Marriage and Annulment

“Come in, your talking too much.” their mother rebuked.

“Nice to meet you,” I said just now.

“We, too,” they added.

And entered the kitchen.

The three men went after them. They were with their children. These men are the husband’s of Mitch’s three siblings, I believe.

“We have a visitor, dad and mom,” the man with the banana said.

“Yes, Mitch, your sister’s boyfriend.”

They said, “Nice to meet you, bro.”

“Me, too; can you come with me to the city? It’s still early; I’ll just buy something we can eat later,” I said.

“All right, now?”

“Yes.”

I stood up and bid Mitch’s mother and father farewell. When Mitch called, the four of us were about to leave.

“Zander, where are you going? You three really, where are you going to take him? I’m going to hit your heads.” Mitch sermon.

“Sister, he invited us to buy a dish and food in the city; you really are. you always think bad of us,” the curly-haired man said.

“OK, get out, but hurry up,” Mitch said.

We were already on our way to town in search of a ride. In front of us, a tricycle whizzed by.

We’ve already begun our trip.

“Brother, maybe you can recommend a job for us; we’d like to experience the city’s meltdown; we’re tired of it here in the province,” said the semi-bald man.

I’m laughing out loud.

“I’m not from the city, but I live in the province, and I don’t own a business, so you might think I’m wealthy,” I explained. “I’m a public school teacher.”

“Are you sure? Why is your skin smooth? You appear to come from a wealthy family,” another person inquired.

“It’s also very convenient for me to buy things since I had a job; I won’t promise anything, but if I find a friend who owns the company, I’ll let you in.”

“Any job. A hut cleaner. A janitor. We’re going to work. We’re already black in plowing the fields here.”

“That’s how life is, just be patient a little, and we can get up too,” I explained.

When we arrived in town, the first thing we did was look for a dish to buy.

“Can I have something, Brother?”

“What is that?” 

“Two bottles of wine, if that’s all right with you.”

Jordan, you idiot, you just met your brother-in-law and you’re already asking for alcohol. Alas! When Mitch finds out, she will undoubtedly scold you again.”

“It’s only now, Cardo, so don’t bother.”

“All right, go get two bottles of wine.”

After a half-hour of shopping, we returned on the tricycle we had ridden earlier, making him wait for us so we wouldn’t have to look for anyone else.

I dozed off with my head on the table. A loud knock jolted me awake, and I pushed hard on the door to my office. And when I saw Mr. Chin’s sweaty face, my blood pressure rose. I got to my feet and approached him. When he knelt in front of me, I would have slapped him. But I restarain myself since I know I had many respect in my system.

“I’m sorry, Zaneska, I didn’t mean to har you that night. I was drunk at the time, so I didn’t know what I was doing. I hope you forgive me, and please help me convince your uncle to just forgive me. He sued me. He reported me to the police. And he banned me from coming here. He wanted me back there in our place. Please, Zaneska, I will never come near you again as long as you just drop your complaint against me.

“I’m not sure what you’re saying, Mr. Chin; I already told my Uncle that I won’t complain about what you did, but since he did, you’ll talk to him; I hope you don’t do anything that will hurt your personality; you’re a businessman, but when everyone finds out what you did, that’s the beginning of the end of your career,” I said.

Mr. Chin begged, “No, Zaneska, please ask your uncle.”

“All right, I’ll try to talk to him; I’m not in this to hurt you, even if you don’t respect me,” I said.

Mr. Chin was taken aback and bow his head. 

“I’m sorry, Zaneska,” he says, “I swear I’m really sorry for what I did to you.”

“Okay, go home and fix yourself.”

He smiled at me and walked away. I exhaled a sigh. When that person is drunk, he terrifying. I’m not sure what his life was like there, but he’ll take care of himself. Calvin entered after Mr. Chin had left.

“Oh, why?” 

“What is that man doing here, and why does he appear insane?”

“Nothing, he just came over and asked me a question; you? What do you need?” I asked.

Calvin replied, “Nothing, I was just checking on you.”

“Wow, I was touched,” I admitted.

“Yeah, because now I’m still embarrassed; it’s a good thing you’re not like the other rich villains in the movie, who will charge the person immediately if they make a mistake,” Calvin explained.

“Don’t worry, by the way, have you told your mother? We’ll go to the house later, and I’ll accompany you.”

“Yes.”

“Please buy me lunch outside, and you buy as well,” I say.

“I’m full, sister; the girls bought me foods earlier; they ate breakfast in the morning because they were afraid of becoming hungry, but they didn’t gain weight,” Calvin explained.

I’m cracking up.

“Mr. Chin, I remember seeing him. Our neighbor who works in China turned out to be his girlfriend. He made that woman of four and he just left. And now he is trying to fool you,” Calvin said.

“That’s why your blood is boiling over him.”

“I’m leaving,” Calvin said as he walked out of my office.

I was left to mull over my options. I’m not to blame if some people are offended and decide to leave. It is not their fault if they abandon someone. No matter what the woman or man does, they will never be able to stop someone who has lost love for them.

So perhaps I reached this age without even attempting to love because my heart and mind were closed to love. I avoid being hurt because I am aware of the person who is being hurt and what they have been through. But, seeing how happy Mitch is, I feel compelled to try to love.

I was thinking so hard that I didn’t notice Calvin had already entered my office.

“This is your lunch, sister; you really need to eat because you appear to have succumbed to extreme hunger,” Calvin explained.

I widened my eyes at him, but all he did was laugh and walk out of the office.

We’re all in the kitchen now, getting ready to eat. At the table, I sat next to Mitch.

“Sister, why do we put up with our crowded kitchen here when we can take a table and put it outside so we can all eat there? It’s embarrassing for my brother-in-law,” Cardo complained.

“Have you thought about it yet? When are we going to eat? No matter when you’re confused. Zander isn’t complaining about that. You have more complaints than he does.” Mitch responded.

We were all laughing.

“It’s fine with me like this; I don’t mind being in such a crowded place,” I explained.

“It’s good, brother-in-law, you’re too humble; we won’t be ashamed of our simple life,” Jordan said.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I simply smiled.

“Are you leaving right now, Mitch?” Mitch’s father inquired.

“Yes, Dad, I’ll just take Zander and come back here when we get paid for work. We’re leaving quickly, and even if they’re on school vacation, he’ll have a lot to do,” Mitch replied.

“I’ll be back here when I’m not too busy, Aunt,” I said.

“We will, indeed, wait for you.”

I simply smiled.

We left the house after we finished eating.

We were standing in the shade of a mango tree. We sat down on the plank of wood. At seven o’clock in the evening, it was already dark. Add more, such as rain from bad weather. Mitch and I were seated next to one another.

“Why can’t mangoes ever fall in here?”

“Perhaps not,” Mitch countered.

“It’s quiet with you; don’t you have a neighbor? This is the only house I see,” I remarked.

“There are many, but they are in the back, and this is where you passed on the other side, so you don’t have a house to see,” Mitch explained.

“There’s no star coming out now, and I can’t wish,” I said out of nowhere.

“What would you wish for if there was a star?” Mitch inquired.

“I can’t say, Love, because it might not come true.” was my response.

“Like that? But you know, when we’re at home, we can’t stay in bed because my parents are too conservative; maybe tomorrow we’ll get married,” Mitch joked.

“I prefer that as well, so you can truly be mine,” I explained.

Mitch was taken aback.

“Zander, when we’re talking about marriage right now, it’s not yet time, and it’s too early for that matter,” Mitch said.

I took Mitch’s hand in mine.

“I understand,” I said, “but when you’re ready, I won’t let you go.”

“Me, too. We’re leaving tomorrow because there are a lot of customers. Amara called, and her mommy said I can’t stay long,” Mitch explained.

“Yes, by the way, how is Amara doing?”

“I’m not sure, we never discussed them with Duke.”

“Yeah, Duke’s birthday is the next day,” I explained.

“Is that correct? We really need to get home,” Mitch said.

“Let’s go inside, we need to sleep, and there’s another swarm of mosquitoes outside,” Mitch said.

“Yeah, I’d rather have your bite than a mosquito bite,” I jokingly stated.

“Stupid!” exclaimed Mitch.

We also went inside their house.