CHAPTER EIGHTEEN "Ha! And I thought you got fired bro", Omar joked as he entered the room with Fyodor following closely behind.Omar hugged him and patted his back energetically, he gave Joseph's ass a small smack "How is your old man, is he well?".Joseph patted his back awkwardly as he silently begged Fyodor for help.Fyodor shuddered, the scene before him reminded him of the slaps he received from time to time. He waved his hands and made himself comfortable.Omar smiled at his friend's uneasiness and sat too. He could not remember the last time so much happiness radiated from Joseph. He could feel his friend's happiness all the way to where he was sitting."What would you like? Coffee, tea?"Joseph questioned as he was about to press the intercom to inform his assistant."Or beer", Omar said quietly but audible for everyone in the room to hear."Dude! It's like nine in the morning!" Omar made his point clear as he smacked Omar's hand."Ouch! That hurts like a bitch!"Omar re
The trio made their way to a nearby bakery. They took a seat for five by the left, one of the best spot the bakery offered, a little secluded but offered a clear view of the entrance. Joseph's friends tried to lighten his mood, although, he said little to their conversation but the men knew that he would come around with time.The jingling sound of the entrance bell caught Joseph's attention, he involuntarily shouted and waved the newcomer to their table."Angie!" His sudden change of mood amazed his friends as they watched him happily welcome the woman to their table.Angela smiled when her eyes landed on me, his presence no longer caused uneasiness. To be honest, she felt a little bit nervous around him, unlike before but he no longer made her become pale whenever she saw him.She hesitated a few seconds before she headed to his table. Apart from the two other seated which made her nervous at once, the person she came with might not like to be seated with him."Hi Joseph, good morn
"Jesus! You startled me".It was six in the morning yet the whole household was asleep as usual. The whole household except the newcomer.Fyodor jumped as he saw the woman who sat on the floor close to the floor to ceiling window.He had worn a gym suit with converse to match, he was preparing to go for a morning run. Unlike every other occupant in his household, Fyodor jogged every Sunday morning to clear his head."I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you", Alina said as she stood up, she was three months gone and her baby bump was beginning to show. Her belly seemed somewhat… weird? Coupled with her tiny frame.Wait.. what has gone wrong?She sounded sad and her voice sounded like her vocal cords were swollen. Was she crying?Now that Fyodor scanned her features, her eyes were puffy and glistening like she was crying a few minutes ago. Trouble in paradise?"Are you okay?", he found himself asking even though he just made fun of her. He couldn't walk out like it was none of his bu
"Ivan, what are you doing out here? The whole family is preparing for church", Mr Babanin asked as he walked to his eldest son.He was checking the shrubs he had planted with the gardener two nights ago and saw his son idly muttering rubbish to himself.Ivan shrugged his shoulders, "Everyone except Fyodor. He is allergic to God". Mr Babanin snickered at his son's words. He is a happy father of two grown sons and he's even happier that he knew his sons well. Ivan always acted like Fyodor is a bone in his throat but his father knows that deep to the bottom of his heart, he knows every single dislike and liking of his younger brother, in other words, he loves his younger brother."Father, I am clearly not in a good mood", Ivan crossed his arms like only a three year old would."I can tell. I can", Mr Babanin feigned a solemn expression and sat next to his son."Now let's see what we can do to this ugly mood of yours".Ivan huffed angrily, he had come here to talk to the trees and shrubs
Fyodor was his mother's favorite person throughout the journey to the church. She walked by his side and sat by him in the car as she continued to make him see more reasons why he should attend the church regularly and of course punctually as she made sure everyone was ready in time to meet the praise and worship program.Fyodor was attending church today because he was bored. He didn't have work to do and decided to come along. His whole family thought that he never attended church services because he doesn't believe in God. Fyodor stopped going to church because he got too busy at work. He runs an Artificial intelligence organization, he doesn't have all the time to himself. In his own view, it wouldn't hurt to spend some time with God since he has nothing else to do. Besides, he needed ideas, he was thinking of making more Christian apps or machines that could serve the church or improve the Christian life and there was no better place to get ideas if not the church itself, was t
"Hmmm. Now let's check our To do list", James said as he picked the list of chores-he had written- from the table.Joseph had come to visit early and James brought the idea of cleaning and preparing for a barbecue evening. Joseph liked the idea, he enjoyed stuff that included his father. James made a list of things they had to do. They cleaned the whole house and went grocery shopping. James raised his pen ready to mark the ones they had done."Clean the patio""Done", Joseph yawned. They had been working as early as nine in the morning and it was almost four in the afternoon. Naturally, they could afford a cleaning service but Joseph knew how much his father delighted in carrying out small tasks by himself. Besides, they get to chit chat as they work."Clean the kitchen area""Done""Fix the faulty bulbs""Done big man""Wash the utensils""Done sire", Joseph jested.James laughed and continued, "Wash and arrange the veggies""Done"James scanned the concluding part of the list and
"Angie! Join us at the table, you have cooked enough meat", James hollered."Just a sec!"Angela carried the remaining cooked meat to the table.Joseph stood at once and moved a chair backwards for Angela to sit before seating next to her."Beer?", he asked warmly."Nah, coke would do. Thank you", Sophia answered for Angela.She "Haha, very funny but I wasn't talking to you", Joseph rolled his eyes in circles and offered Angela a smile, "What would you like to drink, Angie?" "Thank you.Water would do for now".Sophia scoffed and played with her phone.Joseph unscrewed the cap of a bottle of water and passed it to her.She smiled in appreciation and drank from the bottle.James watched them amused. Joseph clearly likes her, he would definitely be a passionate lover and James would be happy to play matchmaker."I'm bored", Sophia announced as she dropped her phone noisily on the table."Let's play waltz", Joseph suggested."Who plays waltz nowadays?"Sophia rolled her eyes. How she wish
Omar spent his Sunday in a tight corner. Unlike his other two friends who had fun with their loved ones, he got tangled up in business affairs.Omar just had a bath and was preparing to take his cute little sister out for shopping.The shrill ringing of his business phone cut his preparations short.He suspiciously eyed the phone and answered the call. "Blake?"His assistant never called him during the weekends except if it was important, that was the protocol. He wondered what had gone wrong."Good afternoon Sir. I apologize for interrupting your Sunday but there's something you have to see", Blake rushed his words like a madman."What is it?", Omar questioned. His assistant was not one to call for irrelevances.Blake swallowed the lump in his throat, he had nothing to do with the problem but he was terrified to bring to the notice of his boss, but that was the right thing to do, he couldn't just allow someone to shut down the business."Sir, I found something fishy, you need to see