Chapter 17

The table was only about two and half meters long and even though no one sat side by side, they still were not too far away from each other.

James and Diane sat at the oval ends of the table while Paul and Pete sat at the sides of the table.

"It's good that you boys could make it," James said, breaking the silence at the table since they all sat down.

"We should have more family gatherings such as this where we can talk about stuff," James continued.

"That might be hard," Pete said.

"And why is that?" his dad asked.

Without saying a word, Pete who was looking at his father turned his face forward to look at Paul for some seconds before turning his head back to look at his father.

Everyone at the table understood what Pete meant and they all laughed, including Paul.

"I would like Paul to tell us about his work and life while my beautiful wife serves us. I'm really starving."

Just then, unlike Pete whose face twitched whenever he was angry, Paul's hands shook. His hands were under the table, and he controlled himself before anyone could tell what was happening.

"Sorry dear," Doris said to her husband, as she began dishing out everyone's food on the table.

"So, Paul, hope you're doing well at work?" James asked.

"Nice try, Dad," Paul said. "You can do better than that."

"I don't know what you're talking about," James said.

"So, you're just going to try and pretend like you didn't have a hand in my sacking?" Paul asked.

"Is that what you think," James asked, without a change in his facial expression.

"It's what I know," Paul said, folding his right fingers into a fist and tapping the table with his left index finger.

"Come on son," Doris began to say. She had been thinking of what to say and how best to say it such that Paul won't point a finger at her also.

"Your dad won't do something like that," Doris continued.

"Don't call me son," Paul said to Doris slowly. "Also, you can pretend as much as you want that you don't know anything about it, but you won't be deceiving me."

"This food tastes good," Pete said, pretending to pay no attention to what was happening at the table. He already began to eat from the plate even though Doris was not done with dishing out the food.

"You know," James began to say, paying no mind to Pete. "I love the fact that you decided to try something out on your own but just as some people find out after a very long time, family is all there is. So, when you're done sulking, you should take back your place at the company. There'll always be a place there for you."

Pete did everything possible to ensure that no one knew he was angry. He tried to control his twitching face which he was able to do after a few seconds but not before Paul saw it. Paul gave an imperceptible smile; he had an idea, and it was one that could finally unite himself with his brother.

Doris was done with dishing out the food and they all had begun to eat. It was quiet, a type of gathering where the participants were trying to think well about what they wanted to say.

"And when are you boys going to bring girls home to see us?" Doris asked.

"Not Pete," James said. "He won't be bringing anyone home, at least not anytime soon. Not since he got slapped by one at a restaurant."

Paul was about to burst into laughter, but he stifled it.

"You want more responsibilities, but you can't even take care of the simplest ones. Tell me Pete, how many girls at that office have you taken out on a date at one point in time or the other?"

"Shit happens, Dad," Pete said.

"Aha! Of course, they do!" James said.

"Now, eat up boys," Doris said, looking particularly at James. "The food is getting cold."

They all ate and drank in silence. Pete was the first to be done with his food. He began to tear up the piece of meat in his right hand with his teeth. Paul, who still had some rice on his plate, gave off an aura that he was tired of eating. He drank from the bottle of water on the table and rested his back on the chair afterwards.

When they were all done eating, James cleared his throat and spoke.

"Moment of truth," he began to say with a broad smile on his face. "The main reason my wife wanted to have this dinner is because she has a big announcement to make. Actually, we have a big announcement to make.”

Paul and Pete, who were both looking at their dad, turned their heads to look at their stepmother and they saw her beaming.

“He’s going to tell you all about it,” she said, nodding in the direction of her husband.

"You may or may not have wondered why we both don't have kids," James said, spreading his arms. "That's because there were complications and we decided to give up."

James paused for some time, allowing his words to sink in.

"Kids or no kids, we love each other, and we love you boys, and nothing can come in the way of that," James said.

"Recently," Doris began, "and when I say recently, I mean last year, we decided to try out in vitro fertilization. I was skeptical at first because I didn't want to be disappointed if it didn't work after trying it out but then, I heard from some people who did it successfully and also read about it and decided to give it a try."

Paul and Pete still said nothing. They were visibly surprised, and Doris couldn't tell if excitement or resentment was behind it.

"What she's trying to tell you boys is that she's pregnant and she'll soon have a baby come out of her soon," James said.

"Wow," Pete said.

"I think the word you're looking for is congratulations," Paul said to Pete.

"Tell me it's a girl," Pete said to no one in particular. "We have enough boys around as it is."

"It's a girl," Doris said smiling.

"Fuck yeah!" Pete exclaimed.

"You will have to watch that language when she arrives," Doris said.

"Don't worry, I have time to practice," Pete replied.

"Congratulations," Paul said, facing Doris. "I'm also really glad I won't have to deal with a brother like this guy," he said, nodding towards Pete.

"Trust me, bro, the feeling is mutual," Pete sneered.

"I'm really happy for you," Paul said, still talking to Doris.

"Are we celebrating this shit or what?" Pete asked. "And don't tell me that's the food we just ate."

"It's not, we've got wine," James said as he stood up and headed towards the kitchen.