C2 Birthday Preparation 1

Alfred got home and found Cynthia and his mum eating in the dining and conversing.

"Good evening mum," he greeted walking to his mum and giving her a peck and turning to Cynthia and doing the same. He was confused seeing Cynthia seated with his mom but couldn’t say anything at the moment so he walked away to his room.

"Welcome babe" Grace greeted aloud smiling and exposing her gap tooth. Her innocent round eyes froze him.

Alfred for seconds remained mute before gathering his muscle to respond-He felt bad already for Grace and her innocent smile.

"Don't call me babe, please," he responded, trying to pull off his tie. He felt uncomfortable and could not pull it off rather twisting it back and forth.

"Let me help you with that," she said, pulling off his tie and unbuttoning his shirt too.

"I knew you weren't going to join mum in the dining, so I prepared your best," Grace added. Alfred felt trapped as he gave in to everything she was saying. He could not believe she prepared his best even if they did not talk the whole day.

Despite how he tries to push her away, she keeps pushing herself closer with her action and her attention.

"No, thanks, I’m not hungry," he responded, jumping on the bed.

"Are you sure? I prepared an oath," Grace insisted knowing how much he loved oaths. Alfred on the other hand held himself from jumping down.

He enjoyed eating oath than any other food. "I am not hungry, really!" he gasped, sitting up.

"Okay then, since you say so, am going to eat it so it wouldn't be a waste,” Grace replied expecting Alfred to come to eat.

The determined Alfred looks at her uncovering the meal, the aroma from a plate of oath saturated the whole room. He tried to hold back his hunger but did not release it when he yelled “I’m interested.” Grace smiles covering back the food.

“Okay,” she muttered standing up.

Alfred immediately noticed she was smiling. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel loved by him.

He looks at how she blushed over his agreement to eat the meal. Alfred felt bad knowing that she may have thought this the wrong way. What occurred was hunger and not love.

"Do you have any work to do tomorrow?" Grace asked.

" I don't have any work to do tomorrow, it's mum's party so I shifted all the meetings to the day after tomorrow," Alfred responded.

"What are you going to give to mum tomorrow?" Grace asked smiling.

“Okay this friendly behaviour of mine is too much, I cannot see why she is asking too many questions,” Alfred thought to himself, turning to her.

“I do not have an idea of a gift to give to my mom, I guess I will just give you to her instead,” Alfred responded as Grace laughed.

“You really are funny, how in the world will you give me to her as a gift Al,” she said as Alfred frowns.

“I do not want you calling me Al, call me Alfred, Alfred is okay and I guess the discussion is getting too much Grace,” He responded as Grace felt bad, claiming on the bed to sleep.

Feeling bad or not mad no difference to Alfred, he will really be giving Grace to his mom as a gift tomorrow as he said. He didn’t pay any attention to how bad she felt but rather eat the oath and claimed the bed too, sleeping; getting ready for the long day ahead.

At five o'clock, it already seemed as if the morning sun was glowing. All the servants were busy doing one thing or the other.

Grace doesn't like seeing others working and she stays idle moreover, it is her mother-in-law's party. She joined them in arranging the hall in which the party is going to take place.

It has been five years since Mrs Agnes last celebrated her birthday and wasn't interested in doing it. Her sudden interest in celebrating her birthday made everyone happy.

Suite cases were brought in and out of the mansion, it seemed as if it were a fashion design shop or a fashion design television program going on here.

The laundry room was filled up with different fashions of cloth and only one man was available to wash and iron the dresses.

"Good morning sir, would you mind if I help you?" Grace asked noticing he was quite old. The old man was startled by such an approach from a member of Duke's family.

"Did you call me sir?" The old man asked. "Is there something wrong with that?" Grace responds.

"No, nothing is the wrong ma'am it's just that I have never heard any member of the Duke family address, anyone, with such respect," the old man lamented.

"Come on sir, that's impossible. You are an aged man and everyone would respect you for that." Grace said picking up the suitcases and removing the suits, to make things easier for him.

The old man smiled, surprised at how mannered a Duke could be. "I have never seen a person like you before, everyone from rich families seem not to respect anyone, they look at fellow human as nothing." The old man praised.

Grace smiles at the opened minded old man. "I wasn't raised in a rich family. We only managed what we had making it satisfactory for us to live, respect is not about having less money but a disciplined family," Grace responded, dropping the last suit and walking out of the laundry back into the hall.

At entering the hall, her gaze brightened in shock. The hall was decorated with flashy colours, if Grace didn't know where exactly she was, she would mistake Mr Jerome's mansion for a Christmas museum.

"This design does not represent anything like a royal family, why would you have to use colours like this for my mother-in-law’s birthday party?” Grace said to the designer, moving close to her.

The designer miss Shepherd turns to Grace "I thought the colour was what you all liked, Amanda personally instructed me to make use of these colours and showed me a sample from her phone. I thought this colour is suitable for a queen as she said!” Mrs Shepherd mocked.

Grace hearing this couldn't stop herself from laughing. “ Amanda is my sister-in-law so mind the way you talk about her also, would you use these colours for your birthday ceremony?” Grace asked.

"No, but I thought the whole family liked it so I did it"

"stop assumptions, do what is right ma'am," Grace responded, walking through the hallway (corridor) which leads to the kitchen.

"Ma'am," the chief security called out to her.

"Mr Luke, is there any problem?" She inquired.

"No, not at all ma'am, the thing is that you're stressing yourself too much, as a daughter-in-law you shouldn't be doing anything, especially today, why would you run around like a servant?" Luke instructed, ending it with a rhetorical question.

"It is my mother-in-law's birthday, I don't mind doing everything," she responded, answering a call from unknown contact.

"Hello," she replied the caller.

"Baby sister, I‘m back in town," The unknown caller uttered. Grace smiled when she heard this she could recognize the voice of the person talking over the phone, it is her brother Donald.

"I’m so happy brother, when did you come back because am sure you wouldn't call me the same day you arrive here," Grace responded.

"No way Lil sister, I just came back to see you, it has been a year now since we last met," Donald responded.

"You did not attend my wedding because you dislike Alfred,”

“And still do!” Donald responded.

"You really are delusional but sorry, we will not be able to meet today, it's Mrs Jerome's birthday today and we are busy preparing for the party. Dad is going to come, and mum too, can you make time to attain the occasion?" Grace asked.

"Baby you should know me by now, I can't stand seeing you in that family, they hate me because I refuse to be subject to them and they hate you too and wish you go. From the day you married, I saw it in Alfred's even in his brother's eyes, they were all not happy with the fact of you coming into their family," Donald said.

"Hope you're not over-stressing yourself. Cause if you are, I'll kill them all," Donald added.

"Don't say something like that Doni, I thought you went to the state to change your ways!" Grace responded confused about what the brother might be thinking.

"Little sister, let's not talk about this, you will only see me react whenever they lay their filthy hands on you, let's talk tomorrow then," Donald responded, ending the call.

In every family, there is always this one person that makes their parents lament, cry or talk. This one person in Travis Alloy's family is Donald.

Graces walk close to the kitchen accompanied by Luke, going to inspect and be sure that all the meals prepared were delicious and well presented.

Walking closer, she saw a lot of smoke coming out of the kitchen door. It seemed as if waste was being burned in there, the choking smile coming out and the scream she heard only converted one piece of information to her.

"The kitchen is on fire," she screamed, running in.