CHOICE

48

"Daddy is back!" A little girl of about eight three years screams and runs out of the house closely followed by her older siblings, a girl of about fine and a boy of about seven.
  A woman shouts from the kitchen,
"Joshua! I thought I told you to bring my phone from the drawer right?"
She doesn't get any response except the creak of the door. She shakes her head and gets back to stirring the soup in the pot on the fire. She heaves a sigh of relief and turns out the fire before placing the pot on a cold burner.
She moves to the sink to wash her hands and is interrupted by the creak of the kitchen door. Zechariah comes in putting on a smile making Sheba light up in joy and mirroring his smile with an extra tired one.
"Hey rib." He says coming to pull her into a hug.
"Heartbeat." She mutters in reply into his chest.
"Just how tired are you?" He asks looking into her eyes.
"Very tired. I mean it."
"Did you take lunch?"
"No. I wanted to cook your favorite today being your birthday so I had to go to the market." She explains putting off the running tap.
  "I thought we talked about this?"
  "What's that?"
"You stressing yourself out every single time. I don't like it. Not at all. It really is very uncomfortable." He tells her wiping her hands with a napkin from the cabinet.
"Yes I know it makes your ribs tired and your head ache but it's part of my wifely duties."
"Given to you by whom?" He questions leading her to the sitting room.
"The society."
      "Why do we have to follow their rules?"
"So that you won't spoil me. Simple." She looks at the children busy with meat pies and fruit drinks while starring keenly at the television.
"See this ones oo. You people can't even say mummy take small."
Joshua looks back and grins at her while Victoria stands up from her seat. She goes to pick another nylon from the dining table and stretches it at her.
  "That's your own." She drops it on her laps and returns to focus on the show. Sheba stares at her husband and he laughs in response.
"You and your children ehn." He comments.
"Mabel didn't even turn to look at me at all." She says looking at the youngest of the children in surprise. The girl still doesn't turn and instead replies from her position.
   "Shebi it's you that said it's bad to beg from others."
  "Ah! Mabel don't say that to mummy o." Zechariah jokingly chides her.
"She taught us na." Victoria defends her sister with an approving nod from Joshua.
"My fault for teaching you people good manners abi?" She questions looking at them before they shake their heads in the negative and their father chips in.
  "Just apologise. You people shouldn't be stingy oo."
"We're sorry mummy. We won't do that again." They chorus earning a nod from her while Victoria comes to stand beside her first and stretches the half eaten snack to her.
"Mummy bite small." She offers and her siblings soon join her standing in front of their mother and stretching their snack.
  "Give it you your dad. He's right behind you." She says putting on a smirk as Zechariah suddenly jerks up and begins to run around the living room with the children on his trail. They run around for a while before he suddenly touches Sheba and points her out for the children as she then joins the game too. The game goes on and on before Sheba runs out of breath and falls on a chair pulling Zechariah beside her. He looks down at her and licks his lips, "The children are here." She chides him and he groans in response earning a little laugh from her.
"I almost chose the wrong Sheba. But you're here for me and have proven yourself to be the real one. Thanks for being here love. You are the best; one after my heart." He confesses and instead goes to place a kiss on her forehead.

Awwwn 🤗🤗. That's the jara I added for you guys. I didn't just want it to end like that because of the love I have for you all. Appreciation goes to a lot of people. The acknowledgement will be on the second post though. Please check it out. Here we are at the end of the book and I find it so difficult to let go.
  I'm going to miss them. I'm going to miss you too. Like..... A lot. Your votes, your comments and your love. I know it's not easy reading some one else's story and appreciating it but you have done it all. I really wish I can express how I feel right now but I can't just do it. Thanks so much darlings ❣️❣️❣️💌💌💌. I love you to the moon and back ❤️❤️❤️❤️. Muah muah 💋💋💖💖. Thanks
Ese
Dalu
Nagode
Merci
Gracias
I love you 💕❤️❤️
   Thanks once again. Please check the coming chapter to get your appreciative sentences 💜💜💜. I love you. This chapter is dedicated to every single person who has taken time to read through this book. You're one in a gazillion to me 💝💞💟💟. Do have a beautiful night or day, whichever one 😁😁.

L