JEALOUSY IN DEATH

8.

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8. Desiree

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When Desiree followed Bobo to his classroom, his teacher was outside the entrance waiting. She quickly apologized for getting him late to school but his she brushed it off and introduced herself.

"I'm Miss Dammy." Desiree shook the hand that was outstretched to her. "I'm in charge of his class and Lucas senior told me he has someone new so it's perfectly fine that you're late. You're just starting and still getting used to this, I fully understand."

"Thanks, that's so nice of you. I'm Desiree by the way."

Miss Dammy looked to be barely twenty-five, and she had this air around her that made her appear to be accommodating. It looked as if teachers of the new generation were much nicer and younger than hers.

"Nice name. See you around, Desiree."

"Alright."

Bobo was already in the classroom all settled in and she waved at him before leaving. When she drove back to the house, it was empty. She picked the note on the kitchen counter and read,

You did amazing on your second day. I couldn't have gotten him out of the house so early.
I dropped his dirty clothes in the laundry room for you to take care of.
Can you make chin-chin? If you can't, find the recipe in the cook book in one of the drawers.
Make yourself at home while we're away and don't open the gate for anyone, the housekeeper isn't coming until tomorrow.
Lucas.

He really was nice on paper. Had he been smiling or frowning while writing the short note? She studied his handwriting and smiled, it looked exactly as him; crisp, neat and serious.

Desiree made her way to the lawn and got all the toys that were scattered on the grass when she had been playing with Bobo the previous evening. What started as a bath for his toys had become her shower. Bobo had wanted to dunk his toys in a bowl of water and she'd allowed him. They'd talked and laughed while he added more water to the bowl and suddenly the hose was directed at her face. He was lucky his dad was there to save him from her retribution.

She went back to the house with the toys and dropped them on the kitchen counter. She was a nanny, there was no longer going to be strategies to come up with in the office or targets to meet. Her new target was a boy and the only strategy she had was doing everything to make him comfortable and happy around her. He was all that mattered now. Her phone rang and brought her out of her reverie, it was a call from her brother, Hanye.

"Hey, Ye."

"How are you, baby girl?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"Fine also. I'm calling about your job situation, any luck yet?"

"Kinda. I found a job as a nanny."

He paused then said, "A nanny? As in kids and poop?"

She laughed. "Not like that. It involves a five-year old boy so no poop, at least not in the way you mean it."

"Why are you changing industry? I thought you loved marketing."

"I still do. I'm doing this for a short while so don't worry about me. Is Sugar there?" Her other brother, Zik was nicknamed Sugar. He lived with Hanye and they went to work together on most days.

"He is. Zik, your baby sister wants to speak with you."

She heard the phone changing hands and Sugar's hoarse, bass voice came on. "Hey, sis."

"Sugar, how has it been?"

"The usual, heard you're a nanny now."

"You heard right."

"You know we'll always support you but do you want to waste your education on such job?"

"First of all, it's not a waste."

"Okay. Do you need us to send you some money?"

"Nope, I'm good. My new job actually pays well."

"Lucky you. Will you be coming around this weekend?"

"I'll let you know if I can on Friday. Take care of each other."

"I love you, Dee."

"I love you too, have a nice day. Give the phone back to Ye."

Her oldest brother got the phone and said his goodbye. Hearing her brothers' concern for her made her feel protected and happy.

Desiree went to the laundry and got the dirty clothes into the machine, as it spun she went to the kitchen and started on the snack. Maa used to make her and her brothers chin-chin when they were little so it was something she grew up making. She got wheat flour from the cupboard and poured some into the bowl along with baking powder and nutmeg, then she added sugar, butter, egg and milk.

Before she got started with mixing and rolling, she went to the laundry room and put the clothes to dry. She got back to the kitchen and rolled the dough after mixing. The flat dough was cut into small squares and transferred to a baking pan.

Desiree went to the living room after setting the oven to the right temperature necessary for it to bake. She tucked her feet and turned on the TV but there was nothing showing that caught her interest. She went back to the kitchen and found the oven off, she turned it on again and went to the living room. She went to the kitchen after few minutes and found the oven off again.

"What the hell? Why is it going off?" she asked softly, her hands flailing in the air in frustration.

She dragged out one of the stools and sat in front of the oven to watch as the chin-chin baked. The oven stayed on and when the chin-chin was baked enough, she got the pan out and placed it on the counter to cool. She took some pieces of the square snack and crunched them in her mouth, she was satisfied with the outcome despite the malfunctioning of the oven. She had to tell Lucas about it, something was probably wrong with it. First the A.C and now the oven, the electronics were really acting up.

She glanced at her wrist and found out she had about three hours to rest before getting Bobo from school. Desiree grabbed two apples from the kitchen and left the main house to her side of the house. She bit on the apple and got her laptop out as she made herself comfortable in the bedroom. Feeling bored, she opened the Scrabble application on her laptop and found a partner online to play with. She was losing woefully for the second time in a row when Lucas' call came in.

"Hello, Boss."

"Lucas," he corrected. "It's almost time to get Bobo from school."

"I'm aware, I'm almost out of the house," she lied. She'd been so carried away with the game that two hours had passed without her noticing.

"Alright, I just called to remind you."

"Okay."

She ended the call and raced to get the car key from the main house. She got some of the baked snack into a clear plastic bowl and raced to the car. She took several calming breaths and drove out of the house. When Desiree got to Bobo's school, several cars were waiting outside to pick up the kids. She waited inside the car with the A.C. on full blast as the sun was trying so hard to outdo itself.

As children came streaming out of their classrooms, she stepped out of the car and tried to find Bobo in the sea of kids running and jumping around. She felt him by her side as he took her left hand.

"Here you are." She bent and he hugged her, she leaned against the car when she almost lost her balance from the sudden action. "How was school today?" She got his lunch box and school bag when she stood to her full height.

"It was fine. Where's my daddy?" he asked as he got to the back seat.

"He's at work."

"But he gets me from school every day."

"Daddy does some pretty important things at work so he asked for my help."

"Will he be here tomomow?"

"If he isn't busy, he'll be here tomorrow. I brought you chin-chin, your dad says you love it."

"Yes," he said excitedly.

Desiree helped him with the seat belt before handing him the bowl. Bobo opened it and took a fistful.

"Do you like it?" she asked after he ate some.

"It's sweet, can I have more?"

"Of course, it's yours."

"Thank you, Dee."

Desiree smiled and got into the car. Bobo filled her in on all he learnt that day, he said they were learning how to grow beans. She listened without interrupting as he went on and on while eating his snack. When he was almost done with the snack, he asked if she wanted some, she smiled and said no.

Immediately she drove into the driveway, Bobo opened the car door and let himself out. Desiree got his bags and joined him at the doorstep, she unlocked the door and they went in.