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I did not expect him to break down in tears. But he did break down in tears almost immediately. I tried calming him down even though I was not the right person to meet when one needs consolation. I talked him into not crying anymore to avoid the attention of other people sitting in the bar. That was the first time I saw a man cry so much I wondered what actually must have gone wrong. At last, he stopped crying after much persuasion and started explaining all that led to him being moody at first and then tears after.
"I am sorry for causing you so much trouble," he started. "I am just so really frustrated. I lost my job six months ago unjustly. My boss hates me for no reason suddenly. He got angry at every slightest mistake I made. He cut down my salary about five times before finally laying me off. I endured so much after losing my job; it felt like my world had collapsed. But then I had a kind of consolation – my girlfriend.”
“My girlfriend was my solid rock during those times I lost my job," he continued. “She was there for me in every area I needed her. She tried building my world together. I loved her even much more because of how much she helped me. She was even the one that helped me to get this job as a bartender in the countryside. According to her, it was at least something to start with until I got a better job. She was there for me, and because of that, I promised to always be there for her, I also promised her that things would get better soon, and she would be well taken care of as it had always been. We were head over heels in love with each other."
I began to deeply imagine how people fall in love with each other. I used to think love was a fairy tale, and it never existed. I promised myself never to believe that love ever existed. It wasn't like I had experienced heartbreak or something related to that, but I just had that belief that I could not just bring myself to fall in love with anybody. I still listened to him, though; it was fun listening to someone narrating his love story.
"I could not just imagine my life without her; even with the little I had, I made sure she was comfortable and happy being with me. It hurt me so much that I could no longer meet the basic needs of life just because I lost my job. But then, with her encouragement and advice, most times, I was able to move on with life. And then two days ago, we had a little argument. And even before the argument, I noticed that she had been giving me a very weird attitude. Sometimes, no matter the number of times I called to check up on her, she just would not take my calls. She will then call later to say she has been very busy. I have been overlooking all that just for peace to reign. The argument we had just two days ago was nothing serious. I just scolded her about her coming back late at night. She is a student; yes, I get it and she might have late-night revisions and maybe tutorials but then coming back at midnight was very unsafe, and not being security conscious at all. We argued that night when she got back; while she tried defending herself by saying that I was just being insecure, I tried explaining to her in a not so harsh tone that this had nothing to do with insecurity, but I was just trying to protect her from any danger by being security conscious. I told her that at least by 10, she should be home already and not 12, that she normally gets back home. We both went to bed that night without saying a word to each other after the arguments. Only for me to wake up this morning, and I did not find her by my side as I had always done for the past eight years! I thought she was probably in the kitchen; I checked the kitchen, but I found no one there. I checked the bathrooms the other rooms, I checked everywhere for her, but she was nowhere to be found. My heart skipped two beats. Why would she just leave without saying anything? My mind wandered in several directions, thinking about where she could have gone. I was heartbroken and devastated. She left, not even without a word for me. I called her line severally, and each time I called, it kept on saying switched off. She had probably blocked my line. I had my bath and dressed up in haste, and I dashed out to check immediately if she was on campus. I asked a few of her friends that I knew, but they all claimed not to have any idea about her whereabouts. My soul bled. I was so painedat the same time worried. I kept calling and calling her number, but it kept saying switched off. I went to the campus again today to see if she had returned or had been seen by her friends. But I got the same results today as I did yesterday. I came to my workplace with that frame of mind, and that made me look so worried and moody." He paused for a while, maybe to stop himself from shedding more tears, and then he continued. "I loved May with all my heart, andshe knew I did love her. The most painful part of it all was that she left without a word to me. She was probably tired of therelationship, I think." He stopped talking now and was silent for over 20 seconds without knowing what to say. It was as if we were both going through each other's minds to know what exactly the other was thinking and then know what to say. But I guess it was my turn to say something about the situation on the ground
"I don't even know your name to start with," I told him.
"My name is Jeff,” he told me.
"I am Wes. Wes Delvin." And we shook hands for the first time. "I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Jeff. Sometimes life just has a different path for us to follow, even though that might not be the path we want to go. I'm sure something way better than you expected will come your way.” I tried to encourage him to the best of my abilities. Sometimes I didn't have any idea of what to say again, but somehow, I found my way around it. "But are you sure you said nothing to hurt her feelings?" I asked him.
"I did not. Why will I do that to someone I loved so much?"
"I feel she will return; she's probably just really angry withyou. But even if she doesn't, take heart, Mr. Jeff. All will be well.”
"Thank you very much, Mr. Wes. Thank you for lighting up my mood," he said with a smile.
By the time we were done discussing, it was already late in the evening. That was when I remembered once again that I had not eaten. My stomach rumbled to remind me again even after my brain had done that already. I had to get something to eat. I drank the last glass of champagne left, said my goodbyes to the bartender, and made my way out of the bar. I rode to a nearby restaurant to get something to eat, and all the way, I thought about Will Carter and the plans I had for him.
Chapter Two
Kathy
The news of me expecting a child gave me mixed feelings. I was so excited to finally have a child with the one I loved so much, but that excitement came alongside sorrow. The fear of bringing forth a child into this danger and mess Will put himself into kept bothering me. I had still not told Will about the pregnancy. The truth is that I'm scared to tell him because I don't know what his reaction will be. Will he say we should keep the child? Or should I abort the pregnancy? And even if he says I should abort the pregnancy, what will be my response? Do I want to keep the child amidst all these troubles? Or do I want to kill my child?
I was still confused even now, and I didn't think I was going to tell Will anything about the pregnancy until I finally decided what I wanted for my child. It was an early Monday morning. The morning was unusually cold for this time of the season. It was another day to be at the office, one week after our vacation. I could still be caught smiling unconsciously because I still had so many memories about the so much fun I had during the vacation. It was one of the happiest days of my life. I wished every day of my relationship with Will could be like the days of our vacation. I enjoyed every bit of it. But now that was all over, and I had to resume office today. I hope I will be able to stay away from Mr. Williams and his troubles today. We haven't been getting along after that meeting we held concerning me leaving the faculty. I knew he was still going to be very angry and pissed that his plans didn't turn out well for him. He will be so ashamed of himself. I got up from the bed feeling lightheaded. I checked my bedside watch, and it was already 7:30 am. I dropped the watch to its position without the time registering in my brain. I picked it up almost immediately to be sure of what I saw, and it was 7:32 am already.
"Oh my gosh! How on Earth did I wake up this late? I had to be in the office by exactly 8 am today. I must not do anything to bring attention to myself in that faculty, and it's almost eight already. Did this happen because of the pregnancy? I never wake up this late," I said to myself angrily. I hurriedly got up from my bed and dashed into the bathroom. I had my bathe in so much hurry. I did not bother having breakfast because there was no time for that anymore. I left home at exactly 7:50 am. I was glad that I was able to meet up with the time. I'll probably just be 10 minutes late to the office; it could have been worse.
I got to the faculty quite on time and met some of my colleagues on the way to my office. They greeted me so joyfully that I began to wonder what exactly was going on. Most of them even went ahead to say, "Congratulations, Ms. Cruz.”
I was shocked to hear that, and that made me wonder even more about what exactly was going on. I got to my office and tried using my office key to open the door, but then I noticed it was not locked. I opened the door gently and walked inside, expecting to see a mess or at least something wrong with my office. Surprisingly, I met Mr. Gordons seated comfortably on the executive office chair right behind the heavily built table inmy office. I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw it was Mr. Gordons, that was seated on my chair. At least he's someone I could trust a little. But then why is he there? Why is he not in his office?
"Good morning, Mr. Gordons," I greeted him when I had entered the office properly and shut the door behind me.
"Oh, Kathleen, I am sorry I didn't notice when you entered. I was so busy trying to put everything in order according to my taste, you know," he said, smiling. I gave that look of confusion written all over my face.
According to my taste? What could he have meant by that? This is my office; for crying out loud, what exactly is going on here?
"Sorry, Mr. Gordons, but I do not understand what's going on here. This is my office, so how come you are arranging it according to your taste, or have I been sent out of the faculty even after what was concluded during the last meeting we held?"
"Oh, so sorry about that, Kathleen, my bad. I was not aware you had not been briefed about the recent happenings in the faculty. And I don't think I am in the right position to explain all of it to you, so I will suggest you go to Professor Von Ham's office. He will give you full details of what exactly is going on. But then it's nothing to worry about; you don't have to be bothered, Kathy'' He assured me. I thanked him, still looking confused and a little bit scared now. What could have happened? Why has my office been given to Mr. Gordons? I headed straight away to Professor Von's office and prayed silently that nothing terrible had happened while I was away.
“Hello Kat,” Mr. Williams greeted me from the top of the stairs. Not today; I was not in the mood to see Mr. Williams today. Why is he showing up to greet me suddenly? He had been staying clear from me for the past few weeks, so why show up all of a sudden? I was not in the mood right now for his cock and bull stories, but unfortunately, it was so. It was as if I ran out of luck meeting him here. Today he wore a nice crisp sky-blue buttoned-down dress shirt and a pair of nice navy-blue slacks. He was looking good as usual, but I wasn't interested in him as I had more important things to worry about.
“Sir, I have said it several times to please call me Ms. Cruz.”
“Come off it, Kat. That's not how to respond to someone you have not spoken to in a long while. I have missed you know, and you are looking awesome as usual, and I'm sure even up until now I'm sure you like the way I call your name, and I don't mind you showing me your claws just like a cat but keep that till when we are done settling our dispute,” Mr. Williams said as he winked at me.
I was already getting infuriated at what his words were implying, but I kept my cool as some other faculty members were passing by the pavement in front of the faculty.
“Good day, Mr. Williams,” His smile is as wide as usual, but it doesn't seem to reach his eyes. He came down the stairs and moved away from my path. I was a bit surprised, but all the same, I was happy not to be engaged in his talk this afternoon. I turned to go up the stairs but what he said stopped me in my tracks.
“I am very sure you have not heard what I have just done for you in this faculty. You should go see the dean of this faculty so that he would break the good news to you properly. I know we might not be on good terms right now, but I'm trying everything possible to make things right with you. I am sorry for any harm I must have caused you. I want you, Kathy," he said in a very apologetic tone.
