MATCHMAKING BABY - CHAPTER 19&20
A maid stepped into the dinning room and let out a scream. Vanessa and Sebastian startled
“What is wrong with you?!” Vanessa barked. The maid pointed at Clarissa with a shaky finger.
Her parents turned their heads and gasped loudly as they saw a really pale girl bleeding seriously from both nostrils.
“My baby!”
“Clarissa!”
They both ran to her and Seb took her up.
“Call the doctor. Now!” he ordered at her and she grabbed her phone and began dialing as she ran after Sebastian who was running to Clarissa’s room.
She was very worried because that was the first time Clarissa had a nosebleed. And she was looking perfectly healthy minutes ago.
The doctor arrived very soon and took a look at Clarissa. He had stopped the bleeding but she still looked pale and her lips had lost its colour.
“What is wrong with her?” Vanessa asked with a worried expression.
“She’s lacking nutrients and there’s too much of emotional instability. It’s as a result of either overexcitement or anxiety. I reckon it’s anxiety and nervousness. Do you know if there’s something she’s really anxious about?” he asked them
“Uhmm… No. She seems perfectly fine” Seb answered
“Whwt about at school? Does she show signs of worry when getting ready for school? Or does she look gloomy when returning? It might be a teacher or fellow student making her feel that way”
“She loves school. And her teacher’s kind. Her mates in kindergarten are sweet children” Vanessa spoke up
“Do you, her parents make her feel uncomfortable? Is she frightened of you? Do you nag her a lot?”
“No” both of them answered.
“But we nag each other a lot” Sebastian added and Vanessa glared at him.
“You quarrel a lot? In front of her?” the doctor asked with wide eyes and they kept quiet. They had seemed to know where the trouble was from.
They always fought whether in Clarissa’s presence or not. As long as they got angry with each other, they fought not minding who was present. Sometimes, Clarissa would laugh. Sometimes she would burst out crying. Other times, she would just sit there and watch her parents with a sore expression on her face.
The doctor explained the effects those fights have on her mind and how it’s taking a toll on her mental health. If they kept fighting like that, Clarissa would grow up a deranged girl and cold to other people.
“Create a nice and healthy environment for your daughter. It’s the best medicine for her at her age” the doctor closed his speech and went back to Clarissa’s bed.
Sebastian and Vanessa left the room with gloomy faces and walked upstairs together, without saying a word.
Few minutes after entering their room, Seb spoke up. “I better go sign those divorce papers quick. The early you leave, the better. And the less of you we see in this house, the more peaceful it becomes”
As he made towards the door, Vanessa found her voice and surprisingly, it wasn’t angry “You’re right. For peace to reign, I better leave. Not one day passes without me regretting that I married you. It was a huge mistake being with someone like you. Clarissa deserves better than I am. So I’m leaving her with you, since you’re now all so mature and responsible”
Sebastian turned and stared at Vanessa who looked like she was going to cry.
“It’s best that way” he simply said and left through the door.
Vanessa swallowed a lump in her throat and blinked back stubborn tears. She wasn’t angry at Sebastian. She was angry at herself for being such a stupid mother. If only she had had more time for Clarissa and her family, not being negligent as she was. Maybe, she’d still be happily married. She had truly loved Sebastian before all of this drama.
She looked to her closet and her dressing table, and all other things that belonged to her.
So, another lady was going to take her place then. She rubbed her hands over her face and cleaned off the tears.
“I can make it from here. I’m strong and I can be stronger on my own. I don’t need Sebastian or this stupid marriage” she assured herself. She then moved to her closet and began to pull her clothes out.
About thirty minutes later, Seb returned and flung the papers on the bed. He walked away immediately and Vanessa took hold of the papers. She glanced through them and saw that he had agreed to all her terms. All except taking Clarissa with her. They will have to solve that officially in the court.
***
Four months after the divorce, Vanessa was standing outside of Clarissa’s school thirty minutes to the time for them to close. She didn’t want Sebastian to know she was secretly seeing Clarissa after the court had dictated that she come and see Clarissa at home twice in a month.
She had just returned from Greece and had promised to get aesthetic stones for her daughter from the beach. Clarissa had a thing for collecting beautiful rocks.
Vanessa heard the family squeal from an excited Clarissa and turned back with so much force, she almost stumbled.
“Clarisaa!” she called and knelt down as Clarissa ran into her arms. They hugged for a minute and disengaged.
“Thank you so much, Mrs Russel” Vanessa appreciated the teacher who had brought Clarissa out.
“Anytime, Vanessa” she beamed at them.
“Let’s go stay under that tree” Vanessa said and pointed to a tree by the fence with a metal bench underneath it. The pair of them hurried along and sat under the tree, still beaming at each other.
“How was your trip, Mommy?” Clarissa asked, for she had been told by Vanessa during the last visit, about the trip to Greece.
“Perfect! I missed you so much. You’ve changed a lot in just a month”
“Daddy said I was growing taller”
”You are”
“When are you coming to visit at home?” Clarissa asked as her mother unwrapped a candy bar to give to her.
“Your daddy won’t let me make up for the two weeks I missed this month. So I have to wait till the next week, which is next month. But of course I’m not that patient enough. That’s why I made Mrs Russel bring you here”
“Cool. Do you know Daddy has another sister, apart from Aunt Saree and Silva?” Clarissa asked innocently as she popped the candy bar into her little mouth.
“No, he doesn’t” Vanessa said with furrowed brows
“But, another lady was home last night. And Daddy said, she was his sister”
“Did she speak like a Brazilian?” Vanessa asked
“She sounded like an American”
“B.astard!” Vanessa cussed under her breath so Clarissa wouldn’t hear.
”I did not believe him, though” Clarissa said and shrugged
“You didn’t? Why?”
“Dadsy tends to bring lots of women home. One day, he brings a coworker. The next day, it’s a zookeeper. Another day, it’s his sister. Today, I’m expecting a female gardener. But why is he telling me a female gardener is coming to spend the night at our place. Is our house a garden?”
Vanessa chuckled loudly but stopped immediately when she saw the look of seriousness on Clarissa’s face. Obviously, Clarissa thought she had asked a reasonable question.
“Maybe your Daddy wants to set up a greenhouse” she said and shrugged.
“Where are my rocks?” she suddenly asked after a few minutes silence, snapping her mother out of her reverie.
“Oh, I’ve got them all here. I got different colours with different designs. The way you like them. See—” she brought them out and placed them on a wowed Clarissa.
Vanessa stared at her as she happily looked at all the stones one by one. Her smile was so beautiful.
It suddenly dawned on her, that she did a huge mistake leaving her daughter for Sebastian. She had thought he would do a better job, but obviously she would have done better.
“What in the world are you doing here!?” came an angry voice that Vanessa recognized as Sebastian’s, even without looking up to see him.
.
.
Vanessa sighed and looked at Clarissa. The look on her face said that she knew what was going on, or about to go on.
She pulled her into a side hug and looked at him.
“Came to see my daughter” she answered and smiled.
“It’s not your week—”
“What you gon’ do? Have me arrested?”
“School is over, Clarissa. Let’s go home” Sebastian said and moved towards Clarissa.
“No! I don’t want to go home without Mommy. I want my Mommy at home with me” she cried and hugged her mom even more. Sebastian froze and his face turned pale
“Daddy doesn’t read me bed time stories. My classmates said their Mommy reads it for them” Clarissa sniffed and continued to sob.
Vanessa’s face turned red. It was both anger and embarrassment. She flashed Sebastian a very angry look and he moved back. He too was feeling embarrassed.
“So, you bring in women and introduce them to a five year old. Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Your way if raising a child is way better than mine” she sn_gg@ed and gave a sarcastic chuckle.
“That’s none of your business” Seb muttered
“None of my business? Sebastian, she’s my daughter!”
“What is she to me then?”
“I wish I knew. Because I don’t know why you treat her this way. Look, I’m taking her to stay with me for some time. Let her feel a parent’s love”
Vanessa got on her feet and carried Clarissa into her arms.
“At least, you’ll be free to bring in the whole women of Brazil while she’s gone. Just like you used to”
Sebastian couldn’t speak. He was guilty as charged and didn’t know how to defend himself or give an excuse.
“Mommy, why don’t you come home instead? Let’s be Mommy, Daddy and Clarissa again”
For this, none of them could reply. Vanessa tried looking at Seb but he couldn’t meet her gaze.
“Please” Clarissa pleaded and looked into her mommy’s face.
“How about I come spend the whole week with you and Daddy instead? It will be fun. I’ll read you bedtime stories” Vanessa stated with a broad smile. Clarissa smiled too
“Okay!” she squealed
“Great! Let’s go!”
She carried Clarissa and walked past Sebastian, leaving her bag and Clarissa’s bag pack.
Sebastian watched them as they walked away and entered Vanessa’s car. He looked at the things Vanessa forgot and he walked to the bench and picked them up.
As he was arranging the stones and candy into Vanessa’s bag, he noticed an image that looked like his. He pulled it out from the bag and his heart gave a leap. It was indeed his image but it was not just him in the picture, but Vanessa herself and nine months old Clarissa. He remembered the day that picture was taken. She had called “Dada”, her first word.
Vanessa was so happy it was Dada she called first. She said she was told that kids who call their Dad as their first word were going to be loved and appreciated throughout their life.
It was just a family myth but she believed it because the same thing happened to her.
“Why does she still have this picture?” he asked himself aloud. He had thought Vanessa had cut ties with any thing that had to do with him.
She having that picture in a bag that was obviously new broke that assertion.
The evening of that day was the happiest for Clarissa. She played games with her Mommy and pulled her Daddy in too. He was reluctant at first. But seeing Vanessa not refusing, he agreed to play.
They had dinner and watched movies. Sebastian left them to go upstairs to his room. Throughout dinner, he had been quiet and watching mother and daughter. Thoughts flew into his head sometimes and he wheezed them out.
Finally, Clarissa had been put to bed by Vanessa. Seb was on his way to check on her when he met Vanessa at the door.
“She’s asleep already. I read her a story but she wouldn’t sleep off even after it ended. So I laid beside her and sang her a lulluby.” she stated and they laughed
“I’m going to bed too. I’m really—tired” she said with a yawn
“Okay. Good night” Seb said and stood there as she walked past him.
“Wait. Uhm, your bag that you forgot. Has Nanny Ella handed it over to you”
“Oh, I didn’t forget that. I wanted you to pick them and bring them instead. And yes, she handed them to me. Good night” Vanessa stated and left. Seb gazed at the empty space for minutes before sighing and going to his own room. A room that used to be referred as “Our room”