Talik was taken aback by what Therman had just asked. Why was he so concerned? And Talik could notice that it wasn't the good kind of curiosity that his father had toward Hanita. But he had no reason to keep the piece of information that Therman was requesting from him. So, he replied; "She's Hanita..." he stated, "Hanita Hill."
Therman nodded slowly as realization finally dawned on him. "Driver... to the warehouse."
Now, Talik understood why his father had come all the way. The warehouse was downtown and Therman had mentioned that Talik was to acquire that property to start a business of his own. Talik was grateful for his father as Therman had given him the life that he didn't know he'd ever have.
Talik had been abandoned by his birth mother when he was around one year of age. She had been raped and eventually driven out of her parent's house with her infant in her arm. The woman couldn't take care of Talik which drove her to the decision of leaving him at the doorstep of one of the orphanages in the state. Talik had been a lonely and quiet child since because he'd have to live with people that were strangers to him and people that weren't consistent in his life. The friends that he'd made in the orphanage would up and leave at any time as they would get adopted by other families.
It was not until Talik was four years old that Therman and his wife had come to adopt him, giving him a home and stability which he was grateful for. Therman had put Talik through the best schools and even seen him through college. For these reasons, Talik respected Therman and even cherished him. He saw no wrong in whatever Therman did and viewed Therman as one of the smartest men that he knew. So, Talik followed Therman's lead and did whatever was required of him.
"The wine business is thriving now, Talik, "Therman said, consciously pushing the thought of Deveron and Daliana to the back of his mind. Therman made a decision that when he'd gathered enough bits of information, he'd talk to Talik about that girl. Now, it was business first.
His gaze was fixed outside, looking through the window of the car. From outside, the glasses were tinted, but from within, it was bright and Therman could see that the atmosphere was clear -- the skies were clear. He had thought that day would be a good day -- that it would go smoothly as he'd planned. He had thought that it would end in some handshakes and agreements. But, seeing Deveron and his ex had startled and even shaken him to his core. Then to top it all up, his son was working in the same place as that girl. Something had to be done, thought Therman Blake.
"I think it's a business which is always in vogue..." Talik said. "Wine is something that is always in demand... used in many places and by all classes of people..." he finished, nodding his head in agreement with what his father had said. Talik, himself, was a lover of good wine and the topic of discussion brought some calm to his heart.
"I'm glad that we're on the same page, " Therman said.
"When are we not?" Talik asked rhetorically.
Therman thought of that question and the possibility of its response changing in the nearest future.
* * *
In the restaurant, Hanita and her family celebrated, clinking champagne glasses and feasting on meals that filled their entire table of four. It was a great time and they all reveled in it.
"I'll be traveling soon..." Hanita said as she put a forkful of buttered steak in her mouth.
"Oh?" Daliana said.
"Traveling to?" Deveron asked, slicing the boiled Irish potato on his plate.
"North Carolina..." Hanita responded.
"Wanna go on some vacay?" Carnise asked with a smirk and a wink of her eye.
"Vacation?" Hanita scoffed. "Nothing of that sort... it's work-related."
"Hmph," came Carnise's response.
"Alone?" Deveron asked.
"No... we're a team of seven..." Hanita replied. "Cognate wants to open a branch in North Carolina and I'm among the team that would make that happen, " Hanita finished, her eyes glistening at the thought of the task that she was about to undergo.
"That sounds great, Hanita..." Daliana said. She sipped from her glass of wine when she felt a pain in her neck. "Ah!" she exclaimed as her other hand went to the place where she'd felt the bolt of sharp pain.
Their eyes all went to Daliana and Deveron wrapped his hands around her. "What's the matter, darling? What happened?" he asked quickly as his eyes traveled all over her body, trying to find what must have caused her to cry out like that.
"M-My neck, Dev..."
Carnise remained quiet as she just looked at Daliana. She was confused and didn't know what to do, she waited for everything to blow over as she had plans to bring up a discussion during the dinner.
"Mummy?" Hanita said. "What happened? Are you okay?" she asked as she dropped her cutleries and stood up from her chair. She was beside her mother in the next moment as she looked at Daliana's neck thinking perhaps something must have bitten her.
"What's wrong with your neck?" Deveron asked.
"I felt a sharp pain... a blinding pain," Daliana said. "But it's passing now," she finished with a managed and sad smile on her face. She didn't want to ruin the moment they were having as she already felt bad that she must've done so.
"I'll be fine," she finished.
"Let's go home, " Deveron said. "You need rest."
"No!" Daliana spat, almost yelling. "No..." she repeated, arranging the tone and volume of her voice. "Let's finish our meal... I feel much better now."
"You sure?" her husband asked, looking directly into her eyes as if searching for the response in there.
Daliana nodded reassuringly as she continued with her meal.
Deveron observed her for a little while longer before he returned to eating as well and Hanita returned to her seat. He told himself that he'd take her to the hospital the very next day. Deveron was not one to joke with health, especially the well-being of his loved ones.