At The Tourist Center
The Security Officer and the Men’s wear company agreed that the clothes would be delivered to the island by 7 AM, and they were punctual. At the stipulated time, the company vehicle was at the Tourist Center, and Robin took the delivery of the wear. At breakfast, he accompanied the waiter to Jude’s room.
“Jude,” he called out after the waiter left.
The panicked Jude, who had lived in fear for the past four years, thought he had wronged anyone and looked up in fear.
The Officer smiled and continued, “The, Boss sent this bag to you.”
Now, Jude was awestruck. He looked at the bag and collected it from him.
“Thank you, Officer,” he appreciated him without knowing the content.
“You are welcome. He requested to know what you can do. That is, he wants to know if you have any skills,” he said and looked into his moist eyes.
From the look of things, the only skill he had was to aid in criminal activities. Thanks to the adults who were supposed to be responsible members of the society who hired and groomed him to be perfect.
All the same, he presented the only skill he acquired as a child, which may not be what the Boss would be looking for.
“I can make music with the piano,” he said shyly.
“That would be nice. I will let the Boss know about it.”
“Thank you, Sir. Kindly send my regards to the Boss. Tell him that I appreciate his kindness.”
“It is all right. See you later.”
“See you later,” he said.
Robin left and shut the door behind him, while Jude examined the wears one after the other. Now, the moisture in his eyes began to drop freely as he remembered his late parents and the way they shopped for him back then.
“Who is this man? Does he want to use me for criminal activities again? God, let it not be,” he secretly prayed and dried his tears.
Nevertheless, he said his prayers again. (I will lift my eyes unto the hills. Where will my help come from?…)
Subsequently, the Security Officer sent Jude’s appreciation and skill to Denise who was still sleeping.
At Denise’s House.
His wife woke him up by 8:30 AM, “Hubby, wake up and have your breakfast. You can go back to sleep afterward.”
He opened his eyes gradually and behold his Angel smiling lovingly at him.
(Peck)
“My handsome. You look more handsome when you are tired out.”
Denise giggled and hit her with a throw pillow and declared, “Stop flattering me.”
“Do you think so? We will talk about that later. Come with me for your breakfast,” she said and held him by the left hand.
She helped him to get up, and he walked to the bathroom, brushed up, and joined her in the bedroom. Just as she advised him, they got to the parlor, had their breakfast, and returned to the bedroom.
Denise went back to sleep and slept for another two hours while his wife was by his side following up Daniel’s page.
At Oscar’s House.
He was an easy-going man who did not want trouble nor had a fighting spirit. Likewise, he never bothered asking for details from Arthur about how he got to know that his wife was at Stephen’s house. In his opinion, the best he could do was to report the matter to the Patriarch for an amicable settlement. Unlike Arthur and his children who believed in the principle of nipping in the bud and stopping any brooding indiscipline from the root.
He was elated when he got the invitation to the family meeting at the barrack.
While at the breakfast table, he called out, “Zoey.”
“Yes, Oscar,” she answered at once
She dropped her cutlery and fixed her eyes on him.
“When we get to the meeting, do not be intimidated by the faces of the elderly men. Just say what you knew about the abduction,” he advised her just to prepare her mind.
“It is okay, Dear.”
“I believe that the elders would caution him and he would not try such again.”
“Only caution him? Is there no punishment for such a nefarious act? I almost lost my life,” she inquired with a stern look on her face.
Now, Oscar chuckled and explained, “You know he is a fellow kinsman, and such a dicey matter could tear the family apart if not handled with care.”
“Fellow kinsman. Dicey matter indeed. If Arthur had not taken the initiative of involving the police, I would have died in Stephen’s house,” she made clear.
Now, Oscar was speechless as he watched her walk out of the dining table angrily and walk to her bedroom.
He was aware that she was right. Arthur and his children would not give the matter a second thought before dealing with it and everyone in the Bailey family was aware of that.
“People are not the same,” he mumbled and joined her in the bedroom.
At Denise’s Apartment
Denise woke up at 11 AM. As usual, he must check his phone for messages or calls before he gets out of bed. He saw many messages, both random and useful ones. Then, he browsed through them before he punched on his security officer’s message and read through it.
(Hello, Boss. I have delivered the set of wears to Jude. He was truly grateful. Concerning what he can do, he said he can make music with the piano.)
That is good,” he said and dropped his phone.
To get ready for his meeting, he walked to the bathroom to take his bath while processing the information he got from Robin.
‘I can get a piano keyboard for him to keep him busy pending when I will meet him. I would not want him to return to the island,” he concluded.
Soon, he was ready to leave the house.
“When do you think the meeting would close?” His wife asked him when he was snacking on the dining table to avoid being hungry during the meeting.
“I don’t think the meeting would last for more than two hours. I will leave if it lasts longer than that.”
Olivia laughed heartily and teased him, “How can a Family Head leave such an important meeting?”
Now, Denise chuckled, gulped his yogurt, and declared, “I am not a Family Head. I am only going to represent Father.”
“I cannot wait to see you arguing in such a meeting.”
“Says who? I will not utter a word. Besides, what would they talk about if not the explosion at Uncle Stephen’s resort?” he explained with indifference.
“Oh! I see.”
(Peck)
“I will be on my way. See you later,” he announced and got out of the dining table.
He headed for the door and his wife tagged along.
He got into his car, and she bade him farewell, “Be careful, Hubby.”
“I will. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He drove to the Bailey Native Home, parked his car, and picked up his grandfather’s bucket of bolts. Then, he called his security officer.
When the call connected, he greeted him, “Good day, Boss.”
“Hello, Officer. How is the Center?”
“The Center is fine, Boss.”
“That is good to hear. What about Jude? How is he?”
“Jude is fine. He was delighted with the wears.”
“Really? What do you think about him?”
“He is a good boy.”