Dysfunctional Family - Season 1 - Episode 41

Episode 4 years ago

Dysfunctional Family - Season 1 - Episode 41

Tracy picked her phone as soon as Lubesha was fast asleep, she dialled Laura’s line and called.

“Cousin,” Laura picked up after a few rings. “What’s up?”
“You won’t believe what just happened,” Tracy whispered, not wanting to wake Lubesha and closing the bedroom door behind her. “Lubesha just proposed.”
“No way! Did you say yes?”
“Of course I did, my heart literally beats for the dude. I’m just so happy words can’t express how am feeling right now!” she was admiring the diamond ring Lubesha had produced from the pocket of the jacket he’d been wearing that day.

Laura was saying, “This is huge news, honey. So, when’s the wedding?”
“We are yet to set a date. Anyway, just wanted to share the news with you but please don’t tell Dad. Let me be the one to personally tell him.”

“Noted.”
“And please kiss Junior good night for me..tell him I love him to bits.”

Junior was spending the night at Sylvester and Laura’s.

“No problem,”Laura calmly said and yawned. “It’s late, gotta go to bed. Sleep tight, cousin and congrats!

”
“Thanks, babe. Have a great night too..my regards to the best brother in-law.”
Laura said with a chuckle, “I’ll tell him you said hi.”

And Tracy cut the line, clutching the phone close to her chest. She couldn’t believe she was finally getting a second chance at happiness after the Jake phase. For a moment she recalled her late Rafael and a tear rolled down her cheeks but she hurriedly wiped it.
“He’s in a better place..” she only told herself that so that she couldn’t become an emotional wreck.

Heaven knows no single day passed without her thinking about her beautiful son. Oh God, life can be so cruel at times.

The next day, Lubesha and Tracy had breakfast in bed and freshened up. The day being a public holiday, neither of them went for work.

After freshening up, they went over to Donald’s place to go share the great news. They’d just sat down and Juliet was serving them tea and biscuits when Donald Junior who was peeping through the window screamed, “Brother Amos!”
Startled, Juliet and Lubesha scuttled towards the window and they saw him.

Amos had just entered the yard and was approaching the porch.

With euphoria at it’s best, Juliet opened the door and rushed to hug her son.

“My baby,” her hands were all over his face. “My baby boy…is this really you?”

Amos had the biggest of smiles plastered on his face. “The one and only, mum..am free. Got released for good behaviour.”

She couldn’t withhold the tears of joy so she let them roll. She took his hand in hers and ushered him into the house where Donald Junior hugged his legs. Donald Senior had taken Junior to see his elder brother in jail one too many times so Junior and Amos knew and loved each other a lot.

“Hey champ,” Amos ran a hand through Donald Jr’s head. “Your bro’s home.”
Juliet branched off towards her bedroom, calling out Donald’s name.
“Honey, our son’s home!”
Lubesha gave Amos a brotherly hug. “Welcome back home.”
“Thanks.”

Tracy who had been seated looking lost finally cleared her throat.

“Um..who’s this?” Amos asked as politely as he could once his hug with Lubesha was broken.

“Pardon my ill manners,” said Lubesha. “This is Tracy, my fiance. Tracy, this is Amos, my cousin.”

“Did you just say fiance?” came Donald Sr’s voice in the doorway.

“Yeah. Actually we came here to inform you that we’re now engaged.”

“Today officially qualifies as the happiest day of my life..first my son is out of jail and second my other son is getting married? Wow!” he took quick strides towards Amos. “Son,” he mouthed.
“Dad.”
And they hugged.

That had to be the best family reunion all of them had ever witnessed.
☆☆☆
Never had it occured to Laura and Sandra that they’d find themselves at the same beauty parlour but it’s a small world we live in so it so happened that the sophisticated daughter of now Lusaka Mayor and the niece to one of the most renowned Defence Attorneys in the country found themselves sharing the same beauty parlour.

Sandra was having her hair done when Laura arrived, in need of a manicure. The two locked eyes and clicked their tongues in unison, rolling their eyes.

“Can you please make it quick,” Sandra snapped at her hairdresser. “The air in here just changed. I think a rotten backstabbing b---h just walked in.”

Laura decided to clap back by saying, “I wonder how it feels to get dumped on your wedding day,” she took a seat and sighed. “And as if to add salt to injury, your groom proposes to the love of his life only a few months after dumping you. In the end, love wins and love isn’t for everyone so I guess some wh0r£s will always be wh0r£s..marriage ain’t for them.”

Anger bubbled up inside Sandra but she took several deep breaths and was calm in no time.
For her clap back, she sarcastically laughed and said, “I’d rather stay unmarried than be married to a cheating husband.”

The hairdresser who couldn’t hold her tongue no more said, “Sorry to interrupt but all married men cheat..it’s in their nature to do so.”

“Mine doesn’t,” Laura said.
“How sure are you?” Sandra tilted her head.

Laura knew Sandra would go to any lengths to get at her so she grabbed her clutch and said to the lady who usually did her nails. “I’ll come back later.”

“Sure,” the lady nodded.
Sandra remained laughing and only stopped long after Laura was gone.

Once home, she barged into her father’s study, fuming like hell.

“I can’t believe he’s marrying that b---h!”

“Who are we talking about now?”
“Lubesha of course! Who else if not that ungrateful son of a b---h? Dad, take a good look at me,” she paused to spin around. “I’m more pretty and way sexier than that s--t Tracy but Lubesha picked her over me! Can you believe his guts?”

Not interested, Enoch pursed his lips. “I thought Lubesha is a closed chapter by now.”

“What do you mean?”
“Sandra, I once offered to take care of both him and Tracy but you refused…saying you knew what to do seeing as this was your fight. Might I ask why you’re in my room whining about such nonsense? The man doesn’t like you, get over it!”

“But Dad-”
“Don’t you Dad me,” Enoch angrily stood. “I’ve got work to do so get the hell out of my study!”

“Fine,” she angrily stormed out of his study.
Enoch hadn’t meant to yell at her nor be rude but he had problems of his own to deal with and didn’t appreciate his immature daughter troubling him with trivial matters.
He sat down and looked at the files on the table and a headache immediately gripped him. He was buried in debt and his debtors were coming for him if he didn’t clear his debts soon.

Sandra slammed her bedroom door shut and threw her purse on the bed. She was on the verge of screaming her lungs out with fury.

Tracy ruined my wedding, she wryly thought, pacing the room back and forth. I’ll do the same to her. An eye for an eye.

She laughed, sitting on the edge of her bed.
“Karma’s a b---h,” she muttered under her breath.


☆☆☆

Since Tracy had a kitchen party first, the wedding day only came seven months after her and Lubesha got engaged.

Laura was her maid of honour and was helping her with make up when Tracy said, “I have a bad feeling.”

“About?”
“The whole of today.. there’s just this nagging and ominous feeling I have that something bad’s gonna happen.”

“Hey..don’t say such things. Today’s your wedding day and you’ve got every right to he nervous but that doesn’t mean you should have negative vibes about such a huge day, you hear? Now clear all those negative thoughts off your mind and smile for me.”
Tracy forced a smile.

“Perfect,” mouthed Laura who continued with the make up.

For his second wedding, Amos was Lubesha’s best man. His friend Mark was out of the country and Lubesha had to turn to Amos for help.

“Of course I’ll be your best man,” Amos had happily agreed when Lubesha asked him two months prior to this day. “It’s the least I can do to repay you for what you’ve done.”

Lubesha had entrusted him with a huge sum of money to start a business and Amos whom prison life had changed was wise enough to use the money to open a garage of his own in town. And by God’s grace his business was flourishing.

Now that Dad has retired, Amos told himself. I’ll do my utmost best to take care of him, mum and Junior. Donald was expecting his pension of course but Amos just felt at ease to know that for once in his life, he was going to be productive.


“Tracy’s gonna drool as soon as she sets eyes on you today,” Amos teased Lubesha once he was done helping him get dressed.

“You think so? Oh God, I’m so nervous one would think this is the first time I’m doing this, Amos.”

“Judging from what I’ve been told, this is different. You were marrying Sandra out of convenience but today you’re marrying Tracy out of love so you have all the right in the world to be nervous. I think we’re done here. Shall we go?”
“Sure.”

They bumped into Juliet and Donald in the doorway.

Juliet’s eyes became watery the second she saw how handsome and grown Lubesha looked.

“Janet would have been so proud,” her voice breaking, she said.

Lubesha took her hands in his. “Today’s a happy day, aunt, so wipe those tears. For my sake.”

“Of course,” she fervently shook her head and wiped her tears.

Donald patted Lubesha on the shoulder, nodding. “I’m so proud of you..wishing you all the best in your marriage, son.”

“Thanks.”
“People, we are running late,” Amos said, pointing at his wristwatch.

Meanwhile at Tracy’s, her Dad gave her his blessings too.

“All my life,” he was saying. “All I wanted was to see you happy and now that you’re, I can die in peace.”

“You aren’t dying any time soon in the near future,” Tracy hugged him. “Thank you.”

“For what?”
“For being the best father in the world.”
Sandra slipped into the chapel and sat in the back. Amos who saw her nudged Lubesha in the ribs.

“Look who just decided to show up,” he whispered. Lubesha turned his head and saw Sandra seated in the back, smiling at him.
“I’m not surprised to see her here,” he honestly told Amos. “I knew she couldn’t resist to show her face here. She’s that desperate and predictable.”

“Should I get her thrown out?”
“And risk her causing a scene? I say we let her be.”

Tracy arrived minutes later and everyone in the chapel stood, Sandra inclusive. Tracy saw her from the corner of her left eye and scowled. She took deep breaths to calm herself.

The nerve! She angrily thought.
The huge grin on Sandra’s face spoke volumes.

Westlife’s “Beautiful in White,” was softly playing as Tracy was walked down the aisle by her father. They’d barely reached the altar when a distraught looking Laura came rushing in.

“There’s a problem,” she whispered to Tracy and her father, panting.
Tracy’s heart skipped a beat. “What’s wrong?”

Laura knew she had to tell them. “Lubesha Junior’s missing. I’ve looked everywhere for him but couldn’t find him.”

“This has Sandra written all over it,” Tracy said with clenched teeth, throwing her bouquet of roses down and running towards where Sandra stood.

Without thinking twice, Tracy slapped Sandra hard across the face. So hard that Sandra fell.