JUST LIKE IN A MOVIE

Jeremy was seated on the floor, with Jacob guiding him. Sharon was in utter shock, failing to believe what had just happened. She turned to look at Aletha, and asked, "did you know about this?"

Aletha shook her head and said, "you really think I would know such a thing and keep it to myself? Don't insult me, Sharon."

Travis held his wife and hugged her briefly, trying his best to comfort her.

"I'm sorry if I offended you. I'm just in shock and…." Sharon began to speak but Aletha cut in with,

"So am I. I'm sure we're all in shock, and this isn't the time to be pointing fingers at each other."

"I'm sorry," Sharon said.

"We better leave now, Aletha," Travis lightly tugged his wife's elbow. She slowly followed him and no-one said a word as the two of them left the house.

"I cannot believe Kiara cheated on Jeremy. I thought those two were madly in love," Aletha finally spoke once she sat on the sofa in her living room. Travis stretched his hands lazily and yawned loudly. He threw himself on the seat next to Aletha, and looked at her.

"You look sad?" he seemed surprised that his wife was sad.

"Travis; how can I not be sad? We're neighbours to Sharon and Jeremy. What our daughter did will ruin our relations with …."

"Who cares about Sharon and her sons?" Travis smiled.

Shocked, Aletha stood to her feet and pointed a finger at her husband. "You're smiling? You think all of this is funny? Did you see how Jeremy looked like just now? Did you see how much pain he's going through? And you find all of that funny?"

"Enough, Aletha! Don't lose focus. We're talking about the Pinkertons here!" Travis screamed out.

"So what? And tell me now, what did you whisper to Kiara before she left?" Aletha demanded .

"I told her what she needed to hear," he laughed.

"What did you tell her, Travis? I am her mother and I deserve to know!"

"I had to tell her anything that would make her be sensible enough to go to the Pinkertons!"

Aletha blinked her eyes multiple times, failing to believe what her husband had just said. "You just sold off our daughter, without even knowing where exactly she was going? How do you know for sure if those people were from the Pinkerton…."

Travis stood up and brought himself face to face with his wife.

"I am yet to see parents who complain at having the Pinkerton heir as their son-in-law." He stated in a low, convincing voice.

"I…I don't know," Aletha was at a loss for words.

"Our only child, our only daughter, is marrying into the Pinkerton family, and you find reason to complain about that?" the man asked his wife.

"It's…it's just that, how sure are we that she has been taken to the Pinkertons? Kiara is so much in love with Jeremy and…"

"Who cares about love? She will learn to love her new husband." Travis said in a loud voice.

"I care, Travis, I care! As a father you should be calling the police and reporting that our daughter has been taken by force. She…"

"She willingly left, because she is in love with Vine! Kiara is not a child anymore! She is an adult capable of making her own decisions! She decided to go on her own…"

"She did not! Was it not for you who whispered something in her ear; whatever lie it is that you told her, she would still be here now!"

"Enough, Aletha! She has gone, and she is in the right place now! No-one is calling the police, don't even dare try it!"

Aletha shrugged and sank into the sofa. She felt pain deep in her heart. Kiara. Who would have ever thought that Kiara was capable of cheating on Jeremy? What really happened? What….

"Where on earth did Kiara meet that Pinkerton heir?" she asked no-one in particular.

Travis chuckled to himself before responding, "Kiara is a beautiful girl. It doesn't really matter where they met. What matters is that they did meet, and she is carrying his child. Her life is about to change, and so will ours, my wife! From now on, our lives will become perfect! Life is perfect. Life is indeed perfect." Travis said proudly.

Feeling irritated, Aletha pointed a shaking finger at her husband and sneered, "don't say that, Travis! Our daughter is not some kind of pawn to be used to bring in some money into this family! We need to care about her happiness too."

"Who in their right mind would not be happy while living in the Pinkerton mansion?" Travis hissed.

"There's more to happiness, Travis. It's not always about money. She…"

"She will have more than everything she needs. She will be fine. Her love for Jeremy will soon fade off. Did you hear what that man said? The one sent by the Pinkertons? He said the Pinkertons gave an order that I, as the father of the bride, must not be harmed in any way. We already matter to them. Life is perfect, I tell you. As for those lousy neighbours, forget about them. I will personally tell the Pinkertons that we can't continue living here anymore. We will soon move to a better place." Travis said with a lot of assurance.

Aletha did not know what to say or do. She felt lost, for the man talking to her did not sound anything like her husband at all. She had never known that Travis could value money to that extent. Somehow her heart was breaking into pieces, slowly. It was like a glass, falling and breaking in slow motion, until every little piece remained scattered on the floor.

"I know Kiara. I know my child! She will not be happy without Jeremy. Her heart remains with Jeremy. And besides, what if the child is Jeremy's? She said Jeremy might not be the father, which means our daughter is also not sure who the father of the child is. We can rectify this! If we request for a DNA test, it will show us who the father of the child is." The woman said.

Travis failed to believe that his wife was talking like that. He felt utterly disappointed in Aletha. Was it not for his respect for his wife, he would have slapped her out of anger. He had also made a promise to himself to never lay his hands on a woman ever again. He rubbed his hands together and gritted his teeth furiously.

"Kiara is marrying into the Pinkerton family. Do you understand what that means, Aletha? I cannot believe that you want a DNA test to help bring back Kiara and Jeremy together! Forget about Jeremy, do you hear me? Forget about him! If anything, you should be praying that the Pinkertons do not think of taking a DNA test. Or if they do, pray that it comes out positive! That child has to belong to the Pinkertons, do you hear me, Aletha?"

The way Travis spoke made Aletha scared. She remembered the old days when her husband used to beat her up for the smallest mistakes. When she looked at Travis and saw him clenching his fists, fear gripped her. What if he repeated his old habit of beating her? She dared not anger him any further, so she forced a smile and said,

"I understand. It's best that Kiara and the Pinkerton heir get married." Her heart ached as she said those words.

Travis smiled a bit, and his facial muscles began to relax.

"We have to pray hard that the DNA test comes out positive." Travis said in a low voice.

"Please tell me what you whispered to her," she coerced.

"Don't worry about it. I told her something just to make her go to her new home."

He looked up at the ceiling and went on to say, "I just hope the Pinkertons won't be keen on a DNA. It's their child, afar all. I have a feeling the child that Kiara is carrying really belongs to the Pinkertons. What do you think?" Travis smiled slightly at Aletha.

Aletha cleared her throat and forced a smile again, "ummm, I …I am not sure."

Travis did not say anything further. He just smiled happily and paced the room, imagining how their life was about to change for the positive, considering the marriage between his daughter and the Pinkerton heir.

"Life indeed is perfect! All my life I have seen others leading perfect lives! Finally it's my turn. It's our turn, Aletha! Others have everything they need, and we have never had that privilege. It's our turn now. Life is perfect, is it not? Just like in the movies; one moment we were poor and struggling here and there, and in the blink of an eye we are counted among the rich… "

"We are not rich, Travis!"

"Our child is marrying into the Pinkerton family. We surely will soon be rich, Aletha. It's just like in the movies. This is it; our life has just taken a turn like in the movies!"

Aletha nodded her head and smiled sadly before leaving the room to go to their bedroom.

***.

And at that same time in the house next door, Jacob was still sitting on the cold floor.

In front of him were two chairs on which Sharon and Nesisa sat. Clutching her baby close to her, Nesisa looked at her brother-in-law and failed to find words to comfort him.

Jacob was also on the floor, comforting his brother by just hugging him and saying no word.

"If you ask me, I really think they both knew something about this," Jacob said to his wife and his mother.

"Who?" Nesisa asked.

"Kiara's parents. I think they knew about this." He responded to his wife.

"What did the dad whisper in her ear anyway?" Nesisa asked.

"Who knows? It was all planned, if you ask me." Jacob shook his head. "Did you see how the whole scene just unfolded right in front of our eyes? It was a planned act; just like in the movies."

"OK son, let's not jump to conclusion and also be careful what we say. We don't want to further hurt Jeremy here," Sharon said in her usual soft tone.

"Yes mum," Jacob replied.

No-one said anything. Jeremy's sniffs were the loudest in the room. His eyes had turned red and he was shaking from feeling cold and a sudden sickness seemed to have attacked him. All sorts of emotions affected him.

Sharon and Jacob helped Jeremy into his room. Just as they opened the door, they both realised their mistake. The wardrobe doors were wide open, with Kiara's clothes displayed openly. On the bed, the baby clothes which the couple had bought for their baby were scattered. It was because on that same day, Kiara had spent about half an hour just looking through the clothes and imagining her child in them. Everything in and about the room seemed to shout Kiara and the baby.

"Let's take him to your room," Jacob told his mother. Nodding her head, Sharon guided her son and led him two doors down the corridor. After Jeremy sat on the bed, Sharon instructed Jacob to take care of his brother before she left the room.

"I know it's too much to ask, but do you think you can spend the night here today?" she asked Nesisa.

"Umm, I think we can. I had not brought much of Elvis' bed linen, I just pray he will be comfortable in a new place.

"I will help you, my child. If he cries I am more than willing to take care of him. Just one night; you may go back home tomorrow," the elderly woman's voice sounded like a plead.

"We will stay, mum. I will tell Jacob so that we may stay for the night."

"Thank you, my child."

Sharon had begun to walk away when Nesisa said, "Mum, do you think Kiara cheated on Jeremy? From what I saw, she gave in too easily. She just agreed to go with those me. It was as if she already knew that the child was Vine'. It was all just like a movie."

Sharon stood and turned around to face Nesisa.

"Who knows, my child? She did not deny it, did she? She was not forced to go with those men. And as for the video that the man said he wanted to show us, she flatly refused. I trusted her, but for now it is difficult for me to defend her." She turned around and without waiting for Nesisa's response, left the room.

The sounds of Jeremy's cries were heard throughout the entire night, for nothing could be said or done to console him.