married ,a story by mary

MARRIED

EPISODE 6
Andy sat on the chair in his office the next day doing absolutely nothing. He should have gone home hours back when there was almost nothing for him to  do but he could not imagine going home. Although Jessica always dressed like a saint who was still living in the era of his forefathers, he felt drawn towards   her. That day in the kitchen during their honeymoon  was a day he had desperately tried   to get out of his mind.  Standing  so  close  to  her  that  day  had  made  him  aware  of  her perfume  which  was  totally  feminine.  He  had  always  known  that  she was  beautiful   because  he   would  never  have   picked  someone   less beautiful to be his wife for a day, not to mention a year, but that day, he  had  come  to  the  full  realization  of  her  exquisite  beauty.  He  had noticed that she did not  have black pupils but instead had dark grey.
The realization had stunned him. But most of all, he had been thrown off balance by just how slim her waist was.  He could not remember how his hands had managed to get to her waist but he couldn’t have been more surprised when he noticed the slim waist she had. He hadn’t really paid attention to it when he had  held  her  close  on  the  beach,  his  anger  hadn’t  allowed  him  that much. The dresses she always wore were big enough to hide her waist and  hips  but  ever   since  that  day,  he  kept   on  imagining  what  was beneath every beige cloth she wore. His eyes had never even seen her legs before. He had   decided to use work as a good  distraction and it worked to a certain extent.
His phone rang   and  he  frowned  when he  saw  the  caller.  Dad? The number proved that he was already in Nigeria.
“Dad?” he said immediately he picked up.
“Yes son, how are you doing?”
“Are you in Nigeria?” Andy stood up from his chair.
“Yes  I   am.  Get  ready   to  receive   me  in   your  house  tonight because I would be having dinner with you today”
The alarm sounded in Andy’s head. Trust his father to always put them on the spot. “What? I mean… why didn’t you tell me you have arrived Nigeria? When did you arrive?” Andy was pacing.
“This afternoon. I would be at your  house in three hours’ time. I need  to  see  my  daughter  in  law  face  to  face  and  not  some  unclear picture,  although  she  looked  stunning  in  those  wedding  pictures  and tapes.”His dad ended the call and Andy stared at the phone in agitation.
Three  hours!  The  words  echoed  in  his  head.  How  was  he  going  to convince  his  ever suspicious  father  that  he  and  Jessica  were  in  love?
Jessica was a strong headed girl, how   was he going to convince her to act like a loving wife, perfectly enough to convince his father? Does she even  know  how  loving  wives  behave?  He  wondered.  He  took  his  car keys and his suit jacket and left the office instantly. He dialed his best friend and assistant to tell him that the office was in his care. He had a feeling that he was in for a long night.
*****
Jessica  lay  on  the  chair,  reading  a  novel.  One  thing  she  loves about the house was the study which was filled with all kinds of books. She  had  found  a  novel  which  looked  interesting  and  was  occupying herself with it. She was surprised when she heard Andy’s car horn. He never arrived around six and she knew that something was out of place. She stayed where she was, even though she was curious.
Andy entered and she lifted her head with a nonchalant look on her eyes but the look faded when she saw him. His suit jacket was in his hand along with a nylon and his car keys were on the other hand. His shirt which her eyes focused on was buttoned halfway down, leaving his muscled chest partly visible. She swallowed and looked at his face.
“Good evening Drew. You are early”
“It is necessary. My dad would be here soon”
“Your  dad”  she  muttered  as  the  realization  slowly  dawned  on her. Her eyes slowly widened and   Andy fought back  an amused smile.
“He is coming here?”
He nodded with a faint smile and Jessica jumped to her feet at once. “My dad is one man who can’t be fooled easily. I don’t know if you can act like a love-struck woman.”
Jessica frowned. “I believe I can be or do anything if I decide to. The question is, ‘can you act a love-struck man’?” she smiled slightly.
“We don’t have enough time to act a proper rehearsal so I guess we  would  both  find  out  the  hard  way.  It  is  either  we  both  are  poor actors or we are both meant to be in the movie industry”. He smiled and remembered what he was holding. “I got you a befitting gown” he said and stretched the nylon to her.
“Befitting” she muttered, hating the word.
“Well, you refused to go shopping every time I mentioned it and I can’t have you meet  my father in one of those gowns you always put on.” Why was she making this harder than it should be? She collected the nylon and removed the cloth inside. It was a multicolored  gown   which   had  ‘expensive’   written  all   over   it.  She removed the nylon that was used to cover the gown and let it fall to the ground.
“I noticed that you love clothes that goes all the way down to your feet so I got this which has a long hand to go with it, but it is still elegant  and  speaks  of  class”   he  explained  nervously  as  she  quietly scrutinized the cloth.
The cloth was beautiful, very beautiful, she admitted to herself.
“It is beautiful, but I can’t put it on”
“What?  We   are   not  going   to  argue   about  this   again!”   His frustration was obvious now.
“I  don’t  mean  to  be  rude  but  your  dad  is  going  to  know  that something is fishing if I put this on. This cloth is meant for an important event and not just an indoor dinner. What I need to put on is something simple but also classy.”
“Well, we don’t have time, let’s go for it. My dad would be here any minute”
“I have what I need.” She said.
Andy’s eyes turned round. “You do?”
Jessica refused to let his infuriating gaze annoy her. “Yes. I would go  and  freshen  up,  tell  Ada  to  make  the  food  ready  for  three”  she turned and left Andy standing there.
Andy grimaced at the thought of what Jessica would put on. And who was she to give him orders? He should be the one dishing out the orders. Fuming, he went to tell Ada what to do. After an hour, Andy still did not see Jessica. He wanted to inspect the cloth she would put on to see  if  it  was  fit.  Even  though  he  did  not  really  think  much  of  classy dressing  and   the  likes,   he  knew   that  his  father   would  expect   his daughter-in-law to dress like a ‘William’. He wondered which oversized dress Jessica would choose to put on; he already had a number of them imprinted in his medulla. The car horn he heard almost made him jump.
He called Jessica’s name but heard no response. Knowing that he was doomed, he went to the door and opened it.  Seeing  his  father  after  more  than  five  months  shouldn’t  make him nervous but he was not sure how the evening would turn out. He saw his father step out of the car and he walked up to the elderly man with a cool smile.
“Dad” he called.
Mr. Williams turned with smiles. “Son.” He hugged Andy, patting his back. “I have missed you. How is Nigeria?”
“Nigeria is still the same old busy place. Why didn’t you inform me of your arrival? I could have picked you up”
“That is why I have a driver. Where is my daughter-in-law?”
“She-”
The door opened and he turned. When he saw the person at the doorway, he blinked and froze altogether.

To be continued...

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