, he doesn't want me. He wants to be with him and I blame Kind for it all! He should have been more honest. My entire relationship, all those wasted years, Wale had already broken up long before we even started dating!"
"But couldn't you tell? You were the smart one of us two and you always spoke your mind. Everyone in college assumed they were dating before you publicly proved them otherwise. Wale has always been the one chasing after Kind and we all could see it. Couldn't you have already realized there was never going to be a Wale without Kind?"
"I did and I accepted it yet, I never would have suspected Kind to be gay. He hid in plain sight so well. I never pried into his private life either since it was none of my business I didn't need to since Wale was constantly updating me on all there is to know about Kind so I assumed to know him well enough yet you, you knew everything and didn't utter a word or gave me a signal Swalha! Look at me now, pregnant with a child I do not want to have, lonely and alone with no one. How I'm I supposed to look at this child knowing his father left me for a man? As a woman, I feel like the ugliest person alive and I blame you all for it."
Cherry broke down and Swalha pulled her into her embrace. Pregnancy alone is already too much for a woman however, her emotional state made it difficult to bear it. Still, it was better she cries about her pain than keep everything bottled up inside the way Cherry normally did. Maybe this pregnancy was good after all to Cherry. She had never spoken about her problems out loud like this to the point of breaking down. She always wanted to handle everything by herself, relying on herself. Hopefully, this change in character would remain even post her pregnancy.
When she finally calmed down, Swalha replied cautiously, "I couldn't utter a word to you concerning Kind's unrequited love since I made him a promise when we were in college. After you graduated, he told me of his feelings towards Wale, when it started and why he couldn't date me. Remember, I and every girl in college had been crazy for him? It took me a while to understand him but he often watched you and Wale all lovey-dovey with each other and despite the constant pain he always felt, he resolved to support you two. You can attest to this since he was the one constantly bringing you two back whenever you fought. He did right by you from the start and you have to respect him for it. He kept his distance many times but you know how Wale is when Kind disappears so you can't fault him for wanting the best for you even if he meant he sacrifices his happiness."
"You make him out to be such an angel with no fault under his name," Cherry complained, unable to pull away from Cherry's embrace.
"Well, I can't think of any so if you know, let me know right now. Kind is just...kind."
"That's why I hate him. Even if he does something wrong, it still feels right. I insist, he should have said something not just to you alone." Pulling away, Cherry looked at Swalha. "Where are they? I'm convinced Wale is glued to Kind like a fool..." Turning away, she seemed to think carefully before asking, "Is he alright? Knowing Kind, he must have been traumatized over what happened to him. He looks tough but he is so gullible at times."
"Wale said he is afraid of the dark these days and prefers to stay alone during the day. He has recurring nightmares too...I guess from that incident too. Luckily, apart from a few bruises he had gotten from being tied up for days, physically he is recovered but mentally, it could take a while that's why they went for a change of environment with Wale."
"They moved in together?" Cherry asked, trying to hide the ache she felt in her chest.
"They went on vacation. They have been away for two weeks now and from Wale's recent update, Kind seems to be getting better. He is even mingling with other people just like before."
After a while, Cherry said, "I can't take the blame for what my sister did, however, I genuinely hope he gets better but doesn't expect me to ever support their relationship. They also kept my sister looked up in rehab with a strict rule to not allow even her immediate family to contact her. How can she heal from her substance abuse without seeing us? Even if she does recover, we'll have to take her to see someone like you to treat her mental health!"
"I don't expect you to support them, neither will I advise you against wanting to protect your sister. However, you have to come to terms with living without her for many years. She was never around when you were still young so as much as you kept looking forward to seeing her again, she chose this path by herself and put you in danger many times. Defend her all you must since she is family but love her enough to let her take responsibility for her actions without intervening." Swalha could see Cherry's unconvinced body language. She had always been stubborn especially when it concerned her elder sister and her odd ways. Giving up, she decided if she can't convince her, then no one else will.
"You kept Kind's secret so well Swalha so you must keep mine too," Cherry said without looking at her friend and it made Swalha anxious. "What is it?"
"You know how frustrating my relationship with Wale has been...well, after I miscarried five years ago, Wale avoided me for months and it frustrated me a lot. He often said seeing me bleed reminded him of his dead parents and how he had found them. He refused to disclose the details but I could see what had happened to me took a toll on him that it even brought down his sexual appetite so I found myself someone else but we ended it after a while.
When Kind disappeared with his lover and Wale was up in arms looking for him, I stumbled on this guy again by chance and we rekindled our connection." Turning her gaze to look at Swalha, she asked, "You know what that means right?"
"Cherry..." Swalha stopped when Cherry lifted her hand to gesture her from uttering more words. "You don't have to say it out loud, walls have ears. Even so, just like you kept Kind's secret, so must you keep mine and if you utter a word to anyone, I'll make sure to hunt this child down even if he or she is old and grey and cause them great harm...more than you can imagine."