Chapter Five

GRACE

I stood in my room before my bed, dumbfounded by what just happened.

I tried taking my mind back to the point where I entered the room and asked the ungrateful and uncouth stranger I foolishly brought to my home, how he was feeling. 

The gesture I made was as simple as that. I never spoke to him rudely or acted in any way that showed that I wanted to harm him.

I was shocked at first. Then disgusted by his rudeness, then confused, thinking maybe he felt like he was in trouble or we could harm him owning the trauma he had gone through before I met him and rescued him. 

Did he totally forget the events of the previous day? Was it so traumatizing that he didn’t remember a single thing?

I didn’t even get a proper look at his face. I and Nkechi were busy trying to save him, doing all the things trained emergency personnel should be doing, that we had completely forgotten to check for his name or identity or anything at all from him.

We were so panicky about the state he was in that we had totally ignore all the formalities we were supposed to adhere, hoping to get all the information from him when he finally woke up.

I carelessly dropped the cup of water I was bringing to the ungrateful stranger on my bed stand table and stalked out of my room furiously to meet an equally bamboozled Nkechi standing in the middle of the sitting room, bewilderment plastered all over her face.

I wasn’t taken aback anymore, I was simply furious and enraged at the whole shenanigans. 

“What just happened now, Gracie?” she asked, trying to swallow her surprise but failing miserable. “Did you do anything to frighten him? What did you say to him?” she shot me a suspicious glare, stomping to where I stood. 

“Nothing bad, Nk, trust me.” I replied my best friend, exhaling in frustration before letting my petit weight drop on the couch beside me. “I’m pretty much sure ‘how are you feeling now’ would not be enough to frighten someone to the point of running out in the manner at which he did like there was fire on his heels.”

Nk slumped down as well, still looking confused with the whole situation. 

I felt bad for her more than myself. For making her drive all the way from Essex to my place at that time of the night and at such a short notice. The initial plan was that she was coming to get Laurie by morning for their camp outing while I get the chance to work on my chapter for the day before going to the company I worked per time for.

She was a mum for chrissakes, and I had to make her leave her kids and mine with her stay-at-home nanny back at her place, ruining our plans for the next day, turning ourselves into good Samaritans.

I, sorry, we took so much risk for that ungrateful man, going through the hassle of calling for the ambulance to come get his driver, while we dragged his heavy weighted and unconscious form to my house.

We went through such life-threatening situation while having it at the back of our minds that if anything had gone wrong, we were in going to be in serious trouble. 

Nkechi who was to my relief a registered nurse took the risk simply because she trusted my judgment, if not she would never do such for anyone. But she would never leave me on my own in that situation. That was my best friend for you.

It was either they went to the hospital, or they were left by themselves, but I just couldn’t turn away from someone in that situation who was in dire need of a help I could offer.

See where that help landed me.

“Tea or coffee?” she asked dragging me out from my train of thoughts, hurling herself from the chair and ambling towards the kitchen.

“I think wine would be best in this situation, NK, seriously.” I said trying to force out the last dose of humor in my head. 

“I know but I have to get back to the kids and continue our day as planned, and so will you, Gracie. The patient that would have stopped all that from happening had left in a hurry, so we move.” she admonished with a scowl.

“Get your ass up, gurl, it’s almost dawn.” she probed me before walking to the coffee machine.

Nkechi has always been the determined one. As a mother of two great kids, she never allowed anything discourage or put her down. She always knew how to get back up from anything, while I was the one who wallowed and lingered in every little thing for days or months or even years.

She and my other best friend Jody stood beside me when I moved back to the main city of London with a pregnancy from someone who never wanted to have anything to do with me and the unborn child ever again. I didn’t even know his name or where to find him.

And after some years of learning to be on my own, I gave up on him completely.

I had been completely broken then, feeling like I didn’t belong anywhere anymore after the being bullied into selling the only house my parents left for me before their untimely demise.

That house was my home, my roots, the safe space I spent all my childhood years in with my parents. And then during my obscure moments when I was jobless with a child in my womb, that darned company lobbied, threatened and bullied me into giving up the only home I knew.

If NK and Jody were not in London back then when I moved here, I didn’t know what I would have done. How I would have stood on my feet and raise my child on my own.

“Here, Gracie.” NK sighed, handing me a hot cup of dark coffee, sending me a reprimanding glance as she sliced into my reminiscing again. She knew me all too well not to know that I was over thinking again.

I may be bad at everything, but I could bet my last cash on over thinking if it were a sport, and won all the medals presented.  

“Alright, alright.” I interjected, collecting the cup from her while mouthing her a ‘thank you’ with a forced grin

“I’m not thinking anything.” I tried convincing.

I got up abruptly from the couch remembering that I didn’t give the Nanny Laurie’s camp back pack last night due how much in a hurry to get her out of the house before bringing in that man.

“I didn’t give Alexa Laurie’s back pack last night as a result of the rush. I’ll go get it now.” I told NK, walking towards Laurie’s bed room. She would be extremely disappointed if after all the packing we did she couldn’t use the stuff we packed together. 

Just then, as if on cue, the doorbell and the telephone rang out simultaneously. So I asked NK to get the door while I answered the phone. 

She ambled to the door while I went to the phone sitting beside the couch.

“Hey friendship!” Jody’s vivacious voice rang out from the other side of the line. “How is it going? Has your mystery man woken up yet?” she joked casually, letting her high pitched laugher ring into my already irking ears. 

“Hi Jody,” I answered, not as bubbly as her. She wasn’t expecting me to anyway. “Everything is okay, and he has regained consciousness. And he is not my mystery man, Jody.” I let out the last sentence with gritted teeth.

“Fine. But how is he now? Have he let out his identity? Who is he by the way? Anyone you think I may know?” she bombarded me with questions lightheartedly, not bothering to wait for me to answer one before hitting me with another. 

That was Jody. Vibrant, bubbly, beautiful and not afraid. She was the most free spirited among us three, falling in and out of love like I go in and out of menstrual cramps. 

She was never scared of heartbreaks, but maybe that was because she had never truly loved anyone so deeply before. As my belief, the deeper you love, the harder it is to get back up once that love fails.

We were always here whenever she went through her usual break up. We were already used to the drill. Console her, remind her that  the guy she broke up with was not the only man in the world and watch her take our advice literally, dusting herself back and up getting a new boyfriend the next day.  

She tormented me with blind dates, helping me set up matchmaking meet ups, even though she was well aware that I had made it clear to her over and over again that I was done with men, and the last thing I needed in my life at the moment was anything called romance. 

After what Mr. Chardonnay did, I had completely given up on love. The forever thing was a joke. Men were scums that were never to be trusted and NK always agreed with me. 

She was a divorcee with two kids, and even though she went of blind dates from time to time, she respected my resolve and lets me be. 

“He left, Jody.” I responded finally after a long pause. “Or better still, he ran away without giving any of the details you are asking for. That’s it Jody. We’ll talk more about it when you come over. Is that okay?” I asked feeling sad that I had deflated her bubbles of expectations.

“It’s okay Gracie. Are you okay yourself? How about NK?” her voice fell. I could hear the disappointment in them.

“We’re doing great JayD, talk to you later.” I said, then hung up, before allowing her guilt trip me into spilling my guts through the phone.

I really wasn’t ready for that.

“You got a mail, Gracie” NK said, looking down at an envelope in her hand with she got after answering the door. 

I held my breath, hoping it was not what I was thinking. Me selling off my lease to a real estate company that wanted to restructure the building I lived in.

“It says Shelby Realtors (UK) LTD” she read out loud walking to where I stood. 

The name rang a bell but I had no idea what it was about.

“Open it already, NK” I prompted her, feeling a mixture of anxiousness and curiosity. 

“Okay…” NK stressed, opening the envelope with her OCD type of carefulness, draining the last patience I had for today.

 “It says, ‘Dear Grace Reeds, this is to remind you of the lease you’re holding onto and also inform you that the property now belongs to Shelby Enterprise, hoping we could reach a settlement as soon as possible. Note that you would be compensated handsomely. Warm regards, CEO of Shelby Realtors, (UK) LTD” she finished folding the paper and sliding it back into the envelope.  

“At least their regards was warm and not cold.” She joked, hoping to ease the disdain she knew I would be feeling at the moment.

I winced, dropping myself on the couch exasperatedly.

The same damn Shelby Enterprise! The same god-forsaken company that made my life a living hell. They took the only home I knew and dropped their evil money with me, making my life more miserable than it already was at that time. 

Aside all that, I hated to move. I hated instability. Before taking this place, I made sure the owner wasn’t one who sold their properties randomly. 

I loved being in a place for long, long term and building my roots there. Now this stupid Shelby Realtors had found their way here, raising their ugly heads when I was still trying to forget the trauma they caused me and my child.

“Gracie, are you okay?” NK asked, worried lines appearing in her face as she looked down at me.

“Can a day get any worse?” I wondered out loud, staring into space. “This was the same company, NK, the same company that took the only home my parents left me away from me!” I shrieked, rage burning from my insides. 

I would never let them get it easy with me. I wasn’t the young, vulnerable, rankles and powerless scared little girl anymore.