Chapter 14: Everything except a mother
"How do we get the governor's son to come? It's not like we can just walk up to him and ask right?" Isabella's inquisitive outspoken thought plants an idea in Grace's head.
"He has spoken to me before, so I can just invite him, I mean the worst he can do is say no, right? No harm in trying. Wait, have I gone mad?" Isabella's anxiety couldn't help but expose its rear behind to her friends.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Zara tries to abort their mission before they get carried away with the ridiculous idea.
"Why?" This time Ava pipes in.
"I think it would be weird if he comes," Zara answers simply, not making a move to explain further.
"Why? You have to give us a reason. A good one because I don't know why you're so against this." Grace's no-nonsense tone has Zara's thoughts running in circles trying to but failing to come up with a good enough excuse.
Instead of embarrassing herself by letting her mouth blab whatever, she chooses to quietly admit, "Because he's Harvey's cousin."
She swears within herself that she would not tell them about the way they really met because she knew without a doubt that they will conjure up ridiculous theories.
"Wait! Hold up! You're telling us that your boyfriend is the governor's nephew and one of the new kids is his cousin? Girl! Why the heck didn't you say anything before?!" Grace's voice rises with every word be it out of excitement or bewilderment, Zara couldn't tell.
"Yeah, what gives? Does that mean you've spoken with him?" Isabella's question almost seems useless to Ava but she bites her tongue before she receives another lecture.
"I just found out today, I swear!" Zara attempts to defend herself.
"If you say so. Well, that makes it easier then, just tell Harvey to bring his cousin and maybe invite two more friends." Ava's suggestive input is a good sign to her friends because that means she might no longer feel as bad as she did when they began this call.
Zara knew at this moment that there is no way she can avoid this guy. She's not a naive little girl. Lex asked for her number, he used a cab to drop her home when he didn't have to and now she finds out he was looking for her in school.
It all points to him finding her attractive and acting on the said attraction. She won't lie to herself; she finds him attractive as well but she can not act on it because she is happy being with Harvey and to add gasoline to the fire, he is Harvey's cousin.
And besides, he gives her a playboy vibe, 'What's the point? I know Harvey would want me far away from Lex if he knew what length Lex has been going to just to have her number.' Zara converses with herself and slowly zones out of the group call she's having with her friends.
"Zara?!" Her mind is suddenly tossed out of the clouds of silent soliloquising.
"Huh? Yes, Ava? I'm listening." Zara attempts but fails to hide her lack of attention in the conversation.
"It was Grace that called you not Ava." Isabella's quiet words make Zara internally face-palm herself for making a fool of herself.
"Sorry," she lets out a loud yawn feigning tiredness, "I think I dozed off for a bit there." Zara hopes they buy her mini-oscar performance.
"Oh, okay, we were actually asking you if Harvey has a cabin because it would be much safer than camping with a tent." Grace decides to say nothing of Zara's bad acting.
"I don't know, why can't we just use tents?" Grace scoffs at Zara's question.
"Because my parents are Nigerians duhh, y'all should know why by now." Despite Grace making her statement as a fact her friends don't still seem to get the point.
She groans and explains further, "What I'm trying to say is they don't like me surfing, going bungee jumping, or doing crazy stuff like climbing mountains, just so long it's not safe it is a big no.
We want to go camping right? But there are bears and shit out there so there is no way I'm gonna camp out there with a tent as my only source of protection, you feel me? So a cabin would be safer in my opinion. What am I saying? Of course, a cabin is safer."
At the end of Grace's speech, the girls couldn't stop the silence that befalls them as they reflect on what Grace said and how odd it is to them but who are they to question her family's way of life?
"Alright, it is better to be safe than sorry. So, I'll ask Harvey about everything we talked about today. Goodnight girls I am so tired." Zara's words signal the end of their informal meeting.
After each says their rounds of 'goodnights' and 'I love you' to each other.
Seconds after the call ends, sleep begins to sit heavily upon her eyelids and she welcomes it gladly. A dreamless sleep is the best kind of sleep and that's what this girl gets tonight.
"Hey, my princess. Wake up." A voice softly says while nudging her shoulders gently.
"Hmmm huh? Five more minutes Dad." A tsunami of warmth floods Mr Jacobs' chest as he watches his daughter grumpily go back to slip while squinting her nose.
He also notices the drool at the corner of her mouth and the way her hair is a tangled mess.
Lord knows how many times he has told her to put her hair in a bun so it's not a hassle to tame the hair in the morning. Just like he used to tell her mother to but the stubborn mule never listened to him.
He shakes his head as though he could physically toss the intruding thoughts out of his mind.
Mr Jacobs gently sits on Zara's bed beside her sleeping form for what seems to him as mere seconds but is actually minutes stretching into almost half an hour. He had been so consumed replaying moments he shared with the mother of his child before the tragedy ruined it all.
And even after that, he left her in the hands of someone he trusted and deemed capable of looking after her while he was away working hard to provide a life for her where she lacked nothing.
Truly, she lacked nothing except one thing, "I'm so sorry I couldn't give you a mother my little princess." he whispers very lowly under his breath as his guilt eats away at him and how unfair he feels life is.
He refused to allow his self-pity to weigh him down on such a fine day when he has a lot planned for him and Zara today. It's days like this he looks forward to.
Days where they spend 24 hours of the day doing every to anything she wants. It didn't matter if she wants to try new things or not they are going to do it together.
Putting his work on hold once every three months for a whole day always leads to chaos in the office operations the day after. It would have been easier to just commit to bonding on as many weekends as possible.
He knew he would get sucked into work and he wouldn't catch on if she begins to withdraw from him. It's the sacrifice he has to make. After all, he only came this far thanks to her.
His eyes leave his late wife's look alike and land on the clock beside her bed, his eyes seem to want to jump out of its sockets when he realises he had wasted over forty minutes daddling in the past.
"Zara? Come on princess we got plans today." By some miracle, she opens her eyes, although she does so grumpily.
She lets out a mewl as she stretches her body. Her dishevelled appearance puts a small smile of amusement on Mr Jacobs' lips.
"Dad? When did you get back?" Zara asks once her eyes are able to translate her surroundings to her consciousness. He shakes his head in wonder as it dawns on him she was sleep-talking earlier when tried to wake her at first.
"A little after midnight." Zara grunts in response, so Mr Jacobs continues, "Alright, wake up, get ready, come down for breakfast so we can go play golf or tennis at the country club or whatever it is you want to do today."
"Ok, five more minutes." Mr Jacobs' eyes narrow at his daughter's words.
"No, get up now. It's unnegotiable." His voice comes out a bit more stern than he intends to but he chooses to not dwell on the self-criticising thought.
"Ok ok jeez. I'm up." Zara grumbles as she regrets not going to bed earlier.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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