For the Dream of 5 Years: Chapter Thirty-Seven: The glass or the 'remote' house?

"Hi, my name is Stacy. I am looking for the owner of this place. Could you let him know I am here?" Stacy asked the man who approached her car immediately after she parked. "Do you need a service?" The guy asked. "No. I need Dan," she responded. "Do you have a complaint?" He asked. "I need Dan, Mr. Man," she responded. "Who are you again?" He asked. "Stacy. A cousin of Dan. Something happened at home and needs his attention urgently. So, please, if you may." She said. "Dan hasn't been here recently. Check him at his house," the guy suggested. "That's the problem. I don't know where he lives. I'm not from the city," she said. "In that case, I can't show you where he lives. Maybe contact his family, your family, who might know where he lives. I am sorry," he said and left. Stacy stayed in the car, thinking of how she would trace him. Then, after a few minutes, she drove off. On the exit, a man stopped her. "Hey, I heard your conversation with Otis, the guy from the garage. I can show you his house for a thousand shillings. Just lunch money," he said. "What's your name," she asked, lowering her window further down. "Maish," he said, moving closer to her car. "Why would you charge me to find someone's house?" She asked. "Well, Madam, it's not a must. It is a willing seller, a willing buyer. I'm just selling my service. You don't have to buy it. But I'm certain you will not find his house easily," Maish said. "500," she negotiated. "Madam, go in peace," he said and started to walk away. "Okay, get in," she said. She handed him the money and continued with a general chit-chat as she drove through the streets. They parked in from of a storey building, a beautiful rental glass building, in an affluent suburb. He told her he stayed in house number A45 on the second floor. She asked him to accompany her to the said house. When they got there, an old lady, one of the building caretakers, cleaned the staircases. "We are looking for my cousin Dan, he lives in this house, but it seems he is not home. What time do you think he comes back?" Stacy asked after they greeted each other. "It's hard to pin down a rich man. This is his house. However, I hear he has other properties. If he is not here, he is definitely in one of his other properties, but most of the time, he is here. You can come to check him some other time," said the caretaker. They left. "Do you know his other properties?" She asked Maish as they drove back. "Only one. The remote-controlled house," he said. "What? A moving house?" she asked, puzzled. "I don't know; I just hear guys call it like that," he said. "Is it far?" She asked. "The distance is not the problem," Maish said. "Is there a problem?" She asked. "Yes, your bargaining attitude," He said. "I already paid you the full amount," she said. "The glass house was 1k; the remote-controlled house is far, private, and sophisticated. It's 10k," he said, looking away through the window. "You are joking. Am I buying the house?" She asked, laughing sarcastically. "Well, you can drop me here; I have someplace to go. If you need me, call me via this number," he said, flashing a business card in front of her. "2k," she said, still driving. "9k," he said. "I'd be damned to pay that much for something I will not take home or put in my stomach," she said, laughing. "8k," he said. "It was nice meeting you Maish. I will figure out a way of finding Dan," she said as she pulled over by the roadside and unlocked his door. "What's your last price?" He asked. "2k," she insisted. "Okay, 3k, my mother is sick, and I need the money for her medicine," he begged. Stacy started the car, indicating she had agreed to it, and they drove quiet most of the road. When they neared the house, Maish told her that Dan could not see him. He alighted and took a taxi back. Stacy drove into a long driveway towards the house. It was stunning and covered in manicured lawns. It was nicely managed; it looked like a landscaper was living on the premises, flattening every bump that appeared overnight, trimming every branch that grew overnight, watering the vegetation cover, shaping the young trees, and cleaning the place. The place was so neat that it looked unreal. The house was big, and it was unbelievable that someone not in politics, looting public funds, could own such a house. She pulled over at the locked gate and rang the bell. Then a voice from the intercom system at the gate asked her to identify herself. "Stacy. Coming for Michele," she said. To her amazement, the gate slid open, she was prepared for a fight, but that went by so smoothly she thought she was getting into a trap. She drove to the front door. The door slid open, and she found herself in the brightly lit living room, pure white and purely art. "This is a miracle! How did you find this place?" Michelle's voice was heard coming from the hallway into the living room. Michelle ran to her and hugged her so tight that she gasped for air. "Come in, sit and have a drink," she said, hurriedly leading the way to the table near the bar. She picked a bottle of red wine from the bar and poured some into a glass. Stacy's mouth was open all this time. She watched Michelle serve her wine inside another man's house in disbelief. "Michelle, put the damn wine down? What are you doing?" She whispered, a very powerful whisper; it sounded like a yell. "Shhh, you will startle him," she said, putting a finger across her lips as a sign to ask Stacy to keep it down. "Michelle. What are you doing here?" She asked again. "He is not well, Stacy. He needs help," Michelle said. "You know the police are on their way, right?" She lied to her to see whether she knew what she was into. "Nobody will stop me from helping Dan. He has no one apart from me," she said, sitting down and gesturing to Stacy, still standing, to sit across her. "Hey, hey, people, come and see!" Stacy said, laughing and clapping her hands. "Michelle, has he done something to you? Do you remember someone by the name Dave, Mike, or Bianca?" She asked Michelle. "Stacy, I hurt the man. He cut his head, and I kicked his balls. Then I realized he might be suffering from bipolar," she explained. "What made you hurt him?" She asked, twisting her lips. "I thought he wanted to force himself on me?" She said. "You thought, or that is what he wanted to do?" Stacy asked. "I guess so," Michelle responded. "Doctor Michelle, what do you intend on doing with your bipolar patient?" Stacy asked sarcastically, twisting her lips more, folding her arms, and leaning back. "Please, this is serious. What if he was your relative?" Michelle asked. "I supported you trying 'new screwing'; I din’t think he would screw your brains too. Michelle, wake up and smell the coffee. Let his people find him help. Or better still, let us connect him with Doctor Steve, your family doctor; he is good and can recommend him to someone who can effectively help him," Stacy explained. "No, no one can understand him. He needs tender care," she said. "Huh? I can't believe my ears right now!" Stacy said, stood up, and sat down again. "So, what's your plan?" Stacy asked. "I love him, Stacy. He is so cool, and the sex is great. I want to help him overcome his condition the way he helped me overcome my depression. I was depressed," she said. "Wait. Were you looking for a husband or a fling?" Stacy asked, confused. "I don't know, but what I have found completes me," Michelle assured her. "Jesus Christ!" Stacy exclaimed. "Dave is devastated. I found him this morning passed out on the couch, drunk. I didn't see any sign of the children in the house. Please come home. I was a bad friend for pushing you to Dan, but in the end, family is everything," Stacy tried to convince her, holding her hand. "Don't tell me about that man. You, above all people, know how he has betrayed me. That guy got another woman pregnant," she said, crying so loudly that Dan entered the room. "Stop upsetting my curvy girl," he said, moving towards Michelle. "Curvy girl, huh? Mr. Man, whatever you have given to my friend will eventually clear out of her system. When that day comes, you won't believe it. Dating a married woman is like walking with a coal stove over your chest; it's a matter of time before the coal spills over and burns you," she said, standing up and preparing to leave. "Stacy, I'm sorry, but I don't want you to come back to my house. If you consider yourself my friend once, don't let Dave find me and ruin my life. I am happy here," Michelle said, moving closer to Dan and leaning against his broad chest. Stacy was lost for words; she gathered herself and all the energy she had come with and left the house dumbfounded. She drove off.