The miracle I need 2 Episode 17
#THE_MIRACLE_I_NEED_2
EPISODE 17
“You want to propose to her alre-ady?” Ella asked in surprise as she sat on her brother’s be-d while looking at the engagement ring he had purchased.
“Yes.”
“Isn’t that too soon? Like you ba-rely even know much about her,” Ella said thoughtfully as she p@ssed the ring to Ken who was just quietly listening to them. Although she loved Kathleen and even wanted her as her sister-in-law, she also felt like they both needed to know each other well enough.
“Is it? Tell me something, do you think she is good for me or not?” Pete asked, looking from Ken to Ella.
“You know I’ve been sh!pping you both since I first saw her in your office,” Ken said with a grin, ma-king Ella roll her eyes.
“So just because she is plea-sant to look upon, you @ssumed she is good for my brother?” She asked with a slightly raised brow since she was still pretending like they weren’t in a relationsh!p.
“No, I just thought…”
“Whatever,” Ella said with a snort.
Pete and Ken exchanged an amused glance, “You don’t think she is good enough for me?” Pete asked her.
“Of course she is wonderful. I’m just trying to say maybe you both need to spend some more time getting to know and un-derstand each other,” Ella said with a nod.
“Kathleen doesn’t pretend so I alre-ady know all the important things I need to know about her. Those will l@ythe foundation of my relationsh!pwith her. I’d rather get to know every other detail as we spend our lives together. Besides you can never know a person completely even if you spend hundred years with them,” Pete said, and Ken nodded in agreement.
“You sound so confident,” Ella said enviously, wishing she could have such confidence in her relationsh!pwith Ken.
“That is what happens when you meet the right person. There is confidence and peace,” Pete said with a small smile.
“See how my guy is sounding wise,” Ken said with a chuckle ma-king Pete throw his empty deodorant can at him.
“And what happens if you later find out you’re both not compatible?” Ella asked, c0cking her head to the side as she looked at him.
Pete chuckled, “Don’t worry about that, we are very compatible. So are you going to do what I asked you to, or not?” Pete asked, returning her attention to his request.
“Since you’re so sure, I will. What about Jide and Tolu? You’re not going to tell them about your engagement?” Ella asked curiously.
“No. Since I returned to the country neither of them has visited me. And Tolu has only called me once, while Jide has called twice. I don’t have any reason to carry them along with anything. You can just tell them about it when we are done,” Pete concluded.
“Okay. So tomorrow it is then. It is getting late. I should start heading home now. I will come back in the morning,” Ella promised as she stood up to leave.
“Maybe Femi can drop you off since you don’t like driving at night,” Pete suggested.
Ella glanced at Ken with a scowl, “Nah, don’t worry,” she said with a shake of her head, even though both men knew she was just acting.
“Okay, I will drop you off myself,” Pete suggested, and Ella quic-kly glanced at Ken with a frown, wondering why he wasn’t protesting.
“No, don’t worry. I’m sure you need to spend some time with Kathleen and Amanda. I will just let Femi drop me off instead,” Ella said with a f0rç£d smile.
“Don’t worry, I will drop her off safely,” Ken promised and bu-mped fists with Pete as Ella headed for the door with her back to them.
Once they all got outside, Ella and Ken got into the car, “Wow! Don’t you think he’s going too fast?” Ella asked Ken as he started the car and drove out of the compound.
“Have you ever wondered why a man can d@t£ a lady for seven years and leave her to marry a lady he has known for less than seven months?” He asked as he drove.
“That is one crazy thing men do that doesn’t just make s-en-se,” Ella said with a hiss.
“That is because you’re being emotional about it. Unlike ladies, men make up their minds easily on what they want. You know there are cases of men who would d@t£ a lady for even ten years and still marry her? Those ones know they love the lady and want her, but maybe because of lack of finance or other challenges they can’t do the needful, so they have to try and beat those challenges before marrying her, no matter how long it takes. And then there are those men who are just managing one lady while waiting for the right now… I’m not saying it is a good thing,” He hurried to say defensively when she raised a brow.
“What I’m just trying to explain to you is that men don’t reason like ladies. We see what we want, we go for it. Ladies are created to think a lot about things that involve their emotions, but not men. We see it, we like it, we go for it! So to answer your question, I don’t think he is going too fast. If I had my way I would marry you this minute,” Ken said, ma-king her smile.
“That is different. You’ve known me for years. But Kunle…”
“So you know we’ve known each other for years, yet you’re not willing to marry me yet,” He said dryly.
“You know for some of us, we only get this marriage thing once. We can’t afford to get married and divorced, so we have to be careful,” Ella explained.
“And you think we could get divorced if we get married?” Ken asked with a frown.
“Yes. If I don’t work on my trust issues, we will. So allow me to work on it at my own pace. Plus I’ve decided that I need to re-ad at least twenty books on marriage before getting married. I have to be prepared for it in every way. I don’t want to fail as a wife or a mother,” Ella said, ma-king Ken’s heart swell with love and respect for her.
“I don’t want to fail either, so how about you pick out books for me to re-ad too? And then we can discuss the books every time we see? That way we will never run out of things to talk about,” Ken suggested, ma-king Ella smile happily.
“I’d love that, but you’re always busy. How will you find time to re-ad?” Ella asked thoughtfully.
“Don’t worry, I could devote an hour or two every night. We make time for things that are important to us. Plus who knows? Those books could go a long way in helping me and my clients,” Ken said, and Ella nodded.
“I agree. A couple that re-ads together stay together. I will pick out some books tonight and share the names with you. Maybe I can get soft copies online for myself, while we find h@rd copies for you,”
“How do you know I prefer h@rd copies?” Ken asked, turning to look at her, clearly impressed.
“For someone, I’ve loved almost all my life, you don’t think I’d know something that basic about you?” Ella asked with a snort.
Ken grinned, “I love you too,” he said, ma-king her smile.
________________
“So what is the plan for your birthday tomorrow? You see that even though you forgot my birthday, I didn’t forget your own?” Sharon asked, ma-king Kathleen roll her eyes.
“I did not drag the best friend award with you. We know you’re a better friend than me, so no need to rub it in,” Kathleen said, ma-king both Isioma and Sharon laugh.
“Will you and uncle Pete take us out? I’ve not gone out since I c@m£ to Lagos, only hospital every time,” Isioma complained with a frown.
“I’m sure Pete will take us out tomorrow, so I brou-ght my best clothes,” Sharon said with a big smile.
“Don’t get your hopes up. He hasn’t mentioned anything about it. Besides, what if he has forgotten about it?” Kathleen asked skeptically. She was feeling very anxious about it for two reasons. First, this was the first time she was in a relationsh!p, and she really didn’t want him to forget it as it would hurt her very much. Secondly, there was her prayer request about him proposing to her… What if he didn’t? Would that mean that he wasn’t God’s will for her?
“I trust uncle Pete, he can’t forget,” Isioma said confidently.
“Don’t mind your sister jare. But wait, what if he gets you a car for your birthday?” Sharon asked excitedly.
“Why will he get me a car when there are several cars in the compound? Besides, where am I going to?” Kathleen asked before checking the time on her phone. It was almost 9 PM.
“You don’t know that is how all these rich guys behave? I’m sure he will buy something big,”
“He knows me better than that. He won’t get anything extravagant else he will take it back. I need to go and meet him now, goodnight,” she said as she stood up from the couch and headed for the door.
“Na wa. We sef go love o,” Sharon called after her, but Kathleen didn’t respond.
The past week has been nothing short of amazing. Just as Pete had requested, they spent every evening together and had sometimes stayed up until past midnight, watching movies, gisting, playing games, and just getting to know each other better. He had taught her how to pl@yChess, while she taught him how to pl@ycheckers, and sometimes they had gone as far as betting with money.
While at work, they had formed a habit of playing ludo games online or chatting whenever she was less busy since she had insisted on not indulging in an office r0m@nç£. She encouraged him to lead by example and set a standard for the other employees to follow too, and so far he was doing a good job.
Pete had even ordered two pairs of jogging shoes and had them delivered to her office four days ago. Since then they had made it a d@t£ to go jogging together every morning. He had b!own her mind when he suggested they always pray together at night before she returned to her ap@rtment, and also introduced general morning devotion in the house. So once they returned from their jogging and freshened up, they gather everyone in the living room and pray together in the morning before leaving. So far their relationsh!pwas everything she had wished for. The only shortcoming was that she was increasingly beginning to find it difficult to keep her hands away from him whenever they were alone together. She hadn’t realized how t©uçhy she could be until these past few days. And about the wh0le k!ss!ngbusiness, she was beginning to get the hang of it.
She snapped out of her thoughts and almost jumped out of her skin when something brushed past her leg and she looked down to see it was Pete’s hvge white dog, Pandora, “Jesus!” She yelled and shut her eyes ti-ghtly as her heart hammered wildly in her che-st until she heard Pete’s chuckle.
“Somethings don’t change. Well, since you haven’t asked me about Pandora since the night you c@m£, I decided to bring her back to remind you about her existence,” Pete said as he bent down to pat the big dog.
Kathleen swallowed nervously, “I’m not a fan of dogs,”
“So I noticed. Why don’t you open your eyes?” Pete asked in amusement. He still remembered the fear on her face the first night he had brou-ght her to his house. He had taken Pandora to Ken’s place after that night, and Pandora had remained there since then. He had only brou-ght her back because Amanda had been asking for her all week, so he asked Ken to bring the dog over.
“Where is she? Is she still here?” Kathleen asked until she felt something brush herl-ips, and opened her eyes to see Pete in front of her.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let her t©uçh her,” Pete @ssured her as he tucked one of her br@ids behind her ear, “I love this your hairstyle. I think you look better on br@ids than on weavon,” Pete said, trying to get her to relax as he led her to the car.
“Because you don’t know what it feels like to sit down for hours while they br@id your hair. If you knew you would ask me to stick to wigs instead,” Kathleen said as she followed him, “Are we not going in,side?” She asked, looking around nervously.
“St©p worrying about Pandora. Let’s stay out here for some time. Tomorrow is Sunday so you will need to go in,side early,” Pete said as he placed his hands around her w@!st and raised her above the ground so she could sit on the trunk of the car.
Pete smiled when Kathleen looked around self-consciously, “Tell me something, you don’t like public displays of affection?”
“It is possible to like it and still be shy, right?” Kathleen asked with an embarr@ssed smile, ma-king Pete chuckle.
“I really love you Ngozika Kathleen Okorie,” Pete said, looking at her with a grin. He wasn’t sure he could ever get tired to profess his love for her.”
“I love you too Kunle Pete Howells,” Kathleen said with a shy smile that made him laugh.
“You’re becoming bolder by the day. Some days ago you couldn’t even call my name,” he said as he took both her hands in his and just held them.
Kathleen looked at him, and decided to try out something she had been practicing all week, “I suppose some things do change, Ba…” She st©pped and couldn’t get the word out.
“Ba?” Pete repeated in amusement.
“What?” she asked, feigning confusion.
“You were going to say something, complete it,” Pete urged.
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Kathleen denied.
“Really? But it sounded like you were going to say, baby or babe,” Pete said with a teasing smile.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” She said, turning her face away from him in embarr@ssment.
Pete chuckled, “I’m sure you do, ba…” Pete said, jabbing his f!ngersat her side to tickle her.
Kathleen laughed as she tried to move away from his reach and block his hands, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Come on sweety, don’t be shy. It’s just the both of us, say it.”
Kathleen raised her hands to cover her mouth in embarr@ssment as Pete watched her in amusement, “Sometimes you act like a shy teenager, you know?” He asked with a small smile.
Kathleen shut her eyes ti-ghtly, “Ba…by?” She opened her eyes when Pete roared with laughter.
“Are you going to have to shut your eyes this way every time you call me that?” This woman never ceased to amuse him.
“I guess I’ll just buy shades. No one has to know my eyes are closed whenever I say it,” Kathleen murmured dryly ma-king him laugh some more.
“I have a long day tomorrow, we should go in,side now,” Pete suggested.
“A long day? What are you doing?” She asked, her heart beating fast.
“Well, I have a family meeting to attend in the morning. Don’t worry, Chidi will take you all to church. I will get Amanda re-ady on time,” he promised and noticed how her face fell.
“Is something wrong?”
“No. I should go in then. Goodnight,” she said as she slid down the car.
“Have a beautiful night rest,” he said as he k!$$£d her forehead, her cheeks, the ti-p of her nose, and then her chin before finally k!ss!ngherl-ips softly, “I love you, sugarl-ips,” he said as he pu-ll-ed away from her.
“Sugarl-ips?” Kathleen asked curiously.
“Yeah, that is because I can’t get enough of yourl-ips, now go in,side before we start another conversation,” he said, eliciting a peal of laughter from her. He was right, it seemed like they never ran out of things to talk about.
“I love you too babe,” she said, and before he could respond, she ran off, ma-king him double over with laughter.
WATCHOUT FOR EPISODE 18