The other women joined them but those who could not, never bothered despite the prize. The groups danced and it was fun.“Thank you for this,” the host appreciated them, but there was an observation.A middle-aged man was sitting with the widows, and it was strange. The organizers thought it was an error and one of them walked up to him to correct it.“Hello, Old man. You should sit with the widowers and not here,” the official informed him.“Thank you for informing me, but I am not a widower,” he clarified.The organizer furrowed his brow and inquired further, “If you are not a widower, what are you? A widow?”Now, one of the security men thought that he was proving stubborn, joined them and waited for his answer.He smiled mildly and answered, “No, I am not a widow. I'm representing my daughter. Her husband died during the war.”The two were touched and the security man sympathized with him, “We are so sorry for the loss. Why is she not here?”“She had been sick since then and had b
At Laura's House They expected a better life after appeasing the twins, but the opposite was the case. Due to the silent war, they did not watch the program because they felt that it would not interest them. Laura had been in her room since morning and only came out to prepare a quick meal for herself. Afterward, she returned to her room and kept herself busy with her phone before she slept off.Nevertheless, Madeline was worried when her husband did not return. She looked at the time and it was a few minutes before 7 PM.“Where has gone to?” She murmured bitterly and continued to wait.After a while, she got up from her seat, walked to the bedroom, and returned to the parlor. She could not have her dinner and unknown to her, she slept off on the couch.Laura woke up from her sleep and ate the remainder of her lunch. She overlooked her mother and returned to her room. Shortly afterward, she took her bath and went to sleep.However, Madeline woke up a few minutes after midnight and wa
Although she got to the bus before the other staff members, she was standing and waiting for the others because the drivers were not close by.At that point, the fight she tried to avoid came upon her. Since she was the first to come, she expected that the other staff members would allow her to get on the bus before them, but they were too happy to think of that.“I came before you,” she said and tried to stop the staff who was about to get onto the bus.“And so what?” The staff asked and removed her hand that was blocking him forcefully. She staggered backward and the others held and stopped her from falling.As an aggressive person who must not let go, she regained composure. Without appreciating those who helped her, she got onto the bus and hit the staff who was about to sit down very hard and a fight ensued. Before they could separate them, the staff had beaten her beyond her expectations.“Do you think I am your late husband who you can treat anyhow?” He asked her and sat down.
At The Mining Field - January The Christmas celebration had come and gone and the workers felt the impact. Fabian's presence brightened the estate. The farmers were happy to hear that they were secured and working for the government and Valentine's workload had increased. Despite his increased responsibilities, as the school resumption was drawing closer, he was getting worked up.“What will I do?” He asked himself.“What did you say, Supervisor?” Pa Suresh, who was sitting with him, asked.He never knew that he was audible enough to be heard and he cautioned himself, “I was just thinking aloud.”They were yet chatting when Fabian joined them and brought up Ann's departure.“She is supposed to leave on the sixth as her admission letter stated.”“I think she is aware of that,” Pa Suresh acknowledged.“That is on Saturday,” Valentine said and Fabian added, “Yes, Supervisor. Three days from now.”“That is good. Have you informed the Major?”“Ha!” Pa Suresh exclaimed and Fabian asked, “
At Mount Olive The next day, the Minister of Information released the jingle and the fake Duke and his men were happy.“This is splendid. They treated our matter so soon,” the fake Duke made clear.“I said it. If you didn't move, they would assume you are not qualified to rule the Dukedom,” Elder Kefas pointed out, and the other elders agreed with him.“The time is short and we need the allocation to start planning. Has it been released?” Another elder asked them.“Not at all. What do we do?” The fake Duke asked the elders.“Huh! I propose that you should visit the headquarters again. Ask the person in charge to hasten things up.”“You are right,” he said and looked at the time, “It is just 10 AM. I can do that today,” the desperate Duke stated.His proposal was suitable and they accepted it at once. Without hesitation, he got ready and left.At the Mining Field Ann was preparing happily and perfecting her cooking skills. That was to Valentine's benefit because he became her judge w
At Dinner, they gathered again and had their dinner. Ann and Fabian helped in washing the dishes and cleaning up while Pa Suresh and Valentine were chatting. Mrs. Suresh was tired but joined them.Now, they were through with the washing and cleaning. Fabian left and joined his friends while Ann sat beside her mother. She was busy with her phone when she heard her father saying that her flight was for 10 AM.Valentine was pleased with the information and tried to hear more, “I see. How is she going to the airport?”Just as Valentine's stomach grumbled the day she said 'I intend to make some additional funds with it when I'm in school so that the burden won't be much on Mom and Dad,' her stomach did the same.“I will arrange for a taxi that will take all of us. We won't allow her to go alone.”“Aren't you coming with us, Supervisor? I thought we were family already.”Her voice showed that she was emotional but her parents waited for Valentine to speak. He felt for her but he was happy t
He smiled softly and said, “Yes. He said at least it will reduce the cost on you.”Pa Suresh was surprised to hear that because he never complained that he had challenges with the cost.“Reduce cost?” He asked anxiously.Valentine recalled that he had been playing games behind him and spoke, “Yes, Pa Suresh. They were considering the amount you have spent on the flight.”“Oh! That is nice of them but they should not have bothered. Fabian took care of everything.”To taunt him as he loved to do, he asked him, “Should I ask them to stop?”The old man showed fear and answered, “That is not what I mean. Let them know that I am grateful for their gesture.”He smiled inwardly and said, “I will.”They went back to work and Pa Suresh was more worried.“How can Ann say that he is not happy with us when he is doing his best to assist us?”His question remained unanswered. At lunch, they arrived at the canteen. Apart from eating, they also rest from work for an hour before returning to work. Val
He stopped chewing his food and faced her. When he saw her gloomy face, he dropped his cutleries and asked her, “You said what?”“He is still angry with us.”“You are not accurate in your judgment, Ann. He is not angry with us.”“How do you know?”“I promised that I would get to the root of it,” he pointed out and resumed eating his food.Ann was calm and pondered on what he said. Shortly, Fabian and Mrs. Suresh, who were through with serving the staff, joined them. Fabian noticed her gloominess and showed concern.“What is the matter, Big sister?” he asked and focused on her.Instead of answering, she was mute, and her father explained, “She still believed that the Supervisor was angry with us.”“That reminds me, Hubby. You promised to get to the root of the matter. What did you discover?”“She has been accusing him wrongly. He had been on her matter by informing the Major of her departure on our behalf and they promised to take her to the airport.”“Wow! That is thoughtful of him,” h
At The Mining Field Valentine and Fabian returned from Birmingham the previous night after ensuring that Ann had settled down. They were at work when Richard arrived and they welcomed him warmly. After the greetings, he informed Fabian that he would perform at the event and he was excited.“Thank you, Major, for finding me worthy to be at the occasion.”“You are welcome. Kindly give me your stage photograph and name,” he requested and he did.“Thank you, so much for accepting the invitation despite the short notice.”“It is my pleasure, Major. I haven't been to Mount Olive before. How do I find my way?”“The supervisor will bring you. You will arrive incognito so that the youths will not overcrowd the event.”“I got it, Major.”“Good. Kindly share your bill and payment details with me,” Richard requested.Valentine who was smiling happily all the while said, “I'm happy for you, Fabian.”“Thank you, Supervisor,” he said and faced Richard, “I appreciate the gesture, Major. I will do th
The General Manager believed him and said, “The manual is there. You should have read through it.”“I did. But I had a problem along the line.”“I see.”He stood up immediately and appreciated him, “I'm grateful,” he said and returned to the Secretary's office.To avoid exposing himself, he brought out his phone and the manual. Then, he looked at the clerk and requested, “Kindly put me through on how to use the phone.”He smiled and walked to him. He sat beside him and began to teach him. As a good student, he learned faster, and appreciated him afterward, “Thank you for your assistance.”“It is my pleasure,” he responded and returned to his seat.Then, Tim got up, looked at Stephanie, and said in a low tone, “It's remaining one a half day.” She smiled softly and he walked away. Meanwhile, the edited jingle of the ceremony was on air. The posting of news was not as domineering as it was the previous day.At Mount Olive The edited jingle left much to be desired. Instead of including
“Huh!” He exclaimed and laughed euphorically.Tim was infested and laughed as well.“How can I invite them?” He asked him.“Are they not your friends? Let me have the names of the friends you wished to invite.”“It is all right,” he said and gave him the names of eight Dukes and he walked away.He got to his room and contacted the fake Duke and asked him to invite them.“Sir, we have invited them but they declined the invitation,” he answered.Tim was surprised and asked him, “Why? Did they give any reason?”“Not at all. They arrogantly turned the invitation down.”“It is all right,” he said and ended the call.At Lt. Col. Ben Smirnoff's Office He has been as happy as a lark and dancing with all his might since the breaking news.“They are no longer searching for the poster of the scandalous post. Maybe they searched and could not get me," he said to himself and continued dancing. Unfortunately, he had no friends to share his joy with nor did anyone call to rejoice with him. Not bec
Tim walked into George's office and they locked eyes. He noticed that he was sad and inquired, “What's up, Boss?”“I don't know how the boys would cope with a new Commandant,” he sat down and responded.“You just said my mind. You should have advised the Second in Command.”“The Head of State distorted his work after he submitted the list to him.”“Ha! He must have his reasons.”“What could be his reason? That was the man responsible for the scandal against him,” Tim blurted out.George was bewildered and he locked eyes with him. After a while, he spoke, “Maybe he wished to disgrace him by sending him to where he cannot function well.”Tim looked at him for a while before he said, “You may be right. I have not thought of that. But he should not joke with the children's studies.”“Let's watch out.”Tim wanted to speak but the door opened and he halted. George smiled when he saw the visitor. Tim turned and saw the General Manager. He got up at once and greeted him, “Good morning, Maj.
Kay did not want to argue further with him and concurred, “It is good, Your Excellency” “Good. Publish the postings and the take-off date and time at once.”“I will do that, Your Excellency.”“It is all right. You can leave.”“It is all right, Your Excellency,” they appreciated him simultaneously and walked away. At The Second in Command's OfficeThey got to Kay's office and he asked Tim, “What kind of posting is this?”“Huh! Can Ben manage the school?”“It baffles me. I thought he would punish him because of that scandalous post against the school and the government,” Kay stated.“I thought so as well. Does it mean that he is compensating him for working against his government?”Kay walked to his swivel chair and sat down while Tim sat on the visitor's seat and waited for his response.“That is the challenge. He will assume that his act was not discovered.”Tim noticed that he was angry and pacified him, “Don't let it bother you. Just publish the postings.”“Thank you for your conce
At The President's Office Bright and Gilbert have observed that George laughed exceptionally aloud whenever Tim was with him and that day was no different. He walked in after he left the General Manager's office. Nevertheless, George had been curious to hear the outcome of his visit.He looked at his hand and grimaced his face, “What did he give to you?” He asked him anxiously.“I have not checked it,” he answered and sat down.He brought the gift out of the shopping bag and a smile beamed across his face, “It is a handset,” he announced happily.“Wow! What did you do for him to attract this? I mean what attempted deceit did you foil during the Widow and Widowers Empowerment Program?”Tim laughed and narrated the story. George laughed aloud and pointed out, “Oh! They don't value you but wish to enrich themselves through you.”“Just imagine that but he regretted it. Seeing a supposed ghost will disturb him any time he remembers it.”“You are right. Congratulations on your New Year gif
Tim shook his head and asked her, “What is remaining? Just make it five times a week.”“No. I'm not selfish. Four and a half are all right by me.”“Not selfish indeed. If I do, what will I tell your boss is my reason for frequenting his office?”Now, the die was cast and she looked forlorn. They locked eyes for a while and saw the burning desire they had for each other in their eyes. Tim looked away and his eyes fell on her phone.“Your phone is fine,” he complimented her.She smiled happily and said, “Thank you for the compliment. It was my birthday gift.”“Wow! That birthday cake was one in town and now this.”“I was shocked as well. Even the former President's wife had not celebrated her birthday with such size of cake,” she explained.“I see. What is the brand of the phone? Let me take a look.”She innocently gave him her phone and he pretended to be studying it. He kept her busy with compliments while connecting her phone to his. When he was done, he teased her by asking, “Can w
At The Complex Soon, he was in the complex. He got out of the car and Richard drove off at once.Tim walked into the lobby, greeted his men with his head, and walked to the elevator. He pressed the button of the last floor and waited. When it opened, he walked in.The unfriendly-looking security team answered his greetings and let him in. He walked in and greeted Bright and Gilbert accordingly before walking into George's office.He was happy to see him and asked him immediately, “How did it go?”“It went well. They have started planning how to visit the house.”“Huh! So early?”“It baffles me too. Samuel reminded me of the Waitangi Day holiday.”George laughed aloud and Tim was infested.Nevertheless, Major Bolton came around earlier to have a private meeting with George before the Weekly Meeting. He heard them laughing and wondered if another manager was there. He opened the door and walked in and was surprised at their familiarity. “Good morning, Major,” Tim got up from the visit
Likewise, he sent a message to Richard and informed him that they arrived safely. He pleaded for an off on Monday. Afterward, he began to wait for his response.He had been busy since he disembarked and had not gone online. Now that he had settled in his hotel room, he could do that. He was shocked to see their story and pictures trending.He furrowed his forehead and asked himself, “Who is doing this?”Presently, he was panting and sweating despite the January cold. He sat up from the bed and read the details of the story quickly. To his delight, the post was not harmful and his details were not explicit.He tossed his phone aside and breathed in and out before lying back on the bed.“What will she do if she finds out about my past?” He asked himself.“What about her parents and brother? They are too morally upright to accept me as their son-in-law,” he lamented.The fear that he would lose her gripped him at once and he began to cry like a baby. At that point, he could not think of