Love's Timeline

The Welcome

Song for this chapter: Maradonna by Niniola

November, 20th 2018

"Larley!" her mother exclaimed as she bounced through the door engulfing her with a hug as if she hadn't visited her last week whiles she was in Madrid. Larley smiled joyfully as her mother held her in a tight embrace, finally feeling like she was truly home. "I didn't even hear the car come in, I would have given you a much more extra welcome", her mother said still hugging her. "Mum, it is okay. If I wasn't so over the moon to be back, I would have been disappointed", Larley playfully shot back at her mother. They finally got out of the hug after what felt like an eternity to Larley and her mother watched her. Larley could tell her mother was hiding something and immediately shook her head mentally realizing there was probably a surprise waiting for her somewhere.

"Mama, where's daddy?" she asked her mum pulling on her wrist like a two-year-old. "Oh, he's at the back. You know how much he loves his garden", her mother replied, holding her hand as they made their way to her father's location. "WELCOME BACK LARLEY!" a crowd screamed as they walked out the door that led them to the backyard. Larley gave out a cry of joy as she looked at the close friends and family that were present. She was still surprised even though she had already anticipated the actions of her parents. "My pride and joy, come and give daddy a hug", her father's voice boomed as he came out of the crowd advancing towards her. "Daddy!" she smiled falling into her father's arms. There was nothing she missed more than the smell of her dad. He always had this distinct smell of gin and coconut. "It feels so good to be back. I hope I'm not too big to still be daddy's little girl", she cooed into her father's ears. He let out a hearty laugh and replied with a loud and proud, "NEVER!"

As Larley moved around the garden saying hello to cousins and making small talk with everyone she met, she couldn't help but notice Teddy was nowhere to be found. Her heart sunk as she thought of all the reasons why he hadn't shown up. The excuses she made in her head for him were many, "Maybe he had to something really important at work, he might also not be feeling well or he had a mechanical issue with his car or he's dead and they are all not telling me". She let out a hearty laugh at the last possible option she made up and shook her head. "You went to Givenchy's mansion. Tell me what was it like inside", her aunty yapped on and on. With a slight roll in her eyes and a wave of dismissal, Larley responded with a "Very interesting", walking off. She moved through the garden with sheer determination. She had to know why he wasn't here and the only person she knew would tell her the truth is her mother. "Mum, where is he?" she demanded with desperation in her voice as she pulled her mother aside from the people she was talking to. "Yes darling, why are you holding my arm so tight?" her mother said looking at her nervously. "I said where is he? Is he not coming?" she demanded again sounding deflated. "Oh, Teddy said he couldn't make it and that he would make it up to. The poor boy felt so bad when he was telling me", Mrs Odoom said still looking nervous. Larley sized up her mother feeling like she was being blatantly lied to. "Mum why are you-", Larley was cut off as she felt a pair of familiar arms around her waist. Her heart skipped multiple beats as she recognized the figure-hugging her from behind with his face in her neck. "Teddy", she said breathlessly spinning around to kiss him. She felt like melting to the ground as he engulfed her with his scent and kissed her back with the same longing she was kissing him with.

"HAVE YOU GONE SENSELESS?" her father's voice thundered in the garden looking at the spectacle before him. Larley jumped slightly as the voice and looked at her father like a deer stuck in headlights wondering what the hell his problem was. He had seen them kiss countless times. He had even come to walk in on them naked on the floor of his kitchen after sex. Larley smirked at the memory, grabbing Teddy's palm. "Please, Cudjoe lets go inside. Don't make a scene", her mother said rushing to her husband's side. The garden filled with people was so silent; it was almost as if the people had been replaced with gravestones. Everybody looked awkward as they stared at the lovers that had just been reunited. Larley felt uneasy under the stares not because she was being looked at but because she felt everybody knew something she didn't. "Dad, what's your problem? Why does everyone look like that? You've all seen me with Teddy before. Can everyone stop acting so strange?" she said haughtily feeling a mix of confusion and frustration. "Babe, can I talk to you for a second?" Teddy finally let out as everyone looked at Larley like she was ticking time bomb in her last five seconds before the explosion. "Who are you calling babe? You have gone senseless! How dare you even show your face here?" Cudjoe Odoom fired at the sinfully handsome man standing beside his daughter. "Stop talking to him like that. Why can't he be here? What are you all hiding from me?" she said raising her voice slightly from how confused she was.

Everyone just stared. Nobody spoke. Cudjoe Odoom looked so angry if he was a cartoon he'd have smoke coming out of ears. He looked like he was ready to jump Teddy as his angry gaze was fixated on him. The only thing that was holding him back was his wife. As Salma Odoom held on to her husband, she thanked God he hadn't gone completely crazy yet. Her daughter looked so lost, she felt like crying just looking at her. The guilt she felt was so heavy she couldn't even bring herself to utter another word. Larley looked expectantly at everyone, begging someone to speak up and tell her what she was missing. "Lala, please let's go and talk", Teddy begged to grab Larley's waist slightly. "You have no shame! You are married with a child for crying out loud. What more do you have to say to her?" an obnoxious voice said distastefully. As the words registered in Larley's head, it felt heavy, the words echoing over and over again as the woman she was looking at got blurrier and blurrier until all she saw was darkness.