Reyona’s Revenge

Bernard got out of his car and pasted on his newly adopted signature smile. He had even practiced it in the mirror the other day, and he could see that he was getting better at it.

“Two months and three days to go now,” he mused as he stepped on the porch, raising his hand to press the doorbell, then remembering that he had stopped doing that already.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

He twisted the knob and found it unlocked. “Well,” he thought, and he entered.

Grandma was seated in the living room telling a story to Emma, who was listening with rapt attention while trying hard to keep her eyes open.

“You are feeling sleepy now, Okoo mi, my dear. Let us continue this tomorrow.”

“No, no, mama. See, my eyes are open!” he said as he jumped up from his reclining position “I will not sleep again. What now happens to the cunning tortoise? Ehn ganma! Did the king…” he looked over at where Bernard was standing, looking at them in amusement. “Hey! Daddy Bernard! Mummy! Daddy Bernard is here!” he shouted at the top of his lungs as he launched off the couch to go meet Bernard.

“Ei, Emma! You can deafen someone’s ears with that loud voice!” Mama said as she laughed.

“There is my guy! The man of the house himself!” Bernard said as he caught Emma when the latter jumped at him, squealing as Bernard swung him around.

“Good evening, ma,” he greeted as he stopped swinging Emma.

“Good evening, my dear. Hmm, be careful, or he would expect you to keep up with that in the next ten minutes and then another ten minutes. You might end up having your date here after all if care is not taken.” Grandma laughed as Emma shouted for more and Bernard obliged him.

“No, I wouldn’t delay him. He is taking Mama out. We can play more later, right?” Emma said with a gap-toothed smile at Bernard, which made the latter laugh out loud.

“You bet. I am sorry I have not been able to take you to that field. I promised we would go again the other day. I would come around next week, okay, and we would go. Just you and me”

Emma nodded solemnly.

“Why aren’t you in bed yet, though? I thought he was normally in bed by now.” Bernard asked, extending the question to Mama.

“He gets an extra hour on weekends. Moreover, he had been waiting for you to come around, even though he had been feeling sleepy earlier. That was why you met us in the storytelling session,” Grandma said with a smile as she leaned forward to ruffle Emma’s hair.

“Yes, I get to do whatever I want with my extra hour on Fridays and Saturdays. I could watch Henry Danger and the Thundermans and do anything I wanted. Mummy said, Mummy!” He shouted as he saw his mother on the staircase smiling down at them.

“Wow, see, mummy looked so fine. Grandma, am I right?”

“You are indeed right, my dear. Your mother takes after her mother,” Grandma said to herself.

“Really? Mummy, is that true? Did I take after my mom too? He asked Grandma, then swung his head toward his mum as she approached where they were seated “Mummy, did I take after you?” he asked earnestly.

“Of course, where do you think you got your brilliance from?” Marissa asked as she bent to kiss his upturned face, carefully evading Bernard’s gaze. He hadn’t said anything since Emma announced her presence, but the prickling sensation on her skin alerted her to the fact that he hadn’t taken his eyes off her since she entered.

“Really? Hmm, mummy, I like your perfume. Can I have some?” he said as he sniffed at her cloth.

“Of course, my dear,” Marissa said as she unclasped her evening purse, noticing how unstable her hands are. She had to try twice before the clasp sprang free.

“I had to be damned if I would squirm in front of my kid just because of his silent perusal,” she thought as she felt heat suffuse her body at their closeness as she bent to dab a little perfume behind Emma’s ears and on his wrist. Thank God her bodice was fitted to her skin; if not, well, he had probably seen straight down to her crotch.

“Hmm, I smell nice now! I smell like a mummy! Grandma see!” Emma said excitedly as he stretched his hand toward Grandma and the other toward Bernard. “Daddy Bernard see!”

“Hmmm, you smell so good.” Bernard’s voice sounded so close to Marissa’s ear that she jerked and wondered why she was still bent there like an imbecile. She hurriedly stepped back and fluffed her hair.

“You smell fine, truly. Though I don’t know if you want to go and smell nice for the angels in your dreams,” Mama said as she stood up. She noticed that those two stubborn children had not said a word to each other since her grandchild got downstairs, and they had avoided eye contact. Well, that was on the part of Marissa solely, as she could see that Bernard’s eyes had not left her granddaughter’s body since, but that headstrong girl had not even looked at him. Even when it had been obvious that he was referring to her when he was saying “You smell so good” to Emma because his eyes were fixed on Marissa.

Emma laughed hilariously at Grandma’s statement, “Smell nice for the angels, haha. Grandma said to smell nice for the angels. Angels don’t smell people, grandma. They only protect us!” he said with conviction.

“Are you sure about that?” Grandma said this as if seriously considering his statement.

“Yes. Mummy, angels are here to protect us and guide us. right?”

“You are right, my sweetheart. Are you sure you don’t want me to tuck you in tonight?” Marissa asked in a last bid to postpone the inevitable. She had begun to doubt the wisdom of accepting to go out with him tonight already. To a club of all places.

“Yes, we are sure,” Mama replied with a meaningful look in her eyes as she tilted her head at her granddaughter and turned to Bernard with a smile. “You can go now, my dear. We are good here.”

Okay, ma,” Bernard smiled at the older woman. He turned to Marissa, but she quickly turned to her grandmother.

Maami, there’s no need for you to go upstairs to tuck him in. I can just call Esther to do that,” Marissa said, thinking of her grandmother’s joint issue.

“What do you mean? Where have you seen an old woman who can’t even take care of her great-grandchild? Certainly not here. We can manage here, you hear? Bye-bye,” Grandma said, dismissing her with a wave of her hand.

“Maami..”

“Bye-bye. In fact. Emma, would you like to sleep with me tonight?” Grandma asked.

Emma jumped excitedly. “Yes! Grandma can tell me stories till I sleep!”

“See? We are good here!” She made a shooing sound at Marissa with a glint in her eyes as she turned towards the direction of her room.

“I still don’t believe that you are not splashing on that perfume for some girl out there,” Marissa could hear her grandma say to Emma as he skipped along beside her. “I am suspecting that you now have a girlfriend, Emma. Who is she?”

“A girlfriend? Grandma yuck!” Evident disgust could be heard in Emma’s voice. “I do not have a girlfriend!”

Grandma’s laughter could be heard preceding the sound of her door closing.

Marissa stood looking towards her safe zones, which had just departed. She was schooling her face to neutrality before facing him when she heard his voice so close to her ear. She jolted but tamped down the yelp that rose in her throat.

“Errr, not that I mind because, mind you, I don’t mind, but I would like to know if we are going to stand here all night looking at that invisible door while you pretend that I am not right here behind you, we can even eavesdrop at your grandma’s door and listen to all the deep secrets that your grandma and kid are sharing. We can even get something that can penetrate the door and look in as well, if that is what you want.”

Marissa rolled her eyes. He was all smiles and respectability with her grandma just now and all sweetness with Emma but with her…

“Do I need to get popcorn as well? Because…”

She turned and walked past him, still without looking at him. “When you are through with your comedic session, let’s…”

Her heart thumped in her chest as he snagged her hand and expertly turned her, bringing her flush against him. His hands on her ass, he whispered, “You look so hot tonight,” before he brought his head down and kissed her fully on her glossed lips.

Marissa was so surprised by his move that she couldn’t even protest before he took her under.

“When had he gotten so smooth?” she wondered briefly right before her thinking faculty decided to depart her.