THE WIDOWER.

CHAPTER 23

"You cannot have possibly won!" Nora said in a raised voice. She huffed and gave CJ a glare.
"Ask Olive. She has been my witness." CJ shrugged shuffling the chess pieces.
He grinned at her earning a roll of eyes. It had been a week since Nora left the hospital and CJ had been a constant presence in her house.
Jade often popped to make sure she was alright and also to continue prodding her conscious with more spiritual questions but Nora ignored her just like she did before.
CJ rose to go prepare a glass of juice when his phone rang.
"You are getting a call." She called.
"Who is calling?" He asked her as struggled with the ice cubes.
Nora picked the phone to check the ID. She frowned, "it is someone called Pendo."
CJ walked back with a tray of three glasses of juice.
He picked the phone and answered.
"Hello?" He spoke glancing at Olive who was now done playing with her dolls.
"Hey? I hope I have not caught you at a bad time." She blustered
"No! It is fine. What is going on?" He asked rubbing his beard staring at Nora who was now scrolling her phone.
He smiled  inwardly the past one week has been so wonderful. She was warming up to him in a very slow manner but his biggest victory was allowing him to take her for a date. It was a simple picnic in the park but to him it was a big step.
"Are you listening?" Pendo barked on the other side of the phone.
"I am sorry,what were you saying?" He asked with a sigh.
"It is about Olive." She uttered.
"Anything wrong with her medical records or lab results?" He snapped to reality.
"Nothing like that. It is a sensitive issue. We need to meet." She suggested.
"When?" He inquired.
"Tomorrow. I will be free tomorrow around one pm." She said with a smile.
"Okay. That is fine by me." He said.
"I have a good day." She said hanging up.
CJ was now worried but he decided not to let that ruin his date.
Nora turned to him with a raised brow.
"It is about Olive and her pediatrician has something sensitive to tell me." He explained.
"Could she not say it on the phone." She queried.
"No, she wants us to meet up tomorrow." He said with in a distant voice.
Nora kept quiet and watched him as his frown melted with a smile.
"Another round?" He asked
"No, I cannot take another loss" She said with a groan.
"Then what should we do?" He asked watching her move carefully due to her wound.
She laughed watching him pout. Her laughter was enchanting and CJ would not mind have her laughing all the time.
He knew she hated being stared at and settled to only glance or look when she was not aware.
He watched her pat Olive's ponytails as she tickled the girl. He knew there were complex layers of her personality but he was okay finding them out slowly.
Olive came running towards CJ to hide from Nora's attack.
"We can play the twenty question game."she said finally.
"I am in." He said with a lot enthusiasm.
"I go first." She offered as Olive settled down with CJ's Ipad.
"What is your full name?" She asked.
"Of all the questions you ask that?" He laughed.
"Yes! Why not?" She asked.
CJ closed his eyes with a smile. "Christopher Junior Mwamba."
Nora smiled,"I like it. Why did your father decide to name you so?" She queried.
"Those are two questions in a row." He exclaimed.
Nora giggled." Fine!"
"My mother did not like it but my father wanted a son who would be named after him. He was Christopher Mwamba"
"Wow. " she exclaimed.
"My turn. What is your middle name?" He asked.
Nora shook her head. "I never had one or rather my parents did not have one for me.So they gave me the first name and my father's surname."
CJ barked a laugh, "they couldn't find one with the millions of names in the world." He chuckled.
"It was a complicated thing I guess." She said with a smile.
"What is that one thing you did in LA that put you in trouble? Or got you arrested?" She queried.
CJ stared at her thinking if he opened up to her it would scare her away.
"Well one time I was so high that I relieved myself on some old lady's back yard thinking it was my uncle's. She called the cops and gave a different story. She accused me of wanting to rob her and rape her." He finished with a groan.
"What? Then what happened?" Nora almost shouted.
"I thank God my uncle is a well respected professor and therefore he bailed me out plus the old lady's grandson attested that his grandmother suffered from dementia. She would even accuse him of wanting to rob her because of an incident that had happened in her life. She was once robbed and her husband shot at their home."
CJ explained.
"That was a traumatic experience for the old lady." Nora said
"Well I said so but my uncle thought of it as racism issue." He chuckled.
"Did he not give you a lecture?" Nora asked.
"He did and threatened to send me home." He laughed.
Nora chuckled.
"When was your first time you got shot." He asked.
Nora giggled,"this one time before I joined the CID department was fresh from police college or how do you say it  in America? A rookie. I was on a night patrol and we came face to face with armed robbers and I got shot on my shoulder. It was so excruciating for the first time in my life I thought I was dying." She relayed her story.
CJ was now watching her not with pity but something akin to respect. He wanted to ask if there have been more bullet scars but he kept quiet and watched her.
"Though for the dagger that was my first time." She went on to break the silence.
There was a knock on the door and Jade made an entrance carrying some shopping bags.
"Hello my lovelies?" She asked eyeing Nora's and CJ's reaction with a sly smile as Olive jumped to hug Jade.
"Hello to you too hun." Nora moved to help her slowly.
"CJ will you help me with some things in the car." She asked.
"There is more?" Nora asked.
"Yes! You are not feeling okay so I brought variety of home made soup and vegetables,fruits and a get well cake." Jade explained opening the fridge.
"You know you don't have to do that?" Nora said eyeing her best friend.
"I know but I want to because you are my other sister i never had and besides my mother specifically asked I prepare those soups and she would hear none of it." Jade explained with a broad smile.
Nora hugged her and wondered what had she done to deserve such a loving and caring best friend.
"Though I will not be driving any longer because I am entering my eighth month and this last trimester is exhausting. I won't be visiting as much." Jade gave a rueful smile.
"It is okay, I will be visiting often." Nora promised.
Olive watched the entire display and wished her she will forever remain part of this family. Quietly she prayed.
CJ came back with the rest of the load.
They had lunch and Olive felt home and she would not want that to ever change.