THE WIDOWER.

CHAPTER 19.

They walked inside the cake house in the mall. CJ was holding Olive's hand as Nora perused the different flavours of cake. A pensive fist on her mouth as her mouth watered. She was sure that CJ's gaze was on her, " please hurry before I order another one." She said with a laughter.
CJ was grinning in earnest, " you can you know."  He said with a smile.
Nora stared at his handsome face and for some reason she grinned back. There was something different about him than the rest. He behaved in a way most men did not and crazy as it sounded he out shinned every man she tried dating before she got tired.
"Thank you." He said to the saleslady and they walked with their cake.
"This is the last they had you know." CJ chatted.
Olive was escatic her neck turning looking through the glasses of the stores in the malls especially those with books and toys. Suddenly she stopped walking and her feet were dug. She refused to move staring at a man in a black jacket.
"Olive?" CJ called. Olive tugged his shirt motioning for CJ to turn around and run. Nora was alert but stood still looking at the man who was unaware of them. They moved to the nearest book store where Nora gave Olive a book and pen signaling her to write done. Olive's hand shook that CJ cooed her.
Nora waited patiently for she had taken the photo of the said man.
"The day you found me I was running away from that man. My auntie and uncle had agreed to sell me off to that man. They did not know I had heard them so I pretended to go to sleep only to climb through the window and ran as fast as I could." Olive finished explaining. CJ was fuming while Nora called Richard to tell him they had a suspect.
The said man was still shopping and talking animatedly to the salesman.
"Go! Through the other Exit . I will follow him." Nora ordered in a stern voice.
CJ wanted to argue but he knew  he had to take Olive home.
He stared at Nora who was now talking to her partner.
"Go, I promise I will call you." She said hugging Olive and matching through the door.

****
CJ's mind was  on Nora the whole drive home. They had to use an uber since Nora took the car. He prayed that nothing happens to her . Olive was now asleep and the cake almost forgotten sat beside him.
His mind wandered to the day he lost Shona.
He was in the theater that day and the surgery was a difficult one. His heart was sad and he felt anxious but he knew the rules of being in a room with a patient on the surgery table. Focus on the patient but deep down he felt afraid miraculously they were able to remove the bullet from the patient.
As he walked through the door to go get some air there was frantic movement as some nurses rushed towards the ER. He walked towards the ER and the door opened with a body covered with blood being pushed through the door.
He recognized the hand and he almost snapped his head realizing it was his father. His feet moved accordingly and followed them inside. He tried to calm down as the nurses tried to explain what had happened.
They told him that the other body was being brought to the mortuary.
He couldn't attend to his father as he left the room.
"Doc! Doc!" Someone called him as he headed to the chief's surgeon office.
He turned to see a young nurse maybe those who were doing their residence.
"You are needed in the emergency ward." She uttered quickly leaving the confused CJ.
He went on to the head of surgeons office because he needed some few days off . He knocked the door only to see two or more of his colleagues inside.
"I need some time off. My father has just been brought here and he is in bad shape." CJ explained not caring he was interrupting their meeting.
"Well, that's why we are here. I am sorry about your father but I have some bad news. The other passenger was your wife..." The head surgeon explained but CJ ears were busing and all he heard was "...she died on the spot..." He fell back on the chair and all he saw was blur.
He did not remember how he got from the head of surgeon's office to the morgue for he wanted to see Shona.
The heart wrenching cry and sobbing he did was something he never had even during his mother's funeral. His shirt was soaked as he slid on the floor trying to control himself but this time he couldn't.
He had lost his family what else could a man do other than be a wreck.
He sobbed for hours for once in his life he cursed life and God.
Olive stirred from the sleep bringing CJ from his dark thoughts. He blinked the mist away and stared at the girl who only leaned on him and kept quiet. He could imagine what that girl would have gone through if she was sold.
They finally got home and CJ checked his phone for the sixth time and Nora had yet to call. He was tempted to call but he wanted to give her room as they build trust.
He went to check his emails after he put Olive to sleep.
He went through them only to see an email from Shona's mother.
He froze and he knew that his world is about to crumble.
He could not face the woman no matter how much close they were before. He expected  after Shona's death some comfort and understanding from the woman but he was met with disdain and hatred.
He rubbed his face thinking of the mess he was after her death and his father's death. He sighed thinking that it has been a long time before he felt something for any woman but slowly Nora was sipping in his life. She was nothing like Shona, their personalities entirely different and he did not want to feel guilty for liking another woman.
He reread the email and thought she was not of much concern at the moment. He would eventually meet with her when the time was right.
He was worried about Nora.