Even though they were some distance away, I was still able to hear them.
"Hello", Raymond said to Lizzy.
"I have seen you before, right?" Lizzy asked him.
I think that day, that Saturday was the first time she saw him and I have never mentioned him too.
"Yes, we have", he said.
"Where?" She asked him curiously, but he shook his head and asked, "you do not remember me or are you pretending to have forgotten so soon?" He asked.
"no, I am not pretending. Why should I pretend?" She asked him annoyed and walked away.
"Wait, I will remind you later, maybe after the dance. Do you care about dancing?" He asked her,
"Okay", she said, shrugged, held his hand and pulled him towards the dance floor.
I wanted to go after them and confront him, but someone pulled me from behind as I turned sharply, but it was Hale.
" no, do not follow them, it will only make matters worse. I called him and asked him to come over so that we could talk properly. Remember you asked me not to do anything stupid or to hurt him. I am only doing this to please and I do not want you to regret helping me. Just help me lure her after the party and we shall discuss everything properly later. Okay?" He asked me and I nodded.
I was short of words, I do not know what to say, he then asked, "since my lady has been taken by someone else? Do you care about dancing?" He asked me and I just nodded, then he dragged me along towards the dance floor.
When we reached the dance floor, I glanced around to see the couples dancing.
There were many couples and dance partners, Mom and dad were dancing together, Grandma and Mr Ahmed, Raymond and Lizzy, the next couple I saw shocked me, Genevieve and J.J and among others.
I wanted to look towards Genevieve and J.J's direction again but Hale said, "no, do not look at them or should I say him again. You are making it obvious", he said, just then the D.J changed the current music to a slow, but melodious music.
This particular music is mainly for couple dancers, its steps required that both couple dancers turn around twice, hold hands, turn around twice again and grab a new dance partner by holding hands with them, dance together until the music comes to an end and return to your first dance partner.
"Go to your J.J. and I will dance with my Beth", Hale instructed me as we were making the first set of turning around.
"No, I disagree", I said to Hale as I held hands with him again.
"How about I go to Lizzy and you go to Ray?" I asked him.
"no, there will not be enough time to talk. Just do as I say, you can dance with someone else if you like, but I will be dancing with my Beth. Go", Hale instructed me again.
I seriously do not want to make things more complicated, so I just have to follow his lead, I think he has already planned everything.
I quickly nodded as we turned twice again for the second time and switched partners.
I almost held hands with J.J., but Raymond quickly grabbed my hands and that annoyed me.
Ugh!
I hate this boy.
I did not want to look at him, so I quickly took another glance around again, but to my surprise, J.J and Hale were dancing together, Lizzy with Genevieve, mom with Mr Ahmed, and Grandma and dad.
I was done looking, but I still did not want to look at Raymond, so I decided to look at mom. She was just laughing while dancing. I guess she was enjoying herself, but then mom and Mr Ahmed moved closer to me, they were having a nice conversation and laughing.
I became curious to know what it was about, so I quickly danced towards them.
We were not very close, but I will be able to eavesdrop without being interrupted or disturbed, "I can't believe that I am dancing with you, Mrs Mike", Mr Ahmed said to my mom.
"Today is going to be one of the best days in my life", he added and grinned.
Mom was blushing, she just smiled and asked, "So when were the other best days of your life?" Mom asked.
I really can't tell if she was curious or if she just wanted Mr Ahmed to feel better or think highly about himself.
"The day I was born, the day I left home to come to Europe, the day I met my wife and the day my son was born", Mr Ahmed said to mom.
"Wow, you must have been very happy to have such a sweet life. I hope all your heart desires have come to pass?" Mom asked him.
I could guess from her tone that she was concerned this time.
"Majority of them have, but there are still few left and one of them involves your daughter", he said and that made mom have that look on her face that says 'WTF'. Mom just laughed softly and asked him,
"what is it?"
I want your daughter to marry my son", he said to mom, but that sounded serious.
"That is their business, not ours. As a parent, you should not interfere in your kid's love life. You only interfere when you THINK and KNOW that they are making the wrong choice.
You have to stop it before it leads to marriage and remembers that someday, you will leave them behind and there will be no one to comfort them.
It is her choice to make and not mine.
You know ladies these days are very selective.
Gone are the days parents choose a life partner for their kids.
Trust me our kids know themselves better than we do when it comes to love affairs.
If we choose for them, we will choose a life partner that they may not even like and that is the same thing as sending your child to an early grave or hell, but if we let them choose themselves, they will not just choose a life partner, but A SOUL MATE. I hope that explains it all. The music is about to come to an end", mom reminded him.
"Yes, that is true. I am sorry for bothering you, Mrs Mike", Mr Ahmed apologized to mom.
" No, it is fine. It is okay to worry about your kid's future once in a while. Every parent does it", she said as the music finally came to an end and she returned to dad.
I wanted to swap partners again and return to Hale, but Ray slid one of his arms around my waist and held me onto himself tightly and held my wrist tightly with his other arm and trust me, that made it cold to run down my spine.
WTF!
"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" I asked Raymond angrily.
"Let go of me", I ordered Raymond.
Instead, he tightened his grip around my waist.
"No, why should I? I can't let you go, I have loved you since that day and I will ever love you. I will never give up on you, I promise", he said to me, and that gave me butterflies.
"Then keep trying. I do not care, I will never be yours. Never. Let go of me, I can't fucking breathe", I said faking having breathing difficulty.
He let go of me and said, "am sorry, is there anything I can do to help?" He asked me and was about to touch me again, but I quickly slapped his hand away,
"do not ever fucking touch me again", I warned him and started to walk again, but he followed me and asked,
"Is it because of that sucker?" I ignored him and kept walking, this time we were already out of the garden.
"I am talking to you, are you treating me like this because of Johnson? He is a freak", he said to me.
Is he trying to win my heart by cursing my lifelong crush, I really can't take it anymore.
I had already gotten sick of him following me around.
I had to do something to stop him or else he would not.
I stopped walking, turned and faced him, "I think that you are the fucking freak and the fucking sucker here, "I said to him with a teary eye, I was faking it.
"How on earth do you expect me to accept you after what you did to my best friend? You are nothing but a fucking stupid monster and a beast. I fucking hate you", I said to him and started running towards the main door of the living room.
He started running too and caught up with me. He stood in front of me and said, " Eunice, I am sorry. I was not in my right mind. I guess Hale did not tell you the whole truth. He is hiding the real truth from you", he started with a teary eye, but not tears were already rolling down his cheeks.
"Eunice, I love you, a lot. I do, ever since that day, you helped me. I have never been able to take my mind off you. I think about you always, I dream about you too. You are different from every other girl, even Elizabeth", Raymond said to me.
He was right with the last sentence.
Even though I and Lizzy are best friends, we still have our differences.
I got teary, it was for real this time.
I had to make him feel better, that was the only solution.
Without thinking twice, I hugged him and he hugged me back, the very instant I hugged him, I could feel his heartbeat, it was beating super fast as if his chest was going to burst open and hit me.
"How on earth do you expect me to accept you after what you did to my best friend? You are nothing but a fucking stupid monster and a beast. I fucking hate you", I said to him and started running towards the main door of the living room,
He started running too and caught up with me, he stood in front of me and said,
"Eunice, I am sorry. I was not in my right mind. I guess Hale did not tell you the whole truth. He is hiding the truth from you", he started with a teary eye, but no tears were already rolling down his cheeks.
"Remember you almost ended my best friend's relationship with her boyfriend, right? I asked him, angrily.
"You should talk to her and clear up things with her first," I added.
"What should I clear up with her?" He asked, confused.
"I do not know," I replied to him.
"How do you expect me to know?" I asked.
"You ought to hear me out first before judging." He said.
"I am not judging you. You should talk things out with her first, you should try to start from there first" I said to him and walked away.
I finally entered the living room, I could not stay till the end of the party, thanks to Raymond.
I did not go inside my room, I just sat on my favourite couch in the living room.
'Hope this is not what I think it is, a love triangle. I do not like it. I can't love someone else and have a separate person love me back, I thought to myself.'
'So who should I focus on, J.J. or Raymond?'
There is a popular saying that goes:
FOLLOW YOUR HEART.
I'm after J.J.'s heart, while Raymond is after mine.
Ugh!
I hate being involved in a love triangle.
This might not end well.
I might end up losing both of them, I need to talk to someone about not, but not my mom.
The party will soon be finally over and I need to attend that meeting.
What should I do?
J.J. is innocent and does not even know me, Raymond is notorious and knows he has offended my best friend's boyfriend.
How should I explain to Lizzy, that my secret admirer is the cause of everything that is going on between her and her boyfriend? Sweet father.
I do not know how she would react, it might even affect our relationship or end our friendship.
And what is that thing Raymond talked about?
He said Hale is not telling me the whole truth, is there something else he hasn't told me?
What real truth was he talking about?
Does it have anything to do with J.J.?
No, I am overthinking and speaking of J.J., I need to go have another glimpse of him and I will worry about all this later.
I was about to leave to go and catch a quick glimpse of J.J. when I saw Lizzy coming.
Oh Father, how should I respond or react?
I quickly reached out for my phone in my pocket and was just scrolling through the apps, but it was too late, Lizzy was already standing in front of me.
' Please help me, Lord.'
"where the hell have you been? I have been searching for you", she said to me.
I looked up at her and smiled,
"You have found me, so what is it?" I asked her.
"I need to take a quick shower, I am hot all over, this dress and hair are killing me", she said and started pulling the pins off her hair.
"Hope you enjoyed today?" I asked her, I do not know if she enjoyed the party or not, poor Lizzy.
"Yeah, I did, but it would have been perfect if Hale didn't show up. Please come open the door for me", she said and started walking towards the stairs.
"You fucking know the passcode, why should I follow you?" I asked her, that was harsh, but I was trying to avoid her.
"Come on, I need someone to help me with the zip fastener. I can't reach it, please", she said and turned back to meet me.
When she got to me, she started pulling my right arm and said,
"Come on, lazy daughter. Let's go upstairs".
"Do not worry, I can help myself up, you do not have to pull me up. After you", I said to her and stood up as we both climbed up the stairs.
"How about J.J.? Has he left already?" I asked Lizzy the very instant we entered my room.
"No", she said and sat down on my bed and started unbuckling her shoes.
``No? Why?" I asked her as if she knew his mind.
"How do I know besides it is none of my business, he is not yet your boyfriend", she said and laughed softly.
"Are you mocking me because I am still single?" I asked her and pouted.
"No, I dare not", she said and that made us burst out laughing.
"Okay jokes apart", I said as the laughter faded.
"Where is he?" I asked her.
"I do not know if you would be happy to hear this' ', she said to me, she became worried about me and panicked.
"The party is officially over, but he is still with Genevieve. I don't even know what they have been talking about '', she said to me.
"It is okay, I will still find out, either in one way or the other '', I said to her.
I have been standing the whole time.
She stood up, walked up to me and turned around for me to open her zip fastener.
I did and she just allowed the dress to slide through her body and dropped down to the floor.
She would have been completely naked if not for her bra and pants.
Just then, something caught my attention, she is bleeding, I burst out laughing,
"What is funny?" She asked me and that made me laugh more
.``Your pants are red", I said and laughed more and louder.
She checked to see for herself and said,
"Fuck", and quickly rushed into the bathroom and closed the door.
I sat on my bed, cooled off and was winded.
I did not know what else to do, since Lizzy uses a lot of time in the bathroom and I was not ready to wait for her. I just lay down and dozed off.
"Hi beautiful", J.J. said to me, kissing me on the head, I opened my eyes, but J.J. was in bed with me.
Am I already in the future?
"Good morning dear, how was your night?" He asked me and helped me to sit up.
I was still shocked, so I did not reply.
"Careful. Just nice and easy. That's my woman", he said and kissed my cheek, he then bent over to kiss my tummy,
"Hey buddy, how are you? Hope you are being a good boy and not stressing mummy", he said who the hell was he referring to?
I was shocked when I looked at my tummy.
WTF.
When the hell did I become heavily pregnant?
How?
Where?
I was going to scream, but I was with J.J.
"Come on, let us brush and I will fix your breakfast." He said to me,
'Aww, so romantic'.
I just nodded.
I did not dare to say a word, cause there was something I heard a woman telling her child some years back, that if you are in or visit the future, never say a word or touch anything, you can touch people, but not everyone and do not overthink, if you want to remain there, or else, you would return to reality.
He was handing me a toothbrush, but I shook my head in refusal, then he smiled and said, "I know what you want, you want me to brush your teeth. Do not worry, I will. Let me quickly brush, okay?" I just nodded again.
A few minutes later, I did not remember brushing, but I had already had my bath and worn new clean clothes and I was sitting on the bed.
He brought a pair of shoes along with him, walked towards me, stood in front of me and bent down.
He was helping me wear my shoes, and when he was done, he raised himself halfway and kissed my tummy again and finally raised himself almost straight and kissed my head too.
"Let me quickly grab my stuff and we are set, okay?" He said, smiled and walked out of what seemed to be our bedroom.
I quickly took a quick glimpse of my left hand and saw a wedding ring on my ring finger.
Wow!
We are even married, we are a fucking couple now.
Oh, yeah!
J J entered the room again,
"Here is your phone, it is fully charged. Should I put it inside your bag for you?" He asked me and I just nodded in response.
"Which one of your bags are you going to use today?" He asked me and walked towards a collection of bags in one corner of the room.
"See babe, this one matches your outfit or this one that matches your shoes. What about this one that matches your hair colour?"
I quickly held some of my hair up in front of me, to take a glance and it was pink. I have always been blonde, I do not dye my hair like mom. I hated it, so how the fuck did I do that?
When?
"What about this red that matches your lipstick?" He asked again and I just nodded.
I love the pampering and attention, but something was off.
He put my phone inside the red bag he chose for me.
He brought out his wallet, removed some cash, put it into a smaller purse and kept the purse inside the handbag and said,
"Babe, I've put some cash in your bag", he smiled and glanced at me.
"Anything for you darling, is there anything else you need?" He asked me and before I could answer he said, "forgive me, darling, wait for us' ', he rushed out and came back with a handful of food and drugs.
"Here are vitamin A, a can of nutrients shake and two sachets of cheese-flavoured biscotti", he said and carefully placed the items in the bag, arranging them, one by one.
"Done", he said as he zipped the bag and walked towards me, he helped me up and slid his hands around my waist and carefully led me out of the room, but I could not pass the door.
I tried walking past the door, but something kept pushing me inside.
"Wake up Eunice", I heard Lizzy say to me.
I slightly opened my eyes and saw Lizzy staring down at me.
"What have you been dreaming about?" She asked.
"You have been smiling and nodding and shaking your head", she added.
I sat up, rubbed my eyes and screamed for about ten seconds.
"So it was all a fucking dream", I said and looked up at Lizzy.
"You have been rolling and almost dropped, I had to push you up to prevent you from falling. What did you dream about?" Lizzy asked, curiously.