Chapter Eight

Mercy's right hand was on my shoulder and the other one was clasped with mine resting on her thigh with my eyes concentrated on her breath-taking cleavage all through to her voluptuous perky breasts which gave her chest a promising future. The atmosphere was emotionally tense and none wanted to talk. We just stared at each like we were waiting for an explanation from an unknown source. Mercy took away her hand from my shoulder as we let each other go to concentrate to Linn.

"I guess the door", I paused to make sure I was ready to talk, "just needed some small pull from outside to open!" I said trying to clear the confused atmosphere among the three of us and what had just happened.

"Off course that's what we all need to do the right thing at the right place", Linn continued to tease, "Isn't that so Mercy? She smiled at Mercy who smiled back stepping out of the car.

As I silently led them toward my main door through the grass lawn, I couldn't stop thinking about Mercy and her kiss. Why did she kiss me? Does that mean she likes me the way I do? Or was it a test of my manhood? The more these complicated questions confused my tired mind, the more I wanted to be with her alone in my bedroom. But I didn't know how, for I knew Linn was not going to make it easy. For some reasons, she too wanted me and I could still feel an inner want of biting her tempting classy lips but how, the want for Mercy was all over my pintle and my mind with my body trembling from the sensation she was causing already.

"Woow! This place is big and beautiful more than I imagined, you mean you live here alone?" Linn asked immediately after I let them in my house.

"Not all alone, I have a house keeper who stays at the staff quarters with her daughter", I answered. A particular and emotional attitude of loneliness covered all of our minds, hearts and mouths that no one said anything for seconds. The thought of how someone like me was single and lonely crossed my mind for the thousand plus time since Tasha left. The same thought was in their minds, they could not understand how, why and what was the reason behind my loneliness. I even thought of proposing to one of them but remembered the words from the so called wise men that hurry hurry has no blessing. My grandfather would tell me, "We find love when we less expect and if you make a decision in haste the achievement will vanish in haste too." I didn't want that to happen so I'll wait and God will bless me with my partner, I said to myself.

My house was not that big and not that small and I loved it. It was fitting for me. It had a master bedroom and two more bedrooms and my office just adjacent to the master bedroom but opposite to the corridor leading to the other bedroom. At the end of the corridor just after the doors leading to the bedrooms was my small library and home office with full of books.

As you entered the house through the front door, on the right hand side was the sitting room with two complete sets of sofas and two couches opposite to each other and a glass table at the center. Next was the dining room. It wasn't big for it could only accommodate a maximum of eight persons. It had a round table with eight seats arranged all round. On the right side was the kitchen and a small house bar with a display of different types of drinks.

On the left side from the front door was a corridor leading to the gym, the swimming pool and a back yard surrounded by a flower garden.

"I bought the house last year as a surprise birthday gift for my fiancée but she left before I could surprise her actually", I said as I tried to gain enough courage not to show the pain of heartbreak hidden inside my smiling face. Tasha must have taken a lot from me, it's already more than two years and she was still in my head telling me that I made a mistake of letting her go. But as the Swahili say "maji yakimwagika hayazoleki and majuto ni mjukuu huja kinyume" she understood them but she went ahead and left after all we had been through. I loved her and we would be a very happy family if she did not leave. I regretted for letting her go.

"What happened?" Mercy asked sympathetically and concerned, more than anyone before.

"What do you mean?" I asked trying to figure out the best way to talk about Tasha in the simplest way using the shortest statement as much as possible so that I won't hurt myself anymore.

"I mean, why did she leave?", "your fiancée", she insisted. "But it's okay if you don't want to talk about it, we will understand." she continued trying to make me feel better.

"No its okay, they say a problem shared is half solved", I said.

"We had dated for more than two years, but she moved in with me after one year of serious dating. I had introduced her to my parents and discussion of getting married was becoming the order of the day so I decided to meet her parents so she invited them over. I was serious with her and I meant what we had but I guess it's true we don't know what tomorrow holds for us.

I was eager to meet them, I even took the day off but an emergency at work came up so I had to run. So..." I paused controlling my eyes from letting out the always Tasha tears. This was not the first time I would cry whenever I was telling the Tasha's heartbreaking story and I knew it will not be the last. If only I could take things back, the work emergency could have gone to hell.