New Additions

I had a busy work this week. The company had decided to hire two IT guys. The last guy had left the firm two months ago. He didn’t even give a notice or anything. He just didn’t show up for work that day only calling to tell us he would not be coming back. The IT department had recommended the company hire two guys since the work had increased two-folds since we installed a new system for the office.

The HR suggested we place an advert for the vacancy in the local dailies. It was a bit expensive but it would give us a lot of reach to the wide demographic of people who read the paper daily. My boss, Mrs. Wright was against us getting the new employees through the Employment Agencies since its really costly and may delay the whole process.

I searched for the newspapers contacts via the internet on the website. I called the sales office for the most read daily and inquired about advertising costs. The figure was not as high as I figured so forwarded the typed words for the advert and paid via a cheque. The advert was to be printed the next day.

Early the following day, I bought the newspaper and checked how the advert came out. It was as I wanted. The advert was placed on the first page of classifieds and the company name was not mentioned. By around two o’clock, my inbox was full with applications coming in. The advert seemed to have attracted a lot of interested people. I went through some of the applications and shortlisted them to a figure around ten. I showed the HR the final list. She was impressed but she thought it would be best if we called in the head of IT, Fred, to come and screen the list to about five who would be contacted later on for interviews.

Fred came in and gave his opinion on how we would take in the candidates. We decided to call in the ones who had a bit of experience of about two years. The date set for the interviews was for this Friday. It was only two days away. Since we really needed to fill the vacancy as soon as possible, Friday was the perfect date for it.

On Friday morning, I set up the boardroom to be used for the interviews. Three of us, Fred, the HR and I were the ones to conduct the interviews. The candidates were expected to arrive from 10am. I was hopeful that we would get a good candidate and end this process. I went back into my office and worked on some work that I had. After some time, the phone rang.

“Excuse me but the candidates are here.” The secretary said.

“Thank you; please show the first one to the boardroom in five minutes.” I replied and hanged up.

I alerted the HR and called Fred from the extension and asked him to meet us at the boardroom. The first candidate was a young man aged twenty four. He had a Diploma from a well-known college with two years’ experience. He seemed confident enough. He answered the questions well. The second candidate was a lady. This would be interesting since the IT department had no female. I was impressed with her but she didn’t perform well at some of the questions. The third and fourth candidates flanked out from the first questions they were asked. The fifth candidate performed fairly well. We promised all of them to call them and let them know on how they had performed. We were left with the tedious work of discussing would best fit in the organization.

Baby?

“So you think we can start trying for a baby?” Fred asked when we made love that night.

“Huh?” I responded.

“I think it’s time we started thinking about having a baby.” He said.

“I was rather enjoying the adventure.” I replied. “Having a baby is a task.”

“I know. We can just enjoy the lovemaking until the baby comes.” He said.

“Are you ready for one?” I asked.

“I think I am. We are at a happy moment of our lives and the little one can as well as enjoy. What do you think?” he asked.

“I think it’s a bit soon.”

“Kate, but it might not happen right away. Just try to enjoy the moment and everything will fall in place.” He said running his fingers on my hair.

“I know.” I said. “I have been on contraceptives for a while now and guess I’ll have to stop.”

“I hope I am not pushing you into this.”

“No, you are not. It was about time anyway.” I reassured him.

“Good.” He added. “Guess it won’t hurt to start practicing.”

He proceeded to kiss my lips and it was then that I automatically knew what he meant.

We both laughed and started foreplay.

Ann and I met the following day after work at a cupcakes shop. As we waited for our orders, we took time to catch up on each other lives. It seemed like a lot of stuff had happened that I wasn’t aware of.  Apparently, Ann had a scare a few days ago when she spotted some blood stains on her underwear. She went into shock and ran hysterically to Mike. They went to hospital and got checked out but luckily it wasn’t something serious. Ann also told me how her cravings have increased especially during the night times.

“I am really craving junk food.” Ann said. “I can’t stop eating them.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“I really crave French fries especially at night. It is so bad that it has already caused friction between Mike and me. I keep on waking him up at midnight demanding them!”

 “Are you serious?” I asked.

“Very serious.”  She replied “There have been several instances where he actually went and bought them for me.”

“What?”

“Yea, it is really hard to control the craving. If I don’t have the food, I turn into a mad woman.”

“So how is the pregnancy?”

“I can’t wait to pop out the kid. It is really tiring especially right now. Only a few weeks to go then I can relax!”

“You call having a baby relaxing?” I asked. “You are in for a shock!”

“But I am tired!”

“I know. Days are going so fast and in no time, you will have the bundle of joy.” I consoled her.

“Thank you. On that note, why haven’t they brought our cupcakes?” She shouted. “Can’t they see a pregnant woman here?”

We laughed out loud. Clearly, this woman has issues.

“I will miss taking advantage of being pregnant. It has saved me a lot!” Ann said pointing to her tummy.

Morning After

I know most of you are wondering why I made that hasty decision to forgive Fred. It was quick. Honestly, I missed him. I missed my best friend. I wanted my marriage to work and not be brought down by that issue. I remember the advices my mum and aunties gave me before the wedding. They told me, marriage is work in progress. It’s an institution that is meant to be worked on between two people and most of the time we won’t agree on something. I had to be patient for my marriage to work and that is what I am doing; but this does not mean I will take shit from him.

The day after Valentines, we chose to go for dinner at a local restaurant. It was a start on giving the relationship the boost it needed. It was Fred who gave the idea and together, we dressed up and enjoyed the night. I wore a red short dress while he was dressed in black. It was romantic all right. The candles, the reserved table made me so happy. When we went back home, I gave my all to him. My body was yearning for him. The kisses ignited my flames and I kissed him back hard. His large arms cupped my waist and lifted me off the floor to the bed. The clothes came off quickly and together we made love. It was slow but pleasurable. It was just what I needed.

The next morning, I was woken up by Fred when he called my name. I opened up my eyes and saw him with a tray. Breakfast was arranged and he placed it by the bed.

“Morning honey.” He said and kissed me on the forehead.

“Morning.” I replied while smiling. “This is a nice surprise.”

“I thought you would like it.” He replied.

“Yes I do.  Thank you very much.”

I took a bit on the cereal. I looked up to Fred and found him watching me. I giggled. I was blushing.

“What?” I asked covering my mouth with my left hand.

“You really are beautiful.” He said.         

“Aaaww..”

“You had a good night?” he asked.

“Yes I did.” I replied. “And you made it happen.”

We both laughed.

“I had a great night too. I had really missed you.”  He said.

We continue speaking sweet nothings to each other until I finished my breakfast. I got up then decided to go take a shower. Fred got a little naughty and decided to follow me to the bathroom. His morning boner was already up. We had a couple of minutes to ourselves getting a dose of morning sex before dressing up. This set me up on a good mood for that day. I couldn’t stop smiling.  

Valentines

I was back at work by the second week of January. Just as I expected, it was boring! All the employees were back to their usual work stations but it seemed their minds were elsewhere. Mrs. Wright did not report to work that week. I kept on looking at the calendar each and every day hoping January would come to an end quickly.

As days dragged on and on, end of the month finally arrived. The accounts department started preparing salaries for guys early and by 30^th, most of us were paid. Our department didn’t handle a lot of work since most of our work we did before we closed last year. By this time, Mrs. Wright had already returned back to work and taken control of the operations.

Fred and I still had our issues, a month later. Trust seemed like a foreign word to me in our relationship these days. I couldn’t hold on to anything he said to me. We lived like two roommates. We had only had sex once since we came back. I seemed to repel towards him whenever he moved his body next to mine in bed. No one thought of bringing up the subject. We talked about the normal stuff but avoided talking on how or relationship was bordering a silent war.

The month of February came and as quickly as the days came, Valentines knocked on the door. That valentine’s morning, I woke up as usual and prepared breakfast for us. I went to the bathroom and had a shower. Fred was still struggling to wake up as I came back to our room to dress up. He slowly dragged his body and got ready. We had breakfast together before driving to work.

As we stepped in the office, I noticed that the receptionist in a good mood. On her table, there was a big bouquet of flowers.  She greeted us joyfully then handed me a rose.

“Thank you dear.” I said.

“You welcome…happy valentines.” She shouted.

Fred suddenly banged his hands on the table then clicked. He walked away and went to his office. I was stunned so I followed him to find out what was wrong.

“Fred, what was all that about?” I asked referring to him banging the table.

“Nothing really!” he replied taking a seat.

“Fred!”

“It’s just that i forgot today was valentines!” he mumbled.

“Huh? Is that all?” I asked.

“Yes.” He replied.

I walked back to my office. I was angry he forgot about today but the events happening in our lives might have caused it. I decided not to make a big fuss about it and concentrate on work. After about thirty minutes later, I got a text from Fred.  The text was asking me if I could spare time to have lunch with him. I replied yes. It doesn’t hurt to try.

 We went for lunch at a restaurant near the office. It was a lavish hotel. After we had placed our order, Fred started off the conversation. He apologized for the mistakes he had done. He mentioned the calls he had been receiving during the holidays were from a bad decision he had made and promised to change.

“We can’t go on living like this Kate. I need you. I need you back to my life.” Fred said holding my hands.

I was silent.

“Please! I am sorry for making you suffer from my bad actions but please forgive me so that we can move forward.”

“It’s okay.” I replied. “But promise me you won’t repeat that.”

“I would be stupid to repeat that.”

“I hope you will remember that the next time.” I replied.

The food was served and we started eating.

Shopping

On the second day after we returned from my parents, I did some cleaning at the apartment. The house had gathered some dust since we left and some clothes needed to be washed. Fred had already left the house to go and meet his pal from work in town. I was so happy when he left. I needed some time to myself too. After I was done with the chores, I prepared some salad and ate it.

I looked over at the clock hanging on the wall. It was 2pm. I was bored. I didn’t have any new movies in the house so I just relaxed on the couch while listening to music. I picked up my phone and went through my twitter account. After I was done, I decided to call Ann and see what she was doing. Maybe we could spend some time with each other.

“Hey Ann.”  I said over the phone.

“Hey dear, how are you?” Ann responded.

“I’m doing okay.” I replied.                        

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“I am so bored. Fred left the house to go see a colleague from work and I don’t have anything else to do.”

“I also have nothing to do. Mind if we go shopping?”

“Yes, that would be a great idea.” I replied.

“Cool! Then get ready and meet me at my apartment.”

I quickly had a shower then wore a funky top with some skinny jeans. As I was leaving the house, I noticed the keys to the new car. Fred had not left with it. I picked them up and drove to Ann’s house with the new car. How else could I enjoy the present if I don’t do a drive in it? I texted her and she came down the stairs towards where I was standing.

“Wow, nice car!” She shouted.

“Yea, it was the gift that I was telling you about.”

“It is a beautiful car.” She added. “Are we going shopping with it?”

“Yea, get it.”

We drove to town and got a place where we could park the car. We alighted and started walking towards the business district. Ann was in a purple dress top with some black tights. She had on some ballet shoes. Her belly was really huge. It seemed that she always looked different every time I saw her.

“So give me the whole story.” Ann said.

“What story?” I asked.

“What happened between you and Fred?” she asked.

“Oh that. A lot happened.” I replied.

“Details please?”

As I recounted the story to her on what went on, I felt the pain again. Ann was also making weird expressions with her now fat face of disapproval. I had put on a strong face trying to pretend nothing happened but talking about it now made it seem it had happened.

“I’m so sorry Kate.” Ann said patting me on my back.

“Thanks.”

“Sometimes men act silly at times. We just have to be strong to take it all.”

We entered the first shop and started looking at the clothes hang up. Most of the clothes here were for expectant mothers so Ann got a little overjoyed on seeing this. She tried a few dresses. I suggested she takes the black and white dress. It fitted her better and could accommodate her growing belly. She agreed and paid for the dress.

We did several rounds at the shops and I also managed to get a black pencil skirt. After about three hours, we went to have a snack at one of the several eateries. The day was really beautiful. The sun was just disappearing on the horizon. It was the cue for us. We needed to get home.