MERIBELLA – Episode 9

MERIBELLA EPISODE
(Dear mermaid 💜) 

BY BLESSING SILVER
.
“I’m Patricia but everyone calls me ma’am Pat, you can call me that too” the woman said, taking a sip from her soda.
She and Meribella were getting along pretty well and she could say, she was a funny lady and well a big eater too, she had consumed two plates of lasagna and a coke while they had simple discussion and got to know each other. The way she ate somehow reminded her of her teenage friend, Adriana. The one she always ran to each time she got abused by either her father or mother, the only friend that took her like a human being and gave her food. She had relocated with her family to Chicago and the pains she felt during that period couldn’t be described, she had struggled to eat ever since and watching Bella eat raised happy memories as well as sad ones for her. She was loving this lady already.
Surprisingly she had overpowered two guys successfully and now she had devoured two big plates of lasagna.
Funny huh?
“Ma’am Pat,” Meribella said thoughtfully. “It’s pretty”
“So, tell me Bella, do you live with your parents?” her face fell.
“I don’t have parents” she said, her voice emotional.
“Oh, I’m sorry about that,” she said “I don’t have parents too, I lost them when I was just ten, I lived with my guardian ever since” Bella nodded.
“But I have Maurice”
“Maurice? I guess he’s the guy you stay with”
“Yes! he lives in a big house and he cooks well too. he’s kind like you too and he gives me food, he also got me new clothes and teach me things”
“He must be a good guy”
“Very good ma’am Pat, he let me stay with him even though we’re strangers, he gave me a room too”
“Awww, that’s a really good gentleman”
“I tell you.. That’s why I’m doing what I can to be his friend” she said, taking her coke to her l-ips and taking a sip.
“Oh, little wonders why”
“So what are you doing to earn his friendsh¡p?”
“I’m going to look for a dollar, I was going for it before I saw those tall guys that stole your purse. It’s late morning already, the shore must be filled with people and they’ll distract my search, I’ll have to leave it for tomorrow” Bella said, rushing her words and talking without staccato.
Patricia smiled; she’s a big talker too.
“Maurice wants a dollar in exchange for his friendsh¡p to you?”
“Mmhhm” she nodded.
“But that’s kinda not right, if he wants your friendsh¡p too then he doesn’t need to ask you to buy it”
“I want to, his friendsh¡p worth more than a dollar and I want to show him that I’m capable”
“Oh okay,” She drew out a dollar from her purse “Have it”
Bella examined it like it was a strange object then shook her head.
“I want to get the money myself” she said.
“Well you did, you caught those two guys that stole my purse. You can take this as a reward”
“Really?”
“Yes, really” Bella took it from her, a smile forming on her l-ips.
“Thanks ma’am Pat,” she said, her face having a happy expression.
“You’re welcome Meribella”
“Just a minute, I have to attend to them” she pointed to the customers that just arrived.
“Don’t you have a help ma’am pat? Do you do all the works here?”
“I did have a help but she doesn’t work here anymore, she left yesterday and I’m searching for a new one” Bella nodded, ma’am pat left to attend to her customers while Bella stared around space, looking at nothing and everything..
She was so happy she could be Maurice friend now, they’d be really close than before and maybe from there they could be something more, the thought made her grin widely.
Did Maurice even love her?; she didn’t think so but she loved him and it mattered to her..She wanted nothing more than to be really close to him, to have a heart to heart connection with him and maybe stay on the same bed, she smiled foolishly again and mentally slapped her head.
Ma’am pat came back to her with a bowl of yam ch¡ps and a can of soda, she left it beside Bella.
“I made some yam ch¡ps,I want you to try them and tell me how it taste” she said.
“Okay” Bella grabbed the fork she had earlier used in eating her lasagna and dug it into the bowl filled with yam ch¡p, she lifted the fork up and ate the ch¡ps..
Pat laughed; she also eats hærd ch¡ps with fork.. amazing!
“It’s delicious!” Bella said, her eyes w¡dening.
“Really?”
“Yes, can I have more please?”
“Of course, be my guest” Bella wasted no time in digging repeatedly into the snack.
“I’m sure Maurice can make this too”
“Of course, anyone can make this. it’s easy”
“Can I make it too?”
“Yes, you can. I’ll be glad to teach you when you’re free”
“Thanks ma’am pat” she smiled.

*
Bella and Pat talked more, one would almost take them for best friends that were having a good time.. they got along really well and Patricia already grew fond of her. The evening was gradually seeping in and Bella deemed it fit to leave, she didn’t want Maurice to get home and meet her absence. He might get mad at her for disobeying him and she didn’t want that, she wanted to be his friend peacefully.
“Ma’am pat, can we be friends?”
“We’re already friends Meribella, I like you already”
“Thanks ma’am” Bella said. “I have to go, Maurice will be back soon and I want him to meet me at home”
“Awww, I was wishing we could spend the day together. You’ll come tomorrow right?” Bella nodded.
“I’ll eat that ch¡ps again”
“Sure, I’ll keep a big bowl of it for you”
“Thanks ma’am pat. Goodbye” she waved.
“Bye”
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Luckily for Bella she got home two minutes before Maurice arrived, he was flabbergasted when he saw the bread, jam, coffee, coke and every other thing he had expected Bella to have picked from for lunch, still intact.. nothing looked touched nor missing, the jam was still nearly tight as he had left it, the bread pack in the fridge, untouched, the cokes didn’t look like they had been tampered with and the kitchen was tidy.. just as he had left it!
He walked back to the living room. He was off his work clothes now and in place he had a pair of short and a singlet.
“Bella, did you have lunch here today?”
“No,” she shook her head. No wonder everything looked kept and tidy, she must’ve not been in the kitchen too because the trash didn’t have any new waste, only few crumbs of what they had for breakfast and a can of coke.
“So you ate nothing for lunch?” she shook her head again “I was looking for this” she raised the dollar “I searched so much I didn’t have the time to eat lunch” Bella said.
Maurice walked to her and collected the dollar, he examined it with narrowed brows.
“You skipped lunch because of this? but why?” she nodded.
“I want to be your friend”
“My fr…” his voice trailed off as he remembered he had asked her for a dollar in exchange for his friendsh¡p, he couldn’t believe she had taken it seriously, he also couldn’t believe Bella could skip meal for hours because of this..
He just took as a joke, he had even forgotten about it..
“We can be friends now right?” Bella stood up and he smiled.
“Sure, you’ve just proved that you worth it”
“Yay!” she happily said. “I’m happy Maurice”
“Really?”
“Yes. I want to hug you, can I?”
“Uh..
She interrupted him with a surprising bear hug, wrapping her hand tightly around his neck, they both fell on the couch with Bella still on him.
“Thank you Maurice,” she whispered.
.
______ To be continued

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