Reyona held the seven-year-old’s quivering body till the latter cried herself to sleep.Then she gingerly lay her on the bed and eased out of bed as Maxwell covered the girl’s body with her blanket.Jane came forward to meet them as she stood up from the beanbag she had pulled closer to Junior’s bed.“He fell asleep,” she said quietly.Maxwell inclined his head towards the door as Reyona moved closer to the boy’s sleeping form.“I am so sorry,” she whispered as she smoothed his hair away from his face.She pulled his blanket tightly around him, suspecting it would be at the other end of the bed before the night was over.She left the room with a set look on her face.Maxwell followed her out to the hallway, where Jane was waiting in the hallway.“Will she be fine?” she asked anxiously. “Do you want me to stay with them tonight?”“There will be no need for that.” Reyona said, then asked, “How much of that did you hear?”“I heard some of it, ma,” Jane said carefully.“Good,” Reyona said
Reyona’s anger rose to a feverish point as she looked at the couple who were nonchalantly repeating the mantra “Our boys are good breeds”.The husband was not as outspoken as the wife, yet, like broken records, one echoed what the other said.“How can you even take what that troubled child said over what we told you?” The woman, who was oblivious to how close Reyona was to letting her have it, said to the associate commissioner.“We have always been very diligent in taking care of these children and never has anyone had such a complaint about us before.” the woman’s voice was rising by the moment. “Our boys are an example of what a good job we do with these kids. Nobody had ever had a complaint about them before. They are good kids. Top of their classes too.” With her gaze turned towards Reyona. “How dare…?”“How dare a child speak about a traumatic experience she had in your home where she was supposed to be protected? How dare she try to protect her brother from your good boys? Well
In the car, Maxwell asked, “So, what do you think?”“I think they know about this. It is either that or they suspected the boys were into something like that. What I don't understand is why they would allow it or even try to cover them up. A child almost got killed for God's sake!”“Just my thoughts,” Maxwell said as he clipped his seat belt. “Those two definitely know something.”“Do you trust Han to do the right thing?”“He is a decent man, and he owes me a favour. He would do the right thing, or he would have me to contend with. Let’s give him twenty-four hours as promised,” he said as he started the car.“I think therapy would help her. We should get both of them into therapy. I know Junior seemed almost unbothered about it, but one can never tell about these things. If there is anything I have learned, it is that unpleasant memories tend to stay with kids more.”“You are right,” Maxwell said. “We can get a top children psychologist in the city. Someone who wouldn’t even mind work
“Hi,” Reyona said as she wondered how the girl must be feeling after having to share something she had thought she couldn’t share with anyone.Probably embarrassed. Reyona thought as she tried to picture what she might have felt if she had to explain such a thing to anyone.Though Reyona had seen what was on the sheet now, she asked “What do you have there?”Silence.Then the girl said “Puzzles. He wanted to come ride his horse while we waited for you, so I…” She completed her statement with a shrug.Reyona wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to justify things she did to anyone, but then she thought it was better that the girl was saying something at all than her usual clamming up.“Do you want help with that?” she asked when the girl scrunched up her face and tried to trace a pattern with her finger.Allysyn finally looked up at her as she shook her head and said “No, I will figure it out. I like to do this.” She closed the sheet as she spoke.“What else do you like to do? Maybe
The afternoon started on a pleasant note as they arrived at the acclaimed Bombay Wok, a high-end Chinese restaurant in Kayooma. Reyona had heard of the restaurant being the best Chinese restaurant in the country, but she had never been there before. Just as Maxwell was parking in the sectioned parking lot, Junior was the first to exclaim. “Look! Look at that giant cat! Wow! Why does it have all that stuff? And he is waving at us!” Reyona smiled as she came face to face with the biggest Maneki-neko she had ever seen. The statue is otherwise known as the beckoning cat and is always like a figurine that the Chinese and Japanese put in their places of business for good luck. It was mostly placed on desktops or near the cashier, but this particular one was set on a pedestal at the forefront of the restaurant, almost like a guardian angel. “It is cute” Allysyn said as they came closer. “What is that written on its body?” Junior asked in confusion as he pointed at the 千万両 written in red
They requested that the first course be Chinese chicken meatballs, much to Junior’s delight.The sticky, yet savoury dish was an eye-opener for Reyona, and she wondered how much more she had been missing.It was garnished with sesame seeds and green onions, which did nothing to detract from the slightly spicy taste of the mouthwatering meal.After that, they had Kung Pao chicken, sweet and sour pork, Peking roast duck, Mapo tofu, chow mein and Wonton soup successively.By the time they rounded everything up with mango pudding, the pipa music that was trickling in from the room next room had risen in frenzy.Even Junior was silent, as they simply enjoyed the culture of another country through the food and music.By the time they were leaving, the attendants informed them that their private room was next to a shopping centre where they could get their children any Chinese paraphernalia and clothes they might want.Though Reyona felt a bit weird when the attendants assumed they were a fa
The ringing phone woke Reyona up.Without opening her eyes, she stretched her hands towards the direction of the sound.The phone stopped ringing just as her hands touched something warm.Her foggy mind was confused for a moment as she poked at the firm, warm…“Fleshy form?!” Reyona’s eyes popped open as she suddenly realised that she was not alone in bed.Not only was she not alone, but she was wrapped in his arms like…Didn't he say he was going to leave after she fell asleep?What the…Reyona lay still as she listened to his rhythmic breathing.She was half-tempted to give him a little accidental jab.Maybe that would knock some sense into him, she mused, even as she knew that she was not going to do it.As she tried to wriggle out of his arms, she suddenly froze when she felt a well-recognised budge cradling her ass.“Damn,” Reyona thought as her insides automatically reacted to his boner.She needed to get up as soon as possible.She did not consent to this.Having sex with him w
Reyona quickly entered the bathroom so that his voice wouldn’t be heard over the phone. On second thought, she locked the bathroom door before she picked up the call. “Hi, Mom,” she said with a smile. “What is this, dear? What is going on? How did this even happen? How can you hide this from us? This can’t be true, can it?” Gladys Rochester asked anxiously over the phone. “Mom. Mom, please calm down. What are you talking about?” “Reyona Beatrice Dexter, don’t you have something to tell me? Why do you have to let us find out like this? What are you doing? Who are those kids, eh? Just tell me they are not who I think they are. Are they?!” “Mom…” Reyona moved her phone from her ear and she felt it vibrating with another call. She was surprised to see Samantha’s number. Samantha wouldn’t call her on a weekend unless it was something very urgent. Dread settled in Reyona’s bones as she thought of the coincidence. Her mum’s call. And now Samantha? Her mom asking about the kids. H