Charlotte McCartney “What alphabet is this one baby?” I asked, sceptical that she would get that one.“Letter w”, she replied almost immediately.“Oh! my one true genius”, I said, picking her up and blowing on her stomach till she laughed so heartily she held my head to stop.“How about this one? Do you remember this one?” I said, still holding her.“Letter v”, she replied cheerfully.“Baby you've made mommy so happy. What would you want me to buy for you?” I asked cheerfully, then I remembered that I can't exactly buy anything because I don't exactly have any money. Coming here we had to give up everything, I gave up lots of past acquaintances, my job and most importantly Kelcie's education. The issue that led to Kelcie's leaving school didn't have so much to do with money but more to do with the distance from her school to here. Josh Xavier's house was located in a much distant part of the town. It wasn't that there were no schools around here but the schools here are so expensiv
JOSH XAVIER She just stood there looking as though she didn't hear what I had just said. “My name is Kelcie, what's your name?” she asked in that innocent daze .I kept a stern face and remained silent hoping that she'd take the cue and run off to her mother but she was unperturbed. “Excuse me Mr, what's your name?” she persisted “What's your name Mr?” then she stopped as though she got an idea in her little head and said “I'll call you Mr”. I rolled my eyes at this which she took as encouragement.“Mr”, she said, coming even closer than before putting her little hands on my legs “Can I ride too?” she asked.“No” I answered“Why?” she asked innocently as though as I was trying to stop her from something she thought would be fun. I don't know but something in my depth melted at this. “You'll not want to ride this one”, I said. “We could get you a toy to ride if that's what you want”, I added.“Will you ride it with me?” she asked excitedly.“Of course not,” I replied, feeling a littl
Charlotte McCartney Josh fell atop the shards of glasses that he smashed.I didn't know exactly how I felt when that happened. A disabled old man got clumsy and fell atop shards of glass. I was numb. Maybe it was how quick it all happened before we could even reach to prevent him from falling or maybe it was the fact that he was nice to Kelcie that actually made me feel bad for this man. As malicious as this may sound, it wasn't said from a place of malice, I held nothing against Josh Xavier aside from the few times he said some mean and awful things to me but my problem with him here was he was evading treatments and medical administration, evading isn't exactly the word he was telling everything to go straight to hell.He lay on the floor grunting and breathing deeply, shards of broken glass had pierced his skin causing him and the floor to be stained with blood.As soon as the Doctor came to help him, he roared, “Get back, don't you come close to me!”The Doctor just stood there
Charlotte McCartney “Get that shit out of my sight Lydia”, we heard Josh say as we headed to the kitchen. “What is she doing up so early?” he exclaimed,as soon as his eyes fell on Kelcie.“Hello Lydia” I said ignoring his question and waving to Lydia who stood beside him as he sat before a table of food and drugs.“Good morning Ms Lydia”, Kelcie said, running to embrace Lydia.“Hello Kelcie”, Lydia said smiling and returning her embrace.“I know you heard me”, he said, dissatisfied by my refusal to reply.“She's hungry”, I answered , saying only half the truth. The truth was that I was the one who awoke very hungry to find Kelcie also awake. So we decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to have an early morning breakfast.“Hello Mr. Good morning”, said Kelcie cheerfully as though she had seen an old friend embracing him as well.“Hello little one”, he replied, obviously uneasy by the gesture.“Looks like someone was about to eat”. I guessed that Josh was once again refusing to eat pr
Charlotte McCartney “Mommy let's play a game”, Kelcie said excitedly, as the three of us sat outside Josh Xavier's mansion in what seemed to be a field of some sort, a huge one for that matter very suitable for parties, receptions, picnics etc. Kelcie had somehow managed to convince Josh to come outside to play with her, he on the other hand probably may have seen it as a good opportunity to do something other than just sit inside.“What sort of games exactly are we talking about?” he asked mildly cautiously.“It's a role game, I'll be Daddy, you’ll be baby, and Mommy will be mommy.“But why can't you be baby and I be Daddy?” Josh complained.“Because I'm always the baby” she replied slightly annoyed as though it wasn't obvious“Okay”, she said and ran off, soon she was back with some grasses in her miniature plate, eat baby she said to Josh and ran off again.The look on Josh's face was so comical I burst into Laughter.“What's so funny?” he asked, annoyed. “I'm really confused on
Charlotte McCartney “Josh looks like you've not only gotten yourself a wife but also someone to fight your battles for you isn't that right?” Beatrice Xavier asked, staring at me with a sinister smile.“You know I'm his wife and yet you choose to disrespect my husband and daughter before me?” I countered feeling more enraged by this woman, who not only has been able to succeed in making Josh feel more miserable than ever but was also reaching to what she considers other parts of him to do the same thing.“She's a real fiesty one now isn't she?” she said, still trying to downplay my presence and position but wavering a little.“Excuse me lady!” I challenged, feeling bolder than before. “When my grandfather told me about this place, he told me that this house belonged to Josh Xavier, handed to him by his father. As much as I do not dispute who you are to him and what role you may play in his family dynamic, I still do not believe it is proper to barge into a property that is not yours
Josh Xavier The days always seemed the same when I spent it inside. Nothing really happened other than what was already not happening, my misery. That's why whenever I feel miserable I choose to remain indoors. There, I could drown in my nothingness. As a young man I had lived my life in tune with the fever, the rush. But I had been cautious nonetheless. I wasn't one to be dead drunk or deadly intoxicated by drugs or feelings. I played them all with caution and care, I wasn't one to be defined by errors and mistakes contrary to the case I was a perfectionist. But here I lay, an old disabled man, crippled by an accident. The same accidents I had somehow successfully managed to escape all those years when I was a bachelor. I have questioned every possible thing to be questioned on why it never happened then, when I was too immersed in living and working, why I wasn't destablised when I was most stable. Why it happened when I thought it wise to finally have a family, when I found who
Charlotte McCartney “And here is your coin!” Kelcie exclaimed as she brought the coin out of Josh's ear in attempt to show off her latest magic trick,“Yeah!” We both cheered as though we did not see the coin all along. Josh even applauded her which she received so cheerfully. It was a relief seeing both of them, my not so favorite person with my most favorite person both in tune with each. I was happy because I needed this for Kelcie, I wanted her to feel comfortable, feel appreciated and loved, not have to hide but on the contrary be free to roam as she liked. It was the best I could give her in all that had happened these past few months.“Mummy I want to be a magician for my birthday”, she said, opening her mouth to get a piece of the cake Lydia had baked for us.“I thought you said you wanted to be a princess the other day”, I said giggling.“But I want to be a magician now”, she replied, jumping.Before now, the only proper birthday party Kelcie ever had was when she was two, b
Charlotte McCartneyKelcie ran from one end of the field to the other as she set up what she called a race track. “Mommy you're going to stay here”, she said, running up to me and turning to point at a position. “Josh, you stay close to mom. Lydia, you also stay beside Mom but on the other side” she added.Kelcie had always loved races, it was the game she played when she felt most ecstatic, as well as when she had a small crowd with her. Moments worthy of memory are the times when she, I and Ron used to play these races. Of course, we would always let her win, it was a regular practice but everytime we did we never let her know. It was important to communicate winning to her, by concealing our strength and hiding our intentions. “I won! I won! I got here first!” Kelcie would scream and jump whenever she got to the finish line first which was all the time.We hoped we'd instill the idea that she could always win as long as she tried. I must say Ron was rather very supportive in that
Charlotte McCartney Lydia and I sat watching Kelcie run around for what seemed like a long time. She was running back and forth. “I wonder where she gets all that energy. She's running a race in that little mind of hers”, I said, shaking my head.“You know sometimes I wish George was like that once more. Other times I thank God he's not anymore”, She said, blankly “Why is that?” I asked, chuckling.“The strength to keep up with that amount of energy. I used to have that before, but not anymore and trust me when I think about it myself now, I wonder how I had that strength in the first place and have none of it now”, she said and laughed.I laughed as well. “Keeping up is quite a job, I'm happy you had to point that out, you know several nights I’d really have aches all over my body. Sometimes I'll wake up so late because of how tired I got trying to keep up with her the previous day and in all of this the little devil wakes up stronger and earlier I must add”, I said and we both l
Charlotte McCartney “The birthday isn't till two weeks," I said, wrapping my friend in the most ferocious hug. “When did you get back?” I asked, smiling.“I came in last night," she said, returning my ferocious hug back until broke off the embrace to catch my breath. Maddie had always been a strong one, so this wasn't surprising. Her adult years were dedicated to endless exercises,training and travelling. She was as strong as two men put together when it came to combat.“How was Uganda?” I asked. Ever since we both signed out of college, Maddie had been in the habit of travelling from one third world country to another, immersing herself in one charity outreach to another. It was not a shocker. Her father, a rubber magnate, had been a passionate philanthropist who had hundreds of charity organizations around the world. Sadly he and his wife passed on after a fatal car crash leaving Maddie and her sister Tara as their successors. Tara had gotten married right after college to her hig
Charlotte McCartney “And here is your coin!” Kelcie exclaimed as she brought the coin out of Josh's ear in attempt to show off her latest magic trick,“Yeah!” We both cheered as though we did not see the coin all along. Josh even applauded her which she received so cheerfully. It was a relief seeing both of them, my not so favorite person with my most favorite person both in tune with each. I was happy because I needed this for Kelcie, I wanted her to feel comfortable, feel appreciated and loved, not have to hide but on the contrary be free to roam as she liked. It was the best I could give her in all that had happened these past few months.“Mummy I want to be a magician for my birthday”, she said, opening her mouth to get a piece of the cake Lydia had baked for us.“I thought you said you wanted to be a princess the other day”, I said giggling.“But I want to be a magician now”, she replied, jumping.Before now, the only proper birthday party Kelcie ever had was when she was two, b
Josh Xavier The days always seemed the same when I spent it inside. Nothing really happened other than what was already not happening, my misery. That's why whenever I feel miserable I choose to remain indoors. There, I could drown in my nothingness. As a young man I had lived my life in tune with the fever, the rush. But I had been cautious nonetheless. I wasn't one to be dead drunk or deadly intoxicated by drugs or feelings. I played them all with caution and care, I wasn't one to be defined by errors and mistakes contrary to the case I was a perfectionist. But here I lay, an old disabled man, crippled by an accident. The same accidents I had somehow successfully managed to escape all those years when I was a bachelor. I have questioned every possible thing to be questioned on why it never happened then, when I was too immersed in living and working, why I wasn't destablised when I was most stable. Why it happened when I thought it wise to finally have a family, when I found who
Charlotte McCartney “Josh looks like you've not only gotten yourself a wife but also someone to fight your battles for you isn't that right?” Beatrice Xavier asked, staring at me with a sinister smile.“You know I'm his wife and yet you choose to disrespect my husband and daughter before me?” I countered feeling more enraged by this woman, who not only has been able to succeed in making Josh feel more miserable than ever but was also reaching to what she considers other parts of him to do the same thing.“She's a real fiesty one now isn't she?” she said, still trying to downplay my presence and position but wavering a little.“Excuse me lady!” I challenged, feeling bolder than before. “When my grandfather told me about this place, he told me that this house belonged to Josh Xavier, handed to him by his father. As much as I do not dispute who you are to him and what role you may play in his family dynamic, I still do not believe it is proper to barge into a property that is not yours
Charlotte McCartney “Mommy let's play a game”, Kelcie said excitedly, as the three of us sat outside Josh Xavier's mansion in what seemed to be a field of some sort, a huge one for that matter very suitable for parties, receptions, picnics etc. Kelcie had somehow managed to convince Josh to come outside to play with her, he on the other hand probably may have seen it as a good opportunity to do something other than just sit inside.“What sort of games exactly are we talking about?” he asked mildly cautiously.“It's a role game, I'll be Daddy, you’ll be baby, and Mommy will be mommy.“But why can't you be baby and I be Daddy?” Josh complained.“Because I'm always the baby” she replied slightly annoyed as though it wasn't obvious“Okay”, she said and ran off, soon she was back with some grasses in her miniature plate, eat baby she said to Josh and ran off again.The look on Josh's face was so comical I burst into Laughter.“What's so funny?” he asked, annoyed. “I'm really confused on
Charlotte McCartney “Get that shit out of my sight Lydia”, we heard Josh say as we headed to the kitchen. “What is she doing up so early?” he exclaimed,as soon as his eyes fell on Kelcie.“Hello Lydia” I said ignoring his question and waving to Lydia who stood beside him as he sat before a table of food and drugs.“Good morning Ms Lydia”, Kelcie said, running to embrace Lydia.“Hello Kelcie”, Lydia said smiling and returning her embrace.“I know you heard me”, he said, dissatisfied by my refusal to reply.“She's hungry”, I answered , saying only half the truth. The truth was that I was the one who awoke very hungry to find Kelcie also awake. So we decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to have an early morning breakfast.“Hello Mr. Good morning”, said Kelcie cheerfully as though she had seen an old friend embracing him as well.“Hello little one”, he replied, obviously uneasy by the gesture.“Looks like someone was about to eat”. I guessed that Josh was once again refusing to eat pr
Charlotte McCartney Josh fell atop the shards of glasses that he smashed.I didn't know exactly how I felt when that happened. A disabled old man got clumsy and fell atop shards of glass. I was numb. Maybe it was how quick it all happened before we could even reach to prevent him from falling or maybe it was the fact that he was nice to Kelcie that actually made me feel bad for this man. As malicious as this may sound, it wasn't said from a place of malice, I held nothing against Josh Xavier aside from the few times he said some mean and awful things to me but my problem with him here was he was evading treatments and medical administration, evading isn't exactly the word he was telling everything to go straight to hell.He lay on the floor grunting and breathing deeply, shards of broken glass had pierced his skin causing him and the floor to be stained with blood.As soon as the Doctor came to help him, he roared, “Get back, don't you come close to me!”The Doctor just stood there