CHAPTER TWO.

 Jina, discovering that she had visitors inside the house, moderated her temper and entered the living room.

“You’re welcome! When did you come in?” she asked with enthusiasm to take a seat next to Mrs Wabua.

“ Half an hour ago. We had great company here." She said motioning to Esther.

"With her, time flies without  your notice.” The only gentleman in the company responded. His wife stared at him lovingly and kept reading his lips as he spoke.

“She’s adorable, isn’t she?”  Jina was upset with Esther’s presence. She glared at her with a hawk eye and then conceded,

"But not as adorable as my two beauties." 

"I don't think so. If you ask me, Esther is way prettier than both Mellisa and Mercy. She needs to be taken care of well." Said Mr Wabua.

"I concur with you, dear. In a month, Esther will be overwhelmingly gorgeous, I can bet on this." Jina was simmering with anger. Her heart was enraged. Turning her face and drawing her eyes to Esther, she sneered.  She didn't wish to listen to any more of the praises that were being showered at her niece. She stared at her with a dismissing gesture and Esther fled to the kitchen. The couple gazed at Jina with frowned faces. 

" How are you, and your lovely husband?" asked Mrs Wabua with a wide smile after a brooding silence.

"My Richard is all right. Loving and caring as always. He must be on his way." Her face flashed a smile.

"Look at how Jina is blushing like a schoolgirl! Isn't it good to be in love?"Asserted the gentleman leaning on his wife's shoulder. Mrs Wabua turned her face to her husband and pouted.

"What?"He asked cautiously and grinned.

"Are you asking?"  Mr Wabua leaned forward and gave his wife a passionate kiss. 

 They giggled passionately in exhilaration. Jina shook her head amused and turned her face away.

" You are starting to make me envious." She said jokingly and went to the kitchen. Esther stood at the kitchen entrance in awe. "Where do I start? dear me! I wonder if I am in the right place." She talked to herself.

Jina came and propelled her inside ruthlessly. "Will you please make yourself useful?" 

"Ok, mo..ma'am." She stammered and walked toward the sink. Jina grasped the kettle and went out. 

"It is much better to be loved by the one you trust. That's why I love and adore Richard so much." She goes to the cupboard and picks three cups. "I hate men who cheat on their wives. If Richard betrayed me with another woman, I wouldn't know what to do." Jina pours each a cup of tea."I would chop his hood and prepare it for my dinner." She chuckles. Her friends guffawed. 

"He would never try that. He is an honest man." Retorted Mrs Wabua.

Suddenly, Jina distinctly heard the sound of the car horn and her heart leapt with anxiety. "That must be Richard," She said excitedly. The twinkle in her eyes shone. Her visitors stared at her and giggled. Jina headed to her room. Minutes later she came back in a different dress. A tight flower-patterned dress and a shawl around her neck gave a touch to her dazzling beauty. Mrs Wabua caught her sight as she came down the stairs. “Wow!” she exclaimed and raised her eyebrows as she gaped at her.

"You look glamorous tonight!” Mrs Wabua reckoned, Richard won't take his eyes off you. Jina bubbled a broad smile. She had a pretty face and her form was befitting to her class.

"And young too! My dear we'd rather get going. The love birds will need privacy." They chuckled and sprang to their feet, held hands and headed out. Jina tugged along to welcome her husband. They were at the doorstep when Jina clicked her fingers as if to remember something. 

 "Esther," Jina yelled in her creaking voice. With her plump figure, she couldn't easily increase her pace to promptly open the gate. Esther heard the echoing of her voice and paced about in the kitchen in perplexity. The tea was boiling on one side and the food on another. It was probable that if she left them in the heat they might all get burnt.

"What should I do? I can't be in two places at once." She asked herself perturbed. She fumbled around confused until she heard another yell.

Rapidly, she relinquished everything she was doing and leapt out.

"Ma'am, you called me." Her voice trembled as she spoke. Jina glared at her and scowled.

"It's been an hour since! What took you so long?" She asked and pouted. Esther cowered. The attitude of her superior was unfriendly. Her heart palpitated with fear. 

"She couldn't have heard you. Perhaps she was preoccupied. "Reckoned Mrs Wabua to pacify her. Instantly, Jina's creased face composes slightly to hide her inner feeling.

"Yeah, take it easy with her, Jina."

 The latter felt embarrassed. Esther had made her look like the bad one. Inward, she simmers in anger but doesn't portray it. In a low tone, she urges her to open the gate. Mellisa and Mercy got out of the car and entered the gate. Jina's eyes kept glued on the car anxiously waiting to behold her husband. The car veered off quickly and screeched heading in the direction it had come from. Her heart was agitated. Her countenance switched forthwith. 

"Brother didn't bid me goodbye!" She muttered in bewilderment and shuffled towards her daughters, seeming irritated. 

"It occurs you will have to wait longer, my dear," said Mrs Wabua, noticing the change in Jina's gesture. The latter nods agreeably and clamps her lips tightly together. Mrs Wabua turned and noticed a craving in Esther's eyes. Her eyes glinted the minute she saw her cousins. She was in a rapture of anxiety and pleased by their presence but was nervous and reluctant to approach them.

 "

"Go on dear, join them. The three of you should relate easily or aren't you sisters?"She said, compelling her with a gentle smile. With a curl at the corner of her mouth, she turned to the girls that had just arrived." This way you are beaming defines that you had blissful fun the whole day." They nodded and grinned. Esther blushes slightly and moves forward hesitantly.

 Jina looks at Esther disapprovingly with an evil eye and the latter moves an ounce back.

"How are you, my darling angels,"

"How are you, Mum?" Her daughters greeted her with hugs.

"Uncle couldn't come in to say hey," said Mellisa. Jina's face frowned.

The couple offers her a handshake and hugs the girls bidding goodbyes

 "We have to be on our way. It's getting late."

"And cold." interrupted Mr Wabua with a wry smile.

Jina stared fixedly at him with a smirk and released an amiable smile. Mr Wabua held his wife by the waist and smiled back.

"I understand where you come from, but are you going to trek?

"No, "he nodded slightly and pursued, "the driver must be on his way."

"Alright then, see you soon."

"Sure!"

Seeing them happy together, her mind raced back to her husband. Richard often returned home early. This was his custom. He wouldn't stay out beyond 7:00 pm. Perhaps he was tangled up with work. Her nerves calmed down at this thought.