Chapter 7: A souvenir from love

Nina was getting exhausted from work and home duties. No matter how many times the maids came home to do the work, when they left there was always something to do. Cody was of no use, he wouldn’t do his laundry, neither would he do his dishes, moreover she was finding it hard to keep such a mansion in order. She marched to Cody’s study to make a request.

“Do you think we should move into a smaller house?” She asked Cody once she got into his study.

“What’s wrong with this one?” Cody asked nonchalantly as he flipped through his work documents.

“This house is too big, I’m finding it hard to keep it in order” she shared with him. He shrugged.

“Nobody asked you to get rid of our maids, now you can appreciate how hard they work” Cody said indifferently.

Unbeknownst to Nina, Cody had gone to the rescue of his maidservant’s and taken them to his other house in Witting. He’d go there when he missed their cooking and they were happy to serve him. He wouldn’t complain about Nina’s below average cooking he’d just pretend to enjoy it a little.

“I want us to be a normal family, where we do stuff together and hangout a lot…” she explained to him.

“Nina, what else do you want from me? Am I not doing my best?”

“No, I’m not complaining… I just feel lonely most of the time… I imagined the things I’d do when I had a husband and we haven’t even done a quarter of them… let’s take vacations for a example… you travel a lot but you barely take me along and on days we go together you sleep the whole time, you stay on the phone, we don’t have any conversations, when I try to play with you, you interpret it as me asking for sex. Even with that I don’t feel the passion, the sex is just sex, like your heart is somewhere else” she laid out her grievances.

Cody went silent, he was beginning to realize how lonely both of them were, they were like two strangers. They barely fought, they barely had deep conversations, he began to understand that sex wasn’t intimacy and marriage wasn’t a thing you do to please your parents, but even now if he had any regrets there was little he could do. He looked up from his work and stared at Nina, the woman standing in his study was his childhood friend, who moved away and came back years later they were young adults when they met again. They had no common interests, neither did they have anything to bond over. Yet still Nina was a good woman, she was patient with him, even when he treated her as if she wasn’t there she was still patient with him, they were almost five years together and still she barely complained about how he often neglected her, Nina deserved better, if only he knew how to love her better.

“Cody, won’t you say anything?” She buzzed.

“I understand Nina” he replied.

“You understand as in? We’ll move out? You’ll help do chores together? We’ll be best friends and have kids? Should we go back to the hospital?”

“No Nina, we’re not moving out, I don’t want to do chores, we need help in the house and you have to make sure you bring them back” he ordered her. Nina felt conflicted this was a man whose mother taught him to do his own dishes and clean up after himself why didn’t he want to do all that now? Is it because he didn’t want to do them with her or he was just being lazy.

“So what do you mean when you say you understand me?” She asked in a defeated tone.

Cody got up from his desk and kissed her.

“How many babies do you?” he asked her.

Nina laughed. “About 8 of …”

“Say no more” she giggled as he carried her upstairs.

Cody entered a florist shop and scanned the florist place, while Seth stood beside him. “What flowers, do women love?” Cody asked Seth.

“Sir, I think the florist will have the best answer for this question” Seth replied.

Cody wasting no time marched straight to the attendant. “I want flowers for my wife but I don’t know what she’d like, can you recommend”

Cody said, the attendant stared at him in admiration. “I’d love if someone got me orchids or carnations, but who knows your wife may like something else, like peonies… because of what they represent”

“What do they represent?” Cody asked impatiently he was running late for his last meeting.

“People use peonies to represent a strong symbol of love, beauty and so many other pleasant stuff” she responded. Cody paused for a while then nodded “Can you make an exceptional bouquet of peonies for me? I’ll give you the address to send them to” he handed his card to her “deal directly with my assistant when you’re done”

He walked out. The attendant turned to Seth. “Your boss sounds like he’s in a hurry”

“He has an emergency to attend to” Seth answered.

The attendant nodded.

*************

It was barely two months since she had that Conversation with Cody, he tried to be on his best behavior for about a month but now he was slipping back into the old Cody and she was unhappy. She didn’t even notice that it was the morn of their anniversary till she received a text on her way to work. It was from Cody he was wishing them a happy anniversary. She smiled, then frowned, there was nothing to be happy about it had been five years of loneliness and an emotional roller coaster. Her phone beeped she sighed and answered the call “hello love, you didn’t respond to my message is everything alright?” Cody asked.

“I’m just a little moody this morning, it’s nothing really” she responded.

“Are you free after work today?” Cody asked. Nina’s heart leapt with joy, this was the first time Cody was trying to initiate something on his own, she always had to make requests before he did them for her or with her.

“Yes, I’m free today” she answered trying to hide her excitement.

“Okay, then don’t make any plans”

**************

When Seth picked her up from work she wasn’t particularly happy she had expected Cody to do that himself, she and her driver joined Seth’s car. They stopped at a hangar and a jet came for them. When they arrived at their destination Cody was at the hangar waiting for them, she ran to him and hugged him, he hugged her back then she immediately felt dizzy.

“Are you okay?” Cody asked. She nodded and smiled. Cody wasn’t convinced. As they made for the car waiting for them. He told Seth to get a health expert to the marina.

***************

Nina changed into a white transparent gown and stepped onto the beautifully decorated yacht she slowly walks onto the bow cockpit and stands behind Cody whose back is turned to her, he turns around hands her a bouquet of flowers. “Happy anniversary love” she smelt the flowers with tears in her eyes.

“Oh Cody, I’m so happy”

“If you’re happy them I’m happy too” he hugged her and grabbed her hand “come with me” he tries to pull her along but she gets dizzy again and trips, Cody holds her and calls for help.

Minutes later the health officer examines her as she lies in the stem cockpit. He looks up at Cody and smiles “Congratulations, you are going to be parents” Nina sits up with a start.

“Wait, are you sure, can you test…” Nina started to say.

“I know my job ma’am”

Cody falls to his knees “wow! Honey this is the best anniversary ever” he exclaimed. He placed his head in her arms. As a serenade group appeared and started to sing.