FOREVER MINE.

Chapter Twenty-two

Tip-tap tip-tap, Richard gaited across the room to the window where Jina had been glued for half an hour. The fragrance of the flowers he carried in his hands spread the room with a good feel but this didn't cut Jina a hair. She flared her nostrils and sniffed the beautiful scent and sighed heavily. "It won't be easy to coax me with your simple gifts this time. Nothing will take away the kind of humiliation you gave me today, nothing!" She thought and her face formed deep furrows citing every step that Richard took forward. Richard lay the bouquet on the bed and reduced his pace as he approached Jina.

He anticipated that this anxiety too would soon result in a cheerful moment just like in the past.  He was delighted and as expectant as a woman in labour. He stood a heartbeat away and called her in a husky alluring voice. Her heart leapt and she cursed in her heart. 

"Jina you are a fool! don't be weak." She thought and maintained her disposition. Richard leaned on her shoulder, his sharp bristles tickling her cheek. She flinched and recoiled as if he were some cold sponge that had touched her body.  She heaved in anger and with relentless effort wriggled and pushed him with her big bottom.

"Ah, Jina, that's rude!" He cried moving ounces further

Richard was frightened. The gyp of pain from his slap must have hacked her off. She was cold and indifferent like she had never been for all the years they had been together. She was now breathing heavily as if she would explode any time. 

I wish I hadn't raised my hand on you, Jina. I am a heartless monster." He reviled in his heart and was gripped with so much panic that his hair stood on end.

 Jina's character was erratic and what he feared the most was losing her. He shuffled back like a beaten dog and stooped, clutched on the blooming flowers on the bed. 

"I hope this will cheer her up. She has always loved roses." He muttered and held them in his hands. He stared at them in fright, hesitant to step forward towards his wife. All the courage began to dwindle slowly by slowly. 

Their once beautiful relationship was now at stake. 

   He was still uncertain on what to do when Jina drew out of the window and turned sharply. With disdain, she fixed a hard stare at him and Richard read the intense fury in her irises. The chasm was so strong that he felt unnerved. It seemed to squirt in the room and this made him want to fly out of the window, but he must stay to convince his wife.

In total submission, he fell on his knees and begged like a child, his heart beating violently with a throb of fear.

"Honey, please! I am sorry. I...I don't know what came over me." He spluttered with nervousness and his lips trembled. Hatred lingered in her eyes and she snubbed him without uttering a word. 

"We can sort this out, dear." He said, clasping her hand. With force, Jina incoherently used her other hand and propelled his hand off and sat poised on the bed.

His eyes filled with a slough of despair followed her direction. The sound of his voice irritated her. And she wished he would stop.

The girls waited downstairs and waited and then waited. It was past time for dinner, but neither Richard nor Jina came down.

Esther was alarmed. "Things could go worse. Why are they not coming down for dinner? She wondered and Patting Melissa on the shoulder asked,

"Do you think they are fighting? Have they perched things up?" There was anxiety in her voice as her eyes narrowed.  Fear and anguish seized her. She wasn't foolish to realise that if anything worse happened she would be held culpable. As she pondered on the possible consequences, she was gripped with uneasiness. 

Melissa, being a good judge of character, already noticed that this whole situation was beginning to affect her and it was her responsibility to console her. 

"Don't worry too much, Essie. Whatever the problem is, they will sort it out. You'll see, it won't be long and they will be smiling just like you're. They are old, remember. They know how to handle their issues,hmh."

"You think so?"

"I know I understand them."

Esther wasn't convinced. She had a conviction that everything wasn't right and she wished things would normalise soon.

"That's how they are. They always play this game." Mercy retorted smirkingly and resumed,

" Perhaps it happens with couples who love each other so much."

Esther gazed at her and smiled. She reminisced that the same often happened to her parents but soon they would make up after a quarrel and they would come out stronger.

" Mhmm, I now understand." She smirked and felt some relief. Nonetheless, this was just a perception of their narrow minds. They were too naive to understand that situations change and so do people. One never knows when this happens and the impact could be gross.

 Minutes later, Esther after gesticulating on the dangling wall clock noticed that it was getting late. She must wake up early the next morning. 

"I will have to serve dinner." She thought about it and suggested it to her cousins. They understood her plight and we're always willing to oblige for her sake.

"OK, You two set the table as I call them," Mellisa said and yawned, clasping her hands on her head.

She sprang up and walked sluggishly, gliding her hand on the rails as she climbed up the stairs. The door was locked. She could tell that there was a heated argument inside the room gauging Jina's sharp voice that countered from within though it was encumbered by the loud music. With a frown,

Mellisa stooped and peered through the keyhole but her sight was blurred by the key that was stuck inside. She was curious. "Why is mom shouting? Are they fighting? They must have increased the volume of the music deliberately." She muttered and flattened her cheek on the door but it was hard to listen to their conversation.

Richard leapt off the bed and knelt in front of his wife whose face looked as dreadful as hell. She was stone-hearted. There was nothing but hatred in her heart which overshadowed every virtue in her. With an aura of a gentleman, he lay his hands on her lap and tried to clarify his point, 

"See dear, I admit I am at fault. Take it on me. Slap me as many times as you wish, but leave Esther out of this. Breaking an ordinary cup shouldn't be made an issue." He coaxed illustratively as Jina starred in space. 

"Imagine siding with a wretched filthy girl I picked from the gutter." She said as an afterthought and clicked her tongue and the corner of her lip arched. 

Richard was hurt. Jina was adamant.  She was blaming Esther because she was poor.

"Perhaps I  should remind you, dear, that you were worse than Esther when I met you." He had said it on impulse but it heightened Jina's anger and she flared up.

"Stop! Enough!" She gasped and a spitle squirted out of her mouth. Richard sprung up irritated and headed for the door and as soon as he opened, saw Melissa at the entrance. After gazing suspiciously at her, he murmured, 

"Let's go, dear," His face was grim. He held her hand and soon Jina slammed the door behind them.