For the Dream of 5 Years: Chapter Fourteen: Moving to The City

Dan walked miles to the next village because it would be an easier way to escape without anyone noticing. He boarded a bus to his dad's place; he was famished. "Hi dad, I need food and water," he said immediately his Dad opened the door for him. "Where have you been? Do you want to kill us with worry over a full-grown man? Your mother has been crying looking for you," said his dad. "I am sorry. I got in trouble and went into hiding. I knew if I contacted mom, some bad guys would have found me," he explained. His dad ordered some takeaway food, and Dan went to bed after he had had his food and had taken his bath. His dad alerted his wife of Dan's arrival. "Something is wrong with him. You should see how he looks; our son is a thug. He's into bad deals; he could be into drugs," he said on the phone. "Not my son, dear Lord, what have I done? I go to church, I pay my tithe faithfully and fast ooh Lord, please don't let him get lost Lord...," she said before his husband interrupted, "Are you serious you want to pray on the phone, diminishing my airtime?" They talked about their son and decided he would be sent to the city to stay with his uncle and only come back to sit for his exam in two months since he had already registered. When Dan woke up the following day, he found the breakfast ready. "Your mother and I have decided you'll go stay with your uncle Jeff. It will be better there, and he can find you a school where you can study for two months and only come sit for the exams," he said authoritatively. They had no idea how much they had helped him. They did not bother to ask him what he had done or who was looking for him because they knew he would never tell. The journey to the city was long, and he wondered what would happen in the city, how he would have to finish school without making friends. He saw no point in making new friends because of a span of two months' company. He wondered if they could cross paths with Michelle. He wanted to see her. Once in the city, he would change his SIM card and call her immediately. He was excited about this whole thing; changing schools, living in the big city, and the possibility of seeing Michelle. Like two weeks earlier, Michelle alighted at the local center in the pretence of buying airtime. She wanted to see if she could locate Dan before picking up Mike and heading back to the city. She wanted to say goodbye because it would take her more than a year to return home. The next holiday she would be spending at her husband's rural home. She looked around, but there was no sight of Dan. She did not know how to reach him or who to ask about his whereabouts. She couldn't go to his mother and possibly ask where he was. His mother would wonder why a married woman would ask about his school boy. If she asked his cousin, he would add one plus one and smell a rat about them. He would tell everyone that Dan was sleeping around with a married woman. So, she resigned and went home. Mike was excited to see his mother, and he hadn't forgotten how some evil men let Dodo escape from its hutch. He wanted his Dodo back. "He is in a good place, dear. Remember where I told you grandfather went? Heaven? Where God is, where there are golden paths. That is where Dodo is, with grandpa. He is happy there and doesn't feel sad anymore. Grandpa is taking good care of him," she assured him. That day they had a lot of fun; they had a bike ride, went to the river, went to town to do some shopping for grandma, and ate roasted Nyama Choma. They were to leave the following day. That night, Michelle received a call from an unknown number. She recognized the voice of the caller; it was Dan. She sat on the bed; it was around 10 pm, just before she had slipped into sleep. "How are you, my curvy girl?" Dan said, with a much calm voice. He had never addressed Michelle, 'my curvy girl,' and Michelle's heart skipped a beat. She immediately owned that; she wanted to be his girl, whatever type of girl, as long as she was his. Her desire to see him intensified and she wanted to see, touch, and kiss him. "Hey you, where have you been?" She asked, altering her voice as she sounded like a ten-year-old girl. "I've been around; maybe I'm your neighbour now, in the city. Where do you live? I want to visit you tomorrow. I have something I want to tell you," he said. The mention of the word city made Michelle's heart drop to her stomach. What was Dan doing in the city? "What do you mean you are in the city?" She inquired. "I school here now; I want to give you a good life, a city life like you have been used to, only better this time. I will study journalism and be in the news so that whenever I'm not in the house, you will see me on the TV screen," he said. "Wait, wait, wait, what are you saying?" Michelle asked, hoping it was not what she was thinking. "Yes, my curvy girl, I told you there's something I want to tell you; meet me tomorrow at the Blue Valley Mall. You can use your GPS; I live around there," he said. Michelle's eyes grew so big with confusion. "Are you playing some type of game with me? What do you mean you live near the Blue Valley Mall?" She asked. "Yes, I stay with my Uncle, and I go to school here. I will go to college and become a man you cannot resist, Michelle. I have everything figured out; I have meditated and attracted a good life that you are part of from the universe..." he continued. "Dan, Dan, Dan, hold up? What are you talking about? See me tomorrow at the coffee shop in town, where I wanted to kiss you the other day and let us talk in length," she said, moving her hand in the dark with her finger pointing toward the coffee shop. "I can't, curvy girl. I'm not in the village. Besides, I cannot come back there, at least not now when some bad guys are looking for me," he said. "Are you in some kind of a gang, Dan?" Asked Michelle, worried. "No, never, with a girl like you, what would one be doing in a gang, God forbid!" He said. After a long talk of back and forth about their meeting, Michelle agreed to meet Dan at Blue Valley Mall that week. The journey back to the city was so smooth. When Mike was asleep, she was listening to good music that reminded him of Dan, thinking about Dan, or she was on the phone with Dan. She was so happy and emotionally attached that she started to glow; her face brightened with joy. She did not think about Dave; she did not want to because she knew things had begun changing between them and did not want that negative energy around her, not now that she had finally heard from Dan. She imagined their upcoming meeting and wondered what she would wear, what they would eat, what they would discuss, and a kiss they would probably share. She reminded herself that Dan was not a minor, over and over again. Dave called to inquire how far they were, and after learning they were almost home, he waited at the bus stop, just like it had been their habit before he cheated, before he made Michelle cry. When Michelle and Mike alighted, she was surprised to see Dave waiting to pick them up, although she did not have much luggage. Dave noted that Michelle didn't bring anything for him, so he sensed she was still mad. He wished they could go back to how they used to be, wanted each other, or used to make each other happy. He hated himself for ruining things, for cheating on her, and for knowing she wouldn't come clean with her about Shanice. It was one thing to cheat, but it was another to have a child with another woman. There was no way this information would build them; it would break them. Michelle was a good, polite, compassionate girl, but beyond that, she was a woman. She could be jealous and vengeful, and he didn't want to see that side of her. Mike ran to his Dad, hugged him, and took a minute telling him about his stay in the village, how Dodo went to heaven, and how they hid on the plantation. Dave was shocked that Michelle hadn't said anything like that to him. His eyes became so big that he looked at Michelle and didn't recognize the woman he saw. Previously, Michelle would tell Dave everything, even a bug that almost got into her ear, a chicken that pricked her while she was feeding it, or a toe that she hit against the door frame, anything, however small. This information about the tea plantation was big news; he could have known about it. Maybe it was because his phone was off, she had called him so many times in fear, and he had been off. She had braved the night and fear when his husband fought for Amos back in the city. Maybe, she called sometimes shaking in fear, and he was with Shanice. He had failed her, he thought. Maybe she was still depressed, which is why she didn't come home immediately after voting. That could be the same reason she hysterically cried on the couch. Dave had a long trail of thoughts, looking at Michelle's sad face, and when he put Mike down, he hugged her so tight and kissed her forehead. "I am so sorry, my love, sorry I couldn't protect you when you needed me most. I wish you could forgive me. I have been selfish, insensitive, and a jerk. Please, Love, please, try to forgive me," he said, cupping her face with his hands and looking into her eyes, waiting for a response. Michelle felt sorry and wanted to speak when the phone in her pocket started vibrating, making her flesh tickle. "I need to take this; mom is calling," she told Dave. She had saved Dan's new number as 'Mom love.' Dave carried Mike and started to walk to the house as Michelle took the call. "I got home well; thank you for your concern," he heard Michelle say.