Love In Awkward Ways. (The concluding part).

“The woman…” Sandy stuttered.

“Whatever Sandy, I’m not interested in that woman. She’s dating a man young enough to be her son” Ella hushed her angrily; “I just have to see Brenda”.

“Ella calm down,” Sandy pacified, “besides, it not the woman that’s pushing for the relationship, it’s David. He’s so in love with the woman and from what Brenda told me, he might just get married to her any time soon”

“Are you kidding me? What kind of yeye love is that one?”

Ella became so irritated and made for her bags, “Sandy, I’m going please. This gist has spoilt my mood seriously. How long has he even been dating the old thing?”

“Ah –ah, why are you leaving now? I haven’t even told you the main thing and you are already leaving angrily. They’ve been together for about four months now” said Sandy.

“Four months? Why am I just hearing it now?” Ella asked as she walked towards the door.

“She kept it to herself, you know how it is. She only opened up to me two weeks ago that’s why I called you to come around.”

“Hmm, Sandy I’ve heard enough for today please. I think I’d have to stop by at her place on my way home because I want to pick up some foodstuffs at that Waterside market; I want to prepare native soup tomorrow against next week” Ella said as she stepped out of Sandy’s Beauty House.

“Alright dear, take good care of yourself and my regards to Brenda” said Sandy as she walked Ella outside the salon, “hope we’ll see pretty soon”

Ella gave a her friendly hug, “take care too, bye”, and she headed for her car parked close to the gate of the complex that housed  Sandy’s Beauty House.

Sandy went back into the salon, “Carol, Carol, where is my phone?” she called out to her girl as she searched for her phone. Carol brought it for her “Madam see am”.

Sandy called Brenda “Hello…Brenda it’s me Sandy…how are you doing...Ella just left my salon and she said she’d stop by at your place…I couldn’t tell her…she was angry about the whole thing she didn’t want to hear more…I’ll schedule to chat with her again…will definitely tell her when next I see her…take care dear…yeah bye”

Ella got into her car still bewildered about the story she just heard from Sandy. While she was fixing her seatbelt her phone rang. Bringing out the phone from its case she saw it was Vera her younger sister calling

"Hello Vee, what’s up?"

"Sister I'm fine o, good afternoon, please where are you?"

"Is there any problem? You sound kind of tensed"

"Sister I came to the family house this morning and Jackson gave me one kind gist which you must hear"

Jackson was their youngest and only brother who was still in secondary school. He stayed in the family house with their mum; their dad had died when Ella the first child of the family had just gotten into the university. Vera was in her final year in the university. Their mum as a strict Christian woman who made sure they held up all Christian values she had taught them.

Ella thought, was today going to be all about gist?

"What’s the gist?" Ella asked.

"Sister it’s not something I can gist you on phone besides my credit will soon finish"

Ella knew her sister for that excuse each time she called but she really wanted to hear her out "ok, let me call you back".

Ella called back

"Sister, just calm down and hear me o. Jackson told me that for some time now one rich man has been coming around. He comes to see mum. Mum initially didn't welcome him but he persisted. She's now friends with the man and the man loves mum so very much. He treats her like a queen. The man even bought very expensive stuffs for Jackson and mum and he says he wants to meet us. Now mum seems to like him and he wants to marry mum. Hello, are you there?"

Ella was shaken by what she just heard, "yes, I'm listening" she replied with a weak voice.

"Sister, I’ve not seen mum to know if it’s true, Jackson said the man came and took her to a spa this morning"

"Mum went to a spa?"

"Yes o, that’s not even my problem"

"So what is your problem?" Ella managed to say as the thought of her mother considering re-marrying while she was still single made her nervous.

"Sister the problem is that this Uncle David is a young guy, he may just be a year or two older than you and…"

"What did you call him?!"

"Uncle David"

Ella froze. For some seconds all she could feel was rage and dread. She ran out of the car and back to Sandy's Beauty House.

"Sandy! Sandy! Come!" She dragged Sandy to a corner of the salon; all eyes were on her due to the alarming way she called on Sandy.

With a very low, trembling voice she asked "Sandy you said there was something I needed to know about the older woman"

Sandy who was anxious but had been thinking of a way to say it, noticing the phone in Ella’s hand understood, "yes, the woman is your mother".