MATCHMAKING BABY - CHAPTER 25&26

“What do you mean?” Sebastian asked her, like he didn’t know what she meant.

“You changed what you were going to say. You stuttered something that was directed to me” Vanessa declared and dropped her arms.

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about” Seb said and walked to the fridge. He opened it and stared at the drinks there. He was standing in front of an open fridge, but he felt hot. He tried looking back to see Vanessa’s expression but he couldn’t because she was still boring holes into his back.

Finally, he reached forward and grabbed a small bottle of yoghurt. He turned and Vanessa was still glaring, as if trying to decipher something.

“I met your father and brothers a few weeks ago. At that conference I traveled out for. They made me promise Clarissa would come there for the summer” he said and poked a straw into the bottle.

“My father?” Vanessa asked. Seb knew his new topic had done the trick of calming her down and taking her mind off of what she was accusing him of.

“Yes. James Vista” he said and stared at her. The colour had suddenly drained from his face. He guessed she was going through what he went through when her father approached him. She was scared of what he now thought of her too.

“Did he? Did he say anything?” she asked
“Of course. Did you expect him to be quiet when he sees me?” he asked in return. Vanessa heaved a deep sigh and bit her lips nervously.

“He said since you are now avoiding them…again…he wants to spend time with his granddaughter. That’s all”

“Did he appear angry?”
“No. He was even smiling”
“And he didn’t ki|| you?”
“No. He was even acting informal with me”

“I don’t understand. He wasn’t happy when he heard about the divorce and I have been scared of going to see them ever since. Because, they thought of me as a pain before we got married. But after that, they were glad I settled down. I got scared of how disappointed they’d be after I got divorced. Which would prove that I’m truly what they feared I was”

“Maybe you should have thought of all that before handing me papers”

For a whole minute, none of them said anything else. Sebastian was regretting he said those words out loud and Vanessa was frozen up and couldn’t find words to speak.

“I’m… I’m sorry I said that” Seb apologized.
“You should be. Because I wouldn’t have handed papers to a loving and faithful husband” Vanessa retorted.

“I know I did wrong by cheating. But I wouldn’t have cheated if you had been—”
“Been what? Denying you some intimacy? I didn’t deny you anything that warranted you to cheat on me. My only problem was being negligent. That I agree was very stupid of me. I should have concentrated on my family instead. But you were being an arsehole too, weren’t you?”

“Vanessa!” Seb stood up and glared at her.
“Living with you was unbearable! I h@??d everything about you and couldn’t ignore how you were getting me insulted by folks. Imagine my shame at being jeered upon by friends because they spotted my wife being wasted in a club and dancing against strangers. They mocked me for trying to shun other women when you rubbed bodies with men you didn’t even know!”

“I never cheated on you! I couldn’t bring myself to because I loved you, Sebastian!”

Silence fell and the only sounds heard were rasping breath and increased sounds of heartbeats. Then came muffled sounds of sobs.

“Mom. Dad” came Clarissa’s teary voice. They eyes immediately darted to the door. Clarissa was standing there with three boxes of pineapple juice against her chest. Her face was teary and there was no doubt she had witnessed their fighting.

“Why are you quarrelling again? I thought you’ve made up” her voice was low and sad.

“I…we… we’re” Vanessa tried to speak but couldn’t find words

“We are sorry. It wasn’t a serious quarrel. It was just talking. We’re not fighting” Seb said and carried her up.

“But why are you both red?”

“Baby. Don’t mind us. We’re sorry, okay?” Vanessa said and walked to them.

“Then show me you’re sorry. Whenever we have a fight in class, my teacher makes us apologize and hug each other. So hug each other now” Clarissa chirped

“Drop me, Daddy. Hug Mom right now”
Seb dropped her and stared at Vanessa. Both still rooted to the spot.

“And you were supposed to kiss her. To show her you care about her” she added

“Your Daddy doesn’t really care about me” Vanessa quickly blurted.

“Yes he does. He told me himself. He cares about you” Clarissa stated and stared at her parents.
“Now, will you hug or should I continue to cry”

None of her parents spoke nor moved. So Clarissa began to sniff and started to wail.

“Oh no! Okay! I’ll hug her” Seb panicked and drew closer to Vanessa.
He sighed and hugged her. She didn’t hug back but she felt exactly what he felt. It was the first time in half a year that they got body contact. It was brief but they both felt the electricity that rapped through their bodies and the goosebumps on their skin.

“Yay! What about the kiss?”

Seb sighed again and gave Vanessa a peck on her forehead. Clarissa squealed and ran into the arms of her father.

“That was beautiful! Do that often, okay?” she stated and he nodded.
“Come on, Mom. Join in the hug” she beckoned to Vanessa. Seconds later and they were all in a big hug. Clarissa was happy and that was what mattered to her parents.

They finally settled in bed, watched Clarissa’s cartoons with her and sipped from the juice boxes before turning off the lights to sleep. Vanessa read the bedtime story by the light from the nightstand and closed the book when Clarissa was clearly asleep. She pecked her cheeks and covered them with the blanket properly.

She turned the other way, ready to sleep when her cheeks turned red.
She had remembered that Seb kissed her. It might not have been a proper kiss but then his lips touched her skin. And it wasn’t a mistake this time.

“Lips that were once mine” she muttered aloud with an eyerol.

“Did you say something?” Seb asked from the other side of the bed.

“Nothing” she answered him.

“Vanessa. Let’s go see a therapist and tell him stuff about our alleged marriage”
“Why should we do that?”
“Because…I want to make Clarissa a very happy girl. She needs her mother and father and I’m ready to swallow my pride to give her that”

“What are you trying to say?” Vanessa asked with a sceptical tone.
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“Come on, Vanessa you know what I mean” Seb said and looked over at her. Her eyes were widened and he was sure she understood.

“But…it can only be…it can only be possible if we…”
“Get back together. Yes” he completed for her. She was silent and Seb knew she was giving it a thought.

“How about we talk about this tomorrow? I’m skipping work”
“You’re the CEO. You shouldn’t skip”
“I’m the CEO. I don’t need to take permission from a superior to settle issues concerning family”

“Fine. We’ll talk about it tomorrow”

“Okay. Good night”
“Good night”

And Vanessa tucked herself under the blanket and closed her eyes. But the word S-L-E-E-P were far away from her eyes.

She kept asking herself: What has come over him? Is this some kind of joke? He can’t be serious. He’s just playing around.

She would turn and peep at him, he was indeed sleeping peacefully.
What if he’s actually serious? She would ask herself again.

He wants us to get married again or maybe, just make up. And he said it’s because of Clarissa’s happiness. Well, I want Clarissa to be happy again but—can I cope with Seb? It’s not like he even loves me.

She would toss and turn and ask questions. She would enter the bathroom, stare at her reflection in the mirror and imagine Seb kissing her neck like he always did when they took mirror selfies with Clarissa in her hand.

“Gosh! I missed that!” she would exclaim and place her palm over the spot she always covered with makeup because of hickeys. She admitted that she missed her family and she wanted it back. But she didn’t want to admit to Seb that she wanted him back. She had too much pride.

In all her thoughts and wallowing, she forgot to sleep and met sunrise. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffed up. She peeped at her daughter and Seb before entering the bathroom for the fifth time. This time, it wasn’t to stare at the mirror and remember her intimate sessions with Seb. It was to empty her bowels.

She showered and went to the room but both Seb and Clarissa were out already. She checked the time and saw it was 7:10AM. Clarissa would be getting ready for school already.

She casually loosened her towel and was about dropping it on the bed when the door flung open. She startled and screamed when she saw Sebastian.

“Get out!” she yelled at him as she covered herself with the towel again.

“This is my room!” Seb screamed back.
“It used to be my room too!”
“Well, then we didn’t have a problem banging in on each other looking like Adam and Eve. Remember I even twerk for you”

“Oh no” Vanessa said and palmed her face. It was an awful memory. He was terrible and twerking and it made her cringe everytime. He often looked like a stripper with arthritis.

“I just wanted to call you down for breakfast, though” he said and walked past her.

“Where are you going?” she asked
“Going to pick a T-shirt”
“Why?”
“So you’d wear”

She stared at him as he ravaged his closet and pulled out a long black T-shirt. It was one of her favorite. She always stole it just to inhale the scent that was exactly like Seb’s.

“Haven’t worn it for sometime though” he said as he handed her the shirt. She received it and sat down on the bed.

As Seb made for the door, he stopped at looked at her.
“Just so you know, I like your new tattoo” he said then left the room.

She stared at the door he just disappeared behind and felt tingles in her eyes. Her new tattoo was on her right butt cheek, a Chrysanthemum flower.

Suddenly, she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She hugged her knees and let the tears out in quiet sobs.

Few minutes later, she mopped her eyes, applied lotion and wore the T-shirt. She went downstairs and met the pair of them eating breakfast.

“Mommy!” Clarissa squealed and went to hug her.
“Morning, sunshine. How did you sleep?”
“The best sleep I’ve ever had. Because I knew my daddy was right beside me and so was my Mommy. Best feeling ever!”

“I hope this feeling lasts” she added as she kissed Vanessa’s cheek before going back to her seat.

“You came late. Your food is almost cold” Seb said.
“What are we having?” Vanessa asked as she moved forward to a seat.

“Scrambled eggs and toast. With cappuccino” Seb replied.

“Who will pick me up from school?” Clarissa asked as she dropped her spoon on her plate.

“I will” “I will”
Both Vanessa and Sebastian said at the same time.

“Really? Both of you? Great!” squealed Clarissa.

No one spoke anymore as they ate.

“How about I make something delicious for you when you get back from school?” Vanessa asked Clarissa after the meal.

“Sounds fun. But please make it before I come back. I’ll be very hungry then”
“Okay. I’ll make something. But what do you want?”

“Hmmm… sponge cake. Make me a sponge cake”

“Sure”
“With Daddy”
“What?”
“I want Daddy to help you out”

Vanessa looked at Seb who had just returned from getting his car key. Clarissa repeated what she had just said to him and he agreed. He then took her to school.

Vanessa was suddenly scared of the conversation they were going to have. She tried to hide before he came back but felt too lazy to do so.

As she was making tea in the kitchen, she heard him call her name right behind her. She almost broke the china that she was holding.
She turned back and faced him.
“You’re back” she said and sipped the tea.
“Yeah” he replied.

“I was thinking of going over to my place to get a few things since I might be staying here for a month” Vanessa said after some minutes of silence, with Sebastian making his own tea.

“A few things?” he asked.
“Yes” she answered.

He turned to her with a Stern look.
“Nessa” he said and goosebumps rose on her neck. When did he call her Nessa again?

“Don’t you think it’s time for us to bring our heads down and reason matters like parents?”

“Look Seb, I’ve put all these behind me. I don’t want to be caged again. I love being single and I’m okay with that”

“So, you prefer running wild than making your daughter happy? You heard her earlier, she wants us back together. That’s why she wants us to do things together. So we can love each other again”

Vanessa laughed. “So you’re saying Clarissa’s a Matchmaker? The Matchmaking Baby, right?” she said and laughed sarcastically.

“I thought you said you’ve learnt from your mistakes. You told me last night”

“I learnt from my mistake doesn’t mean I have to take on that same path that led to them”

“So you’re saying?”

“I’m saying that I don’t want to ever get back with you. For nothing in the world”
“Not even Clarissa”
“Except for Clarissa”

“I don’t understand”
“Only Clarissa can make me take that path again. But I don’t want to enter into something I’ll regret again. The same way I regretted our marriage. I don’t want that”

“The reason we regretted our marriage, Vanessa, is because of your negligent and my overseriousness”

The tea in their hands had gotten cold but they didn’t even notice.
Vanessa cleared her throat and dropped the china.
“Okay. We’ve learnt our lessons. But that’s not enough” she stated.

“I know what you’re thinking” Seb said. He dropped his own china and moved to her front.

“Vanessa, I missed you. I’m not too proud to admit that I need you back in my life. I’m sorry for the stupid things I did. I’m truly sorry” he apologized as he stared down into her eyes.

She turned around immediately and palmed her face. She was crying again even though she didn’t want to.

“Vanessa” Seb called and turned her to face him.

“It’s okay. I’m fine.” she croaked and wiped her eyes.

“So what do you say?”
“Are you asking me to be your girlfriend or a wife?”
“Wife. If you’re a girlfriend I won’t be able to boss you around” he said and she laughed.

“Okay. Fine. I accept” she said and Seb smiled.
“Thank you” he said and hugged her. They hugged for nearly a minute before disengaging.

“Should we go grocery shopping? I don’t think I’ve got enough ingredients for a sponge cake” Seb said. Vanessa just nodded.

“Oh and, I’ve suddenly crown a likeness for chrysanthemum flowers. Do you have any you could show me?”

“Yes I do. There’s one on my grandmother’s butt. Would you like to see it?”
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To Be Continue