Dangerous Entanglement

episode 26

/KELVIN’S POV/

That faithful day after the whole drama at the bank, I wasn’t really myself as I was really trying hard to see where this issue was coming from, if the bank were not the ones that flagged our account, then who has Dexter offended. Well as the night grows, the thoughts began to fade as I got engrossed into the night, my attention was drawn to a group elderly men, they came in and after a moment on the dance floor, they went ahead to the bar and had a number of shots. They were so full of life, living their retirements to the fullest.

Those men made me thought about my father and subsequently my mother, I felt very terrible about her condition, I mean, why is it now that she was supposed to be reaping the fruit of her labour that she now had to develop a terminal ailment, so sad honestly. I strolled down and went to the back away from the noise and music from the loud speakers, I needed the quietness to make a call to my sister.

“Hey Sis…” I greeted immediately the call connected.

“What’s up kelv…” she responded and I wonder why it took my mother to be critically ill for me and my sister to be this close.

“How is mother holding up?” I asked her.

“She is holding up much stronger than I expected.” she responded calmly, and the response was actually very calming.

“How is studies, hope you doing great as expected?” I asked her and was imagining how she would have retorted to the second part of the question if it I had asked back when I was still in Mexico.

“Well, very good I will say, though I now reduce the days I go to classes, some of them classes are something I can just get by myself”.

“Okay that’s great, have got to go back to work, just wanted to check up on you guys”.  I said to her and began to walk towards the door.

“Alright, I will also go back to studies, good bye” she concluded from her side.

“Take care….” I disconnected the call and went straight into the bar instead of walking back into the dance floor and towards the stairs.

The bar is my calling, I really love to stay there, though it will be great if I could get a way to balance my role as the manager and also maintain my stay at the bar. Employing another manager won’t really be nice for so many reasons one of which is Dexter’s absence which will mean I will be doing that without his consent, yeah I am the manager and he had asked me to take up charge and run the club like it were mine, but I still restrict myself, maybe because of the relationship between us.

The other reason is, if I employ another manager, will he be giving me orders as I will be relegating myself to the bar, or I will still be giving orders from the bar, the whole concept sounded weird to me so hiring another hand as the manager was out of the equation.

“Hey buddy, can I join you here?” I greeted Loren immediately I stepped into the bar.

 “Oh boss, you know you always welcome here, working with you side by side is a privilege I always yarn for”. Loren started in is usual hype manner.

“You should stop the unnecessary hype you know, it doesn’t really have any effect”. I said to him shaking my head.

“This ain’t a hype boss, not to say it is unnecessary”. He said in a rebuttal to what I said.

“Okay man, whatever it might be please stop it” I pleaded with him raising my hands up upon my forehead with a closed palm.

“Okay if you say so, but the fact is that you can’t deny the fact that you bring a magic to this counter whenever you are here and I am expecting it tonight to” he said as he cleared where a customer just left.

“I know by magic you mean getting ladies and getting laid right?” I asked with my brows raised.

“Well not totally correct…” he said raising a finger to his lips with his head tilted quietly to look up demonstrating a deep thought.

“So what is totally correct?” I questioned him dramatically as I started to arrange the corner I will be staying to my own personal taste.

“Like what you doing right now…” he pointed out gesturing at what I was doing arranging the cups in a certain order.

“So… come on, that’s just my thing” I said trying to wave off his point.

“And also we will be having more ladies coming to the bar tonight” he added not minding my earlier protest as he spread is arms wide open, before I could say a word to that, a voice called out saying…

“Hello…” in a very subtle way, though it was loud enough for both of us to hear through the loud music.

“Hi… welcome, what can he do for you?” Loren sounded very courteous as he pushed me directly in front for the lady so it will be me who attends to her. I shrugged off his grip as I try to wear on a smile for the lady before me, playing with what Loren had set in motion.

“Hello, what may I offer you?” I requested from the lady whereas all that’s in my head is, why is Loren so into getting me matched with a lady, doesn’t he also wants to get laid or what.

‘If I have not known better, at this point I would have thought Loren was a gay’ I thought to myself still wearing that smile.

“Actually I am not here for the drinks, you kinda look familiar…” she said and immediately I also had this strong sudden feelings that I have seen her before, but I just couldn’t place her at that moment.

“Did you go to Brighton?” she asked and then I began to refresh my memory about her and a very terrible incident that happened back in school.

“Yeah, I did went to Brighton” I responded.

“You Dexter’s friend right, his roommate?” as soon as she asked that I remembered who she was and everything that happened that evening, she was one on Dexter’s girls, not just anyone, but the asthmatic one who almost died in boys hostel when there was a  ban on female visitors.

“Sandra…” I called out.

“Oh yeah, you Kelvin right” she responded with a very high tempo vibes.

“Wow, I can see you have been doing well for yourself” I said to her with not really total excitement.

“Well, you can say that again” she commended.

“How have you been, you not really doing bad for yourself I must say…” she tries to give me back same comment.

“Well to be fair, I am doing quite well” I said.

“I noticed you were up there…” she said pointing at the balcony.

“I thought you were on of the guess actually, but now you here, I am confused.”

“Well, I practically run this place.” I said to her.

“Run you mean you own it?” her questioned came to me with a bit of confusion.

“Well, not really owned by me, but we could actually put it that way.” I said to her.

“Okay…” she stated looking confused and facially demanding for further explanations.

“Well, I am the manager of this club, it is co-owned by me and my friend Dexter.” I said as I looked towards Loren who was pretending not to be interested by what we were discussing gave me hidden thumbs up to affirm that he was with me on the lie I just uttered when our gaze met.

“Oh really, you still together with that dumbass motherfucker?” she said cursing, I understood that since that incident she had hated him as she almost died due to his lack of simple health tips.

“Well, I won’t say he is a dumbass…” I was about to go on before she shut me up.

“Well, I will say you still doing his dirty jobs for him” she stated out and it made me all quite.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked her even though I clearly know what she meant.

“We all know you helped him out in all his academics…” Sandra began to say.

 “You were the smart one, whom we all wanted to date…” she added quickly.  

“But you always snooze, and you know what they say, you snooze…”

“You lose…” Loren completed the statement and quickly held his lips close after my stern look at him.

“Exactly…” she affirmed pointing at Loren.

“But aside being smart, I think you are also one damn lucky ass”. She said as she finally grabbed a stool to sit on.

“Okay… what are you driving at?” I asked her as I poured her a drink from one of our complimentary bottle.

“Well, only a few lucky people are born to have second chances to a take a shot at things in life.” She said and had a sip from the bottle.

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