Black Coffee (Tara's Dream)|Dearest Diary, - Book 1 (unedited)

Chapter Twenty One.

This is crazy. I find myself thinking even as I am dragged just literally to meet the one that I have known to be my archnemesis.

"Mum...what do you mean to achieve by this?" I cannot tell if she expects me to apologize to her or if they have something planned out with that wily Monica. Ten paces and decreasing, that is all I have left between me and that monster. I am exaggerating it, I know, but in this moment I can't help it but think the worst.

"Hey, you've got this." I can hear the chuckle in Troy's voice even as he comes to stand beside me. Of course, I appreciate the moral support but not fact that this man is finding my discomfort quite amusing. "Aren't you Attara? The indomitable lioness?" I don't get to answer as I am accosted by the very jovial man I have always known to be Troy's father.

He smiles at me and then pulls me into a hug, the white whiskers on his elderly face tickling the smooth skin of my own even as he does so. He is quite a jovial man and in a lot of ways, he reminds me of Dr. Mwangaza. Not only is he kind but he also noble and I know that I can always count on him to do the right thing where his wife may not.

He slowly lets go and I am finally forced to acknowledge the small woman that is standing at his side,the carrier of the fiery attitude that matches the present colour of her dress.

My hand stretches out and for some reason she sees it fit to smile at me, as if she is somehow pleased to see my face. How when she was the genesis of all my problems to begin with?How she and my mother came to be best of friends, I cannot tell. For it baffles me to the point that I suspect that there must have been something that these two are not telling us.

"Monica." I smile back tightly before taking a precautionary step backwards. A precaution just in case she decides to get other ideas.

"Attara. Nice to see you here." she replies softly and I am taken aback by the hurt that I see flashing in her eyes. Apparently I am not the only one to witness this, as my mother pushes me forward and scolds me for not greeting my in laws properly.

"It's okay Irina." Monica defends me even as I grumbled to myself.

"They are not my in laws!" Troy somehow catches that and the next thing I know he is leaning into my ear to whisper not so silently.

"I hope to remedy that and soon enough." He tells me. My eyes widen in surprise even as my nosy mother catches his words and turns to the pair of us with a certain excitement in her voice.

"You haven't asked her already? I was of the idea that you already asked her-"

"Now is a good a time as any I guess." The man interjects cutting off my mother before I could fully hear what she had to say. I am quite curious, mostly wondering who and what Troy was meant to ask. That is until his words sink in and I turn to face him with a threat in my voice.

"Don't you dare!"

"Why Attara? Afraid of just a little crowd?"

"I swear Troy, if you dare to do so now, I am going to say NO and it's going to be all your fault. Imagine the embarassment..." I rub the last part in for good measure.  

"You will do no such thing." My mother interjects.

"Are you certain about that mother?" She looks uncertain, though I really can't blame her. Sometimes I surprise myself as well.

"So, if I happen to ask you another time you will say yes?"

"I don't know." I shrug my shoulders. "Depends on what mood I will be in."

My response is greeted with laughter and I realise that I had totally forgotten about that other pair that has been spectating on silently.

"You two are quite the pair." The senior Mr White laughs.

"Yes dear. It seems that it's quite unfortunate that I didn't get to see this  before." She says as she gives Troy a certain look that I find I cannot correctly decipher. "Come with me Attara." She turns her face back to me. "I would like to have a word with you." She smiles so sweetly that I find myself at loss for words to say. "Don't be afraid. I don't bite." She adds even as my mother shoves me right into her arms.

The move catches me by surprise, but I am more surprised when she reaches out to catch me before gently wrapping her arm around mine. I gulp, my eyes wondering back to the group that I am leaving behind. Three pairs of eyes meet mine, one is admonishing while the other two are giving me encouraging looks. When did I become so fearful? I admonish myself. I can do this. She isn't that big now, is she? I think even as I size up my partner from the periphery of my eyes and nod. Yes, I can do this.

"Attara...What are you thinking? Where is your faith?" I admonish myself again. My thoughts are not right, neither is my fear. I have to let go, nothing good can come out of such malicious thoughts.

"I am sorry." My partner says even as she brings us to a balcony that is overlooking a courtyard, with a pool and several other hotel guests lounging there. "I won't throw you over if that is what you are worrying about." She adds mistaking my observation for a look of apprehension.

"It didn't cross my mind, but now that you mention it-" I smile.

"Attara. I didn't bring you out here to finish you. That would be stupid. I am many things, but murder is not one of them. Believe it or not, I am a Christian and I respect life." Good to know. I thought even as I nodded my head.

"So, why am I here? The last time-" she cuts me off before I could bring up a nasty memory.

"You are here because of my son. You make him happy and you are the mother of my granddaughter."

"I am surprised that you can acknowledge that now?" She closes her eyes even as a pained look flashes across her features.

"I am sorry Attara." She whispers even as tears begin to cloud her eyes. "Can you ever forgive me? What I did was wrong. I should never have interfered in the matters between you two and calling you a gold-digger, that was the lowest point in my life. I was wrong. Please forgive me." I stare at the little woman for a long while, many thoughts crossing my mind even as I take in the words that she has just told me. Was she being genuine? It doesn't matter though That is not how forgiveness works.

"I forgive you." I finally tell her. "I am not sure though that I can give you my trust."

"Thank you. Your forgiveness is all I need right now. As for trust, please allow me to earn it with time. I have been very unfair to you, right from the start. I allowed the fact that Troy is my son cloud my judgement and I forgot the insecurities you might have felt as a girl falling in love. I admit too, to my mistakes in pushing Troy around. I pushed our ambitions on him and it added more stress to a relationship that was budding..."

"Hey, not all that is your fault. I was pigheaded too so you don't have to take all that blame." I smile back.

"Oh Attara!" The tears continue to fall more freely. "Promise me though, that you won't do the same thing I did to you with your future son in law."

I laugh.

"I am not so sure about that Monica. It's your son you should be worried about there." I go on to narrate the episode of Briella and Timmy and my former archnemesis laughs even as we bond over the discovery that Troy is not always that sweet.

"I don't believe it! What do you think he would to the men that attempt to court her?"

"I don't want to even imagine." I laugh back.