DYLAN'S POV
Pete passed by my office just to greet me. We were chatting and just talking as friends. It was a good time we had. He ordered some hot mussels in cream and herbs; and the two of us enjoyed our food while talking. He spoke about the new challenges of staying with an expecting wife. Pete seemed very excited to be able to do it all, and I listened while he narrated about her cravings and her weird food combinations. From what he said, I could tell that Arianna was not making the man rest. She surely was keeping him on his toes.
We chatted for a short while before Pete took his leave, leaving me to work on the many jobs that were still pending. I had hardly started when my dad came into my office. He looked very tired.
"You're a workaholic," I commented as a joke, but I truly meant it.
He yawned and then, "I am seriously considering taking Shimmer away, to give her some time. I admire what you and Anisha did. A couple needs some time off."
I just smiled at him.
He yawned once again, and as I was expecting him to start questioning me about whether or not everything was in place, work-wise, he said "We should go now, son. We should go to our homes. Work will always be here."
"But dad, let me just finish off what I'm doing," I told him as I continued looking at the many things that needed my attention. A message popped on my screen and I opened it. It had been sent a few hours before; and I wondered why it had taken long to deliver. I ran through it, skipping some other words; but I managed to see that it spoke about a physiotherapist who was being transferred from Yellowleaf to the children's hospital in Southrain.
"Umm, Delicate Zamara? Who is Delicate Zamara? I'm getting an email here, stating that effective immediately, she's being transferred to the children's hospital…wow, with a very big salary hike. Who is this? Shouldn't I have been told about it earlier on?" I asked my dad.
"Let me see," he came closer to the desk and I turned my laptop to an angle where both of us could see.
"What's with the salary hike? Isn't that a bit too much," dad pulled out his reading spectacles and looked closely. "What does she do? A physiotherapist? Zamara…Zamara…why does the name ring a bell?"
"It rings a bell with me too," I tried hard to think where I had heard the name from.
"I think Hayden once spoke about the Zamaras…they are into shipping or something like that. The Zamara guy once approached Hayden for assistance. They once had a scandal...I think. But they're good now." My dad recalled.
"Oh yes! Now that you say it, I'm also starting to remember. Their shipping business got into trouble for shipping some drugs. But in the end they were found innocent. I think they were framed." I was starting to remember the issue as well.
"Haydn helped them. They came here to get the legal assistance of the Rockridge Law Firm. That man Zamara is very hardworking and consistent. The scandal almost sent him packing, but he managed to survive!" dad had fully remembered the case.
"Ok, so their daughter is a physiotherapist? Delicate? Who names their child Delicate?" I laughed a little as I asked that question.
"The Zamaras," dad and I both laughed out loud.
"I'll need to find out why she is being transferred at such a high salary. It's abnormal. Who gets such a salary hike?" As I was talking, I was sending the email back to the HR manager, asking them to find out for me why Delicate Zamara was coming in at such a high salary. After sending the email, dad and I left the office.
"Anisha is not at home, I don't feel any urgency to go there," I stated in a bored tone.
"Come with me to Clear Opal, or lets go and have some drinks at the Oakley or Cloud Nine." He suggested.
"I'm getting bored of those places already."
"Say that again," dad chuckled. "There aren't many restaurants in Southrain. Unless if you say we go to one of Octavia's hotels. Octavia should look into opening some smaller places to which offer the same services as Oakley and cloud Nine., " dad stated as a matter of fact.
"Octavia is more interested in hotels. Big investments. Maybe the de Milo should open one restaurant or café." I said.
Dad laughed out loudly. "I haven't ever thought of that line of business."
By that time, Chris, who was listening in to our conversation, was approaching the fork of the road and he asked, "Which way? Oakley or Cloud Nine?"
"Cloud Nine," dad told him.
"Oakley", I said, intending it to be just a joke, but my dad instructed the driver to go to Oakley. I tried to tell him that I was just joking, but he insisted. In a few minutes we were at Oakley.
We took our seats, and he immediately said, "I should allow you to have your way, for once. You and your mum play too much cat and mouse games."
I would have wanted to respond, and to have my dad talk more on the subject, but he, probably sensing that I was going to inquire more on what he had just said, quickly changed the subject, "Tell me, how are things with Anisha? What's your plan with her? Do you love her enough to marry her?"
"Anisha and I are happy. I love her, and she loves me too. She is the woman that I want to marry," I told him truthfully.
"When do you plan to do this? Her degree…she's studying which degree by the way? It's an honors in Music, Theatre and Entertainment Management, am I right?"
"Yes,"
"That's…three? Four? How many years?"
"Three years. And if I am to be honest with you, I don't know if I will be able to wait until she is done. I want us to get married as soon as possible." I replied.
My dad laughed a bit and teased, "Why? If you don't mind me asking, are you….I mean….are you living as husband and wife? I mean, are you getting the full package?"
I burst out laughing. I had never expected my dad to ask me such a question. He ended up laughing too, and said to me, "I just need to know."
"No. Anisha strongly believes in saving herself for marriage. The man who will have her is her husband. And that will be me." I stated proudly.
"That's why you want to marry her fast!" he laughed and then added, "Listen son, I also believe in the same. Saving oneself for marriage is the best thing one can do for their partner."
I sat up straight and told my dad, "dad, I want to marry her. Not necessarily for the full package, but because I want to be with her all the time. I am troubled by the issues between mum and I, with regards to the woman that I love. Mum values class way above anything else. She emphasizes that she wants a hardworking girl who, when joining our family, will bring something along with her. Anisha is hardworking, but her background disadvantaged her. I want to help her, so that once she has something to her name, and she proves that she can work hard, maybe mum can accept her."
"I understand…what do you have in mind?" I could see that my dad was giving me ultimate attention.
"I had not really settled on something. But, we were just talking about Oakley and Cloud Nine...they don't have competition. They are the only two places that the elite go to, here in Southrain. I mean, they are the only ones which really meet the standards that we're looking for, and of course the Octavia Hotels. So while she continues with her studies, she can be running a small place. I want Anisha to prove to the world that she is not in it for the money, but she too can stand on her feet and do something in her name."
"I understand, son. I appreciate the way you want to promote your woman." Dad nodded his head in deep thought.
The waitress brought our orders. It was just a drink for me, for I had already eaten. As soon as the waitress left, I continued to offload to him what was on my mind.
"I know that mum wants someone who is capable of making money. Someone who can maintain the de Milo standards. As it is, mum will continue to dislike Anisha, and I think I am limited."
"You're limited, meaning?"
"I'm limited in what I can do for her. Even if I wanted, I cannot spend too much money on her. She does not want expensive gifts; she feels bad when I spend some money on her. She is just my girlfriend, and she says no to some of my offers. But, once we get married, I can spoil her any way I want. She won't say no. I will get her into a good business, targeting the multi-millionaires; all the crème de la crème of Southrain and Lakeworld at large. She won't need to run the place twenty-four seven. She can be studying, we just find a capable team to handle the business."
"I understand. I also believe that can lessen the tension between you and your mother."
"The sooner mum accepts my girlfriend, the better. I believe she is capable. Now I dread to imagine how she will react if I were to inform her that I am actually thinking about marriage." I told him truthfully.
Dad shook his head and then faced me. "I don't like it when your mum is always upset about you. And yet at the same time, I want to see you happy. This lady makes you happy, and it would be unfair for us to force you to end the relationship with her."
"You know her better than me, dad. Do you think she will ever accept Anisha?" I asked.
Dad gave his plate of food a slight push, and he sat back in his chair. Then he began to talk.
"Shimmer has always valued class. Names mean a lot to her. When Ciera married into the Octavia family; that meant the world to your mother. The same when Pete and Arianna got married. That's the thing she values the most. When she talks to her friends, talking about the relationships between them as the who's who of Lakeworld; that satisfies her soul. It will take a lot of hard work on Anisha's side, to impress your mother. But then again, there is the issue of the name. I don't know what we can do to help your mum understand that there is much more in a person, besides their name."
"I also don't know how best to handle it," I told my father.
My phone vibrated and I lifted it to see a message from Iris: "Send me Anisha's number urgently."
I wondered what had happened, but in my mind I concluded that my mother was the one calling for a meeting or something with Anisha. My heart sank. What did she want this time? To call her names again, and to remind her of her past, to tell her she is unworthy and to humiliate her until she cries? Mum, dear mum; when will this ever end? Feeling the pain for Anisha, I forwarded the number to Iris.