CHAPTER 87

Geneveive Tessa Robert

The cafe was filled! After walking with the waiters to find a place to sit with the kids, I finally gave up and decided to check somewhere else. I cursed inwardly as I thought about Estella’s advice. She had suggested I take a basket of sandwiches for the kids lunch, but I didn’t listen because I wanted to spoil them with pancakes from my favourite Bristol cafe. 

Mopping the sweat off my face, I knew I had made a mistake. I should have listened to her. m  The next cafe was Nice’s Confectionaries. They were filled up too. It was now obvious that life was teaching me a good lesson. If not, why would the cafes be filled up by one o’clock? It wasn’t even rush hour or a lunch break!

‘Mummy, my legs hurt and my stomach is hungry!’ Nicholas cried, his British accent making me giggle a bit.

I patted his curly brown hair. ‘We are going home now. Let's call the chauffeur to pick us up, okay?’

He nodded. ‘Can we get chocolate cupcakes, please?’

‘No, you can’t. You ate a lot of cupcakes yesterday, and everything ended up in the toilet. Nanny Estella prepared sandwiches, muffins, and cups of hot chocolate tea for us at home. You can’t wait for that?’

Hope giggled, ‘Nicholas is a foodie, momma!’

I laughed. The kids were something else. I dragged them to the park opposite the cafe and sat down on one of the free benches around. They settled down obediently and were soon staring strangely at the dogs playing with their owners.

‘Mummy, can we get a puppy like that one over there?’ Hope asked, pointing at a brown-eyed bulldog.

I had promised them a dog a few months ago, but Mom didn’t like the idea of having dogs in the house due to some documentaries she once watched about them attacking their owners when they went berserk. Dad was indifferent but agreed on the safety part. He preferred cats or parrots to dogs. So, I changed my mind and promised them a nice parrot, but the twins had cried all day about my decision. They stopped talking about it until today.

I smiled, drawing her closer. ‘Baby, I thought we talked about this? No pets until you are six, okay?’

She shrugged, staring oddly at me. ‘But I am five and a half, mummy. I can have one like Doris has one.’

Doris was her best friend in school and had a puppy. Hope had gotten the dog idea from her.

 ‘I have told you, Hope. No pets until you are six. Where’s your brother?’ I asked, suddenly realizing that he wasn’t sitting anymore.

How could I have been so careless with my son? I grabbed Hope and asked the elderly couple sitting across our bench. They had seen him follow a girl with a German shepherd. They described the girl as tall with brown curls, a long black jacket, and a white gown.

I followed their directions and found him on what looked like a large family picnic. He was playing with the German shepherd, and surprisingly, James was there laughing with the girl.

‘James! What are you doing here?’ I yelled, walking towards him. ‘You are supposed to be in the office supervising activities, not flirting with a young girl!’

The young girl turned out to be a young lady who I had seen before. His ex-girlfriend-Ella. 

James smiled. ‘Easy, sister. Ella invited me to her family picnic, and I couldn’t say no since I was around. I was surprised when I saw Nicholas with her, but I remembered they had met before. Thank your stars; Ella recognised him, sis. If not..’

I swallowed, knowing what would have happened if she hadn’t recognised him. I tried not to imagine the consequences of my carelessness.

‘Thank you, Ella. I was worried sick when the elderly couple told me he followed a woman like he knew her already. I thought he had been kidnapped by those evil people around him. Thank you so much.’ 

Ella smiled. ‘It’s nothing, dear. I saw him running towards me and recognised him immediately. I actually thought James brought him, but when James denied bringing him, I suspected you were around. I am sorry too; I should have looked for you.’

I waved it off, ‘It’s alright, thank you. James, can you drive us home? The chauffeur just texted that the car broke down and he’s trying to fix it. The kids haven’t eaten lunch, and I couldn’t get a decent cafe to buy lunch for them.’

‘They can have some potato porridge and chicken chops. My mom cooks the best porridge, and I am certain they will love it.’ Ella said, smiling.

I declined, not wanting to sound rude and also as a hungry fellow. ‘No, thank you for the offer, but I don’t want to shorten your rations or intrude into your family gathering.’

James took my hand and said, ‘Come on, Tessa. Stop being modest and settle down. There’s heavy traffic on the road, and you know, the kids can’t stay another hour without their meals. They look tired already.’

I stared at the kids, and Hope’s face told me everything. She was famished! ‘Alright, thank you, dear.’

I ushered the kids to the table, and the family members were welcoming. They ensured Hope and Nicholas ate to their fill and had enough cookies. I also enjoyed the sandwiches and ended up collecting extras in a brown bag for the kids.

‘Did Kyle reach out to you after he left?’ James asked, driving into our estate.

I looked up, shaking my head, and said, ‘Strangely, I haven’t thought about him since he left. He didn’t reach out to me, though. Why do you ask?’ 

James switched the car off. ‘They will be coming here to install the table tablets and solar panels. I thought he would have sent mail to keep you updated.’

I smiled tightly. ‘He didn’t. I just hope he stays away from me when he comes. I don’t want what happened in California to repeat itself.’

He nodded. ‘Let’s hope it doesn’t, sis. Also, his kids. When are you going to tell him about them?’

I said nothing. I hadn’t thought about revealing that part of my life to Kyle yet.