Chapter 2: How I got myself into trouble

Chapter 2: How I got myself into trouble

FOUR YEARS AGO

Elixir got home around 8:37 pm. She entered her room and ordered her staff not to disturb her for the remainder of the night; she asked her dinner to be left on the dining table in case she feels like eating in the middle of the night. Around 11 pm, Elixir heard a knock on the door and she stood up ready to take the head of the staff that dared ignored her orders. When she opened her bedroom door, she was surprised.

"Jason! Come inside child"

"What is happening, mother? You sounded weird over the phone" Jason said as he looked around the dark room before switching on the light.

Elixir's eyes were red and puffy. Jason has never seen his mother cry.

"Mom, are you alright? Why are you crying?" Jason asked.

Elixir wanted to deny that she has been crying but what was the point? She sniffed and tears came pouring down her cheek again. Jason went to his mother's side under a second and hugged her. He was determined to hold her for as long as it took for her to calm down.

"It is okay, mom. Whatever it is, I will make it better for you"

"He took it all" Elixir said as she tries to control her tears "He embezzled the whole fund for Hope for all Orphanage"

"Grandma's charity organization?" Jason said more to himself than his mother.

"Your father bankrupted the orphanage, Jason"

"I am really sorry, mom. I have a lot to say about that…that…man but it ends with the word divorce"

"I can't divorce him. I need to go to Malawi but I can't, not without crippling the new company we just opened in Niger state that will give jobs to so many unemployed indigenes. I have no idea what I am going to do"

"I will go on your behalf then. How long do you think it will take to rebuild? Two months…three months" Jason asked.

"More like two to three years. You have to save your grandmother's orphanage and you have to leave Nigeria for Malawi tomorrow, Jason"

Jason wanted to take back his offer. His idea of help wasn't spending years in a remote village in Malawi. But she was Elixir Yagazie and she always got what she wanted. Jason was on a flight to Malawi the next day.

The flight from Nigeria to Chileka international airport in Malawi was a bumpy one. When Jason got off the plane, the guide his mother hired was there with a placard with his name. The man was averaged with pot belly and cheerful demeanor.

He smiled brightly showcasing what strangely appeared to be white set of teeth and perfect dentition. He looked at the picture he was holding severally before looking up at Jason's face. When he was satisfied that both picture and man were the same person, he waved vigorously at Jason.

When Jason came close enough he took his bags.

"Welcome sir, how was the journey sir? My name is Thokozani sir and I will be your guide" Thokozani chatted heartily without allowing Jason to respond.

Jason on the other hand was polite and preferred not to talk anyway.

"My bus is over there, it is old but it has good energy in it" Thokozani said when they got to the make shift car park.

Jason blinked when he saw the bus. It was not just old, the bus was dead. It was a rickety yellow bus with broken windshield and rusty doors.

"Is there no flight from Chileka international airport to Nsanje?"Jason asked genuinely frightened for his life.

"Madam Hope for all, said the bus will give you an opportunity to see Malawi and appreciated the country popularly known as the warm heart of Africa" Thokozani said smiling flamboyantly

"By Madam Hope for all, you mean my mother, right? Elixir Yagazie told you to take me around Malawi using that" Jason pointed at the yellow bus.

"Yes sir….isn't it awesome? We can even visit the great Lake Malawi and other beautiful place in my country. Are you happy sir?" Thokozani asked still with a smile.

"Yes…so happy. I am so happy that I like to return the favor to mother dearest. That is how happy I am right now" The sarcasm was lost on Thokozani but the way Jason's face twisted and the battle between the smile and frown on Jason's face made Thokozani rethink his heartiness.

"May I suggest you take me straight to the orphanage, Mr. Thokozani?"

"Of course, sir…it will take us about three hours to get to the orphanage, sir"

"Then it is a good thing I bought some Aspirin, Mr. Thokozani"

The orphanage wasn't what Jason expected; when he saw the old signpost with the words 'Hope for all, Orphanage home' he expected the orphanage to look unkempt and deserted but the opposite seem to be the case. Flowers lined the entrance and the inside, creating a path to the main building. The building looked old but magnificent as it stood at the centre of the big compounds. Children were everywhere and even though it was expected since he was in an orphanage home for children, Jason was aghast.

By the side was a playground with an outdated children swing set and a new merry-go-round. Thokozani turned off the engine and open the bus door for Jason and he stepped down.

"Miss Naya should be in the dining hall getting the place ready for dinner sir." Thokozani told Jason

"And who is Miss Naya?"

"She is assistant manager and a volunteer. If you walk straight to that entrance by your left, I am almost sure that you will see Miss Naya. She is like clockwork"

Jason walked towards the entrance Thokozani mentioned and met a woman there. She was an albino, tall with brown boots and yellow dress. Jason couldn't make out her face from the distance he was standing.

"Are you the new help?" Naya asked without looking up. She was placing plates on the tables.

"No…I am …" Jason was puzzled that the albino had an accent

"Don't just stand there, start setting dinner plate on the table. We have less than five minutes before dinner" she said without waiting for Jason to introduce himself.

Jason dropped his briefcase by the door and carried the pile of plates near the window and started distributing across the table. When he got close enough to her, he saw her face. She wasn't an albino, she was white. And she was stunning.

She looked up and stared at him.

"You don't look like a help" Naya said and her face was expressionless.

"Probably because I am not, I am Jason and I am your new boss"

Naya stared at him and blinked twice.

"Do not forget to place the spoons beside the plates, boss" and she went back to what she was doing, leaving a puzzled Jason to stare at her in shock.

**************************

McKenna bit back a smile. Jason looked at her. He was currently drying her hair with a towel.

"I guess you like Naya, don't you?" Jason asked her.

"I do. She is fearless or something. Is she Kara's mother?" McKenna asked.

"She is but at the time, I had no idea she was and Kara went by a fake name too, she was called Nolani" Jason told his wife.

"Okay. I guess I already know what happened next! You had an affair with Naya for months!" McKenna hated that memory.

"We weren't together then. We weren't even dating and what Naya and I had was just a fling. You have to believe me!" Jason pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly "You are the only woman I want. I love you, Oma"

"I love you too. Tell me about your first encounter with Kara/ Nolani"