“It’s not Freddie Mercury darling, it’s the Beatles” Oswald mutter underneath his breath

making sure that his wife didn’t hear him.

“ did you say something baby?” Delia said giving out a buoyant laughter that filled the air of
the car. “The deal says that you tell me your childhood name if I get the name of the man
that performed the song champions during the 1998 AIDs live concert at the Wembley
stadium, I think google proclaimed me the winner already so why do you hesitate?”
“It was the Beatles” he struggled further.
Delia laughed even harder this time. It’s been 5 years now since they last went on a vacation
and it felt so real to her, she was sure this time that everything was going to work out the
way.
“It was Jacobi” he said, forcing the words out of his mouth
“Who the hell names a toddler Jacobi!” Delia laughed hysterically patting her laps
uncontrollably “what was your mother thinking ?”
“Alright Delia, it’s enough” Oswald rolled his eyes
“If you say so… Jacobi” she bursted out another round of laughter.
Oswald saw himself laughing to the joke of his wife. It actually has been a long time since
we had this much bonding. “What do you think Sarah will say about this? Leaving her alone
with a babysitter wasn’t the best option you know”
“Relax Jaco-”
“I thought we were past that” they both laughed hysterically “be serious Delia”
“Alright alright… I’ll be serious” she said trying to calm down. “Sarah’s just 3years old, she
won’t notice that we’re gone you know… besides, it’s just for two days baby” She looked at
him sternly this time making sure he too was also looking at her. His face was well build with
a little scar just below his chin, his folded jaw was stylishly covered by his goatee, his hair
well combed backwards, his brows full and his eyes, the only thing that makes Delia wonder
how a man could be so good looking, stayed majestically beneath those brows where they
were meant to be. “You, me and two days in Niagara suite and nothing’s gonna stop us.
Absolutely nothing”
Oswald smiled and kept looking at the beaut he was able to marry. He remembered the first
time he proposed to her. The way she looked was incomparable, the glow in her eyes, the
spark her smiled ignited his his heart, the way her lips danced to her words. Delia was the
love of his life. But now, Oswald couldn’t see any of those in her face, she was yelling
something out to him that really didn’t make sense. In a split second it all came together.
“Look out!”
Oswald look forward and realized that within seconds he’d be gone “shit!”

***************************************************************************

Delia jolted up from her bed with a loud scream. She sat upright on her bed panting really
hard. She tried observing her surrounding. The velvet rug that laid in the middle of the room
reflected the red light that radiated from the light bulb stationed at the edges of her room.
Her television stand was filled with her pictures and other artifacts which she loved
collecting. The curtains were loose, sweeping the ground delicately with red and orange
petal flowing through it. The aroma of the room was enveloped in a lovely vanilla incense,
just the way she liked it. She was at ease now knowing that everything was in place, there
was no doubt, she surely was in her room.
“Mom… is everything alright?” A faint voice came from across the room. “I heard you
screaming”
The sound of Sarah’s voice cooled the tension that circulated the whole room. Delia
watched as her daughter walked slowly towards the light switch and turn on the lights. The
whole room was illuminated, making her see Sarah clearly.
“I told you I don’t like those nighties… they make you look old” she tried to change the
subject.
Sarah walks down to her mother’s bed, climbed it and wrapped her hand around her
mother. “I know you had the dreams mom. It’s been 7years now, dad is not coming back”
Delia has heard these words over and over again, but they sounded new every time it was
repeated. Droplets of tears ran down her eyes as she held her daughter’s hands tenderly.
“Thank you so much… thank you so much my love”.
“Go back to sleep mom” Sarah concluded before switching off the lights and then leaving
the room.

The sun rose, filling the sky with shades of orange and pink, peach and magenta, amber and
rose, radiating hope, another beginning. Another chance to live. The start of a brand new
day. Delia woke up on the sound of her daughter’s alarm. She sluggishly pulled herself from
beneath her blanket, her legs striking the floor almost immediately as she withdrew from
her bed. She slowly walked to her bathroom and washed her face. She stood in front of the
mirror for a while thinking blankly before exiting the bathroom and headed to the kitchen.
“Good morning queen”
“Good morning mom” Sarah said with a broad smile
“You’d definitely miss the school bus if you keep eating those pancakes that way” she
teased her with a mild laughter.
Sarah watched her mom laugh. Everything changed since her father died and it was well
written on Delia face. Her once full hair became short and scanty, her red lips became pale,
even her smile lacked the glow, everything was not the same. “I’m never late to catch the
bus mom, and you know that”
“Then I’ll say you better start going young girl” she said
“Mom… you know it’s-“
Sarah stop talking immediately she heard the message notification alert coming from her
mother’s phone. Delia left the kitchen and walked into the living room slowly. She picked
her phone, unlocked the phone revealing to her who had set her a message. Oh! It’s Austin.
She quietly read the message to herself sedately, making sure her daughter couldn’t make
out the words.

Hey Delia, how are you doing today?

I hope you’re alright since you’ve actually never replied my texts
Just wanted to check on you and you know that there be a cowboy
Show down in two days time, would you love to come with me?
I doubt if I’ll get a reply but it is worth the try
I hope you have a nice Delia. Take care of yourself.

Delia instantly recalled the first time she encountered Austin Reynolds. She was at Rowdy
boys bar looking for an attorney who was meant to seal the case of her husband’s death,
this was about some weeks ago. She waited for nearly an hour and still no one showed up.
“Excuse me, Are you waiting for someone?”
Delia was stunned by the deep baritone voice that reverberated through the minute
circumference of privacy she cloaked herself with. Really irked, she tried to keep her
composure and made sure not to cause a scene. She calmed herself down, clutched her fist
and took in a deep breath.
“Excuse me?” Delia replies looking at the man straight in the eyes. She wasn’t in any way
impressed. His mustache was full and laid firm beneath his lips. His blonde hair fractious,
fully thrown back into a messy ponytail towards the base of his head. Scanty strands of hair
dangled in front of his face, slightly obstructing his view but still they perfectly framed his
face. His blonde hair and his vigorous orchid eyes made his feather dusting freckles pop
against his white skin.
“I’m sorry ma’am… I saw you sitting all by yourself and I couldn’t help but wonder if you
were waiting for someone” he replied
Delia Gave am uncomfortable gesture but uttered no reply.
“I’m sorry, forgive my manners. My name is Austin, Austin Reynolds. I often come here
during my free times” she said with a broad smile extending his hands towards her.
“And I’m married” she said bluntly ignoring his handshake and facing the bar.
Austin gave a mild smile “that’s quiet a lovely name” he said with a little accent coating the
name. “But all I wanted was just a friendly handshake not a phone number”
Delia gave out a silent giggle and made her statement more explicit “I’m not interested in
you darling and I clearly do not want to be disturbed”
“let me buy you a drink, then we could talk this through”
“I said –” but Austin already had two glasses of French 75 cocktail coming up “you know you
really don’t have to”
“I know, but I do t think I’ll be happy with myself if I leave you all alone by yourself, bored”
he said with a resilient smile “it definitely won’t be –”
“And who said I was bored?” She gave a bothersome look
“I’m sorry if I assumed that. That wasn’t so gentlemanly of me. I really do not want to -”
“And now he calls himself a gentle man” she said with a brief laughter “darling what do you
want from me”
Austin watched Delia break into a wide smile as he made funny hand gestures concerning
the question thrown at him. “Let’s just say I want to know you”
“Austin right?” She beamed a soothing smile
“Yes ma’am”
“I have a husband and I really don’t want things to be complicated between us so I think it’s
best you don’t get your hopes high darling” she lied
Austin, a little bit disappointed with her response, quickly took the last sip out of his cup of
cocktail and looked at Delia “do you like country music?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I asked if you like country music” he said still maintaining his smile.
“And what doesn’t that have to do with any of this” she asked with full attention and
concentration towards him, this man was more stunning than she’d thought.
“You mentioned the fact that you have someone again and I’m trying my best to avoid the
whole marriage life talk with you so… do you like country music?”
Delia laughed out loud this time, well not too loud, at the hand gestures he made while
trying to contend with her over his question . “Well yes, I do love country music” she gave
up.
“You listen to Chris Stapleton?” He asked
“Just a few”
“How about Alan Jackson?”
“Heard Under the Influence Album and fell deeply in love with his music” she said with so
much enthusiasm with her eyes Locked on Austin “danced to every single song on that
album everyday before I go for classes. It was absolutely brilliant”
“That’s wonderful ma’am, I think my favorite of Alan should be…” he paused for a while,
looking at an aimless direction, searching through his archives. “Ahah!... Everything I Love
1996… Buicks to the moon is always on replay”
“Why the hell is that your favorite?” She laughed “like really, you had Between the devil and
me or There goes or A house with no curtains you still chose Buicks to the moon. Don’t
make me laugh Mosby”
“It’s Austin ma’am, Not Mosby” he smiled “ those songs were amazing… emm…”
“What’s the matter? Finally realize how crappy those songs were right?” She teased.
“Not at all ma’am, just realized that I don’t know what name to call you by”
The smile that radiated from Mosby was undoubtedly genuine. Austin!. She returned a smile
back. Call me Delia”
“You’re not from around here” he gave a puzzled look
“Not at all Mos… Austin” she corrected herself with a chuckle “I’m from New Jersey”
“You’re a long way from home ma’am”
“Apparently I stay over at –”
“Mrs James?”
Delia’s sense of feel care into play as she felt a tender touch on her shoulder and heard soft
voice called out from behind her. Another round again?
“Yes, I’m her and how may I help you?” She observed the man, he was averaged height, well
combed hair with a smartly ironed suit.
“I’m your attorney, we were-”
“I figured” she says packing her bags and all her belongings. Saved by the bell. “ thank you so
much for the company Austin Rey…”
“Reynold ma’am”
“Yeah, Reynold. Thank you so much for the company, I really appreciate that” she dropped
down from the high bar stool and followed the attorney.
“This way Mrs James” the attorney said directing Delia out of the bar
“How about Blake Shelton?” Austin yelled out
“I love Blake” Delia replied
“I have two tickets to his show next week, love to tag alone?”
“Sorry darling, maybe next time” she left the bar taking her last glimpse at the young
country man.

“Mom!, I’m about leaving now” Sarah yanked her mother by her shorts “you looked at your
phone for a long time, everything’s alright right mom?”
Delia totally forgot that her daughter would be late for school if she kept on reminiscing
about how she met Austin. “I’m so sorry my love, let me walk you to the bus terminal before
it gets too late” she said quickly getting a coat from the sofa closet to her
“Mom, I told you already, you could stop doing this now. I’m actually grown enough to walk
on my own.” Sarah said leaving her mother behind and making it through the door.
It’s been a tradition for Delia to walk Sarah down to the bus stop since Oswald died. He
often said he would do it when Sarah becomes of age but he never got the chance to. Now,
Delia was fulfilling both their dreams. “You know I can’t let you walk all by yourself, wait up
Sarah” cried out watching her daughter leave the house.
In no time Delia caught up with her daughter and quickly covered her with the spare jacket
she brought “you left without a jacket”
“I’m not a child anymore mom… I left it there on purpose” she said wearing the jacket
properly.
“If you say so kiddo”
They both walked until they approached the bust terminal. Luckily, the bus arrived just on
time. Sarah ran to the terminal after bidding her mother farewell. Delia stood, watching her
daughter run into the bus and exchanging laughs and pleasantries with her school friends.
Watching her, she could easily remember the day she told Sarah Oswald was dead. It took
her a week or two to finally come out clean to her. Sarah didn’t cry when she heard she
barely understood what happened. All she kept on asking was were daddy was, most of the
time, Delia would bust into tears while few time they were little sobs. Sarah grew up
observing her mother that way and within time she got used to it all, finally realizing the fact
that she didn’t have a father. But it didn’t bother her over the years. She enjoyed the
company of her mother and couldn’t ask for more. Delia often told her stories of her father,
but aside the pictures and videos Delia had of him, there was no way she could connect with
him. It was a broken bond between her and her father.
Delia stayed a little longer than she usually stayed at the bus terminal even after the bus
left. She sat down quietly going through the text over and over again. It was only some days
ago Austin got her number over the internet and he was already texting. It’s just so soon.
She smiled. What a persistent man. She slid the phone into her jacket pocket and observed
her environment. It was still too early for her to go to work so she decided to walk slowly
home while taking as much time as she could. She was few blocks away from home when
she heard her phone ring. She quickly rushed into her jacket pocket and picked up the call, it
was work.
“Delia James speaking”
“Delia, quickly come over to the store, there seem to be a problem” the voice over the
phone sounded uncertain
“Carl?”
“It Jake, how long will before you get here?”
“About twenty to thirty minutes, why? What’s the matter Jake?” Delia start feeling uneasy
“The boss just wants to see all his employees. Please hurry up” and the phone went dead.
Delia hurried back home and quickly took a shower. In no time she was done, then she
started going through her regular skin care routine which lasted about fifteen minutes. Then
she wore her underwear and finally she wore her clothes. Whats happening. Took her
working jacket and walked out of the house, locking the entrance door. She quickly ran
towards the road to wait for a taxi. She had already flagged one down already when she
realized that she had forgot something. Shit!. She quickly ran towards the house retracing
her steps back. She stormed into her room and search for her Hamsat Al Qalb perfume.
With six to seven sprays she felt contented with herself and zoomed off the house. It wasn’t
hard getting another taxi cab, as soon as she left the house she was able to flag one down
early.
“Number 14, Mac alexter street” she said.
The taxi cab driver gave a compliant nod, setting the meter to customers destination,
revving the engine and zooming off.
Jollibe eatery stood firmly in the middle of Mac alexter street. It proudly wore their logo, a
bee cartoon face with antennas and a chef hat, at the top of the building like a crown. The
structure of the the building was square, coated with orange Colored brick pattern. The
house was long and narrow, perhaps only twenty four feet wide at the front, but it
stretched some forty five feet back like a giant shoe box. It was two stories high and had a
one story extension at the rear for the kitchen. The windows were large and surrounded the
building giving allowance to sunlight to get into the building during the day time and the
cool sweep of the night breeze during the might. At its threshold stood the delicate marble
fountain, the soft gurgling of the clear water melodic as it resonated in the surrounding
silence.
The car came to a halt at the Jollibe Car park and the driver killed the engine. Delia gushed
our of the car with force, rushing toward the building.
“Hey!.. where’s my money?” The taxi cab man yelled out
Delia totally forgot about her charges, she quickly deeped her hands into her purse and
brought out some notes “Here, sorry about that”
Delia zoomed into jollibe and the whole place was empty. She looked around at the empty
tables, usually couples would sit Eating side by side, one or two glasses of wine each
depending on the set of couples that were present on the table studiously bent over the rod
meal. Delia once served a table of a gay couple who requested for separate bottles of wine.
She also once served a table of couples who just requested for ice cream and seasoned
chicken. She past the mid region of the restaurant and she remembered of group of young
women in their early thirties collapsing with helpless giggles as a stern old looking woman,
who was probably in her late sixties, dining alone nearby looked on and frowned. There was
a section of the building where Businessmen in their black suits with white collared shirts
and red ties or grey suits with black inner collared shirts and red ties, lighting up cigars. The
place was usually filled up with Foreign tourists, trying to decipher the menu, A family and
their teenage children, The noise level was usually high because of the amount of customers
that trooped in and out. The smoke level, too. But everywhere was dead silent and void. She
wasn’t used to it. She went straight towards the boss’s office.
She stood in front of the door, the inscription boldly written

Manager

She stroked the door two to three times before entering into the office. The air was cool and
surrounded by the fragrance radiated by the air freshener place directly in front of the air
conditioning vents. The room was well lit and well arranged. A large curved wooden table
was installed In the middle of the room and the boss sat behind the table. He looked
bloated as he sat behind the table. Delia rarely saw him, but the times she did, he was huge
in every way. He was wide and tall, he had huge legs as big as a teenagers waist, but he was
still her boss. Since he has a handful of employees he had enough time to build us his
directing charisma by studying just about any subject, article or magazine about business he
could get his hands on.
His employees surrounded his table like Bees hovering round their hive. Delia quickly joined
the group before she was noticed.
“and so what’s your opinion about the issue?” The manager asked, his voice roaring around
the walls of his office.
“What’s happening?” Delia asked the nearest employee to her
“There has been a cut of demands of employees, the board of directors asked that each
branch should retrench few employees” he replied “he’s about to call the names”
Delia stood cold amidst everyone. Retrenchment could mean her loosing her job and that
could me her not having any funds to fend for her and her daughter. It was all so sudden for
her and she really didn’t know how to handle the whole situation. Delia looked at everyone
in total confusion. Why I’m I so nervous, I’ve served for more than four years now. There’s
totally nothing to be scared of.
“So do the retrenched people get any compensation of any kind” one of the employees
asked
“Oh yes they do, as directed by the board of trustees, all retrenched employee get two
years worth of salary” the manager replied. “ anything else?”
The office was dead silent as no one said a word. “Then I’ll proceed to call the names then.”
He concluded.
Delia watched him bring out a sheet of paper and wear his pair of glasses, slowly adjusting
adjusting them to rest perfectly on his nose. The glasses were old fashioned and too
stubborn to rest of his nose well so it kept sliding a little bit down making him adjust them
as often as he could.
“I’ll start with Andrew stones” he said looking at the employees who looked like a flock of
sheep waiting for the Shepherd. “Could you step forward please”
Andrew was a petite young man with a very buoyant walking step. We went forward
Towards the manager and paid no attention to anything he said.
“… and I’m sorry for the disappointment” the manager said handing over to him a fat brown
envelope. He watched as Andrew left his office slamming the door on his way out. It was
obvious that he wasn’t happy with the outcome but like the typical Andrew, he left without
saying a single word.
“The next person here is Roxanne Mitch” the manager continued.
Roxanne followed the same conduct as Andrew. She stepped forward, received her
envelope and walked away. And same was applied to Matin, Rodrick, Marcos, Dayo and…
“The last person on the list is…” he adjusted his glasses a little “… is Delia James.”
Delia was shot cold at behind the rest employees on hearing her name. Her fingers were
jumping rhythmically out of control, as if in spasm. .And then her legs gently folded and she
subsided slowly on the step, ungainly as a marionette...Her heart suddenly churned. Oh
God, she prayed, don't let that happen, not now...she still lay there fighting the terrible
loosening of her job, the need to be swallowed by the ground.
“Is she here?” The manager asked looking at the employees.
Delia emerged out of the gathering wistfully. She stood in front of the manger trying not to
look into his eyes. She saw him collecting the brown envelope and stretching it towards her.
“I’m so sorry Delia. It wasn’t meant to be this way, but this was totally out of my hands” he
said apologetically, stretching his hands towards Delia.
Delia collected the envelope with no words. She felt betrayed, she walked hours at jollibee
and it all ended this way. It tore her to bit. She quietly left the office and took the same path
she took while going to the manager’s office. She stopped at the entrance door and stole a
look at the eatery. She felt frustrated at everything. How the hell l’m going to take care of
Sarah! She couldn’t contain the disappointment, The tears flowed unrestrained down her
cheeks and dripped slowly from her chin, accompanied by silent sobs. She was too sad to
cry out or wail, she just stood there as still as a statue while the magnitude of her loss swept
over her like dust leaving the surface of an old book when being blown. When asked by her
daughter later on to describe her sadness in the moment she heard of the tragic news of her
retrenchment, her eyes would brim with tears once more, as if all those years of her
commitment and sacrifice towards Jollibee had passed in a matter of seconds and she would
say nothing. For once again she was lost in the torrid vortex of the moment. She pushed the
entrance door open and walked out of the eatery.
“Delly! Wait up!”
Delia only knew one person that called her Delly and it was Jake. Jake was by far younger
than Her but still she accommodated nearly every demeanor Jake exhibited. He was black
skinned, tall and had a broad face. Jake was a jovial boy who always smiled at everything
and everyone but the first time today Delia saw a face that she had never seen him keep.
“Why the long face?” Delia asked avoiding his eyes trying struggling hard to clean her tears.
“I should be asking you that question Delly” he said “why the tears”
Delia scoffed out loud “are you being serious now Jake?”
“I’m sorry, I think that came our wrong” he said with his left hand brushing through his hair,
giving a funny facial expression.
Delia laughed looking at Jake. “I’ll be fine Jake”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Oh yes I am” she said patting his shoulder.
“How about Sarah? How would you be able to handle Sarah?”
Then it hit her again, the thought of catering for her daughter with no means of income tore
her apart. Her eyes shifted to the side again and became glazed with a glassy layer of tears.
With every blink, they dripped from her eyelids and slid down her cheeks. “I really don’t
know Jake, Sarah’s in school now and I want her to be able to finish grade school, go to high
school, make it through college and finish the university but I don’t think that can happen
anymore Jake. I really don’t know what else to do Jake” Delia cried out.
Jake held her and patted her shoulders tenderly. “Stop crying Delly, everything will be
alright before you know it.”
Delia got a hold of herself and cleaned the tears off her eyes. She thanked Jake for being
comforting and said her farewell.
Delia got home on time. The news about earlier came as a tragic shock to her. She never
expected things to turn out this way. Now she was at the end of her rope. She looked
around at the little apartment she was able to savor from the little money that she was able
to get in Oswald’s name. now it was going to be gone within months if she didn’t find an
alternative solution to the case that she was in. She gave a quick glance at the envelop in
her hand and frustration hit her hard. Any time she tried to get the whole situation of her
mind the more reality dawned to her and the more she got angry. How in the world is this
happening to me and why now? She tried to swallow her retort and just let it all be, she
tried to coat the whole mishap in just a big smile, forget all that happened and move on, but
that made everything worse. It consumed all that she was, so delicate beneath that carefully
structured cosmos. She paced round the apartment without any specific reason.
She was about to lay on her bed when her cell phone rang out loud. Who the hell are you!
She was on the verge of losing her temper. She reached for her jacket pocket and picked up
her cell phone.

“Mrs. Delia James on the line, to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with” she said as
she sunk on her bed.

“We still haven’t appended the signatures on the documents you asked for some weeks
back. Are you still interested in the agreement or I should just look for another client who’s
ready?”
Delia popped up from the bed she laid in realizing it was the attorney. Wrong timing. “I’m
sorry. That happened to be my bad. Where can I meet you for the completion of the
proposal.”

“I’m still at the country side Mrs. James. Could you make it her by tomorrow?”

“You’re still at Kansas!” Delia knew that it was going to be a hell of a journey from new
jersey. She tried to calm herself down while she thought of possible ways to make it to
Kansas the following day. the train was the best and only option she had. “I’ll meet you
there then.”

“good, thank you very much Mrs. James” and with that he hung up the call.

Delia dropped the cell phone on her bed with immense frustration. She finally pulled her
jacket and placed it in her closet. The step by step, she pulled everthing she wore, jumped
on her bed and closed her eyes for a brief nap.

***************************************************************************

Delia saw herself pacing down the hospital hallway. It was nothing like the hospitals back at
new jersey where the receptionist was more plastic than the purified water. Down at the
hospital, there was no openness, no space, nothing glimmered. The place was clogged with
thw smell of disinfectant. The walls were tiled with white ceramics that reflected the lights
giving everywhere a celestial look. The hallway, likewise, had as much personality as the
hospital self. Above the ceiling was made from polystyrene square laid on a grid like frame.
The lights emmited where too bright. There were commercial prints on the wall, some
abouth the reproductive system, others about the diabetes and malaria. they were all
pleasing in every way and aspect. But not to Delia. She didn’t mind the lights which were too
bright for her eyes after the darkening gloom of the outdoor sun. she didn’t bother to look
at the tasteful commercial paintings that were placed on the walls of the hall way. They
didn’t bother to her. She just survived a car accident and the only thing that mattered the
most was her husband whom she hadn’t seen since she gained consciousness. She walked
so fast down the hallway, paying no attention to details, shoulders back, yet eyes frequently
the room number plates appended to each door on the hall way, it was as if she felt
nervous, sacred and insecure all at once. She actually did. Perhaps that could be the
emotional optimum in a shallow society. In a matter of time her eyes fell on the room
number she was given at the reception. The number sent shiver to her spine not know what
to expect on entering into the room

ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY WARD (A/E)

ROOM 212

Delia didn’t bother knocking. She quickly gripped the handle and twisted the door knob
anticlockwise pushing the door inwards. The was crowded with nurses and doctors, Delia
could hardly see anything. The lights were dimmed around the room but the center which
had lot of lights centered on a bed, there were lights, but showing only the activities of the
doctors. There was no much movement and an odour she could barely place. There were a
lot of machineries, plasma screens of gigantic proportion with text that were too far away to
make much sense of. She quickly walked towards the bed at the middle but couldn’t even
get anywhere close as she was stopped by some nurses.

“You shouldn’t be her ma’am, could you please step outside.” Said one of the nurses.

“That’s my husband over there” delia tried to explain.

“We are fully aware ma’am but hospital rules and you need to obey them” the other
countered.

“Will he be alright? Please tell me he’ll be alright” Delia’s eyes were already red and watery.
The bandage on her head made her look commiserable.

“please ma’am, I think you should please step out of the room now.”

“Answer me please” she cried out loud

“ma’am please just step out”

Delia obeyed with loud sobs. On hearing the door shut and lock behind her she dropped on
the floor and cried sliently, hopefully awaiting the result of her dear husband.

***************************************************************************

Delia opened her eyes to the darkness of the room. She slowly got up from the bed
removing the blanket from her body. how did that get there? She rubbed her hands over her
face, yawned and stretched a little before hopping out of her bed. Surprisingly, her room
was well arranged with everything put to order the way they were meant to be. There was
only one person who could do such a thing and Delia smiled sheepishly as she left the room
to hunt for her daughter. Sarah slept on the couch with the remote arrested by the firm grip
of her hands, the television still showing a record clip of her favorite cartoon. Delia laughed
under her breath. She quietly carried the remote from her grip and turned the television off.
She didn’t bother moving sarah from the couch since it was already so late at night and she
had school tomorrow. She went over to the couch, covered her fully with a blanket and
kissed her on her fore head. She went over to the kitchen, hoping to find dirty dishes that
she could clean but the kitchen was spotless. Delia smiled leaving the kitchen and entering
her room. She looked at the fat envelope On her table, several thoughts swam through her
mind but she was sure of what her resolve was. I have to make this work for Sarah. She
crawled up her bed, wrapped herself up in her blanket and closed her eyes.

The sun stroke Delia’s skin harshly as she tried to find her way through the town of Kansas.
Her attorney gave a new location this Time around. He gave the reason of being
indispensable but Delia has to get the signatures on the documents before the day ended,
so Delia insisted that she would meet him where ever he was at Kansas. She found herself
looking through sign boards and posters for “The Magnum”
“It’s a hotel, there’s no way you’d be able to miss it, just search for the sign poster when you
get to kaw point park, it should just be around the corner” the attorney tried explaining to
Delia of the phone the night before.
And how’s that descriptive enough! She cursed under her breath. Time flew drastically and
she could feel her skin be burnt by the hot sun. She really needed to go back home.
It took a little while but she finally able to locate the sign poster he talked about. It lead her
directly to the hotel where her attorney was. She picked up her cell phone and dialed His
number. He picked after five rings.
“I’m there” Delia bluntly said.
“So soon?” He exclaimed
Shut the fuck up.
“I’ll be with you shortly, let me rap things up with the client over here. Accept my apologies,
I didn’t expect you to be here at such a short notice” he apologized.
“Sure take your time, I’ll be sited here out side” she dropped the called immediately after
her last words.
Delia sat down at the hotel garden looking and observing the beautiful architecture that
stood before her, “The Magnum”. She loved the pinnacles that supported the gargoyles by
the entrance of the hotel. The red carpet that laid in front of the entrance door gave it a
glamorous look, she hardly could tell what the make of the carpet was. The revolving door
also Added to the glorious look that the hotel radiated. The edges of the window painted in
gold Colour with designs that impressed Delia. The building was dressed in with and gold,
it’s edges were…
Where the hell is man! Her patience grew thin. She was bored now, no one to talk to,
nothing to do to while away time. Then she remembered him. Mosby. Austin. She corrected
herself with a chuckle. She wished he were around. She couldn’t recall the last time she had
a conversation about country music. Actually, the last time she spoke about country music
was with Oswald. Until Austin Reynold Came, she was really happy that she could have
someone that could talk to her about country music. Oh how she loved country music. She
thought about going Over to Rowdy Boys Bar after her meeting with the attorney, she
smiled at the thought.
“I apologize for the delay Mrs James” the attorney mysteriously popped out from behind
Delia holding her shoulders
“You startled me” Delia said holding her chest
He laughed a little “Could we go in? Those papers won’t sign themselves you know” he
continued laughing to his own joke
Delia got up and followed the directions of the attorney as the both entered the hotel
reception

***************************************************************************

It’s been more than two weeks now and Austin still got no reply from the woman he met at
the bar. Getting her number wasn’t so easy and letting the whole feeling die down solely
wasn’t an option in anyway. He still had the tickets with him to Blake Shelton’s concert and
he wasn’t ready to ask any other person just yet. The only issue he had was that she lived
far away from him. New Jersey. Damn it! He cursed. But still, that wasn’t a valid reason to
stop what he had going on. He was really interested in her, Delia, quite a funny name I must
say
He giggled.
“…and that’s the issue I have here at Aully’s hub” a customer complained
Austin quickly got his mind back to his work. “Sorry about that Mr Mac Donald. I’ll talk my
workers personally, here’s an Aully coupon on the house for your troubles.” He said
stretching his hands to give the old man some small pieces of paper. “Greet the kids for me
o’Mac Donald” he joked
Mac Donald gave a loud and satisfying laughter “I really like you sunny boy” he got up and
gave the Austin a firm handshake.
Austin watched him as he left the his office, his daily dose of customer trouble. It was easy
being a business man. He quickly got back to his paper work he left in his desk. But his mind
wasn’t on them. He dropped the pen and kept the sheets of paper on a file and slid them
into his drawer. He got up from his chair, walked to get his cowboy hat, wore it and got his
car keys.
“Hey… Tania! I’m heading straight to the pub now, make sure that everything here goes well
while I’m gone.” He closed the door of his Office with his keys and left.
It took him about thirty minutes to get to the pub. His cardilac got him there as soon as he
could. He locked his car and went into the pub.
“Marcus!!” He yelled out in excitement on seeing his friend and co workers sitting in his
favorite spot. “Mind if I join you guys?”
“Aully!!” the reiterated the same excitement “come on O’boy”
Austin walked toward the booth with so much enthusiasm. He slipped himself into the
booth and sat comfortably. They talked about a lot of things, girls who sold their bodies to
other people for money, boys who just graduated from university and looking for jobs in
bigger cities, the state of their families, football, locals who got in trouble with LAPD…
“LAPD!” Austin exclaimed. “How did the LAPD get involved in all this”
One of men gave him a detailed explanation of the whole story, it was really intriguing to
Austin.
“So Aully, how’s the business going this year? Heard you’ve got a new branch at Ohio”
Another threw the question at him.
Austin nearly spilled his drink when his ears embraced the question. He quickly swallowed
his beer before answering the questions. “Well you see, I have plans of opening in Ohio and
Oklahoma but I’ve not started the plans and everything yet. I’m not so sure if I’m
comfortable with Oklahoma but I’m settling that with my lawyer later this evening”
“Business must sure be going so well for you Aully boy” Marcus Praised getting up from his
chair. “but now, I need to pick my wife and the kids over at kaw point park. Would you mind
driving me there to get them Aully Boy? she took the car with her”
Austin couldn’t refuse a request form Marcus. So he obliged and also followed Marcus’s
footsteps and they both left the booth, exchanging goodbyes with the rest men before
leaving.
Austin drive Marcus over to the kaw point park while they discussed about business. Austin
made it caked to him that everything step he was taking was pure and solely business
oriented, nothing more, nothing less . Marcus laughed every time Austin tried to defend
what he called his business.
“How about a wife Aully?” Marcus tine became less jovial and more serious. “When are you
gonna get married, you’re not getting any younger you know”
Austin knee what Marcus was saying was right, he needed a companion. Since Margarita,
Austin had been alone , he had no heart to stomach any more emotional tantrums. He
clearly needed a lot of time to relax and settle down. But the amount of time Austin spent
was more than enough for anyone to recover. It was time to leave the cocoon in which he
hid himself from the world and embrace the new world.
“You’re right Marcus, I need to get married but ever since mar-“
“You’ve been giving this goddamn excuse for hell knows how long. She’s moved on Aully,
why don’t you just forget about her and move on?”
Austin though about what he said and it was totally true, there was no way he was getting
Margarita and even if she comes back, he’d be a fool to accept her. Delia’s face suddenly
swept through Austin’s mind, he gave a blatant smile making sure he wasn’t notices by
Marcus.
They finally reached kaw point park and Austin killed the engine when he felt comfortable
with his parking position. Marcus brought out his cell phone and dialed his wife’s number.
Austin couldn’t help but listen to his phone call.
“Where you at honey? Yes I’m there. No no no no, I’m actually in front of the The Magnum.
What the hell are you doing there honey? An old friend. Alright then we’ll be there right
away”.
Marcus dropped the cell phone in his pocket and looked at Austin. “She’s over at The
Magnum with the kids. Let’s drive there”
“The Magnum huh, why the hell is she there” Austin said with a loud chuckle as he cranked
his car engine.
“She said an old friend was close by and she really needed to do some catching up. I just
hope she’s handling the kids real good” he said.
They arrived at the hotel in no time. Austin parked the car and killed the engine, they both
got out of the car. Austin locked the doors of his car with his keys while Marcus went ahead
of him to see his wife.
“So where exactly is she? You know we just can’t walk around looking for her round This
place… people will think we don’t have money dressed like this” he joke and felt
accomplished when he saw Marcus burst into laughter.
Marcus took Austin to the dinning hall assuring him that he knew his way around The
Magnum. They easily spotted his wife. A fair skinned woman wearing a black jumpsuit and
heels. It was hard to miss anyone who wore what she wore in a place like that.
Marcus’s wife offered them to sit down in the table where her and her friend sat. They all
exchanged greetings and introduced themselves. Then the catching up started immediately
with Marcus’s wife asking Austin how business was.
“Business is something else… everything seemed okay in the start but at the end, it all came
turned my to another persona entirely.”
Marcus’s wife nodded her head in agreement “ that’s very good Austin, I’m very much
impressed in your success so far here at Kansas. You just need to extend the extent to which
you want to expand dear.”
“I have plans of establishing a branch at Oklahoma and ohio” he proudly beamed
“Goodness gracious… that’s totally amazing Austin, this calls for a celebration, what d’you
say about that”
Austin declined the offer as he kept on saying it was only just buildings and there was not
thing to celebrate. The praises went on and on and Austin could feel his ego raging. He tried
looking round for a familiar face but saw non at all.. He took his car keys and got up from
the Table exchanging farewells with one another. He was about me leave the table when his
eyes struck a particular figure. It was just so good to be true for Austin. He paced down from
one end of the dinning hall to the other getting closer to her, And then, they finally met.
“Wow! What you doing here?” Delia exclaimed
“I should be asking you that question, what are you doing here ma’am” Austin played along.
“I had an appointment with my attorney so fortunately this was our rendezvous point” she
laughed a little. “But I’ll be on my way back home now, I have so much to do. Thanks for the
other day by the way, it was really needed” a smile accompanied her gratitude “and I’m
sorry for the texts I didn’t reply, I had a really stressful and busy week”
“For someone who really didn’t say much when we first me, I got to say, you sure do talk a
lot” and he watched Delia burst into an hysterical laughter. “But concerning the text, it’s
actually okay. I really wasn’t expecting a reply” he lied
“Oh… so, tell me, what are you doing here?”
“Me? I came her with a very close friend of mine and I happened to bump into you” he
adjusted his cap “I’m beginning to think that you’re stalking me”
Delia laughed out loud, checking her wristwatch. “I’ll be going now, I’m running late. New
Jersey is really far from here.” She said walking away from the conversation slowly.
“I know that, you better hurry back” Austin watched her walk ahead “I still have those
tickets to Blake’s show if you’re still interested” he yelled out
“Goodbye Austin” she said give him a beaming smiles as she walked through the revolving
door and out of Austin’s sight.
Austin kept on looking at her direction. She definitely was everything he wanted. Damn it! I
would have offered her a ride to the train station. Austin didn’t let the idea leave his mind.
He quickly ran outside with a firm hope that he’ll be able to see her. But Delia was already
long gone. He stood in front of the hotel, and he finally got his mind made up. He deeper his
hand in his pocket, brought out his cell phone and dialed a number. After three rings, there
was a receiver.
“Good day” Austin Gave a formal tone.
“Good day sir, how may I help you?” The receiver replied.
“I’ve finally made up my mind about the location”
“And may I Know the locations where you want the branches to be in?”
Austin had never be so sure of a decision lately, but he was quite certain about this one and
he was quite happy about it “ Ohio and New Jersey”

***************************************************************************

Delia couldn’t believe that she meant him again. She really didn’t know why, but for some
reasons she was so excited