Chapter 8

Dari was homesick. She missed her family so much that her heart hurts. this was the longest she had stayed without hearing from her father or seeing the rest of the family.

Dari called her sister Lily and asked her to talk to their father and plead with him to accept her back into the family.

The next day she was surprised to get a call from her father himself. It was a short call, he had simply told her to be there on Sunday for her niece's birthday.

The rest of the week went by slowly for Dari as she fearfully anticipated the family get-together the coming Sunday. She was sick throughout the week, and always found herself head buried in the toilet bowl retching her guts out it was pure torture.

She wondered how long it would take before her boss and colleagues started to suspect something was not right with her.

Given the record of them always being all up in her business and the fact that they are physically and mentally incapable of not sticking their nose where it does not belong and minding their own business, definitely it won't be long before they catch on.

From the looks of things, Dari suspected rumours of her pregnancy were starting to go around the office. She was starting to get weird looks from her colleagues, and just the other day, her boss weirdly asked her if she was ill.

The question had caught her off guard. In the two years, she had worked as an assistant for her boss, she had never asked her if she was fine or made an attempt to show she cared in any way, nor had she passed up any opportunity to demean her.

Her morning sickness was starting to affect her job. Lately, she has been making a lot of mistakes at work. Just the other day, she had mistakenly moved three hundred items to work personnel instead of thirty items. She knew she had to get her acts together sooner than later before it cost her her job.

Sunday, she went over to her parent's house, it was her niece's birthday and as usual, the entire family were together.

It was only a happy coincident that the birthday fell on Sunday, because if it had fallen on any other day she would have had to make two drives in one week to her sister Jenny's house, and then to her parent's house, and she was not if she would have been let in or thrown out.

Dari was exhausted. somehow, regardless of the number of hours she spent sleeping, she always woke up tired.

When she got there, everyone was already at the house. As expected, she was the centre of attention when she got there. No doubt they were worried about the outcome of her talk with father

It was obvious from the way everyone with the exemption of her father hugged her that they missed her as much as she missed them.

Afraid the information might get to her father and cause more trouble between the two of them, she had kept the recent developments with her Baby Daddy from them since they were not aware of the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy yet.

Besides such information would not help her case with her father. This was her chance to make everything right between her and her father. She was already on thin ice.

Just then, the celebrant, her eighth years old niece Megan, ran up to meet her.

"Auntie Dari, are you having a baby?" She asked innocently with childlike curiosity.

Dari looked at her and smiled. "Where did you hear that, my love?"

"Well, I overheard my mommy and my daddy talking about it last night," she said rather shyly, but I was not eavesdropping I promise ."

" I know is wrong to listen to adult conversation if they are not talking to me." she was half scared, not wanting her parents to know she had listened to their conversation.

"It's okay, I won't tell." Dari smiled at her with reassurance that her secret was safe with her. She watched as her little tense shoulder relaxed after the reassurance.

"Are you having a baby?" her curiosity was not yet satisfied since her questions were yet to be answered, and she needed an answer.

"Yes honey, I'm having a baby,"

Dari watched as She started jumping up, her face filled with the kind of happiness that could only be seen in a child, it was contagious, Dari smiled as she watched her jumping around, her young innocent face filled with laughter.

If only her entire family were half as happy as Megan was after hearing the news of her pregnancy she wouldn't be worried.

Her elder sister Lily walked over to her. She was carrying a glass of fresh app juice Dari's favourite.

" What's with her?" she was referring to Megan, who was still celebrating.

"Well, I told her I'm having a baby," Dari said, smiling.

" How are you feeling?" she asked as she took a seat and sat down beside Dari.

"I'm alright, the morning sickness is bad but I'm alright, the doctor said it will probably end by the third month of the pregnancy."

Dari felt guilty for putting her family through this, she felt the tension between her and her father she had no doubt that everyone felt it too, and it made them uncomfortable.

Her father and her mother came over to her side.

"Dari, your mother and I were talking,"

"About what Dad?" Dari knew something was up from the way they were acting.

"Well, you live a little far from us, and living alone in your apartment, in the condition you are in now, it is only natural that we are worried about you." Her father continued, holding her mother's hand as a show of a united front.

"We think is best if you move in with us, you need someone to take care of you in your condition, what if there is a medical emergency and there is no one to take care of things or take you to the hospital?" her mother joined in, supporting her father.

It was only then that Dari realised that this was an ambush, Lily coming over to her with her favourite juice in hand was to gauge her mood or put her in a better mood if necessary to make her more accepting of whatever they had to say.

Her parents had come over when they noticed it was safe to do so, probably after observing for a while, "well played" she thought to herself knowing she has been cornered and the was no avoiding the discussion.

Dari knew she had to be careful not to add to her long list of offences.

"Mom, Dad, I know you are all worried about me, but I promise you I'm alright, and besides that, I can't move in with you even if things are not alright."

Dari knew the only way to get out of this was to convince them she was better off remaining in her apartment.

She could tell the only reason they wanted her to move in was so they can watch her every move.

They had thought this through, putting into consideration every defence she might come up with.

"Here is too far from my office, which means my stress would only increase considering the traffic and Caroline's house is not far from mine if an emergency was to occur she will be able to help." Dari knew she was running out of excuses.

"Your Dad or I can drop you off at work and pick you up every day if need be, and Caroline's house being close by is not the same as having someone in the house with you."

Knowing her parents, it was clear they would not be dropping their argument anytime soon.

"Okay, fine, can I have some time to think about it, at least?" It was clear to Dari this was an argument she was never going win, not when she was up against her parents and her siblings.

judging from the way Jenny and Jess avoided eye contact during the whole discussion and from the way their Husbands kept the children from disturbing them, it was preplanned.

Jess was not the type to keep away from any discussion unless she had been told to.

Seeing that she was outnumbered, the only way out for Dari was a promise to think about it and that seems to satisfy her parents, and had no doubt they will keep on pressuring her until she agreed to move in.

So they went ahead to cut the cake and present Megan with her birthday presents and watched as she eagerly opened every one of them.

When her father did not bring up the issue of the child and the child's father she thought it was over, soon she realised she misjudged the situation and had jumped to a conclusion too soon.

Her Father called the adults together. it was then Dari realised it was time to talk about her situation.

"I'm aware of the tension, Dari's situation has caused in the family, but to err is human and to forgive is divine." He looked at everyone to make sure they were listening, then he turned to Dari.

"Dari you will be accepted back into the family, if you agree when the child is born he will be given up for adoption".