#THE_MIRACLE_I_nee-d_2
EPISODE 18
Kimberly had a smile on her face as she walked out of the bathroom dressed in a Mickey mouse shorts and t©p, re-ady to join Eric on her be-d. Eric who was lying on the be-d, dressed in pyjamas, spre-ad out his hands in a welcoming manner for her to join him, and without hesitation, she lowered herself to the be-d and into his arms. She l@ydown facing him, with her head on his che-st.
“I missed your scent,” Kimberly said in a small voice as she sniffed his b©dy. He always smelt fresh and nice.
“I missed holding you like this,” Eric whispered and then he sniffed her hair, “You nee-d to wash your hair,” he said, ma-king her move away from him self-consciously, but he drew her back.
“It doesn’t smell so bad yet. But you will have to be washing it at least every weekend. I want your hair to always smell nice. You know you are always wearing wigs so your hair tends to be stuffy,” Eric said ma-king Kimberly roll her eyes.
“Yes sir,” she muttered un-der her breath. They had not spent a week together and all he could talk about was the smell of her hair? Like seriously? This man really had to lecture her on hair hygiene? He was just something else, Kimberly thought irritably and closed her eyes.
“Babe?” Eric called after some time when he s-en-sed she was beginning to doze off.
“Hm?” She asked sleepily.
“Do you really love me?” Eric asked, ma-king her sit up to look at him with a frown as the sleep disappeared from her eyes.
“You still doubt me?”
“No. That’s not what I mean. I mean, do you really love me? Like, love me enough to want to marry me for real? I’d really love to make what we have official so you can finally meet my family, and be my wife in every s-en-se of the word,” Eric said as he sat up too.
A lump formed in Kimberly’s throat and her heart fluttered. Even though she knew she was supposed to be embarras-sed that she was about to have an awkward conversation with him, she just couldn’t find it in her to keep her thoughts to herself, “Eric you know I’m still un-dergoing thera-py…”
“I know. But tell me something, don’t you think I can satisfy all your S-xual cravings to the point that you won’t want anyone else to t©uçh you? If I’m with you every time you have a S-xual urge would you still want to be with someone else?” Eric asked, taking both her hands in his own when he noticed how tense she was.
“I… I don’t know,” Kimberly said as tears formed in her eyes. For the first time in her life, she really wanted something worthwhile with a man, and didn’t want to ruin it.
“It’s a good thing I know enough for two. I’m willing to risk it. You can keep attending thera-py while I try my best too…”
“Eric…”
“Believe me, Kim, I’ve given this a whole lot of thought, and I think maybe your problem isn’t promiscuity. Maybe it is not the idea of being with different men that appeals to you. It might just be that you have a very high libi-do but go to different people for satisfaction because you’re not in a committed relationsh!pwith anyone, think about it,” Eric suggested.
Kimberly’s brows drew together thoughtfully, “You really think so?” She asked.
“Yes. But we won’t know if we don’t give it a try, right?”
“Should we give it a try now?” Kimberly asked too eagerly, ma-king him chuckle.
“Marry me first. I want to pay your bride price and show everyone that you’re my wife,” Eric said ma-king her look at him thoughtfully.
“You’re not scared? I know you’re scared of being cheated on, but wanting to marry me and give this a try is risky,” Kimberly pointed out.
“Of course I’m scared. But what is love without trust? I trust you to protect my heart,” Eric said with a small smile.
“But I don’t trust myself,” Kimberly said with a shake of her head.
“I know you want to change as much as I want you to change. So st©p overthinking things and let’s do this, okay?”
“Are you sure? Maybe we should just continue with this fake marriage thing for a year and see how it goes?” She suggested.
“And what should happen if after the end of the year you are still un-dergoing thera-py? I should leave you and marry someone else?” Eric asked, c0cking his head to the side to look at her.
“I don’t know… But I should get better by the end of the one year, right?” She asked hopefully.
“And you will be okay if I don’t t©uçh you within this one year?” He asked again.
“You won’t t©uçh me? Why?” She asked with a frown.
“I know we signed some papers at the court, but I’m not tou-ching you until I’ve paid your bride price. We are Africans, and I love to follow due processes,” Eric said ma-king her sigh.
“What happens if I sli-p? What if I can’t help it, and I cheat on you?” Kimberly asked with a frown.
“I’m sure you can always help it as long as you don’t go to p@rties or places you could easily get tem-pted, without me. Even if you end up cheating on me, I’ll be very hurt and devastated, but I won’t leave you,” Eric promised.
Kimberly drew in a long breath and let it out slowly, “Okay. Fine. I love you anyway, and I’m sure there is nob©dy else I would rather do this marriage thing with. So let’s get married for real,” Kimberly said with a nod, ma-king him raise a brow..
“You’re sure about that?” Eric asked, an smiled when she nodded.
“Of course. As long as it’s you, I’m sure I can do anything. So when are we getting married? This weekend?” She asked, ma-king him chuckle.
“We will talk about that later. So tell me something, how many kids would you love us to have?” Eric asked, ma-king Kimberly’s eyes wi-den slightly.
Kids? She had never really given much thought to that since she had always thought she would never be able to get married with her lifestyle. She had thought that if ever she had to have a child, she would have to adopt. But hearing this now, it occurred to her that getting married meant she would not only have S-x but also become pregnant and have kids of her own. Like she could actually have kids of her own? Kids who probably would look like Eric and a little bit like her? She would be a mother? The thought of that alone made tears gather in her eyes.
“Are you about to start crying?” Eric asked when he noticed the way her facial expression changed, “Why? You don’t want children?” Eric asked when a tear dropped from her eyes and she suddenly broke into a sob.
Eric moved closer to her and pu-ll-ed her to himself so she could cry as much as she wanted on him, while he tried to figure out what the problem was. Why was she crying? Was it that she wasn’t capable of having children? Was it possible that because of her former lifestyle she couldn’t have kids? If that was the case then maybe they could both find a way around it, right? His parents would probably not be very happy about it, but once he made it clear it was what he wanted they wouldn’t be able to oppose anything.
“Baby… Don’t worry, everything will be okay, no matter what it is.”
“Everything is okay… It feels like… Like… I’m dreaming,” Kimberly said in muffled sobs as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
“What feels like a dream?” Eric asked curiously as he tried to wipe her tears with his hands.
“You. You feel like a dream. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve a person like you,” Kimberly said as she looked into his face, ma-king him smile.
“I wonder what you did to deserve me too,” Eric tea-sed, ma-king her giggle.
“You’re supposed to say something sweet in return, not something c0cky,” She chided.
“I’m sure something sweet wouldn’t have made you laugh. I’ve never met a person as emotional as you. I suppose it’s one of the sweetest things about you. You cry over everything,” Eric said with a chuckle.
“About your question, I want six kids. Five boys and a girl,” Kimberly said, startling Eric. Although he was glad he had thought wrong and she could have children, but what did she mean by six?
“Wh…at?” Six? In this pres£nt age and time?
Kimberly bobbe-d her head excitedly as she raised both hands, showing him six f!ngers, “Yes. Six.” She said, flashing him a big smile.
He opened his mouth to argue with her but shut it when something occurred to him. She would naturally change her mind about the number of kids she wanted after having the first child, so there was definitely no nee-d to argue with her.
“Okay then. Six it is.”
“How do you want them? Three boys and three girls I guess?” He asked, humoring her.
“No. Maybe five boys and a girl,” Kimberly said immediately.
“Five boys? Why?”
“Female children nee-d so much care and attention, so if she has five brothers, they will all look after her. Besides, don’t think I don’t know female children are always closer to their father.”
“Oh! I see. Anyway, I want five girls and a boy. I want all my daughters to look like you. I can only pray they don’t cry as much as you do, else I would give up on wearing shi-ts,” Eric said, ma-king Kimberly hit him pla-yfully.
“Another thing…” Eric said, looking serious all of a sudden as he looked at her.
“What is it?”
Eric cleared his throat, “You know you would have to move into my house after we get married, right?”
“Oh!” Kimberly exclaimed. That had completely skipped her mind. She frowned when she remembered his house, “That house?”
Eric winced, “I’m sorry,” he said apologetically.
“It’s okay. Wow! I never thought I would ever leave this house,” Kimberly said as she looked around her room.
“Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?” Eric asked, watching her curiously.
“I suppose it’s a good thing. I feel like everything is changing for me. I even went to church last Thursday,” Kimberly said, ma-king Eric look at her with interest.
“You did?” He had been at work so he had no idea what she had done after work.
“Yeah. Kathleen told me about a prayer meeting they hold on Thursdays in her church, so I decided to st©p by. And I didn’t tell you, I finally finished that book too,” Kimberly said, ma-king Eric smile.
“That is good. Do you know what I think you nee-d? You nee-d to go to church more too. My pastor always says Grace comes in the place of service. It is while you’re serving God he gives you the grace to do away with things that don’t glorify him. So how about we go to my Church together tomorrow? Since you don’t belong to any p@rticular church family, you could join me in mine, and maybe we could get wedded there too unless you’d prefer to get wedded in your father’s church,” Eric suggested.
“You don’t think some people might know me there?” She asked skeptically.
“Every saint was once a sinner. I’m sure if we look into most of them, we would find something horrid too, so st©p being so harsh on yourself, okay?”
“Okay,” Kimberly said with a nod as she stood up from the be-d.
“Where are you going to?” Eric asked curiously.
“I want to see if I have something nice to wear to church,” she told him without looking back as she opened her closet and started taking out the go-wns in the hanger to see which one most suited her, while Eric inspected her.
“I think that one looks good,” Eric finally said with approval when she picked out a simple off-the-shoulder knee-length penciled Ankara go-wn with a tiny slit and a bow behind it.
Eric watched in amusement as she fussed with the go-wn and then started looking for shoes to match it. His mother had called while Kimberly was in the bathroom to find out how it went, and they had all been delighted to hear that she had finally forgiven him. What he nee-ded to do now that he had convinced her to marry him, was put every plan in motion for their marriage… He paused when something occurred to him. Kimberly was yet to see his parents.
“Love?”
“Yeah?” She answered distractedly.
“What about meeting my parents tomorrow?” He asked, ma-king her heart skip a beat as she spun around to look at him.
“What? Tomorrow?”
“Yeah. We could fly to Abuja after service tomorrow and come back on Monday morning in time for us to go to work?” Eric suggested as he stood up from the be-d and approached her.
“I don’t know. Do you think I’m re-ady to meet them? What if they disapprove of me?” She asked with a worried frown.
“Kim, you’ve spoken with my mom before, remember? And you said you thought she was nice. Besides, she’s the one who recommended the thera-pist for you. They know everything about you.” Eric said, placing both hands on her shoulder and giving her a reas-suring smile.
“They do?” Kimberly asked with wi-de eyes.
“Yes. And they love you. So you have nothing to worry about. Meeting them is just for formality’s sake. Besides, Wumi alre-ady told them about you too, and she would be there, so relax, okay?” Eric said, ma-king her nod even though she was still feeling nervous.
“Okay. If you say so.”
“I love you Kim, and trust me, I’ve got your back,” he said as he dropped a k!sson her forehead before embr@cing her.
_______________
“Happy birthday!” Both Isioma and Sharon exclaimed immediately Kathleen walked out of her be-droom that morning.
Kathleen smiled happily, “Thank you.”
Who would have thought she had been feeling very apprehensive and unexcited about this day for the past couple of months? But now that the day was here, she felt so happy, blessed, thankful, hopeful, and optimistic.
“I’m sure Pete is going to get you something nice and take you to somewhere nice, so let me give you my cheap gift before he gives you something expensive,” Sharon said as she handed her a beautiful blue colored v-n£¢ked, long-sleeved, penciled three-quarter go-wn, which was cinched at the w@!st, “You can wear this to church today unless of course, you think it’s too cheap,” Sharon said with a wi-nk.
“Awww, thank you so much. Now I feel guilty for not getting you anything on your birthday,” Kathleen said as she raised the go-wn to check it out. It looked really simple and decent, yet S-xy and clas-sy in a way.
“Yes. The guilt should eat you up. Next year you can get me a car,” Sharon said, ma-king Kathleen and Isioma laugh.
“Thief. Person nuh suppose to first fit buy bicycle before they buy motor? (Shouldn’t I be able to afford a bicycle before buying a car?)” Kathleen asked amidst her laughter.
“Sist NG, I don’t have any money to buy you anything. But don’t worry, next year I will buy you something, you hear?” Isioma said apologetically.
“Don’t worry jor, let’s go and prepare for church, I don’t want to be late today. Let me go and check on Amanda before I have my bath,” Kathleen said before dropping the go-wn on the arm of one of the chairs and walking out of the house.
“Where is your father?” Kathleen asked Amanda when she saw her eating a bowl of cornflakes at the dining, and looking prepared for church alre-ady.
“He had to leave really early for a meeting. You know he is the first son and has to be there,” Chidi explained apologetically as he joined them while bu-ttoning his shi-t.
“Oh,” Kathleen muttered, trying not to sound very disappointed.
He hadn’t even waited to wish her happy birthday before leaving? No call, no text, and not even a WhatsApp message? Kathleen thought with a heavy heart.
She wondered what Isioma and Sharon would think about it. They had been expecting him to do something big for her birthday, but all she had wanted was a simple birthday wish from the man she loved, yet it seemed like Pete had completely forgotten what d@t£ it was. Maybe it was because they only just recently started d@t!ngand he had a lot on his mind, hence he had forgotten, Kathleen reasoned with a sigh.
She wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it. She was just going to go to church and thank God for adding a new year to her age. Even though she felt disappointed that he seemed to have forgotten her birthday, she knew he didn’t love her less. So she was going to also thank God for giving her a thoughtful and kindhearted man like Pete who really loved her.
“I should go and get re-ady then,” Kathleen said with a f0rç£d smile before returning to her ap@rtment. Even though she had come up with an excuse for Pete, she still felt sad and less excited about the day now.
She quic-kly showered and just as sli-pped on the go-wn Sharon had gotten her, Sharon walked into the room, “Kat, today is your birthday and you nee-d to be glammed up. Allow me to make you up,” Sharon suggested as she dropped some make-up items on Kathleen’s dressing table.
“We don’t have time for that. Chidi and Amanda are re-ady, and we are going to just keep them waiting unnecessarily,” Kathleen said impatiently.
“Just give me fifteen minutes. I won’t waste your time I promise. Just something very light and simple,” Sharon pleaded as she dragged Kathleen over to the chair in front of the dressing table and lowered her to it.
“Isi, bring those press-on nails I gave you to keep for me. Come and fix it for her as I do the makeup,” Sharon called out ma-king Kathleen frown.
“What press on nails? You know I don’t like things like that,” She asked in annoyance. What was the point in getting glammed up for her birthday if Pete wasn’t around to see it and he wasn’t even taking her anywhere? She just wanted to go to church, come back home, and sleep off the rest of the day.
“Relax. It’s detachable. You’ll just wear it today, and take it off before going to be-d. Plus I made sure it’s very short, so it doesn’t inconvenience you,” Sharon as-sured her as Isioma walked into the be-droom with a pack of short nûd£-colored press on nails, which had glitters and floral designs on them.
“plea-se hurry up, I don’t un-derstand this one that you people are doing,” Kathleen said irritably, but neither Sharon nor Isioma complained as they made up her face and fixed her nails.
“Shey you said it’s just fifteen minutes?” Kathleen asked thirty minutes later.
“Wait jor, it’s remaining small. Why are you rushing as if you’re the one holding the key of the church?” Sharon asked as she continued what she was doing.
Ten minutes later she stepped away from Kathleen, “I’m done, let me quic-kly wear my clothes,” Sharon said as she hurried to the wardrobe to take out her clothes.
Twenty minutes later they were all inside the car driving to church after Sharon had made them all snap several pictures together. Chidi was driving, and Kathleen was sitting in front with him, while Sharon, Isioma, and Amanda were seated at the back together.
“Aunty Kat are you fine?” Amanda asked curiously when she noticed the way Kathleen was just staring straight ahead without contributing to the conversation.
Kathleen f0rç£d a smile, “Yes darling, I’m okay,” She as-sured her, but remained silent.
Three hours later, Kathleen was still not very excited but she felt better after being in God’s pres£nce, “How was service?” She asked Amanda and listened as Amanda listed everything she learned.
Chidi’s phone rang, and he quic-kly received the call, “Yes. We are on our way home,” He said and ended the call.
“Is that Amanda’s father?” Kathleen asked curiously.
“Yes. He wanted to know if we have closed from church,” Chidi explained, ma-king Kathleen frown as she picked up her phone to see if her phone was off or her network bars were missing. Why was he calling Chidi instead of her? She wondered with a frown.
“What is that?” Amanda asked, pointing to the left side.
“What?” Kathleen asked, turning to see what Amanda was pointing at.
“Look up,” Amanda said excitedly, ma-king Kathleen glance skyward. A plane was flying far ahead of them but it was carrying something like a banner. She squinted her gaze to see what was written, but it was too far above.
And as though whoever was flying the plane knew she was trying to re-ad what was written, the plane drew closer enough for her to see what was displa-yed on the banner. Her breath caught when she saw the words displa-yed on the banner, and she raised both hands to cover her mouth which was gaping open.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY NGOZIKA KATHLEEN OKORIE. WILL YOU BE MY WIFE?”
WATCHOUT FOR EPISODE 19