To Love Again

Chapter six

Selene woke up early on Easter Sunday to start preparing for her party. She marinated the huge turkey which weighed almost 5kg and placed it inside the oven at low heat to roast. 

She loved banana bread so much and decided to bake some when she saw some overripe bananas in her fridge. She made her own healthy mayonnaise using fresh organic eggs, avocado oil, Apple cider vinegar, a tablespoon of sugar and a pinch of salt, she whisked it on high speed and it came out creamy and tasted perfect, just the way she liked it. 

She sliced some cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes for a salad. Before noon the dinner table was decorated with fine turquoise lace material and on it was laid the perfectly roasted brown turkey, salads, gravy sauce, rice, banana bread. The whole house smelled of delicious goodness.

The Easter party was a huge success, you could hear Mary and her friends giggling at the front yard. Selena's employees were all present except for Mrs. Jones who had to nurse her sick husband. He had just suffered a minor stroke and had to be admitted to the hospital for three days now. Thankfully he was responding to treatment. 

All the guests arrived on time, each came with a gift, Francis had been able to convince Kim and Cindy's parents to allow their children to come for the party, he also extended the invite to them which they gladly accepted.  

They all had been so busy attending to guests, the turnout was massive as they weren't expecting many people to come, Selena had to make several trips to the grocery store to restock on cabbage, lettuce, carrots and more wine. They were thrilled the party was a huge success. When the last visitor left, they all heaved a sigh of relief.

"Today went great, I had mad fun," Selena said as she poured out wine for herself and Francis, Stella declined and settled for a cup of coffee.

"I didn't see much of you two today," Selena asked, staring at her brother and Stella who was now blushing. Francis had this glint in his eyes or was it love Selena wondered.

"We were in your garden, admiring your flowers. They were all beautiful." Francis and Stella had been strolling in her garden, holding hands. They both sat on the bench in the garden, he cupped her face in his hands making her face him. Stella's face was flushed from the heat her body generated from his touch.

 "I love you.., and I want to kiss you." He said, looking into her eyes. "I would love that."  She said feeling both shy and immense joy at the same time. 

He placed a light kiss on her lips, the nape of her neck, her cheeks then kissed her lips with an ardent fierceness. Both poured over their hearts into the kiss, enjoying each other, never wanting to let go. Stella had dated twice and both relationships didn't end well, and she decided to focus on her career. She was only twenty-five years and still a virgin.

Francis didn't want the kiss to end but he had to keep his emotions in check. He really loved Stella and found her attractive. She was petite and had curly red hair, she wasn't the prettiest girl he had met before. However, he loved her just the way she was and how kind and thoughtful she was towards people.

He gently pulled his lips away from hers, and her eyes fluttered open. "We must go back into the house, the guests might be leaving already." He held out his hands for her, which she took and stood up. Hand in hand they walked into the house, excited about what the future held for them.

They were all exhausted from the party and decided to clean up the next day. Stella agreed to sleep over so she could help with the cleaning and was assigned the guest room to sleep in.

The next day; they cleaned up the mess from last night's party. Selena made bacon, fried eggs, and toast for breakfast, after which Francis dropped Stella off at her place. They kissed and set a date for Saturday. 

Francis felt like a young boy who just got candy, he played his favorite song by Toni Braxton "Breathe Again" and sang along as he rode home in his BMW. "Life was good." He thought as he sped home.

He dropped his car keys on the kitchen counter, poured himself some cold fresh juice from the fridge, and went to the sitting room. The sitting room had drapes of creamy brown silk and the walls were painted white just like Selena liked. 

She was sitting on her large black leather couch reading a fictional love story by Lori Wick when her brother walked in she dropped the book and faced him smiling. 

"What took you so long, Sit beside me."  She made some space for him on the couch.

Francis gladly accepted the offer, they both chatted about the party and how successful it went. Selena stretched her long legs and yawned.

"Are you tired?" Francis asked, " why don't you go to bed."

"Am okay, just stiff from sitting here so long, So what's the catch between you and Stella."

"I think I'm in love, she completes and I feel content whenever she is around me." He laid back on the couch and sipped his juice. Selena had never seen him so determined about a situation.

"I haven't known her for long, but she has worked for you for some years now, What do you think about her?." Francis wanted his sister's advice, she has had a fair share in love matters and he believed in her sense of judgment. 

Selena didn't need to be asked twice, she loved Stella like a sister and would love to have her as a family member. "She is a nice girl, kind and generous. I would really love for you to date her." She said as she removed the strands of hair that fell over her face. They both sat in companionable silence, both lost in their own thoughts.