Jason hurried home with his daughter. He was barely going to make the dinner arrangement that was by 5pm as It was almost five minutes to 5.
when he drove in and parked his car, there was another car parked by the front that he didn't recognize.
Damn! Lucy's parents were in his house already.
"Come on, Kara…just leave the bag I will get it later" Jason rushed inside with Kara behind him.
When he got inside, he saw Mckenna and Lucy's parents talking in the living room. Kara was happy to see Liam and Lucy, they were playing a game with their phones.
"Hi" Kara waved at them.
"Honey, you are late" Mckenna kissed her husband's cheek even though deep down she wanted to punch his handsome face for arriving late and leaving her to prepare all the meals with no help whatsoever.
"Baby, this is Aniston and Robert, Lucy and Liam's parents. Please, meet my sweaty husband, Jason" Mckenna introduced them.
Jason shook hands with them.
"I am sorry, I got carried away. It's nice to finally meet Lucy's parents"
"It's nice to meet you too…Mr Ekoh-Yagazie" Aniston told him.
"Mom, tell Kara's Dad you tried to get a job in his company" Lucy suggested but all she got was an embarrassed glare from her mother.
"I am sorry. My daughter doesn't know when not to talk" Aniston apologized immediately.
"You should come around on Monday if you still need the job, I will be happy to have my second in command interview you, Aniston. And please call me Jason" Jason simply told her.
"Sweetheart, you should freshen up" Mckenna suggested and pointed him towards the bedroom.
"Kara honey…you should too. Hurry please" Mckenna told her daughter who was already comfortable sitting in between her friends.
"Can Lucy and Liam come with me?" Kara asked.
"Maybe later, go on…"
Kara raced to her room to strip and wash up in record time. Jason went up too.
He thought Mckenna would come up with him but he was wrong. After he showered and changed into a comfortable t-shirt and Jeans, he came down to find Mckenna setting the dinning table.
"Can we talk?" He asked her.
"Not now, Jason. Not when we have guests in the house. I only have the energy to smile and pretend that everything is fine in this house. Please, leave me alone" Mckenna said and entered into the kitchen. Jason followed her.
"Mckenna, hey…" he made her face him and he pushed the rogue strands of hair away from her face.
"Hey, I love you"
"Jason, I said not now" Mckenna walked away and grabbed the bowl of salad and took it to the dinning table.
Mckenna was placing the glass cups when a message entered her phone.
(I said I love you)
Mckenna looked at his direction. What a selfish jerk?!
"Jason, I think I left something in the bedroom. You should come and help me look for it" Mckenna said and dropped the towel she was holding. If he wanted to have this fight now with guests in their home then maybe they should.
"We will be right back" Mckenna said with a smile.
Kara was coming down as they walked up again.
"Kara, what is it?" Liam asked her.
"I think my parents are going to argue again. They were fighting this morning" she told Lucy and Liam.
"Do you think they are going to get a divorce like Liam's parents?" Lucy asked her.
"Lucy!" Liam looked at his cousin. There was no need for her to be blurt.
"They are not getting a divorce, Kara. Lucy should think before talking" Liam reassured her.
"What are you guys talking about?" Robert asked the children.
"Nothing" they said in unison.
*
Mckenna opened the door to their bedroom and entered. Jason did too and closed the door, on a second thought he bolted it. He didn't want Kara walking in on them arguing again.
"This room is soundproof right?" Mckenna asked him.
Jason closed his eyes as bouts of anger went through him like ripples on a water surface. He always hated it when he was physically hurt.
He hated it so much that he always ended up pushing away the person that hit him, especially a woman. Because he was allowed to hurt a man back but a woman? He couldn't do anything about it.
"You selfish…. selfish jerk. I told you I didn't want to talk about it, didn't I?" Mckenna screamed at him.
Jason was quiet….too quiet. He didn't even move a muscle. He simply stared at his feet as he tried to wrap his mind on the fact that Mckenna slapped him even though she knew how much he hated it because of his father's abuse.
He stood still because every other thing hurts right that moment, every muscle and organ. When he finally lifted his face, all he did was blink and then he rubbed his cheek before he let out a pent up breath.
"Now that you've turned me into a crazy woman, why aren't you saying anything? Say something, god-damned it!" She screamed at him.
Jason didn't say anything to her. He simply took out his phone and dialed a number. The phone was on speaker.
"Hey, It's Jason"
"Good evening, sir. I was just about to call you now. I finally…"
"Stop looking for her" Jason told the man.
"Excuse me?" The man was confused on why Jason would suddenly stop the search that has been going on for almost ten years.
"I said it's over. Stop looking for Tammy. I will of course still pay you for the month but just…stop. Somethings are just more important to me at the moment. Thanks, Williams" Jason said to the man.
"But you don't understand, I…"
Jason hung up on Williams.
Mckenna was suddenly quiet. Jason walked into the closet and came out with a jacket.
"Where are you going?" Mckenna asked him.
"I am going to take a walk" Jason said and grabbed his speck on the table.
"But we have guests, Jason" Mckenna complained to him.
"Given the fact that I don't want to be in the same room with you and inviting them was your idea in the first place, I am very confident you will survive an hour without an annoying selfish jerk like me" Jason said and headed to the door but before he opened it, he turned around to talk to her.
"And while you are being good and super at dinner maybe you should think about why it's not okay for me to hit you but you can hit me. And when you find the answer, shove it down your throat"
He opened the door and he walked out.
When Jason got to the living room, the horrified look on his face was gone and he had a little smile on.
"I am really sorry but my attention is needed somewhere else. I am so sorry but Aniston, you should really come around on Monday morning by 10 a.m" Jason told them.
"Of course, we understand and thank you" Robert answered him.
"Daddy?" Kara knew that something was wrong.
"Hey, Bean…I am really sorry. I will be back as soon as I can"
Jason kissed her hair before he walked out.
He was close to his car when he realized that he had left his car keys inside the bedroom. Jason had two options, either he goes back inside to get it or he can take a walk instead of a drive.
He went with option two, he walked out the gate.
Mckenna came downstairs feeling guilty and sad. She didn't even realize that she had slapped him until she heard him making the call to William.
She couldn't believe he stopped the search for Tamara Jones for her. She really couldn't wrap her mind around it because the more she thought about it the more the guilt weighed her down.
"Can we make our way to the dining room, please?" She announced it to everyone.
After they sat down and said grace together, they all chatted about the little things as they ate.
"Wow, this is really delicious Mrs. Yagazie" Robert commented as he took an even bigger portion.
"It's because you can't cook anything Daddy" Lucy said and laughed.
Everyone did except Kara.
"Thank you and please I insist you call me Mckenna. So, is Lucy your only child?"
"No, she is our third. We have a daughter called Remy and a son called Jeremy, they are twins. And then there is Liam, who is now a member of our little family" Aniston answered.
"You have a lovely family. We are hoping to give Kara a sibling soon by God's grace, of course" Mckenna told them. She didn't know why she said that.
"Are you?" Kara asked her.
She was tired of pretending that her father didn't just walk out because he was pissed at her Umma.
"Of course, baby girl" Mckenna answered and squeezed her hand.
"Are you and Dad getting a divorce?"
The question almost made Mckenna choke on the food in her mouth.