Delilah
Talking to Kelvin calmed me down and after our conversation that Sunday afternoon, I was hoping to meet him again in the evening, but I barely saw him. I decided to wait for tomorrow. But the next day, I was disappointed that he wasn't even in the house for most of the day. It turned out that my dad made Kelvin the organizer of the party and he was busy getting the job done. So I stayed in my room for the rest of the day.
My birthday arrived and I was feeling tired for some reason when I woke up. I invited Sena to the party and my dad called Sonya and I to make us assure him of no fights during the party. To be honest, I have no intentions looking for a fight. I'll just ignore Sonya as usual. My dad also informed us about my mom and Gabriel arriving and that got me excited.
As promised, Gabriel showed up first and he came with his fiancée, Giovanna and she is very beautiful and easygoing. Shortly after we met Gabriel and Giovanna, we all walked into the house and got into the master living room to take our seats. They were busy admiring the decorations Kelvin had done and I can't blame them. Kelvin did a great job.
"So when are you going to start talking ?" Sonya inquired as she crossed her legs. "Or we should wait for mom to come ?"
"What are you talking about ?" Gabriel chuckled. He went over to the table in the middle of the room and took two cold water bottles. "We just arrived and you won't stop bugging me with questions. Let us settle down first. Is that what you do to your visitors ?"
"You are talking like you are a stranger we invited to a party." I chipped in.
He offered a water bottle to Giovanna and she refused politely. He drank some water before talking. "You know that's not true but let's not argue about that. Where's dad ?"
Just as he asked, dad walked into the room with a huge smile on his face. Gabriel stood and went over to hug his old man.
"Welcome back my son," he said as they separated. "It's been a while. You look different from the last time I met you. How was Italy ?"
"Thanks and Italy was amazing. I had a great time there." Gabriel replied. "Sorry we couldn't come early but I've brought my special someone with me."
They looked in Giovanna's direction and she got up to meet them. "So this is Giovanna right ?" my dad asked.
"Yes. She's the one." Gabriel answered.
"Nice to finally meet you, Giovanna." my dad said as he shook her hands.
"Nice to meet you too as well." Giovanna replied. "Gabriel has told me so much about you and it's an honour to meet you."
"Gabriel, how does dad know of Giovanna and we have no idea of her ?" Sonya spoke up.
My dad and Gabriel laughed and they ignored Sonya's question.
"It's Giovanna's first time coming here," dad faced Gabriel. "Let's show Giovanna around the house and later you guys can go to your room afterwards. The dinning would start very soon."
"Good idea." Gabriel agreed. He focused on Giovanna. "Andiamo caro."
"I guess we will never find out." I finally remarked as I got up to join them leave the room.
We all went through the hallway and showed Giovanna around some various rooms. I was hoping to see Kelvin along the way but he wasn't in sight. We got to the pool and for some reason, Gabriel and Giovanna wanted to spend some time there. So we left them there alone. I was kind of getting bored already and I had no idea on what to do. When I heard the sound of a car arriving, I rushed to check it out.
The car stopped in front of the house and I stood back, waiting to see who had arrived. The driver got out and opened the door, then to my delight, my mom came out and she was looking top tier. She was dressed like Giovanna, wearing an European wear. She walked towards the house and I hurried up to meet her. We gently embraced each other for some seconds before letting go of each other.
"Welcome mom," I greeted. "I have been waiting for your arrival since."
"Sorry for keeping you waiting," she apologized. "It's a long story and I could have arrived earlier but some change of plans made me delay and I'm sorry. What matters most is that I'm here and also, happy birthday by the way, sweetheart. You are now 24 right ?"
"Thanks mom but I'm now 23." I corrected.
"Forgive me," she laughed. "I barely keep track of my girls ages. Let's go inside dear."
We headed towards the house and she broke the silence. "I brought you the foreign clothes you asked for and I also brought a tablet specially designed for you. You use your laptop too much on your laps and it's not advisable."
So this is what Gabriel branded as "special gifts" ? My brother is a nitwit.
"That wasn't necessary," I replied. "My laptop hasn't done anything to me."
"Don't bring up that same old excuse again dear," she chuckled. "You know the truth."
We got to the living room and she met dad and Sonya. I wish I wasn't there when she met Dad cause they kissed in front of us and I felt very uncomfortable.
"Look at their faces," mom laughed when they were done. "Will you get a man who loves you like your dad loves me ? Jealous girls."
"I didn't say anything." I protested.
"Your face says it all," she responded. "Honey, let's go to our room. I've missed you so much and there are things to catch up on."
"I thought you would never ask." he replied. "Let's go sugarlips."
They locked hands and left the living room laughing hysterically. I was still traumatized from what just went on.
"The dinning will begin soon," my dad announced as he walked through the hallway. "Get ready."
Get ready for what ? I was fully clothed and I had nothing else to do. The best option I had at the moment was go to my room and that's what I did.
.
Sonya
I think I was too hasty when I confronted Delilah with the news about "Kelvin". She wasn't happy at all with what I said and she totally walked out on me. Initially, I felt annoyed but I soon calmed down and thought about the issue well. The best decision I came up with was to leave Delilah alone, so she could see what I was trying to warn her about. For this reason, I didn't tell Olivia what I did.
Two days has gone by since I met Delilah and I thought everything was going well for me. Tuesday came and my dad announced that I won't be going to work. I was glad but it meant that I wouldn't be going to the catering shop today. I didn't have to worry cause they were doing well without my intense supervision.
When I remembered it was Delilah's birthday, I felt a little indifferent about it. Dad assembled us in the parlour and when I laid my eyes on her, it immediately reminded me of Kelvin and I felt irritated. I felt like shouting on her for some reason but it took me a great amount of self-control to suppress my urges.
Gabriel and mom arrived minutes later. I hardly got a decent conversation with any of them painfully and I went to my room to take a long shower again. I wanted to forget about what I saw on Friday but it was futile. I reluctantly left the shower, dressed up and went downstairs to the dinning room. When I got there, everyone focused on me and I walked to the table to take a seat. It turns out that the dinning was about to begin and I was late.
My dad cleared his throat. "Before we begin our feast, I would like the birthday girl to pray for this dinning."
Everyone closed their eyes and Delilah said some words of prayer before everyone responded with an "Amen". Shortly thereafter, we began to eat. For the first few minutes, no one said a word till Gabriel broke the silence.
"Since we are all gathered here," he noted. "I would like to fill in what Sonya and Delilah have missed for the past two years."
"Go ahead." dad consented.
"Very well." he nodded.
I sat down well, waiting to hear his story. He started his narration shortly afterwards.
"I got the opportunity to open a business in Italy," he began. "And I was really happy about it. I explained it to dad and he allowed me to leave the country. My first months in Italy wasn't easy and I had a hard time learning the language. Everything changed when a friend introduced me to Giovanna..."
They smiled at each other and Gabriel went on. "We became friends and she helped me a lot in the country. Little by little, we fell in love and two months ago, I asked her to be my wife."
"Wait, is that all ?" I asked, confused.
"Yeah," he affirmed. "What else ? Is it my complexion ? I naturally glowed up. Is it about the language ? Giovanna taught me well. Is it about the marriage ? Mom and dad gave me their approval....."
"When did you do that, mom ?" this was from Delilah.
"Mom and I met in Italy countless times," Gabriel answered. She met Giovanna and she approved of her. I also met Giovanna's parents and they had the same reaction."
"So mom has been meeting you in Italy this whole time and she didn't say anything about it ?" I complained. "I didn't expect this from you, mom."
"What's wrong with what I did ?" mom defended. "We are not far off from each other and when I get breaks from my work, we meet up and spend some time together. Fred, is that wrong ?"
"I see nothing wrong with that, Matilda." my dad interjected.
"But you two didn't say anything about it." I replied. "Not even a word when I call you, mom."
"I simply forgot then," she shrugged. "Why are you even angry ? You barely care about anything concerning your brother. When last did you contact him ?"
"The tables have turned." Gabriel commented with a chuckle.
"I do contact Gabriel....." I managed to utter
"When was the last time ?" my mom asked again. "That's all I'm asking."
"I don't remember." I admitted. "But you can't blame me. Gabriel also doesn't contact me."
"You know very well that's a lie," he responded. "And you know why I stopped, so don't pull the innocent card at all."
"It's okay," Giovanna tried to bring the tension down. "There's no reason to make a quarrel out of this."
"There's no quarrel, amore. Just a calm argument." Gabriel smiled.
I had a lot on my mind and it was time I unleashed them. "Forget about contacting Gabriel. So are you telling me that dad allowed you to just leave the country when he wanted to hand over his businessess to you ? And dad, how aren't you even angry at him ?"
"Here we go again...." dad sighed.
"What are you even saying ?" Gabriel laughed. "Yes, dad wanted to hand over his businesses to me but like I said, I explained that the business I had in Italy was more important and he allowed me to leave. Is there a problem with that ?"
"Sonya, we've talked about this already." dad looked serious. "Don't try to resurrect what is already dead."
"What's Sonya's problem by the way ?" Gabriel asked. "Has someone offended her ?"
"Fred, is it about the business issue again ?" my mom asked.
"Yes. She's still proving....."
"So why don't you listen to me dad ?" I interrupted him. "Is that too much to ask of ?"
"Sonya," he paused. "Don't bring this up again. And that is final."
There was a loud silence after that. I continued to eat my food in anger and I refused to look at anyone on the table.
"You have been quiet the whole time, Delilah." Gabriel said to her. "I thought you also had questions."
"What's there to say ?" she responded. "Most of my questions are already answered and I didn't want to involve myself in the quarrel, you know."
"Classic Delilah." Gabriel chuckled. "I heard you completed your tertiary education last week. Congratulations."
"Thanks very much Gabriel."
"Really ?" Giovanna joined in. "Congratulations. What was your majors in the university ?"
"Oh, it was just Linguistics and Marketing." Delilah answered.
"That's impressive." Giovanna complimented. "So what are you planning to do after your tertiary education ?"
"Well, I haven't graduated yet or seen my results. So I'm currently blank." Delilah responded. "But by the time I graduate, I will have an idea on what I want to do. And hopefully, I won't be having businesses on back."
I looked sharply at Delilah after she made that reply. Is she trying to mock me ? Cryptically ? Well, she can't fool me and I won't tolerate any from of mockery from her. Not at this time.
"What do you mean by that ?" I queried her boldly and harshly after she spoke.
She watched me for a while and kept quiet.
"Can't you talk ? Are you mute ?"
"Hey Sonya, watch your words. That's your sister." my mom intervened. "Don't start this brawl all over again."
"Did you hear her mom ?" I faced her.
"What did she say wrong ?" my mom inquired. "Did she insult you or mention your name ?"
"What's happening ?" Giovanna asked Gabriel.
"Just ignore and eat amore." he replied calmly.
"She said something about businesses." I explained. "Surely that's a reference to me and owning dad's business."
"Sonya, what has gotten into you all of a sudden ?" she fired back.
"What has gotten into me ? Why don't you ask Delilah ?" I replied. "She's the one who needs to answer that question."
"Watch your tone young lady," my mom warned. "I'm not in the mood to have a fight with you."
"I'm not planning for that either mom. I'm just trying to question Delilah. That's all."
"God please help me with this woman." mom said under her breath.
"Hey Delilah. I haven't forgotten about you. What were you saying ?" I focussed on her.
My dad was about to speak but suddenly, Delilah got up from her seat and we all went quiet. We watched her walk towards the door and I wasn't going to let her slide away that easily.
"Where are you going to ? Going to meet your pervert friend ?"
Everyone looked at me and Delilah stopped in her tracks and faced me. Her face was blank and I couldn't tell what she had in her mind.