Meanwhile, Uju was perplexed and devoid of words. She rested her back on the chair and looked at the faces of everyone before her. Nevertheless, her husband, who was by her right hand, busied himself with his glass of wine.
“Does that mean that the house is ours?” She asked, and faced Emma. Then, her mother, who had been silent, spoke, “Yes my dear. It is our house. I could not give birth to a male child, but I have worthy…?”
At that point, her words filled the atmosphere with nostalgia, and she could not complete her sentence. She actually wished to say that she had worthy sons-in-law.
“Not now, mama,” the excited Ada advised. “There is no need for that. Let the past be.” Then, her daughters, and in-laws including Emma and his wife took time to advise her one after the other, and she calmed down and admired her daughters and in-laws.
Now, Fredrick held his wife, who was dumbstruck by the hand and consoled, “I know how you feel, my dear. The house is ours. There is no money bag anywhere.”
“You are the money bag, ain't you?” Dickson teased. They laughed softly, and his wife gave him a romantic look and inquired, “Is that the surprise you talked about?”
“You got it,” Fredrick admitted.
“Can I make a request?” Uju asked. Now, all eyes were on her and her husband urged.
“Go on. I'm listening.” “Would you allow me to be your wife in our next life?” At this point, her voice was hoarse from despair, and she sobbed. Then, Fredrick encouraged her, “You will be my wife any time. I love you, my dear.” Now, she sobbed uncontrollably and calmed down thereafter.
Then, Ada spoke, “My husband and my in-laws, I appreciate you all. You have made us proud, and we are proud indeed. Thank you so much for your forgiving spirit.”
“It is our pleasure.” The husbands chorused. Then she looked at her uncle, who was smiling from ear to ear and appreciated, “Thank you Uncle Emma. I am glad to have you as my uncle. I have no doubt that you are part of this.”
Now, Emma ran his hand through his head and smirked. They laughed at him when his face exposed him. Now, Dickson, who had been catching fun, teased, “Yes, he is part of it, and his big goat that you killed today was his sin offering for keeping you in the dark.” They laughed happily and, thereafter, settled down to plan the funeral to suit their present status.
“Good night, everyone. I will be on my way,” Frank greeted, and got off the chair.
“Good night, Frank.”
At the Gate.
Now, Oliver was through with his dinner. He got off his chair when he saw Frank leave the dinner table and walked up to him. Then, he inquired, “When do we take the tables and chairs back to the house?”
“Oh! Thank you for reminding me,” Frank appreciated and walked back to the table while Oliver tagged along. Now, Uncle Emma and his family members were up and about, leaving for his apartment. They stood and waited for him to leave.
“Good night, everyone. We will continue tomorrow.”
“All right, my in-laws. Good night,” Dickson greeted.
After he left, Evans inquired, “Frank, I thought you have gone?”
“I want to ensure that the tables are returned to the house.”
“I see. What about the security, I recalled, that I saw him in the afternoon? Is he still on duty?” Callum, who recognized Oliver, inquired.
“We set the table together, and he stayed behind to assist in taking them into the house,” Frank pointed out. Now, everyone's attention was on the sedulous Oliver and Callum appreciated.
“That is thoughtful of him. Young man, what is your name again?”
“My name is Oliver, Sir.”
“Thank, you Oliver.” Fredrick appreciated.
“It is my pleasure, Sir.”
“I hope you had your dinner?” Uju inquired.
“Yes, aunty. Thank you, ma. Thank you, sirs.”
“You are welcome.”
Now, everyone got off the table and Ada inquired, “Oliver, who is your father?”
After Oliver mentioned his family name, and Ada and her siblings discovered that his house was far away from theirs. Then, Sarah asked, “How will you go home this night?”
“I will work with the night shift and leave in the morning.”
“Better,” Sarah agreed. 'He needs to be mobile.' she resolved within her.
They left the table and Frank and Oliver began to clear. To their surprise, as soon the adults got into the house, the children, who were watching the television, rushed out to pick their table and chairs.
“Thank you, Uncle Frank.” They greeted one after the other and cast a questioning look at Oliver.
“His name is Oliver,” Frank cleared the air between the children and Oliver.
“Thank you, Oliver,” the children appreciated at once.
“Don't mention,” Oliver responded cheerfully. Afterward, he walked Frank to the gate and he left. Then, he got into the gate house and discovered that his colleagues were not served any food, and they chatted idly within themselves. He walked back to the drivers' side and stayed with them. Thereafter, they retired for the night and Oliver was left alone.
“The rich have more 'thank you' than the poor.” He pondered. "They punctuate every talk with 'thank you'." he concluded. He thought of his mother's and sister's threat, (We would rather not see you at home. Don't bother coming home because, we will skin you alive) and shook his head in dismay. “They didn't bother to check on me. They really meant their intimidating remarks,” he concluded. Unexpectedly, he slept off on the single chairs.
At the Gatehouse
Shane and his colleagues, who resumed work by 6:30 PM instead of 6 PM, slept off on the chairs. By their calculation, they would be off work by 2 AM and would be paid their wages. Nevertheless, they had set their body clock, just like the rooster, to wake up at that time.
“Who will pay us. It is 2 AM?” Shane asked his colleague.
“It cannot be anyone else, other than Frank,” Shane responded confidently. At that point, the next set of security guards had arrived and knocked at the gate.
“Where is he?” His partner asked.