Chapter 35

The doorbell rang and Sonia rushed to open the door. Her new bosses were sometimes unfriendly and she didn't want to get on their nerves.

"What have you been doing since morning?" Mrs Baker asked her.

"Well,errmm I..." Sonia stammered at her question. Mrs Baker and her husband sometimes asked unusual questions and they demanded outright answers.

"Hurry up and get ready. We are expecting a teacher to come and take you through home lessons." Mrs Baker said.

"Yes Mum, thank you so much. I'll get ready right away." Sonia responded and quickly hurried to get dressed.

Auntie Paulina had been ill for some time and her daughter had asked her to relocate to the South, where she was,in order that she could take care of her by herself. She had therefore decided to give Sonia out for adoption. She didn't want to take the girl with her. Sonia was already thirteen years old, and no couple was willing to adopt a thirteen-year-old. Therefore she decided to give her out as a maid to Mr and Mrs Baker, who were very wealthy too. After taking the money, she relocated to the South.

Sonia was glad she left. She was hopeful that this wealthy couple would be kind enough to take her to school. The couple lived in a very large mansion, and they had many servants. They didn't need a maid however Mrs Baker liked Sonia the moment she set her eyes on her. She saw a responsible and honest person and she decided to take her as her personal maid.

The Bakers had three children who were all boys. The eldest son, Henry, had completed his university education and was waiting for his results.

The second born, Arnold, was in his second year at the university. Whereas the third born, Sylvester, was in his second year in high school.

Henry was very lively and friendly. Arnold was quiet and reserved, whereas Sylvester was proud and full of himself. He always disturbed Sonia and gave her a hard time whenever he was around.

Sonia was grateful that Mrs Baker had decided to look for a lesson teacher for her. She knew her boss wanted to make her become a secretary and she was glad about it. Her aim was to become a lawyer so that justice would be served with regard to her parents. She also wanted to be able to get her sisters back.

She knew becoming a secretary would be a stepping stone for her. She was very determined to study. Later in the day, Miss Hoekema arrived at the bakers' residence. She was the new teacher Mrs Baker had gotten to tutor Sonia.

"You are welcome Miss Hoekema." Mrs Baker said.

"Thank you so much Mrs Baker." She replied.

"So, let's get into business." Mrs Baker began. "This is Sonia Adams. She is thirteen years old now. Take her through the basics and in no time, I'd like her to become my personal assistant or secretary." Mrs Baker added and Miss Hoekema nodded her head in response.

"This is well noted Mrs Baker. I'll do my very best to ensure that she gets to know the basics and becomes your personal assistant in no time." Miss Hoekema replied and Mrs Baker smiled. She was happy about the confidence Miss Hoekema had, and she believed it would help with Sonia's confidence. She had observed that Sonia wasn't confident in herself. She always looked forward to hearing statements of approval from the servants about anything and everything she did.

"So when would classes begin?" Mrs Baker asked Miss Hoekema.

"Well, next week Monday would be okay." She replied.

"Alright, so prepare for next week Monday then." She told Sonia who was seated in one of the sofas.

"Yes Mummy, I'll be ready for Monday then." Sonia responded excitedly. Finally she was going to get access to education, and becoming a personal assistant to Mrs Baker would be a stepping stone for her becoming a lawyer one day. She still had it in mind to look for her sisters. She was very much determined to find them.

Two months passed by, and Sonia was already picking up. Miss Hoekema was very much delighted at her progress.

"Keep it up Sonia, that's so wonderful. I just love how fast you are picking up." She told Sonia after their meeting one day.

Sonia went excitedly to her room after Miss Hoekema left. She saw something unusual about her door.

"I'm sure I closed it before leaving. I'm very sure of it. So who could have opened it down?" She asked herself,as though expecting a response.

She entered the room and saw Arnold in her room. She was very much surprised to see him.

"Arnold, what are you doing in my room?" She asked him.

"You could have at least let me know before entering." She added.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't request permission before entering the room which my parents gave you to be in." He said proudly to Sonia's surprise. She had never seen him that way and it greatly dumbfounded her. Among Mrs Baker's children, he seemed to be the more reserved type and he spoke very little. She wondered what had caused the sudden change in his attitude.

"Okay, I have heard you. However it's still my room and I deserve to be informed before you even think of entering."

She told him and he laughed. He looked at her slender looking body, and she began to feel very uncomfortable. She had grown very beautiful and her breasts were already popping up, firm and rounded.

"Please leave my room." She managed to say and he just continued to look at her lustfully.

"Has anyone ever told you you're beautiful?" He asked her and she was very angry. Among the lessons Miss Hoekema had taught, she also took her through adolescent female lessons, since she had entered into the teenage stage.

"Arnold, you would do yourself a whole lot of good if you left right this minute!" She demanded firmly and sternly, he became afraid. He hadn't seen her bold in that manner before. Something seemed to have changed about her and he was surprised.

"Okay, okay I'm leaving now." He said and quickly left the room. She heaved a sigh of relief and fell on the bed. Then,as though alarmed, she quickly got up to lock the door before hitting the bed again. Arnold's act had greatly surprised her and she told Miss Hoekema in the next lesson.

"Well, Sonia, it is natural for the male adolescent to get attracted to the female adolescent. It doesn't mean they shouldn't control themselves. The male and female adolescents at this stage, feel like having sex. However it is not a good idea if they engage in it because the female could get pregnant, resulting in a teenage pregnancy. She cautioned Sonia.

"Thank you, Miss Hoekema." She said in appreciation.

"When those feelings pop up however, you can engage yourself in an activity like sweeping, mopping and cleaning up, listening to Christian songs and listening to motivational messages. All this would help you to take your mind off sex." She added and Sonia was grateful.

"Thank you so much for this insightful information ,Miss Hoekema." She expressed heartily and Miss Hoekema was glad to be of help.

The months flew by quickly and the three boys were home. They had come for a little holiday and the whole house seemed to be very busy. The servants were constantly on their toes, trying their very best to please their bosses, most especially the three boys.

There was a knock at the door one early morning and Sonia went to open the door. A tall white postman was at the gate.

"Is this the house of Mr and Mrs Baker?" He asked her.

"Yes, this is their house." Sonia responded.

"Good. Do we have anyone who goes by the name Sonia Adams living here?" He asked again and Sonia was surprised, wondering why he'd ask after her.

"Yes Sir, I am Sonia Adams." She replied.

"Oh, that's very good. There's a letter here for you. You would sign here and receive the letter." He said as he brought out a notebook that looked very old, however was still in good condition. He opened to somewhere in the middle of the book, and she realized it had been used for a long time. He pointed at a place where she was to write her name and sign.

"Here, sign right here." He said and beckoned to her to sign. She signed and wrote her name beside it. Afterward, he gave the letter in her name to her.

"Thank you Sir."

She went inside after he left on his motorbike.

"What do you have in your hand?" Mrs Baker asked her after entering the living room. She was startled and didn't know the older woman was there before the postman had arrived. She had been watching everything that had been happening.

"Errrmmm Mum, it's a errmm an envelope." She said.

"Who is the envelope for?" Mrs Baker asked her.

"It is actually for me." She said after calming down.

"Okay that's fine. Would you mind if I have a look at what's inside?" Mrs Baker asked her and she didn't know what to say. She had no idea who had sent the letter, and she also didn't know what information was inside the envelope for her. She assumed Miss Hoekema was the one who had sent the envelope.

"Yes, you can have the envelope, Mum." She said and handed over the envelope to Mrs Baker. Just then Mr Baker entered the living room.

"How are you doing Sonia?" He asked her.

"Very well, thank you, Sir!" She replied heartily. Mr Baker wasn't always at home because of the many businesses he handled. He was quite friendly and firm at the same time.

"What's in your hand Sweetheart?" He asked after sighting the envelope in his wife's hand.

"Well, it's a letter for Sonia. She responded.

"Oh really! Then maybe it's from Auntie Paulina." He guessed.

Mrs Baker opened the envelope and saw a paper inside of it. The paper had about three to four sentences which she read out loud after looking at Sonia's face with a puzzled look.

"Dear Sonia, how are you doing? This is Samuel Goldfield. Kindly call the number behind the paper after you receive this letter. Hope to hear from you soon." Mrs Baker finished reading and turned the back of the paper to see a telephone number boldly written there.

She and her husband looked into Sonia's face with a puzzled look, seeking answers to the letter read.

"Well, come on and sit down. Tell us who Samuel Goldfield or Diamondfield is." Mr Baker said playfully and Mrs Baker smiled.

"Oh dear, you and jokes." Mrs Baker said.

Sonia was in shock and angry at the same time. She wondered how Samuel Goldfield was able to get her location. She assumed he had contacted Auntie Paulina who probably might have given him her address.

"Sonia, please sit." Mrs Baker compelled her to and she obliged. She had been standing there, shocked to the bone about the letter. She wondered why Samuel Goldfield wanted to be in touch with her. She still hated him after all this time. If he hadn't been in the picture, maybe her parents would have still been together.

"So tell us all about this man, and why he is contacting you." Mrs Baker said to her.

Oh how she dreaded the statement made by Mrs Baker. She didn't want to get herself involved with Samuel Goldfield ever again. However it appeared as though she may have to contact him.

"Well, he was a family friend." She told them everything they needed to know about him. She also gave reasons as to why she wouldn't like to connect with him and Mrs Baker sighed deeply. She was lost in thoughts, and so was Mr Baker.

"Well, your story is a very sad one." Mr Baker began. "However, we wouldn't force you to get in touch with the man in question." He added and Mrs Baker nodded her head in agreement. "I think we should leave you to make your own decision. The choice is yours to make."

He stood on his feet to go inside the bedroom. Mrs Baker joined him and spoke up before finally leaving.

"We leave every decision to you Sonia. You can let us know if you need any assistance." She said before exiting the living room. Sonia was left all alone, deep in thought.