66. Easy like Sunday Morning 3

Out of all the places and all the people I could've met, Rachel Baker had to be the one. I hadn't seen her since Cape Town neither did I harbor any hopes of meeting her. I sighed heavily not hiding the dread I felt upon her appearance, "Rachel". She was looking elegantly sexy as usual and I hated it. She wore blue skinny jeans, thigh-high stiletto boots, and a black faux fur crop jacket.

"I thought that was you", she said as she sat opposite me, "I was just passing by. I won't stay long, I am actually with someone, I just saw you through the window-"

Without letting her finish, I scowled, "What do you want?!". I wanted nothing to do with the Baker girls, not after what I went through and I didn't trust either of them. Khalinda may have inflicted more damage, but I haven't forgotten how Rachel schemed against Walter and me.

"Well, I deserved that.", she said apologetically, she took a deep breath, lowered her head, and with a soft voice, "I apologize for my and sister's behavior. That was uncalled for and inhumane of us. "

I sighed still feeling irritated, "Okay, apology accepted. You can leave"

Sensing my sarcasm, Rachel clasped her hands together and lifted her eyes to me. Tears began to well up in her eyes and her voice began to tremble, "I have been hoping to bump into you. I know you probably don't believe me and I don't blame you, after what you went through. I just wanted to let you know that I am sorry. I am sure my sister is too, she was not well back then and thankfully she's getting the help she needs."

The tears in her eyes broke my tough facade, how could I not melt or feel anything, even when she spoke about her sister, you could see the thousands ways her heart broke. I sighed," Well, I don't blame you for your sister's actions, I know you suffered as well because of it"

Her tears finally rolled down, I took out a tissue, she stressed, "Yeah, but I am okay now, truly okay, that whole event opened my eyes to a lot of things. I have forgiven Walter, no more pacts. I mean if I could forgive my sister, I might as well forgive him too. I will let my baby rest in peace, I want to celebrate his or her memory without any bitterness. He or she deserves at least that.". My heart broke for her, she lost something she could never regain or rebuild, what's a career compared to a human being? All of her pain because of jealousy and irresponsible people, a part of me remained disappointed in Walter for his role in all of that. I reached out my hand to hold hers, and she patted mine in response, with a smile, she chuckled, "I am okay. Therapy is working and I am dating again, celebrating our 4th month today and he's been such a blessing", she said affectionately staring at the man who was sitting at a bench outside the eatery sipping coffee. "Anyway, I saw Walter married someone else, I was so sure it was going to be you.", she said with a more stable voice.

I instantly felt a pang of pain in my heart and I pulled away from her hand.

She chuckled, "Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to offend you, it's just that I thought he loved you, I genuinely thought with me and my sister out of the picture, he would definitely make his move. Well, I guess I was wrong."

I figured she didn't know the story behind the marriage, a part of me rejoiced though, because it meant that they never kept in touch and there was no friendship between them. However, it became clear that should anything happen between Walter and me, it was going to blow up because everyone was aware of their wedding, and to them, it was as real as the sun rising from the East.

I smiled at Rachel and gave her the most generic response I could think of, "Life hey. Sometimes things happen...sometimes they don't."

She smiled, "Yeah. You are right, as long as you do your thing. It's all that matters. Anyway, I am glad we had this talk, and thank you for not pouring cold water on me. You are truly an amazing person Thandie. See you around. ", I gave her a soft nod accompanied by a smile and she left.

I sat in silence for a while, my emotions were triggered and my heart was left feeling heavy. I was reminded of a reality that only existed in my dream. I couldn't stay there for a minute longer so I asked Gloria to pack up my meal. Besides, I figured eating at home would be more peaceful and I have honestly had my share of surprises, I couldn't take anymore. Well, it would've been peaceful if not counting Walter who happened to have been waiting for me at my gate.

"Walter... what are you doing here?", I asked in surprise, I was not expecting him that day, and I wondered how long he'd been standing there.

Seeing the amount of bags I was taking from the Uber car boot, he instantly rushed to help me, "What do you mean? I am here to see you of course", he said casually,

I furrowed my eyebrows in suspicion, he laughed at my reaction and went on with my bags to the door. I had completely forgotten the mess I left when I went to the mall, but I was reminded by Walter's gasp as soon as the door opened.

I laughed awkwardly, "Well, you can help me clean..."

"Oh really? I thought you didn't want me here", he teased

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore. You are here and I need help.", I said not taking any excuses

He squinted his eyes, "What do I get out of it?", 

"A delicious chicken curry and a happy friend", I said proudly,

He laughed but put on the Apron, we first packed the groceries away and then got on with the cleaning. He was a better cleaner than me which was not a surprise given how clean his place was.

After cleaning, we settled on a cartoon movie because anything above PG would be triggering. As much as we were deluding ourselves with this newly found friendship, we still very much wanted each other, there was no denying the sexual tension between us. The movie was paired with a box of pizza and the chicken curry takeout, more like I enjoyed the pizza because Walter decided to keep the whole curry to himself and I let him as a thank you. In the end, I didn't even get to enjoy my curry.

Since that Sunday, Walter would come over during the weekends to help clean and we would watch a movie after, it became our very own little tradition. I would also go over to his place for a games night, and sometimes he would force me to watch horror movies. Alcohol prohibition became a rule as well, every time we were together, we didn't drink to avoid any mistakes.

Walter finally went back to the office and just like before he would occasionally come to our department for coffee, but not as often as before to avoid raising suspicions. I honestly learned a lot more about him in these 3 months of friendship than those months of situationship and I grew to enjoy his company even more. I learned how he listens to Jazz when he's sad because it soothes him, he feels freer at night than at daylight. His first pet was a dog he called Stallion because it was fast, he still thinks he would've been a better boyfriend to Bloom from Winx Club than Sky. All the things I learned only made it clear that this man was meant for me and I needed him in my life as more than a friend. There was so much I wanted to do with him, places I wanted to visit with him as more than a friend so I could freely lean on his shoulder or hold his hand without any reservation or fear of being seen.