My alarm clock rang when the time was seven thirty in the morning.
That means I slept for four hours and thirty minutes, it was not enough but what to do?
Today is my parents' big day. Our family relatives and family friends are already around doing different chores.
I sat on my bed and yawned and stretched when I noticed someone inside my bathroom then I stood up to check, it was Lizzy.
But she saw me first instead and greeted
"Hello, my sleeping beauty. How was your night? Hope you slept well?" She asked me.
"I slept well, thanks. How long have you been here?" I asked her.
"Since six thirty, Mike called me to assist you, your mom is not feeling too well too. I was in the kitchen assisting the chefs but something came up."
"Okay," I replied to her, nodding at the same time.
"He gave me a new gown, a new pair of shoes and some jewellery for you. He said your mom bought them yesterday. Lucky you". She said and smiled at me.
"What are you doing in my toilet?" I asked her.
"Nature called, that is why I am in your toilet. Hope I did not wake you or disturb you?" she asked.
"No, you did not," I replied to her
"My alarm just rang about two minutes ago" I quickly added before she could say anything else.
"Oh, good morning lazy one." She said mockingly to me and we both burst into laughter.
"So, where are the clothes?" I asked her.
"It is inside the first drawer, the blue one beside your wardrobe," she said and was pointing at the same time.
"Thank you," I said excitedly and jumped.
I was about to take a quick glimpse at my new collection of clothes when she said,
"Nah. Hope you know how important today is to your family, right?"
She asked me and I nodded my head.
"We need to help them, your mom needs you, remember she is not feeling too well. We need to assist them to make today a memorial day for them, especially your mom. Now let us go, after you, my lady." She said to me, teasingly.
I wanted to grab my phone but then she stopped me and said,
"No, no, do not take your phone with you, I do not have my phone with me either. It is on top of your reading table" Lizzy said to me and pointed at her phone.
"Okay, fine," I said and rolled my eyes.
"After you, my lady." She said as she opened the door for me to pass, I went out of the door, followed me and closed the door behind us.
When we entered the kitchen, the chefs Mike hired were almost done with the cooking.
"Let us go to the garden to see if anything needs to be done there," Lizzy said and we left the kitchen for the garden. That is where we will be holding the event.
"Okay, ma'am," I replied and we both chuckled, there was no time for a big laugh.
When we got to the garden, we saw many family relatives and family friends including Lizzy's parents.
"Good morning Mr and Mrs Michael.'' I greeted Lizzy's parents who were not ready for the party too, they are just here to help for now and probably change into something else later.
"Hi miss Eunice. Good morning and how is your day going?" Lizzy's dad, Mr Michael, asked me.
"My day is going great, thanks to Lizzy, thank you," I said to Lizzy's dad with a smile.
"I hope Beth is not giving you or causing any trouble?" Mrs Michael asked.
"No ma'am, not at all, thank you," I said as I and Lizzy were about to walk away.
"Bye mom, bye dad and mom and thanks for the embarrassment," Lizzy said to her parents with a fake smile and to her mom especially.
"Oh my darling, you are welcome dear." Mrs Michael said to her daughter.
"Bye." She added and gave a silly smile.
"Bye Elsie. Bye Eunice.'' Mr Michael said and smiled at his daughter and me.
"Bye Mr and Mrs Michael,'' I said to Lizzy's parents and courtesy before we both walked away smiling.
"Bye." Mr and Mrs Michael said smiling as they both waved us their byes.
Next, we went to meet the decorators who were busy with their designing and decorations.
"Hi, Eunice". One of the decorators, Mr Ahmed said, was finding it difficult to know how and where to hang a fake rose.
"Good morning Ahmed. Do you need a hand?" I asked him.
"I need your help, but my son needs your hand in marriage." He said and chuckled, but we both laughed at it.
I bent down to assist him, as Lizzy ran towards the aid of a little girl who tripped on a toolbox and scraped her knee.
She was badly injured, Lizzy was trying to stop the injury from bleeding, but she needed a hand to do that because the little girl was not staying still.
I pretended not to see it, I did not want to do anything that has to do with blood, but then the unwanted call came.
"Eunice, come here now!" Lizzy called as she was kneeling on the bare ground and the child was sitting and crying loudly and disturbingly.
"Okay, I am coming," I shouted as I started to run towards her.
"Need a hand?" I asked Lizzy.
"Yes, please. Are you blind? Can you not see that this kid is bleeding? Go get the first aid box quickly and try to call an ambulance. Go now." She commanded.
"Okay, I will be right back, "I said to her and started running towards our house.
I quickly ran into my room and grabbed the first aid box that I have not used for almost a year now.
As I was running back outside, Mike saw me and asked, "Eunice, what is going on?"
"A little girl tripped on something and had her knee scraped," I explained to him.
"Is it very bad? Does she need an ambulance?" He asked, concerned.
"Maybe, Oh! Yes, the child does need an ambulance. Elizabeth asked me to call one but I have not. Shit, I forgot to take my phone." I said to him and was about to run back into my room when he stopped me and said,
"Do not worry about that, I have already called one, for one of the hired chefs, a lady."
"Oh, thank God," I said and was about to run outside our house to meet Lizzy and the little girl when Mike stopped me again and said to me,
"Wait I was coming to get the first aid box too, for the hired female chef who cut herself and she is bleeding. I think your attention is needed too, I do not know how to use any of those things inside that box".
"Let me quickly attend to the child first, she is looking very scared," I said to him and immediately ran out of the house.
"Wait for me." He shouted and started to run after me.
"You know I can't wait, just continue following me," I said to him and was looking over my shoulder to check if I could see him, but I did not and gave up.
I reached the garden and ran over to Lizzy and the little girl who was still crying loudly and kind of annoyingly too.
I do not know if Lizzy does not find the cry annoying, but I do.
Do not get me wrong, I do not hate kids, I love them, but I hate the way they cry and some other annoying stuff they do.
"Am here," I said to Lizzy the moment I got to her and the little girl and knelt beside Lizzy.
"Damn it, Eunice, what the hell took you so long?" She asked me angrily.
"I am sorry, I know I am a bit late, I saw Mike, he said one of the hired chefs cut herself and is seriously bleeding too," I explained to her.
"Who told you that you are just a bit late? You left here about five minutes ago and thank God you are not studying medicine and surgery, all your patients must have died before you entered the QR." She paused as she reached for the first aid kit.
"Anyways, it is okay since the child is fine, that is all that matters, for now, right?" She asked me and I nodded my head, then she continued,
"At least, she was not in the state of dying earlier." She said as she completed dressing the little girl's wound.
That was when Mike got to us,
"Mr Mike?" Lizzy called my stepdad,
"Yes, Elizabeth." He answered her.
"Please can you take this child to a comfortable place until the ambulance arrives?" She pleaded and asked him at the same time.
"Yes, of course", he said and lifted the child in his arms.
"Ouch, my knee still hurts." The little girl cried out.
"Hold on honey," Mike said to the little girl and smiled at her as he shifted her comfortably in his arm, he carefully laid her down on a couch inside our living room.
"So where is the lady that cut herself?" Elizabeth asked Mike.
"She is sitting under the stairs," Mike answered her.
"Eunice, stay with the little girl, Mr Mike, please go back to your preparations, while I will go check on the lady," Eunice said and left for the lady Chef.
"Okay." I and Mike said in unison.
"You should have asked for her and not me," I said to my stepdad and chuckled.
"Yeah, that is true honey. She is so cool. Do not worry dear, you are cool too, just like your mom. Okay, let me go meet mummy." He said as he bent over to kiss me on my head, touched the little girl's cheek and left hurriedly.
I just nodded in response.
"Later dad," I said to him about five seconds later, I was not sure he heard me, it was too late, right?
I was just sitting there, I did not know what to do with the little girl and then I decided to engage in a friendly conversation with her so that she would not get bored because I know kids love fun.
"Hello, little girl, what is your name?" I asked her,
"Sarah." The little girl replied.
"Sarah, that is a very sweet name that suits a very cute little girl like you," I said and was playing with her fair, dainty, round and soft cheeks.
"I am not a little girl." She said to me,
"Oh! I am sincerely sorry about that, so how old are you?" I asked her.
"Four." She said and started to pout,
"Four."
"Wow!" I exclaimed and laughed softly.
"What's your name?" I asked her.
"Sarah." She replied sharply with a cute smile.
"Sarah," I said to myself.
"What's your name?" Sarah asked.
"Eunice. Lady Eunice." I replied.
"You are noble. I am sorry if I were ever rude to you." She said with shaky lips.
I smiled, shook my head thrice and smiled at her without saying anything.
"Do you have any nicknames?" I asked her.
"Yes, of course, I do. Who doesn't have a nickname? Do you not have one?" Sarah asked me.
"It is Nice, my aunty calls my niece," I said and we both laughed.
"Okay," Sarah said and continued,
"I originally have two, but some bullies at my school added one and that makes it three. My parents call me Sallie, my grandpa calls me Sally, they do not sound different right? But they are different and finally, the bullies call me Sadie." She said the last nickname sadly.
"Don't mind the bullies. Do you know what your name means?" I asked her, but she shook her head.
"It means princess, so you are a princess. Can you do something for me?" I asked her and she nodded smiling.
"Whenever, the bullies at your school come around, tell them you are a princess and if they try to say otherwise, go report it to a teacher, okay?"
"Okay," she replied and smiled.
"Do you know who Sarah was in the bible days?" I asked, but she shook her head,
"She was a great woman, a wonderful lady. She was the wife to Father Abraham and the mother to son Isaac. Do not worry, I will tell you more about it when we meet again, okay?" I asked and assured her.
She nodded in response.
"I am thirsty, please can you give me some water to drink?" She asked me for water politely and I replied,
"I will be right back," I said and left for the kitchen to get Sarah a glass or bottle of drinking water.