Prelude to kisses

Chapter 45

His family lived thirty minutes from his place, she was a nervous wreck by the time he picked her up. Jackie hadn't been able to stop pacing until she was settled into his car and even then, she fidgeted in her seat. He took her hand and squeezed; it was all he could do while he held the steering wheel with his other hand.

Minutes later, he was parking into the mall parking lot. They walked hand in hand into the grocery store to buy some groceries for his family. He picked out random stuff which she didn't believe could make a whole meal, but there wasn't much she could say since she didn't know what his family might possibly like. His brother had told him on the phone earlier that there was no need for them to bring anything with; but she knew him well enough to know that he'd get something on the way anyway.

When she asked him why he bothered bringing her something whenever he came to visit, he'd told her that he just didn't think it was right for a man to show up at his girlfriend's house empty handed. She'd thought it was funny at first, but she later realized that that was one of his love languages. That's how he showed her love. That's how he expressed love not only to her, but the people around him.

His family lived in a really cozy neighborhood, only a few minutes from the mall where they'd bought groceries from. The neighborhood had a clinic and a few scattered shops and a school. He parked the car outside the gate because there were already cars in the driveway. She got out first, the beautiful roses in the front yard capturing her attention. A woman was watering them, as she softly hummed an old Shona song, she'd probably heard many times growing up.

Jackie watched her put the watering tank on the ground to prune the leaves. A few feet from her were a bunch of vegetables. It looked like she had been planting them before she went to tent to the flowers. Jackie smiled. Her boyfriend came behind her then, holding the plastic bags and her bag with a few of her stuff slung on her shoulder. There was a possibility that they might spent the night and luckily because he visited often, he had a few of his stuff here. It was only then that the woman looked up and their eyes met.

Her boyfriend immediately put down the plastic bags on the ground to hug the other woman, she hugged him back, smiling, "It's so good to see you again, but you're early today, you usually come much later".

"Well, she made me set an alarm before going to bed, so I didn't have a choice", he winked at her. She swatted his arm playfully before extending her arm to greet the other woman. She learned that she was his older brother's wife. He confessed when they were alone later that she was his favorite. That she understood him in a way no one else seemed to.

Jackie had spent the whole day in the kitchen helping the other women with cooking, washing the dishes and cleaning while the men were outside watching the kids and braai. When they sat in the living room, drinking tea over biscuits, she was exhausted. She was ready to fall into bed, but it seemed none of the people around her were done or ready for bed yet. They chatted and laughed, asked questions and were overall homey and welcoming. When they went to bed, she felt like they met a long while ago and this wasn't her first official family meeting with his family. It felt like she belonged and more than that, she loved watching him surrounded by the people he loved and people who loved him. She was happy, he had such a wonderful and big family.

she felt a foreign feeling to want to stay there and merge herself into these people's lives. The feeling came to her suddenly she laughed at herself. did she really like him that much, enough to think about becoming a part of his family?

When she woke up the next day, she was alone in bed, with a note on the bedside that read that he'd gone out for a jog. She walked into the leaving room to find the kids sitting at the table, his two brother's wives setting up breakfast, "Oh, you're awake. I was just about to send Jonica to wake you up".

"Goodmorning, I'm sorry I overslept, and you had to prepare breakfast alone".

"Come, have a seat. You were probably tired from last night", She said kindly.

The men came in a while later taking their place at the table. Her boyfriend wasn't back yet, she didn't really know what to do or how to carry the conversation without him. Luckily, there was never a dull moment with the kids occasionally fighting and the adults trying to keep the peace. He came in just as they had done with breakfast all sweaty and sexy she almost wished they were alone instead so they could take it to the bedroom.

"I'm going to take a shower, let's do the dishes together", He said before disappearing again into the bathroom. She played with the kids as she waited for him so they could wash the dishes together and when he came back, his hair wet in short and a loose white shirt, she swallowed hard. It was hard to concentrate on anything other than him. He made her breath catch just by standing close to her. His touch send electricity up her body, it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand with anticipation.

At twelve in the afternoon, they were all sitting in the dining room catching up. Jackie had already finished with the packing; in a few hours they'd be driving back home. The women stood up to go to the kitchen to make lunch before the kids came back from school. Somewhere in the conversations between the three brothers, one of them said, "If the numbers I played online come out, I'm getting a second wife".

They laughed before the older brother agreed. She looked up to take a look at the middle brother. From what her boyfriend had told him, he hadn't been married for long. It felt odd for someone who'd just gotten married to speak like that. And even more repulsive for the older brother to agree with something like that. Now as she looked at the brother's she could see something she hadn't noticed since they'd arrived yesterday. The brothers looked like wonderers. It was an odd realization, but it made sense. Maybe that's what gambling did to a person, she thought. The two men looked as though they were searching for something they'd probably never find. They had homes and wives and kids and yet they weren't contempt with themselves. A fear tugged at her heart, and she looked at her boyfriend.

She wondered if he too was the same. If he was still searching for more even as she was right in front of him. She wondered at what lengths he'd go to find whatever it is he was searching for. Suddenly he didn't feel like hers any longer. He was a gambling addict and although it had never been a problem for her or affected her in any way, for the first time she felt scared. He caught her eyes and smiled, and all the worry vanished...