CHAPTER THREE

The lovely couple broke off coherently and waited outside the gate.

Jina knitted her eyebrows, peeling her eyes at the big shopping bag and before she could utter a word was interrupted by Mercy, "Uncle pat's  son is in the hospital."

"Uh, what happened to Britton?"

"We can hardly explain because he didn't tell us."

 Esther stood aloof and listened. If she had the opportunity, she would have suggested that they went inside because it was cold outside.

"And, daddy, did you see him in town?" 

"No…"  Mercy stopped and wrinkled her nose. The redolent of burnt food filled the air. Esther was absent-minded and hardly realised that it might be the food she left cooking in the kitchen. Thanks to the poor sense of smell that Jina had otherwise she wouldn't have hesitated to scold her. "I'll go inside. I feel fatigued." Mellisa said and signalled Esther to come along with her.

"I'll have to call Richard and let him know about it. Had he been here, I would have gone to the hospital with Pat." 

"All is well, mum, he will be okay." Said Mercy and poked in her bag for a handkerchief. 

Jina bore a worried gesture on her face. She and Pat were more than brothers and sisters. Their intimacy was stronger than just a blood relation. She was ill at ease. "I should have gone with him. What will he think of me, insensitive?" she muttered and peered into space in deep thought.

The air inside was stale. Esther sniffed something awful and instantly rushed to the kitchen. The food was burnt to the core. The burnt macaroni looked like pieces of burnt chopsticks. "I am in big trouble! How could I forget?" Grumbled Esther as she wrung her hands in nervousness.

"Mom doesn't have to know about this." Retorted Mellisa in consolation. Patting her shoulder, she pursued, "we must make sure to keep her off the scent. Open the window, and let in the flesh before she comes in. As it is she won't smell anything. I will find a way to distract her."

"But… What about the food?" She lowered the pan which was as black as charcoal inside. "This isn't edible."

“Oh, my God!” Mellisa goggled her eyes and clapped her mouth petrified at the sight of the pan whose colour had turned dark and detestable. Esther, noticing her cousin's sudden gesture, was now more alarmed. It was a herald of the grave punishment she would have to serve once Jina got to see it. “Give it to me, don’t worry.  I will make it disappear, and don’t ask me how or let me on or else mom will displace all the anger to you and I distaste it. She lunged for the handle of the pan and drawing her shiny eyes on the wrenching sight, wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Ugh! How terrible!” She can’t see this.” She muttered.

“OK, I won’t say a thing, I promise! “Esther responded with a vigorous nodding and a miserable smile and proffered her the pan and its filthy content. “I  wonder where she will bury it. I hope the grave will be too deep not to allow any chances of its excavation or else  auntie will have to stifle me in the same grave.” She thought and starred in space in horror.

"Prepare another dish. I'll come from time to time, to check on the progress." Mellisa walks out of the kitchen and sits on a couch.

" She won't spare her if she finds out that…"  she muttered and sat in thoughtful concentration. Suddenly she remembered that her mom's favourite novella soap would soon air on one of the TV channels. The flicker on her face beamed. It was a relief that Esther was out of danger. Mellisa was a great schemer especially when it came to handling her mom's temper. Jina would never draw away her sight to anything else until the whole episode elapsed.

"What do we have here?" Jina asked curiously as she lunged for the shopping bag. "Your Uncle Pat will spoil you with gifts." Mercy handed her the bag and together they headed inside.

Unexpectedly, her phone rang. She briskly went upstairs to answer the call. The tension in her heart intensified. The notion that a terrible thing might have happened to her nephew clung to her mind and she was reluctant to pick the call.

Quietly, she composes herself on the bed and places the phone to her ear without checking the caller.

"He..llo, Jina speaking." She sputtered nervously.

"Yes, honey, how are you?"

Hearing her husband's sweet voice she eases up and sighs in relief and responds with a beam on her face."Honey, it's you! You scared me to death." She speaks in a tender but excited voice. Her heart leapt with cheerfulness. Listening to his romantic utterances and his wobbling voice thrilled her.

"Honey, where are you? You didn't inform me you would exceed your usual time." He hesitated to answer. Jina had an instinct that she heard a female voice in the background and a tinge of jealousy creeps over her. 

“I hope you aren’t cheating on me, Richard. You better not be.” She flushed and pursed her lips as she listened intently and soon the voice died down. Her instincts were right; Julie, a man-eater who entered his office earlier that day, wouldn't stop harassing him. By the looks of things, if Richard doesn’t escape the temptation of the serpent, it might coil up around his snake and he won’t be able to outwit it because Julie is artful, selfish and cynical and her stunning beauty itself is alluring. 

In a moment, Jina hears Richard clear his voice and resume,

"Sorry, darling, something came up. As such, I still have a bunch of work to do."   As he spoke, his heart was filled with guilt. Julie kissed his cheek and Jina probably heard the sound in the background. She was suspicious. "Sweetheart, are you alone? Did I hear someone kiss you?" Richard was tense.

"Sweetheart, '' he chuckled and resumed, "there's no one in my office except me, or am I not supposed to send you a flying kiss? I miss you! If only you were near me!" Suddenly he was gripped by a spurt of fear. Slowly he was giving into temptation and with the skilful tempter near him, it was probable that he might fall into the trap. Jina stretches out on her bed. As she listens to all his deception, her body warms up. She stretches her hand, clasps a pillow and holds it close to her blossom. The desire for her husband was too strong. She for a moment reminisced on her romantic moments with Richard and fire burned inside him. She breathed heavily and in a husky voice said, 

"Honey, come home soon, please, and just before I forget, Britton has been admitted to Nsambya hospital."

"When? what happened?"

"I don't have an idea."

"Ok, dear, hold yourself together. I will pass by the hospital before heading home, alright?"

"Ok, honey, I love you."

"Love you too." He hangs up