“Okay mom,” Tasha said with a smile on her lips as she ended her call to her mother. “Kiss daddy for me, goodnight.”
She disconnected the line and replaced the receiver. She glanced up at the clock hanging above the stove. It was already half-past six in the evening.
She smiled, returning to the onions she was slicing before she had to pick her mother’s phone call. Grant and Tyson would soon return home from the football match.
She rarely goes for Tyson’s football matches and practices these days. Grant had taken that over from her. Even Tyson said he loved it like that.
She whistled and opened the top cabinet to bring out the peanut butter jar and a can of coconut milk. She wanted to make Thai peanut chicken ramen noodles for dinner. The aroma of the onions and coconut filled the air, as she started cooking. And in no time, dinner was ready.
She sighed in relief that she finished making dinner before her boys were back as she turned down the heat under the wok.
She was washing her hands at the sink when someone rang the bell.
“Who is it?” She called out and picked the kitchen towel to dry her hands. “Coming.”
Nobody responded so she first peered through the peephole to check who was there. To her surprise, it was Freda, one of Grant’s colleagues from work. She just got the meet her during their office Christmas party when Grant introduced them. She opened the door, wondering why she was there.
“Hello Freda,” she said cheerfully, good evening.”
“Good evening Tasha,” she gave a tight smile.
“Come on in.” Tasha shifted away from the door. “Even though you will have to wait, Grant is not yet at home. He’s with Tyson for the football game.”
“Ac…actually,” Freda stammered. “It’s you I came to see.”
“Me?” She was taken aback.
“Yes,” the other woman nodded tentatively. “I just needed to talk to you about something important.”
“It’s okay,” Tasha nodded and led Freda into the living room. “Please sit down.”
Tasha sat across from the woman and waited for her to talk.
“I have some news,” Freda took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry for what I am about to…” Her voice trailed off. “But I have no other option.”
“What is it, Freda?” Tasha moved to the edge of the couch with anxiety. Now she knew there was trouble.
“I am carrying Grant’s baby,” she said and looked away.
“What do you mean?” Tasha couldn’t believe what she just heard. Freda, pregnant with Grant’s baby?”
“How is that possible, Freda?”
“We kind of accidentally slept together in November during overtime.”
“Oh, my God!” Tasha’s heart raced, and she felt her legs going weak. “Are you for real?” She shrieked.
“How…how far gone are you?” Tasha finally asked, her voice barely audible.
“A few weeks now,” Freda responded. “I told Grant before the end of the year, but he’s trying to deny it.”
Tasha’s mind raced as she tried to make sense of the situation. Grant and Freda had been working closely together for the past few months, but she had always trusted him. She had never suspected a thing.
She sat in silence, saying nothing again.
“I know you and Grant are preparing to get married soon,” Freda stood up. “I am so sorry this happened,” she swallowed hard. “I am not in love with him. It was just a stupid mistake we made that night. I just want him to own up to the act.”
She looked into Tasha’s face, but she still said nothing.
She started walking to the door and stopped when she got to the doorway. “I am going to apply for a transfer. I just want him to own up.”
She opened the door and walked out.
Tasha’s head was reeling with shock and disbelief; she couldn’t believe Grant could betray her in such a terrible way.
Tasha felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. She wanted to scream, to cry, to run away from this horrible news. But all she could do was sit there, utterly devastated, knowing her world had come crashing down all over again.
“I’m sure there’s a mixup somewhere,” she said, putting her head on the back of the sofa. “No, Grant can’t betray me like this,” she exclaimed into the room. Tasha sat there until she heard Grant’s car drive up the driveway. She quickly got up and rushed back to the kitchen. She didn’t want her son to see her in the pensive mood she was in.
She set about returning the jars and bottles on the worktop back to their places in the cabinet and on the shelves.
Tyson burst into the kitchen with his red and black jersey. The school team color.
“Mommy! Mommy! We won the match!” he shouted, his voice barely containing his glee. He bounced up and down with a whirlwind of energy and excitement.
“Oh my baby,” Tasha’s eyes widened with surprise, and she set the curry container in her hand aside, a warm smile spreading across her face.
Tyson smiled up into his mother’s eyes as he proudly held up a medal dangling from a ribbon around his neck. “We are going to the finals!” He exclaimed, barely containing his excitement.
“Congratulations, my sunshine! That’s amazing!” She rushed over to give him a big hug, feeling a surge of pride and joy for her son.
Grant walked into the kitchen at that moment, “hey sweetie,” he called out affectionately, kissing Tasha on the cheek. Her body stiffened up a bit, and she spun away.
Grant gave her a questioning look. But she quickly masked her feelings. “Sweetie, the boys won. They are on their way to the finals in two weeks.”
“Yeah,” she forced a smile. “I’m sure they will win. The trophy is ours.”
“Yes, mummy we are gonna win that trophy.”
“Dinner is ready, guys,” she said. “Go and freshen up. I will set the table before you come back downstairs.”
Both Grant and Tyson went upstairs while Tasha set the table.
When the guys came back downstairs, she pushed the chair out for Tyson. Grant sat down and dished out the food for Tyson and himself.
“I will eat later,” Tasha announced. “I need to make a conference call to my UK publisher.”