CHAPTER FOUR: UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS

“Erica, can you believe that next year we’ll both be sitting for our final exams?” Bellah said with excitement in her voice, oh yes I’m excited too, I never thought agreeing to be your nanny would give me the opportunity to go back to school and Aunt Jenna has been really good and supportive. Erica answered back with a smile plastered on her face. If my parents were here today they’ll be so happy and proud of me, come to think of it, if they were alive, I’d not have met you and Aunt Jenna. They hugged each other, there was a silence between them for a while as they continue to embrace each other.

Hey, is it okey if you tell me what happened to your parents? Bellah was curious but same time concerned all the years they’ve been together Erica has never talked about her family. My family story is a boring one you might end up falling asleep, Erica responded. Its okey Erica I have always been a good listener since I was young, okey I’ll tell you about it but we still have things to do, let us go back in the house, you don’t want Aunt to come back and find out that we’ve not done anything but spent half of the time playing and lazing out. Bellah jumped on Erica’s back and went back to the house.

The two girls started what they were meant to do, it was end of the year and Christmas was around the corner and as it has always been their tradition, they decorated the house, the trees and put all kind of decorations including balls with their names and of course Bel had one too, this Christmas was special because Bellah’s grandparents were coming to spend Christmas with them and they also had another surprise for the family.

The two girls counted their blessings and were happy to be in each other’s lives and felt more blessed that Jenna was the reason, they’re living this life and they always wanted her to be happy. Jenna was determine to give these two the best life ever, to her they brought a meaning to her life and even if she was given a chance to choose, she would choose them again over and over.

The house was looking great, when Jenna walked in, she was stunned how these beautiful souls have worked so hard, she’s been enjoying the life she had missed for so many years, she sat on the sofa and started to cry, she couldn’t believe that after loosing her husband, God would still bless her this much, she hugged both of them, I love you both very much, always remember that, Jenna’s emotions have never stabilized all these years, whenever something happened she cried so Erica and Bellah have gotten used to it and all they could do is stay by her side and let her cry as long as she wanted until she could calm herself down.

Each year since they became a family this was the first time they were spending Christmas at home, each year they travelled, Jenna wanted Bellah to continue enjoying the things she used to do every Christmas, but this year was different, they both agreed to spend it at home.

Kayla and her family were also spending Christmas in the city, Kayla knew that the family of three were spending this holiday home, she knew it was time to introduce herself to her new neighbours and she wanted to do it during Jenna’s birthday.

Kayla was satisfied that her princess was happy, each day she watched her from a far playing with Erica, she was happy too that Erica never left. “Do you think if I was still alive, I could have given these two the kind of life they have now?” Kayla turned to her grandparents who were sitting with her on the balcony watching them play. “Child you have a good heart and I’m sure you could have been a good mother to your daughter, look at the things you’ve done, God was never wrong to have given you another chance in life” grandfather answered, smiling at his granddaughter, who was looking at him. Grandpa has already realized that Kayla missed being part of her child’s life, both with his wife wanted to see sparkle in her eyes again, she’s worked hard in years since she came back to life, but she couldn’t have the only thing she wanted.

Kayla stood up and leaned over the barrier on their balcony, her grandma walked over, hugged her from behind and murmured, “both of us are always here for you and we both love you very much.”

Kayla nodded and said in a low voice, “I know that grandma.” These old couples overflowed their love for this extraordinary grandchild, she was a blessing to them and whenever she was hurting, they hurt too. They agreed to invite her neighbours over for dinner on Jenna’s birthday. “Thank you grandma, you’re the best and I love you both very much too,” Kayla kissed both of them on their chicks and went back inside the house, leaving both of them with smiles on their faces.

“My wife, God has been merciful to us, I never thought that I could have this kind of joy, when Kayla died, the reason for living ended,” the old man paused, he had teary eyes. “When you brought Bel home and explained things for me, I didn’t care whether it was someone else, I was just happy that God gave us another grandchild, I know Kayla’s sprit is happy wherever it is. God sent us a protector,” “Uuh! I know my husband, the woman answered back with a smile.

If I was to leave this world today, my heart would be at peace but I hope she can find someone and settle down, someone she can lean on, Bellah is her child but she can never be her mother like it was in her old life, all she can do is be part of their lives” the old woman told her husband. I agree you on that. We’ve been the only family she’s been coming home to ever since she came back to life, but money is nothing without love, I hope it will happen so that one day we get the joy of walking our child down the aisle before we leave this world, I know it will happen old man.

While they were busy talking to each other, Kayla was behind the door listening to the couples talking, she was happy at the same time sad, she knew she had taken their granddaughter’s life from them, even though they loved her, she was determined to fulfil all their dreams for Kayla. She wiped her tears and went to her study room, she needed to send out an invitation to her neighbour before she get into Christmas mood and start decoration with her grandparents, they did everything together as a family.

When Jenna received the invitation, she wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but Erica and Bellah were up for it since they were curious about their neighbour whom they’ve never seen since they moved to that neighbourhood, they were so excited, they even forgot Jenna was there, they thought of what to wear and what they should take to their neighbour.

Jenna on the other hand was in deep thoughts, the flowers that came with the invitation were her favourite Red roses with lilac inside. Erica and Bellah turned to talk to Jenna but realized she was once again starring in a gaze. Its like she was somewhere else, her soul has left her body and only the vessel was left sitting in the sofa, Aunt? Erica called out, but she never answered, they told each other to stay calm, tears were rolling down her cheeks which at least meant she was alive just roaming somewhere. Jenna was re-living her whole past, she remembered the first time she left home and haven’t seen her parents for over a decade, just like Bel, she left home because of love, though for her it didn’t work out but she never returned home, but met her late husband, fate had played tricks in her life and she had long blocked her passed but it was all coming back.

“Welcome back Mummy Jenna, I thought for a moment you’ll leave us, we’ve been sitting here for over an hour, it’s like you had travelled, God knows where” Bellah complained. Erica added, ‘please don’t scare us like that, I’ll go make us tea, Bellah go get Aunt’s bath ready, she seems really tired,” they didn’t get to ask her about the neighbour’s invitation that night, Bellah run upstairs and prepared a bath for her mother, Jenna dragged her tired body upstairs and soaked herself in a bathtub for a while, still trying to come in terms with everything that had just happened, she had let go of her past and she didn’t understand why everything was coming back.

Bellah and Erica were still scared so they kept calling out for her to hurry up so that they could have tea together, she bathed quickly, changed into home clothes that Bellah had prepared for her that were on her bed and went down stairs to have tea. After that, they watched a movie before all of them heading to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Jenna had already started her leave from work, after dinner the chat all night long in Jenna’s bed.

Two days have passed since they received an invitation for dinner from their neighbour, so they brought up the discussion while having breakfast, Jenna didn’t want to go but since she was out numbered, she gave in and called to confirm their dinner invitation on the 18^th of December, which was by the way Jenna’s birthday. Kayla and her grandparents were so happy, all their worries were over and now it was time to make that dinner special.

Kayla was so excited, she couldn’t wait for the D-day to come, she was finally going to meet her daughter, Erica and her best friend. A friend who treated her like a sister and have shared both good and bad times together.

On the morning of their dinner with their neighbour, the three of them went out for shopping, Jenna decided they’d go by bus to avoid parking hassles in town, they walked slowly at the perimeter within the estate and head to the bus-stop to catch the bus to town

For the years since the death of Bel and Jenna taking over the responsibility of raising Bellah, shopping has always been part of their tradition, and sometimes they’d buy nothing, just walk around please their eyes and have a meal in town before the catch a cab home, but today was different, they already had dinner plans. They bought few things for Christmas and headed home to prepare.

Since the flower incident from their new neighbour whom they were all curious and looking forward to meet, Jenna has not been herself, Mummy are you okey? Bellah asked in a concerned tone, Jenna snapped out of her thought and replied with a smile I’m fine honey, was just thinking about my journey in this life.

Bel on the other side was deeply buried in thoughts, her passed memories flooded her, they were both good and sad memories but was filled with anticipation for the evening. In her current life as Kayla, she lived a simple life even though she had money, she enjoyed quiet moments with her grandparents, they enjoyed doing everything together and were all in the kitchen keeping her company while she cook.

Kayla rose from her chair, walked across to the dinning room to set the table, glancing at her watch, it was already 6:00p.m. “Grandpa, Grandma, time to freshen up our guests will be arriving soon,” they laughed at her and could not stop teasing her, she walked over to them and gave the couple a tight hug, remembering their early days together when she came back to life, she loved them even more.

“I’ll go upstairs and make myself beautiful for my guests,” Kayla said while running up, ‘but you’re already beautiful my child,’ grandmother replied while they follow her upstairs. The couple wore similar Maasai attires, while Kayla wore a long sleeveless wine red dress that fitted her well and showed off her beautiful shape, tie back her long black hair with just few make up and wore black Maasai sandals that had red beads on the straps.

In Jenna’s house, they were all set, Jenna, Bellah and Erica all wore African Attires, they were simple but with eye catching colours. They hurried out of the house so that they don’t keep the host waiting, at least not to give the bad impression on their first meeting, well it’s okey for Africans to be late even for an hour but they didn’t have a good reason why the should be late since it was not an incognito invite.

A short while later Kayla and her grandparents were hurrying downstairs, they went to the kitchen to check if everything was okey for the final time. The bell rang, “I can’t believe they’re finally here, I’m so nervous grandma” Kayla said in a low tone, “just be yourself, but don’t be over excited, you might scare your guests and reduce your chances of being part of their lives. Remember you don’t know them and know nothing about them,” the old woman told her.

Three of them walked towards the door and opened, Bellah  was standing in front while Jenna and Erica were standing behind her, “Hello, welcome to our humble home, my name is Kayla and these are my grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Koiyaki,” Kayla

and her grandparents smiled. My name is Bellah, I’m Erica and I’m Jenna, they introduced themselves one after another. “It’s nice to finally meet my neighbours, please come in,” she asked them and led the way to their living room, they all glance around taking in the cool and beauty of the house, it was so welcoming Kayla and her grandparents had put on so much effort to make this day memorable not just for their guests but for their grandchild too. The living had handmade Maasai crafts and there was a big sketched portrait of Kayla and her grandparents hanging on the wall.

“Your home is cozy, it looks lovely,” Jenna complimented. Thank you, you’re truly kind, Kayla replied. She brought variety of Fresh Juices on the table for them to help themselves while she finalizes her dinner plans. Grandma offered to help to serve them juice, but Erica stopped her and decided to serve them all.

Bellah has a captive audience and she was in her usual self, to break the silence she started to ask the old couples questions one after another. “Granny, you have a pretty granddaughter, do you have many other grandchildren as cute as her?” the old woman smiled and stretched out her hand and touch her cheek, “if you promise me that when you grow up you’ll marry one of them then I’ll tell you,” Bellah didn’t see that coming, she blushed and everyone in the living room started laughing.

“Granny, I haven’t even reached the age to have a boyfriend yet, how can I think of marriage?” Bellah defended herself.  “You know during our time, your parents would have already chosen a husband for you, I knew the man I was to marry when I was only Ten years old and I got married when I was Thirteen years old she turned and looked at her husband, both smiled at each other and continue with her story, our grandchild is lucky by the time she was born things have already changed and Maasai community had embraced education and our tradition started to slowly change though it hasn’t fade away yet and other families are still marrying off their children at a younger age,”

Kaya laughed, “Grandma, please don’t scare our guest, Bellah is still young, how old are you Bellah?” she answered with a smile, I’m 12years old. Hmmm….. you still have a long way to go don’t worry grandma is just funny. Well dinner is ready we can all sit down and enjoy our meal.

They all stood up and head to the dinning, the house was like theirs, but Kayla had made few changes. Their dining table was stone curved and the chairs were made of logs with cushions to sit on, a very unique piece of art.

They washed their hands and all sat down, the table was so big, it could accommodate eight people, the old couples both sat on each end, Kayla sat on the right side of her grandpa followed by Erica and Bellah sat on the left side of grandma followed by Jenna. The old woman prayed for the meal and were ready to dig in. the aroma that came from the dishes on the table would make your stomach starts to rumble, Jenna eyes were wide open, it reminded her of someone, but she’s been dead for a long time. So she kept it to herself, since her emotions her been unstable, she thought she was just missing Bel and was imagining it all, another coincident, her favourite food was part of the meal.

“Hmmm this food tastes like My Mom’s food,” Bellah said, then her face changed, there was sadness allover her face, what’s wrong, don’t you like my food? Kayla asked, Jenna interrupted, “oh no, I thought I was imagining but the dishes here tastes like her Late mother’s food,” what! She’s not your daughter? You look like mother and daughter, Kayla lamented with a surprised face, everyone paused. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to shock you, please everyone continue eating, the day is still young we can chat after we finish eating this delicious meal.

Kayla was panicking inside, she started thinking she over did it and they might get upset and leave, “Oh my God, I’ve been waiting for this day for so long, please don’t allow it to be ruined,” she was talking to her inner self. Grandma intercepted, our child has been cooking delicious meals for us, she’s not just a career woman but a good cook too, when she’s not working, she’s trying out many things in the kitchen, and if it’s something new, the kitchen will look like someone has just robbed us, everyone on the table laughed. “Grandma, do you really have to embarrass me in front of our guests?” Kayla complained.

The two families enjoyed their meal together and after extended their chat in the living room, Kayla brought the cake for desert and told them “today is my best friend’s birthday and since we’re far from each other we made a promise to always celebrate each other’s special moments,” it was a soft black forest cake, which happened to be Jenna’s favourite cake too, she thought out loud though she didn’t mean for them to hear. “What a coincident, today is my birthday too,” she had mixed emotions on her face, she continued, “I haven’t celebrated my birthday since my friend Bel passed away.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to bring up your past,” Kayla apologized, her heart ached for her friend sitting in her living room. “It’s ok, when I saw your grandparents, it made me think of my parents, I haven’t seen them for almost 18 years, I left home for love, but unfortunately it didn’t work but so I promised myself to work hard and keep moving forward, I never looked back Jenna replied, after few months I met Kevin, my late husband, as he was older than me, he treated me well and even took me back to college, so that I complete my studies.

After two years, he asked me to marry him, I was the happiest woman alive, after all the struggles finally God remembered me. Jenna’s face changed, drops of tears rolled down her cheeks, everyone was so immersed in her story and before they know it they had eaten the whole cake on the table, nobody moved or even turn to disrupt. After a few minutes of silence, Jenna sighs, if it’s true that we only have one chance to find love and live it, I’m afraid my happiness was buried with Kevin, we had a glamorous wedding, but my married life only lasted two months, everything we’ve invested in came to a stop with a bling of an eye, his brother –in-law Malcom called me and his first words were, I’m sorry Jenna, Kevin had an accident and didn’t make it. for years I was bitter because he left me alone and because of that I also cut his family out of my life, my friend Bel help me a lot, she became the only family I had, I watched Bellah grow up, I watched my friend battle cancer, she really wanted to live for this princess here, but fate always had different plans.

Oh sorry, I’ve talked a lot and this was just our first meeting Bellah stood up from her seat and hugged Jenna and assured her that she wasn’t going anywhere and will always be her family even if her parents doesn’t want her, Kayla stood up , her eyes were filled with tears and was trying so hard to hold back, walked over and stretched our her hands and embraced both Jenna and Bellah, she wiped her tears and told her, even though we’ve just met, I’m always here if you whenever you need someone to talk to, I know they’re things you can’t talk out with your two girls, I’m lucky my grandparents are here and always talk to them. Everyone looked at two women and smiled, it was like they’ve known each other for long.

Jenna thanked Kayla and felt that they have extended their stay and was time to head home. Kayla rushed to the kitchen and packed some food for them and brought it to the living, “these was your food but you ate very little and since we have to go back to Kajiado with my grandparents I can’t leave it in the fridge. I still have some work to do before I break for Christmas. “Aunt since you’ve been kind enough to host us, how about we invite you for Christmas? Bellah suggested, they all looked at each other, Jenna and Erica agreed to Bellah’s suggestion.

Kayla was about to reject their invite, she was over the moon, the joy of spending an evening with two people she loved the most was bursting out of her heart, she needed time to enjoy the feeling she not only got a second chance to life and many unexpected blessings too. Her grandparents knew how she was feeling, they smiled and agreed to come back to the city for Christmas. Kayla agreed too but on one condition, they allow her to help them prepare food together, it’s a date Bellah said in excitement. Grandpa and grandma, you’ll be able to meet my grandparents too, they’re coming over for Christmas, so please don’t let us down.

The two families said goodbye and left to return to their house, Kayla requested her guard to escort them, Jenna said they were ok since the house was just minutes away but Kayla insisted, for her peace of mind, they gave in and turn to leave, she watch them disappear in the distance.

The day was wonderful though very short, she embraced the old couple and both headed upstairs to rest.

In the other house, after getting home they kept their food in the fridge and also headed upstairs, said goodnight to each other and went to their respective rooms. Jenna’s heart was unsettled, she found herself missing her parents so much, she didn’t know whether they were alive or dead, she never bothered to look for them. She wished Kevin and Bel were alive too, as sad as she was, she had a bitter smile on her face, she then thought out loud, “ God has been really kind to me, every time I believed I didn’t have a reason to go on, He always gave me one, I should always count my blessings, and not wish for the impossible.

Back to Kayla’s house, she was deep in her thoughts too, her heart was still aching for her friend at least she saw her princess was ok and happy. She felt that Jenna deserved to be happy and the first step should be her parents. She told herself that after the holiday was over, she must try and get hold of Jenna’s parents, after everything she’s done, that’s the least she can do and would love to see her happy too.

Days went so fast; Kayla and her grandparents had gone to Kajiado and were preparing to return to the city since Kayla was done with her work. The family of three back in Jenna’s house were really looking forward to Christmas and were busy preparing for it. They put all the Christmas presents under the tree, Bellah’s grandparents were arriving that same day of Christmas Eve. The whole city was in the Christmas spirit. Erica received a phone call from her grandma to inform her that she got her Christmas shopping that the Jenna family had sent, despite Jenna’s emptiness in her heart she was looking forward to the celebration.

Hohoho hohoho! Merry X-mas everyone, Bellah was very excited, she knocked on everyone’s door for them to wake up, well she and Erica had woken up a bit early to prepare breakfast for everyone and once the table was set Bellah woke up everyone. The family of five sat down and enjoyed their breakfast without being in a hurry. The house was filled with laughter.

Their neighbours were back in town and were having breakfast on the balcony upstairs that was through Bella’s study room, the family of three enjoyed the sunny day, talked and laughed.  Kayla enjoyed being spoiled by her new family and she adored these old couple very much and she couldn’t live without them, as much as she was busy with her work, these two were her number one priority before anything else and without them she would be lost.

As a tradition, Bellah sent Christmas card to her Dad, she treated her bad and because of her she left the only home she knew, but Jenna always reminded her that despite everything he was still her Dad, so each year she sent him a card and a present, sometimes Sam would send her a present but he never had time for her, it’s like she never existed

These was one of the best Christmas for Bellah, she couldn’t remember the last time she had so many people in the house enjoying the meals and each other’s company. Jenna and Kayla’s families bonded so well together and even Bellah’s grandparents Bruce and Barbara, loved their new neighbours. They all wished their other loved ones were with them, I’m sure they were watching them from above. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!