“You said my mind.” The elders said in unison.
“I got it.” Emma pointed out. “Thank you for your understanding and the compliment.”
It was obvious that the testimony of the burial of Beck would remain in the memory of the people for a long time. Now, there were over fifty elders in his compound, while the youths were innumerable. They came to sincerely cheer him up, but his nieces had a different opinion. They saw them as guests and treated them as such. Soon, the caterer served them with a special fruit juice, which was strange to them. It was a mixture of watermelon, carrot, and pineapple. They relished it and commended it. Before they were through with the juice, they were served with Cabeza, which was spiced with native ingredients. Nevertheless, the merriment was unending.
“Oliver,” Ada called out.
“Yes, Aunty,” he answered and walked to her.
“I learned that you shared the souvenirs in the field.”
“Yes, Aunty.”
“Good, do we have leftovers?”
“Yes. There are many of them, and we had offloaded them.”
“That is good. Take some to my uncle's house and ensure that everyone leaves with one pack each.”
“Okay, Aunty.”
“Mobilize the children to assist you," she added.
“I got it, Aunty," he answered and mobilized the children, who were willing to work with him, and they picked the gift packs and followed him. Incidentally, they were still putting on the funeral wear, and they appeared as siblings.
“Good job, Oliver,” Justin and his friends commended. Oliver looked up and cheered them up happily, “Justin and Gerry, thank you for the compliment. “I hope you have your gifts?”
“Yes. We were given at the field.” The honest youths declared.
“I'm not talking about that one. You are entitled to another gift for being here.”
“Oh! I'm not aware.”
Oliver's information opened their eyes and the fearful youths were at ease collected the packs. He distributed the gifts to the elders and youths seamlessly.
While some were glad to see him working and controlling the children, some were envious of him and gossiped, “Is this not the son of Bertram the topper?”
“He is. I learned that he was employed as a guard?”
“Guard? They had been sacked. All of them. It is unclear to me why he is still here.”
“I learned that they bought a commuter bike for him.”
“Yes. Look at how fresh he is. But the bike would be retrieved from him now that his work is over.”
"Certainly. And he will go back to square one."
Now, some youths have a different opinion. The fifth set of guards, Benson and Manga, who did not show up at all for work, believed that he was responsible for their predicament.
“He snitched on us so that he would remain,” one of them declared.
“You are right. I will see what becomes of him after the occasion. I will deal with him.”
“You just said my mind. I will masquerade and lay in wait for him, and I will stuff his mouth with sand.”
“Has everyone gotten the gifts?” Uncle Emma asked and looked around. Then, a few people lifted their hands and indicated that they had none. Instantly, he looked at Oliver and requested, “My son, get five gifts for me."
Addressing Oliver as a son did not go down well with some of them, especially people like Peter. They could sense a brooding relationship.
“All right, uncle,” Oliver responded with glee. Before he could walk away, George had returned with nine packs and handed them to him as if he was his big Uncle.
“Oliver, take,” he stated. Oliver collected them from him and appreciated, “Thank you, George.”
“Oh! He even knows them by their names,” his haters murmured. He gave out the five packs to the people without gifts and was left with four. Meanwhile, all eyes were on him and waiting for his verdict.
“He may give them to his mother and sister.” One of them declared.
“If I'm in his shoes, I won't give to them.” The other person proclaimed.”
“If I may ask, why?” Likewise, he looked at the gifts and sighted the four youths who dug the grave. Their chatting was interrupted by Oliver's judgment.
“For digging the grave, take,” the four youths hastily and joyously walked up to him and collected the gifts, and everyone cheered up.
“Good. That's right.”
The startled Oliver looked at the cheering guests with surprise.
“Your judgment was apt, my son.” Uncle Emma commended him, and Oliver realized the reason for the cheering.
“Thank you, uncle," he said and smiled happily before he walked away with the children. Meanwhile, Peter, Benson, and Manga, just realized that they were in the minority. Those who loved him were more than his haters. After the drinking and merriment, at 7 PM, the guests dispersed. Then, the family members had the time to freshen up.
At Evans's Apartment.
Although the couple was exhausted from the event, and needed to revitalize the only energy-giving food that they required was to eat each other. They took advantage of the moment and ate each other.
“Thank you, for being my wife.” Evans expressed. She chuckled and asked, “Did I make you happy?”
“Yes, just like always.”
Thereafter, they rested and woke up to prepare dinner, with a long table. Before they left the room, Evans' inquired, “What are your plans for the Daughter of Sarah International?”
“Thank you for reminding me. I had a brief meeting with Susan and Nne after the event, and we came up with establishing a Skill Acquisition Center.”
“That is good. We can start at once. Instead of leaving the house idle when we are gone.”
“You are right. I had it in mind. Oliver can supervise it in the meantime.”
“I agree with you, but he has to be trained to do that. He may not be able to deliver if he is not trained.”
“That is good. We can get someone to train him.”
“I have a different opinion. Your school can train him in school administration, and Susan's fashion center can train him to acquire some skills. As a supervisor, he had to be ahead of his students.”
“Wow! You have planned it out. I appreciate you for that," Sarah commended.
“I think I deserve one more round of lovemaking as my reward.”
“You deserve more than that.”
After the reward, they joined the family in the courtyard for dinner. Now, Oliver and the children were busy riding the bike around the compound. Nevertheless, he was aware that the family would leave for the city very soon, but he was not disturbed. According to his plan, they would need a janitor to care for the house and he was willing to be one.