Dysfunctional Family - Season 1 - Episode 30

4 years ago

Dysfunctional Family - Season 1 - Episode 30

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“I think I’ve got a good idea, Alice. Instead of you sitting there doing God knows what on your phone, why don’t we hold hands and pray for aunt’s well being?”
“It’s a C-Section, Lubesha, women go through those everyday so quit being dramatic and calm down. Gosh!”
Lubesha couldn’t seem to stop himself from pacing back and forth while Alice whom he’d literally forced to come to the hospital was busy chatting with guys on Facebook. If it were up to her, she’d rather stay home and watch paint dry rather than sit in the waiting area awaiting news about her b-----d sibling’s birth. Maybe Amos would have been happy to be here but poor guy was rotting away in some jail cell back in Mukobeko Maximum Prison. If you ask Alice, he deserved whatever was happening to him and so did Juliet.

Lubesha on the other hand was seriously worried about his aunt and call him paranoid but he feared the worst could happen so he grabbed Alice’s phone and pocketed it.
“Stand,” he ordered her. “Let’s pray.”
“Is it a forcing matter?” retorted Alice, spreading her hand. “My phone, please.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself. This is your mother we are talking about, Alice! You’re fortunate enough to have both your parents alive at your age. Take a good look at me, my parents will clock ten years in their graves a few months from now so you’ll stand and we’ll pray for aunt’s well-being. This is not a request, by the way.”

“Fine,” she was irritated and didn’t like the way people were staring at them so she stood and they held hands. “Happy now?”
“Let’s close our eyes and pray,” Lubesha said, ignoring her sarcasm.

Hardly had Lubesha finished saying his prayer when Donald emerged from the O.R looking restless. Both Lubesha and Alice rushed towards him.

“How’s aunt doing?”
“The truth? Not so well. She’s given birth to a healthy son while her on the other hand is losing a lot of blood and will need a blood transfusion asap. Her blood group is AB negative and I doubt we have any in the blood bank,” Donald paused to wipe sweat off his face. “Without the blood transfusion, I’m afraid the worst can happen.”

“I’m AB negative,” announced Lubesha. “I’m willing to donate blood.”
Donald took a long look at his nephew and then patted him on the shoulder. “You’re a good man.”

Donald called a nurse who ran all necessary tests on Lubesha and then deemed him fit enough to donate blood which was later tranfused into Juliet’s system.

“She’ll survive,” Donald told Lubesha and Alice several hours later. He was exhausted and his team and him had just transferred Juliet to the E.R. “The baby’s in the nursary,” he added. “Any of you wanna see him?”

“Pass,” Alice pursed her lips while Lubesha drew out a deep breath and said, “I do.”
Donald ushered him to the nursary and showed him Juliet’s baby. Meanwhile once back outside, he said to an upset Alice, “Just because am not the father doesn’t mean you have to neglect your young brother, you know. He’s your half brother whether you like it or not, Alice.”

“I know..and that’s why it hurts so much. He is and always will be a reminder of mum’s infidelity, Dad. And I don’t think I can deal with that.”

“You’ll just have to because he’s an innocent child, a victim of circumstances. Use Lubesha as your source of inspiration if need be. Take a good look at all the hell your mother has put him through and yet he selflessly saved her life today. She’s never done anything really bad to you in my opinion so don’t punish an innocent baby for your mother’s wrongs.” In the end, Alice softened her heart and went to pay her young brother a visit. She found Lubesha holding him in his arms.

“I always wanted to have a young brother or sister,” he began. “But mum and Dad seemed content with me so-”

“God finally answered your prayers then,” she abruptly cut his speech, her eyes watering. “He’s going to be our young brother.”

They hugged and Alice broke down.
Donald who was watching them through the glass door wiped a stray tear. Oh how his heart ached. He wished the baby was his and maybe it was because of that wish that he later took a sample of the baby’s hair and one of his and asked a trusted friend to run a DNA test. Now all he had to do was wait for the results.

When Juliet came to, Alice was seated beside her, the baby was asleep in it’s crib.
“Hi,” Alice said flatly.
“Hi,” Juliet’s throat was dry. “My baby?”

“He’s fine,” Alice pointed at the crib. “He’s taking a nap though. It took so much effort to finally get him to stop crying and sleep.”

Juliet turned over and watched her baby sleep. She was falling more in love with him with each passing second.

“Your father and Lubesha,where are they?”
“They both went home to freshen up. Lubesha spent the night here and I literally had to force him to go home this morning, mum.”

Juliet’s eyes teared up. “He did?”
“Yes, mum. After everything you’ve put him through, he still prayed for your well being and even donated blood. Had it not been for him doing so maybe you’d be in hell right now, not that that is a bad thing. It’s just that my brother here needs you and so do I.”

“I’m sorry,” the words rolled off Juliet’s tongue with honesty. “For everything I’ve done to you, your father and Lubesha.”
“I have nothing to forgive you for while Dad and Lubesha do so good luck with that. I just want us to forget all our fights and forge ahead like a normal family should, mum.”
Juliet wanted that too and knew it was quite too late though. Take a good look at Amos whose life wouldn’t ever be the same if or when he gets out of prison.

☆☆☆

Juliet was breastfeeding the baby when Lubesha showed up with fruits, ice cream and yogurt.

“Hi, aunt,” he was all smiles as he placed the foodstuffs aside and pecked her cheek. He then pulled himself a chair and sat. “How you doing?”
“Fine. You?”
“I’m cool. And the baby?”
“He’s fine too.”
She meticulously placed the baby aside once he was asleep.

Lubesha asked her what she wanted to eat and Juliet chose ice cream.

He was watching her eat when she asked him, “How do you do it?”

“Do what?”
“Be so kind hearted?”
The question was difficult to answer cause he didn’t know how to put how he was so kind hearted into words so he said, “That’s how and who I am, I guess.”

“Wow,” Juliet was amazed and emotional at the same time. “I wish I was more like you.”

“God made you like that, aunt.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better, Lubesha. We both know this. God isn’t in control of my actions, I am. And I’ve wronged you for so long and you repay me with kindness? Who does that? You should hate me, wish the worst upon me and maybe even curse me but please don’t love me.”
“I love you nonetheless because you’re my aunt, my mother’s elder sister and it’s because of you that I am even where I am today. It’s through you that I became acquainted with uncle Donald so I technically owe you everything that I am today.”

His words brought tears to her eyes. “It’s vice versa, I owe you my life. Let me speak,” she pressed when he opened his mouth to retort. “Let me apologize for every wrong I’ve done to you. I know it’s selfish of me to ask for your forgiveness after everything I’ve done to you but I’ll go ahead and do so anyway because that’s who I am. I am a self centred mess and so I ask for your forgiveness, my son.”

The insults, the beatings, him eating stale beans from the dog’s plate, everything came flashing before his eyes and he realised the pain he felt was still raw. That didn’t still cloud Lubesha’s judgement thus he smiled and said to his aunt, “I forgive you.” But forget he didn’t.

Those words meant the world to Juliet so she hugged him. “Thank you.”
The hug meant the world to Lubesha.
Juliet had apologized to Alice who had gone out to freshen up and now she had to apologize to Donald. At least then she’d be at peace.

When Donald passed through her ward, Juliet was fast asleep and not wanting to wake her, he went away and never went back. He called for a meeting at his house a fortnight later and once Alice, Lubesha and Juliet who was with the baby were were seated in his living room, Donald decided to announce the purpose of the meeting.

“Two weeks ago after Juliet had her baby, I somehow felt obliged to run a DNA test and I did.”

Juliet felt her heartbeat increase. “Why? When you was so certain he wasn’t yours?”

“Because I so wished he was mine once I la!d eyes upon him.”

“Is he?”
“What do you think?”
Juliet said with a shrug, “Honestly, I don’t know and no longer care. Donald Junior has me and I’ll do everything in my power to ensure he has a good future.”

“Look how that went with Amos, no offense.”

“Enough,” snapped Alice who couldn’t take the suspense and bickering no more. “I assume you have the results already so please quit beating around the bush and tell us if your DNA matched with Donald Junior’s.”

“It did,” replied Donald with a smirk, handing Juliet the results. “Donald Junior is my son and I’ll do everything in my power to gain full custody of him. Lord help us if we leave another human in the care of a woman as despicable as Juliet is.”

☆☆☆
It was Lubesha’s wedding day and he was marrying a woman he didn’t love but had no choice anyway. Both the bride and groom were gloomy as they stood before the altar.
The Pastor was saying, “If there’s anyone who has reason to oppose this union, please come forth or forever hold your peace.”
Silence.

“Alright. I hereby-”
“I do!” echoed a vaguely familiar voice and when Lubesha turned, he couldn’t believe his eyes. There she was, his first love. In flesh and blood. She still looked dashing after so many years.

But what reason did she have to oppose his marriage and how did he even get here in the first place?