He went into the room as Lacey had instructed, he searched around the room waiting for the dramatic announcement only to be hit with silence. " Lacey?" He called in case this was a trap to make sure that he was following instructions. He didn't sit so that she won't complain of her bedsheet being creased lately..
Lacey walked into the room and was surprised to see Mark in her room.
" What are you doing here?" She queried.
Mark knew that it was a trap, " You asked me to come." He said.
" I didn't ask you to come... I spoke about you getting some rest as early as possible. I don't know how that ever translated into you being here."
" I'll just leave." Mark said and turned to the door.
" Let's discuss."
" What do you want to discuss?" He asked her, she didn't think that it was absurd that she wanted to talk to him, " I must have stepped into an alternate universe." He mumbled underneath his breath.
" What if we get a grant for you to begin a business?" She asked him and Mark looked taken back at the statement, " Yeah, I figured that you are good at cooking, so what's stopping you from making insane money from it? We know how much chefs are paid too."
"I don't want to become a chef"
"Why?" She asked in a scandalous tone, why was he rejecting the offer that is going to take him places? " Don't tell me that you are thinking of remaining in this position because I chose to give you the last chance." She said.
"No, that's not me. I don't want to be a public chef," Mark refuted. he wanted to have real friends, and a life not like too many things just to cloud to say to people and they wall.
" You might just be as good as dead to me then, it's either I find a way to help you rather remain that way." She responded. " Your mates are out there making sure that things are going on well in their lives, here you are complacent and happy spending my hard earned money, and you expect me to be happy with you? Where is that even done?" She queried him.
" See this bracelet, Austin, my colleague , was the one who gave it to me. How would he have been able to give me this expensive gift if he wasn't working." She kissed her teeth, " Mark, it's as if you don't understand what I'm saying." She moved closer to him and touched his arm sending shivers down his spine,
" Believe me when I say that I want the best for you but you are making it extremely difficult for me, for everyone to help you. This is one of the reasons my mother dislikes you. If you were a father would you like your daughter to marry a jobless son? Let's be frank here." She said.
He sucked in a harsh breath as he looked at her, never in his life did he expect that his wife would call him this useless. " It's fine." He said.
"No, it's not. I don't know why you like shying away from the gospel truth. I don't want you to feel offended and I'm sorry if you do but I'll tell you that I won't allow you to continue the same way you were. Meet me halfway, let's work on something together at least to prove everyone wrong that you can be someone in life." Lacey spoke.
Mark studied her, her heart was racing fast, she was on a roll tonight and it seemed like she was happy with herself to be able to let out what she actually felt and he didn't pick the slightest offense, instead he was happy that she was happy.
Lacey grabbed his hands, " Say something."
" I will try to get a job that will make you proud." He said and walked away.
That night, the words kept replaying in Mark's mind. So, she was receiving gifts from other men, well he didn't blame her. When she was not able to get it from him what was she supposed to do?
Good for nothing fool. The meaning of his words slapped him in the face and that was all the motivation he needed to push forward.
Tomorrow, he will dust off his CV and begin to search for a job.
That same night, Lacey was unable to sleep properly. Only one thought raged in her mind. One of these days, she hoped that Mark didn't commit suicide due to her words, they could be piercing though.
Although the truth was not intended to be pleasant, in hindsight, she might have said that in a better way instead of talking so brashly. It wasn't her fault because she just spoke from her heart.
' I guess my mom and I bear a common trait." She concluded and decided to sleep. She would apologize to him later if she felt like it.
Mark tossed and turned in bed unable to sleep. His eyes were dry as a desert and he decided to go take a walk outside. His throat constricted, and anger rose up in him. Anger for the position he was, anger at the way his mother-in-law spoke to him, the way his life was.
He would never have imagined that he would be in this situation and now he was thinking of the best way to get out of it.
What if he truly began the job? Would he be as successful as she claimed it would be? Anyway, it wasn't because of her, he was going to make it work to prove her family wrong and make a name for himself.
He marched downstairs to get some cup of water, maybe that would help ease the knot that budded in his throat. He looked around and saw that the garden door was open.
Who was awake by this time that would open this door? Or did he forget to close it that time.