THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT

Twenty Nine

Raymond is seen dancing while he takes his bath
"Oh lah lah lah lah
Oh lah lah lah lah
I'm a biggy biggy man
Oh lah lah lah lah"
After he finished dressing up, he went into the kitchen to eat but then decided to cook something for himself since he is in a happy mood.
"Hmm... What should I cook? Fried rice with eggs and fried plantain frittata, with chicken and chilled juice it is" he decided after a while
He was bringing out the ingredients he needed when his housekeeper who noticed that her boss was in a happy mood came in and asked,
"Do you need my assistance, sir?"
"Not at all Lucy. Thank you"
(Now the old woman would faint. She has known Raymond for a while now and he has never been in a happy mood, not to talk of saying "thank you")
"Oh Lucy" he called her back before she left
"I'm getting married next week. Please, I want the whole house to be clean. You can hire cleaners and put the necessary expenses on my tab."
"Congratulations sir" she offered him a warm smile
"Thank you" she gasps and quickly covered it up with a cough but who would have guessed what happened next? Raymond quickly pour her a glass of water
"Sorry, hope you're fine now?" He asked with concern
(Now, that's his first act of kindness to the old woman)
"I'm fine, thank you. Sir, should we also repaint and redecorate the whole house?" She asked
"Hmm, I haven't thought about that but I think we should wait for her opinion on this"
"Alright sir" she bowed and left
"So, the young man has finally caught the love bug. Life truly is in phases but then, there's no one God cannot change" she chuckled as she went inside the room she uses when she's around to take a nap.

Continuation of the trio at the restaurant...
"Mum, it's past 2 pm. Let's not keep the event planner waiting"
Mrs Adetoun and Sarah looked at each other and sighed. They tried to talk her out but they both knew the look on her face. Dara collected her mother's phone and input the address of the event planner in the GPS when they all entered the car. On getting to the office, they were ushered into the office by the assistant who asked them to wait for her boss who was in the restroom.
"Good afternoon Mrs Adetoun and you must be Darasimi the bride to be. Oh, you look gorgeous by the way and I know you'll be the most beautiful bride on your wedding day. Oh pardon my manners, I'm Mrs Godwin but you can call me Grace"
"Thank you for meeting us at such notice" Dara replied
"Oh, it's nothing honey. Your wedding is the talk of the city. Besides, Mr Adetoun and Mr Raymond are great business tycoons. I would never turn down the opportunity of doing business with them. You know it's good for the business and whatever is good for the business is good for me. I'm talking too much right? Oh, don't mind me. I talk a lot maybe that's why I find this job interesting. Oh Grace it's okay! And who's this beautiful lady?
Yeah, you guessed right! She just noticed Sarah who on the other hand finds her amusing.
"I'm Sarah, Dara's best friend. If you don't mind can we at least sit before you continue your talk?" Sarah asked with a twinkle in her eyes
"Oh yes. Please, I'm sorry for not offering you a sit since"
"It's fine" Dara answered with a forced smile
You can't blame the innocent girl, she has passed through a lot. She's only trying to stay sane
"What do I offer you before we go ahead?" She asked with a smile
"Nothing"
"Water"
Mother and daughter both said at the same time. It was then Grace noticed the tension in the room
"Sorry if you don't mind, can you please excuse us for a moment?" Sarah asked"
"Sure, no problem. Just let me know when you're done."