Two Mistakes Ago

Chapter 7

"Whose clothes are these? Tell me why I should wear them!" I ordered.

"You don't have a choice, you are a beggar. Let's just go! He snapped.

I was nervous, angry and confused at the same time. It was my first day at work and I'm not even in my own clothes. This idiot right here is not even trying to be the least hospitable.
As we were walking out of the door, my imagination was seriously travelling to Cape Coast, to my aunt Mara and her kids. The divine aroma from her coffee shop. Her delicious meals. Her warm embrace. Her nagging and her unending lectures about me getting married or living with her. I love her so much, but I can't live with her now. Especially when I have Seth posted there. But she has been constantly worried about the fact that I was living a lonely life and she wanted me to live with her even after I get married.

She was so different from mum. Mum was never my mother. Aunt Mara was my mother. Ever since I was a little girl, I could only see affection in Aunt Mara's eyes. Mum's eyes were cold. Indifferent. Stern. No-nonsense. It became worse when Dad left us to marry a white woman. When he finally died, mum's eyes turned icy. Living with her made no sense. She had all the wealth and fame, but I chose Aunt over her a hundred times and she willed everything of hers to one greedy man servant because I was unwilling to accept them. I had severed ties with her so long that it makes no difference now that she's dead. I did not even attend her funeral. In fact there was nothing to bury. She got burnt to ashes in her car about eight years ago. It was so severe that all that was left was ash. Aunt had the ash collected and sent to church. The priest said mass for her and prayed for her soul. When I first heard the news, I was not bothered. It was after two days that I wept bitterly. I wish she embraced me once like Aunt Mara did all the time.  Unfortunately  I actually sometimes forget she's dead. It was always like that. She had never been alive to me.

But Aunt Mara made up for all that. She loved me more than her sons. She said I was her only daughter and....

"Hey! I can't use my car today. We have to get a trosky by the roadside", he said dragging me back into reality.

"What! I can't use a wretched bus. I can't get killed by a reckless driver! Let's use a taxi please," I begged.

"No princess, we can only afford a trosky. I'm broke."

"What! Do not be stingy. You spent so much money on alcohol yesterday and fried tilapia didn't you,? And you claim you are broke!"

"Here it comes! Just hop in Darling. We have to get in and settle before Cruella arrives!"

Before I knew it, he had yanked my arm of my waist and dragged me into the rickety yellow bus that had halted to let some passengers off.

There was no place for us to sit in the bus, so we had to stand like servants as the others sat comfortably.

"I am sorry. I have been a jerk since we met. I am sorry you had to come to work like this and all but here, meet my professional self, Daniel Rhodes. I am a news editor at Lights media house and a sound technician as well. Only that my work is not well appreciated in that horrid place...and you, can you please formally introduce yourself and pretend this is the first time we are meeting?" He said.

My mouth was still wide open out of shock. How could he transform so quickly. He really is terrified of that Cruella as to change suddenly on our way to work. He was looking very professional and clean. I don't know but something about his eyes fascinated me..but I just wasn't in to be fooled by his sudden change of behavior. First impressions are the only impressions. To me, he was still the delinquent that lured me to drink so much alcohol and spend the night under a table on his hairy and very appropriate chest. I was not ready to fall for his fake behavior now.

"Okay, I am Sheila. Sheila Anan. I am a