Pedigree

We get into the house and the stench that follows me is embarrassing, I had forgotten that I haven’t been here in almost a week and obviously the dirty dishes that I had left in the sink is where the scent is coming from. I don’t even bother looking at VK because the expression on his house is one that I am not willing to put up with right now.

Seeing that I am not about to offer him a seat, he makes himself comfortable whilst I go and open the kitchen windows. As the air blows in I left the water flow in the sink so as to wash away anything I wouldn’t want to touch.

‘Where do you keep your cleaning materials?’

‘Why?’

He doesn’t respond, instead he walks over to the kitchen and looks around until he finds the place where I keep everything.

He walks back to the living room with a broom, mop and bucket.

I stop paying him any attention as I start washing the dishes, I am anxious even as I do all this because I just want to ditch everything and see what is on the flash drive but this man sweeping my house is making me feel guilty and I make a mentor note to always leave the sink clean so that I don’t have to go through moments like this again.

Almost thirty minutes later we are done and pizza has been delivered, I don’t know at what point he even made the order and even though I can‘t say it I am really grateful for his thoughtfulness because I was starving.

‘Would you like to eat now or after you take a bath?’

I raise an eyebrow

‘I am guessing that is a yes, yes?’

I chuckle whilst shaking my head.

‘VK what do you think you are doing?’

‘What exactly? Asking whether you want to eat now or is there something else I have done that I am not aware of.’

‘You think you can come into my house and start cleaning and ordering food and asking me all those questions?’

He sighs deeply

‘What wrong have I done this time around?’

‘Everything VK and just maybe asking you to come into my house was rather a bad idea.’

He looks at me hard before getting his coat and heading towards the door to walk out, I should be happy but again I am feeling guilty.

‘Don’t go.’ I tell him not even bothering to look at him

‘I know we have bad blood, I know my decisions don’t sit well with you and you might never forgive me. But Kasweka I am tired, not just physically but emotionally too. The past few days have tested everything about me and God knows I just want to rest.’

‘I will try to act civil for the rest of the time that you are here.’ I tell him

He closes the door and walks back to the living room, puts his coat on the chair and settles down.

I go to the bedroom and grab my laptop, I am not sure if I am supposed to sit next to him or not and as if sensing my confusion he points at the other couch.

I plug in the flash drive and make myself comfortable before opening it, there are two folders. One is named Bonds and the other one is named add up.

I open the bonds folder and it has about 200 plus pages, I am not sure I will be able to read everything because I have never been much of a reader.

‘It is important that you read.’ He says reading my mind

I start reading, word by word, sentence by sentence until I am scrolling over. I lift my eyes up in intervals just to look at VK’s face as I read through and discover things about the man that raised me and his past.

It seems like forever when I get to the middle of the write up, it has been two hours since I started reading and I haven’t put the laptop down. I am feeling all these emotions rush at me and I am both mad and angry at Chisoni, how in God’s name did he allow people to treat him like this? How could he have sat there and do nothing as his brother did wrong by him. And Ivy lying about the rape all for what?

‘Chisoni was a fool.’ I say putting the laptop away, I am not sure I can go on reading.

‘Maybe, but you have to finish reading in order for you to totally understand him.’

I shake my head

‘Even a blind person could have done better and Ivy leaving her child in an orphanage, that was just messed up.’ I say pacing about the room but stop when it hits me.

‘Ivy’s child was named Nelson.’

VK looks at me, as if trying not to disturb my thoughts.

‘And she lied that Chisoni raped her?’

Silence again

‘So what this means is that Nelson thinks.’

I hold my mouth, unable to finish the rest of the sentence.

‘VK are you saying that Nelson thinks my father is his father?’

‘I think you need to finish reading.

‘I can’t stomach anything anymore, I need food.’ I say walking to the kitchen to warm the pizza and some milk.

..

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Winnie

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