Chapter 6

Poisonous Delicacy

"Leticia?" Rowan called surprised that she was calling this late.

"Hi, Rowan, I am sorry to call so late but I found your handkerchief in my bag. Can we meet sometime so I can give it to you?" She asked in a low voice. She didn't even have to fake this. She was drained from the call she had just taken with Kelvin.

"Oh..." Rowan trailed. Usually, he would have asked her to forget about such petty things. He couldn't even count the number of handkerchiefs he had. In truth, he didn't need it. But, he wanted to meet her one more time as well. He wanted to watch her red hair bounce under the light and her blue eyes shine down on him.

"Okay, Let's see tomorrow afternoon for another lunch. Same place?" He asked.

“I think it is a nice idea,” she replied.  Rowan noticed her voice was cranky and he wondered what could be wrong with her.

“I hope everything is alright with you?” he inquired.

“Oh I am alright over here,” she tried to sound as calm and as normal as she possibly could.

“You know you can always share whatever that is bothering you with me,” Rowan added.

She thought of trying to tell him her real problem maybe he could be compassionate enough to help her and end this drama once and for all, but she wiped off the thought immediately. The last thing that could happen to her now was for her to screw all her plans up.

“I am fine Rowan. It is just that a day like this doesn’t always end happy for me, it is one of the saddest days of my life.”

Rowan could relate to her plight. It was the same way he felt every day he remembered his wife's death. But he had to admit, today, was a different feeling entirely, he had met his wife in the person of Leticia. A smile lingered on his lips as the thought came to his mind.

“I deeply understand how you feel right now. I can’t but imagine how your grand uncle was to you when he was alive. I can feel the bond between you two," he said sympathetically.

“I do appreciate your concern, you are one of the few persons that had ever bothered about my grand uncle since his departure. Others don't find it necessary for me to think about him. I do appreciate you," Leticia said. She was only being sincere with the last statement and if Rowan was paying attention he could have picked it up in her voice.

"I think I will have to let you go now so that I will not waste your time any further."

Rowan thought of how he could tell her that she wasn’t wasting his time but finding comfort with her time but he needed to take things one at a time and hope things work out.

“Okay, I will leave you for now. Do have a wonderful night and I hope to see you tomorrow,” he said.

“Do have a wonderful night too. See you tomorrow,” she replied.

Leticia just imagined how things would have been different if her mother was alive. She thought of how energetic and vibrant her mother had been when she was alive. They would have worked together.

“Mom I need you more than ever before. This is too much for me to bear. If only you were alive it would have been easy for all of us but it is too much for one person to carry.”

She suddenly heard the sound of footsteps and quickly used the back of her hand to clean her face and tried to behave herself. It was Brenda.

“Here you are. What are you doing here all by yourself?” Brenda asked with a smile on her face.

“Nothing I am just trying to catch some air?" Leticia replied.

“You are trying to catch some air. What is wrong with the air in the room?" Brenda asked sarcastically.

“Brenda will you ever change, for real will you?”

“That is not what I am asking you here, you came back smiling and full of joy and in the next minute, you are outside trying to catch some air. You are not giving me the benefit of doubt here. But don’t worry, I got my eyes on you,” she said as she pointed her two fingers close to her eyes and then at Leticia.

“Why were you looking for me?” Leticia interrupted

“Are you seeing someone?” Brenda enquired.

“And how is that your business and wait are that why you are looking for me?" Leticia asked.

“Are you pulling my legs now, you should know why I am looking for you!" She replied.

Leticia shook her head in disagreement. “No, I don’t have an idea.”

Leticia knew that whenever Brenda came looking for her it was either she was hungry or she wanted to gossip.

“Are you for real? Okay, I am hungry, can you go cook us something to eat please?" She added. Leticia's thoughts were right.

“If you are hungry, you know your way to the kitchen; go get yourself something to eat,” Leticia suggested.

“Really! Fine, I will go cook us something to eat then,” Brenda said and left immediately.

“Cook us what? I was only joking don’t go near that kitchen not this night please," Leticia called after her.

Brenda preparing the meal was the last thing she wanted this night. The last time Brenda had managed to cook she almost burned down the house with a special delicacy meal which turn out to be poison in the making and she not only cooked poison, but she also destroyed the kitchen. They couldn't eat any homemade food for weeks after that.

Ever since she prepared that delicacy Leticia vowed never to allow her in the kitchen again. She was not only good at preparing nonsense but she was also talented in destroying the arrangement of things. She never put things where she met them. That was why each time Leticia was around she would always want her to do the cooking and when she didn’t want to oblige she would threaten her that she would do the cooking. Leticia had no other choice but to prepare the meal even though at times she may not have the strength, but her poison was better than Brenda's delicacy.