Married but Single

Chapter Two: ( Meet Alex Jess)

One cool evening, sometimes in April, Pedro and his wife were eating in their dinning room when they heard a knock at the door. Mrs Pedro walked to the door and opened it. Standing before her were; a man, a woman with another young boy; maybe a bit older than Nina.

The visitors exchanged greetings with Mrs Pedro and she then ushered them into her sitting room where she made them sit down, while she went over the dining room to join her husband.

"I wonder what they want?" Mrs Pedro asked her husband as they hurried over their meal in order to attend to their visitors . When they were done eating, Pedro went over to the sitting room where the visitors sat and waited patiently.

"Apologies for taking your time," Mr Pedro said'. My wife and I were already eating before your arrival, so we had to finish up. He exchanged pleasantries with his visitors and then a proper introduction was made by one of the visitors.

" My name is Jess, this is my wife - Kate, and that is our Son Alex."

Jess continued with his speech.... He told Mr Pedro that he and his family returned home from Europe for good. They want Alex to acclimatize with African culture. They want him to enroll in high school in their home town and probably finish his University education in Africa too.

"So, how do I come in? I mean, what can I do to assist you?" Mr Pedro asked Jess. Jess cleared his throat. "Well, we are here to ask if you can rent out your boy's quarters to us." 'Our family house is in bad shape and we can't live there.'

" You see, I will have to discuss with my wife and get back to you tomorrow," Mr Pedro said. The visitors got up and took their leave while Mr Pedro saw them off.

Mr and Mrs Pedro had an early night. They totally forgot to discuss Mr Jess and his family's visit. The next day was Sunday. Mrs Pedro woke up quite early to prepare breakfast for her family. When she was done cooking, the family of three sat and had a quiet breakfast.

Having finished their meal, Mr Pedro drove his family down to St. Michael Cathedral for morning mass. On their way, Mrs Pedro asked her husband the purpose of Mr Jess and his family visit.

"Ah! My bad!," Mr Pedro exclaimed. "I totally forgot to discuss that with you."

He then narrated his discussion with Jess' in detail to his wife. The couple agreed that it will be good for them to rent out their boys quarters to the Jess'. Apart from the income that could come from the rental fee, their daughter needs a friend.

Nina smiled and giggled all through as she listened to her Parents conversation. She was so excited to hear that another child will soon be living in their compound. Although she is used to having no friends and living a quiet life. She sometimes wishes she had siblings. She had on several occasions pleaded with her mother to give birth to another child. Her mother's response has always been; "its God that gives children and he will give us more when the time comes." "When will the time come?" Nina pondered in her mind. But such questions are never answered.