Travis and Aletha arrived soon after Sharon had finished placing the food bowls on the dinner table. They all greeted each other happily, and they took their seats in the lounge. Kiara came in, carrying a jug full of water.
"Hand it to me, my child. You don't need to carry anything heavy," Sharon rushed to take the jug from Kiara's hands.
"What's the water for?" Aletha asked with a sweet smile.
"It's warm water. My feet are killing me. I just want to soak them for a few minutes before we eat. I will get a bucket…"
"No no sit down. I will get it. You don't need to do anything," Sharon rushed to the scullery and brought back a bucket.
Kiara was greeting her parents and she slowly took her seat next to Jeremy. Jeremy instantly stroked Kiara's hair and inquired about how she was feeling.
"My feet still hurt. They are swollen," she said in a low voice.
"I'll bring a small chair. After soaking them, you will need to keep your feet elevated, it helps." Sharon spoke while she gently placed a foot stool in front of Kiara.
"Thank you mum," Kiara smiled.
Jacob, Nesisa and the baby arrived just in time for the dinner. They all stood up and sat at the dining table to peacefully enjoy their dinner. The food was very nice, especially the lamb roast, which was Sharon's signature dish. There was a lot of laughter and joy. Everyone was very happy, and they all wanted to hold baby Elvis Aneni.
"One day you will have to share with me the recipe for this lamb roast," Aletha smiled up at Sharon.
"Of course, of course my dear. I will share it with you." Sharon's sweet smile never left her lips.
When all the food was finished, Sharon and Aletha cleared the table. Kiara would have assisted too, but her dear mother in law would not hear anything of it. Aletha then brought a cake. It was white, with pink and blue stripes. On top of the cake it was written: HE OR SHE?
The cake was carefully placed at the center of the table. Aletha cleared her throat and said, "My children, before we cut the cake, I want you to know that children are a blessing. They are given to us by God. It is normal to have a preference when it comes to the gender of the little one, but we need to know that what God gives us is the best."
She smiled brightly and nodded at Sharon.
"My child," Sharon took Kiara's hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "Just out of curiosity, do you have a preference? Would you like a little boy or a little girl?"
"Umm, a little boy, I guess. I always dream of having a little boy, not that I would be disappointed if it's a girl, no. But I know that Jeremy wants a girl."
"I'm ok with either a boy or a girl; I really don't mind," Jeremy defended himself.
"Nesisa, my child, you may speak." Sharon smiled brightly at Nesisa.
Nesisa cleared her throat and said, "I wish you two the best, and just as our mothers have already said, it really is not a big deal whether you get a son or a daughter. I guess the most important thing is to get a healthy child."
"And us? We're not given a chance to talk?" Travis pretended to complain. "Men don't get to say anything?" everyone laughed.
"OK, Mr Noels, please say something," Sharon nodded at him.
"A child is a child, whether it is a boy or a girl, I will still love my grandchild!"
"Thank you. And you Jacob?"
"Let's cut the cake already," Jacob said, much to everyone's amusement. Jacob always had a way of making people laugh, even by saying the simplest things.
"Jeremy?" Sharon nodded in her son's direction.
"All I know is I am a few weeks away from becoming a dad. Little boy or little girl, you are welcome," he gently stroked his girlfriends' tummy, and everyone found the gesture very sweet.
"Ok, so let us cut…" Jacob stood up and took the knife which was next to the cake.
"Jacob, leave it. Kiara and Jeremy should cut it!" Nesisa pulled Jacob and he sat back on his chair.
"Oh ok. Please cut it. And I think I now know what I want. Since I never had a sister, I might need a niece. I need to play girly games with her, and to spoil her rotten!" Jacob stated in a voice rather too loud.
Sharon handed the knife over to Jeremy. Kiara placed her hand on the knife, and Jeremy held her hand.
"Wait! Don't cut it!" Jacob said. "First we need to know, are you still sticking with those names, Ethan Anesu for a boy, and Elianah Anesu for a girl?"
"Does it matter? Let them cut and we can discuss the names while we eat," Travis was unable to wait for the cake.
"Yes dad, it matters. We need to tell you what we agreed on. If the child is a boy, his name shall be Ethan Anesu, and if it is a girl, we agreed to name her Sharon Anesu." Kiara said proudly.
"Sharon? You want to name after me?" Sharon stared at them, very much touched.
"Yes mum, that is what we agreed on," the younger lady smiled.
"Oh I am humbled. This is an honour. Probably the greatest thing ever done to honour me," the woman placed her hands on her chest and closed her eyes, as if saying a short silent prayer.
"It surely is an honour," Aletha agreed, feeling a bit jealous, but she quickly told herself to accept it and move on with her life; telling herself that she too was a grandmother to the child. Being the one who made the gender reveal cake, she already knew the baby's sex, and she couldn't wait for all of them to know as well.
"OK, let them cut. Cut it and let's see; are we getting Ethan or we're getting Sharon?" Travis, seemingly not moved a bit by all the emotions running at that moment, spoke while salivating over the cake.
Jacob was ready with the camera. Each time they had family functions, they always made sue to capture it all using Jeremy's camera. Kiara's hand was shaky as she cut the cake. Jeremy was steadily holding her hand, and they cut it. The moment they removed the cake slice, numerous blue skittles spilled out of the cake, most of them rolling on the table, and a few on to the floor.
"It's a boy!!" Nesisa screamed.
"It's a boy," everyone was excited.
Travis reached out and picked a few skittles which he threw into his mouth. His wife nudged him angrily and he spoke out loudly for everyone to hear,
"What? We're all enjoying. Don't be too uptight, my wife. So how did you all know that it's a boy, huh?" He munched loudly while speaking at the same time.
"The blue skittles! Blue is for boys; who on earth doesn't know that?" Aletha hissed angrily, embarrassed by her husband's actions.
Everyone acted like they had not heard what the two were saying to each other, and people continued with their rejoicing. Jacob concentrated on taking as many photos as possible. He was also recording a video.
Nesisa stood up and rubbed Kiara's tummy.
"Hey little Ethan, when are you coming out? Elvis can't wait to play with you!"
Kiara also stroked her tummy and said in a small voice, "say just give me a few more weeks, and I will be out."
Nesisa pulled her chair closer to Kiara and she started talking about labour pains. She explained the pain in so much detail that Kiara began to become scared.
"Is it that bad? How painful is it? Is there anything you can compare it with; so that I get an idea."
"Labour pain cannot be compared to anything my dear. When it started, I felt like someone had thrown a rock on to my back. The pain was piercing, and while I was still adjusting to it, I felt multiple stabs under my navel. I have never felt such great pain."
"Why didn't they give you something to ease the pain? A painkiller or something like that," Kiara blinked several times and swallowed air, feeling great fear.
"I think I did get something for the pain, but trust me, it did not work. And to make it worse, I was vomiting while in labour. It seemed like all my body muscles were on fire, and I tell you, there is no time for tears when you're in labour. I failed to get energy to cry. I was silent the whole time."
"Really? I thought all ladies screamed out while giving birth," Kiara said.
"No. I did not scream. I would have, but the pain was too much. it got to a point where screaming would have been meaningless."
"I'm scared now," Kiara put her hand on her tummy.
"No no no; don't be scared. I do not mean to scare you. I'm only telling you this so that you don't get surprises in the labour ward."
Nesisa went on and spoke about the joys of motherhood, coupled with the sleepless nights which she explained as a nightmare.
In another corner, Sharon and Aletha spoke joyfully to each other, with Aletha explaining that she was unable to wait to become a grandmother. In her heart, Aletha was glad that the child did not have to be named after Sharon, after all. She sort of hated that idea.
Little Elvis was in Aletha's arms.
Sharon excitedly told Aletha that it was the most satisfying feeling on earth, she said it was even more thrilling than becoming a first time mother. She was explaining how she felt on the day that Elvis was born; and her feeling on first holding the little boy in her own arms.
The men were talking about the latest games. Travis was not talking much, for he was busy stuffing his mouth with the cake. Jacob was constantly cracking jokes, making them all laugh.
"What an exciting night we had. We should do this more often," Nesisa yawned as she stood up from her chair.
"We should invite Jacob and Nesisa more often," Aletha commented, and everyone agreed.
Nesisa yawned once more before she walked towards the kitchen to place some bowls in the sink. She was washing her hands at the sink when she heard some sounds from outside. Looking out through the window, she saw a row of cars, six or seven, maybe. All of them looked very classy, and she watched as men marched out of the cars, heading towards the house.
She quickly ran back to the dining table and announced, "There're people outside!"
Since everyone was engrossed in whatever they were doing, they all did not hear her. She spoke out louder, "There are people outside!"