Rose of Sharon |Courting Trouble BK 2|

Chapter 25 (Part 1)

At middle age the soul should be opening up like a rose, not closing up like a cabbage. - John Andrew Holmes

In the days that followed Mrs Beufont's move from Crayon city to the capital city, she found that she missed her children dearly. Sure she had a new church to pastor and a new group of youth that made her feel very welcome. Still, she could not help but yearn for the familiar faces and the many friends she had made back in Crayon city. Therefore, when she received the call from Ryan, wanting her to help him in preparing for a baby shower for a very pregnant Katrina, he found her more than willing to help.

He had a plan, he had told her. In the coming days, his new show would open at the capital and to keep it a surprise, he was organising to have Katrina's baby shower at the very last day of the art show.

He was already prepared he told her, but he needed someone to arrange the nitty gritties of everything. Someone who knew him and Katrina, and the journey they had taken to arrive where they were.

Of course, she had mentioned Katrina's grandmother, the older Mrs Maracheli and Ryan had assured her that she was well aware of his plans and supported him fully. However, matters at work would keep her away from the capital for quite a while and that was where she, Mrs. B came in.

How would she organise a lively baby shower that would capture in a moment who Katrina and Ryan was?

Ryan was into art. Katrina on the other hand was a very refined lady. She was classy and her favourite colour was white. She also loved roses. As she thought hard on this, an idea came to her mind and she quickly picked up her phone to place a call through the private line of one Mrs. Maracheli, Katrina's grandmother.

"Nancy? " the phone was picked up on the third ring. "Ryan tells me that you are planning Katrina's baby shower? "

"Yes. Quite so. His hands seem full with caring for his wife, so agreed to help him with the planning. "

"That's good." the woman at the other end of the line replied.

"That is why I was calling. " she went on to explain her plans to Katrina's grandmother and the woman was quite pleased with her arrangements.

"Fine. I will have them shipped out first thing tomorrow morning." with that the call ended and Mrs Beufont went on to choose the decor, settling for gold white and a hint of light pink. Next she looked up a caterer and started on the process of ordering for a cake.

***

"Where are you dragging me off to? " Dominic Maracheli grumbled as his wife and mother pushed him into the waiting chopper in a hurry.

"You will see, you will see. " his wife who was growing more and more obnoxious by the day replied to him even as she physically manhandled him and hurriedly settled him in one of the seats.

"This has nothing to do with that man's show now, does it? "

"That man is your son in law and what happened to family supporting family?"

"Alice?" he called out in warning and the woman had the gall to cover her ears and stick out her tongue at him.

Good Lord! What have I gotten myself into? He wondered even as he stared at her huge belly pressing hard into his side as she reached out for his seat belt.

"I can do it. Rest yourself before your burst your belly and my son with it as you attempt to kidnap me. "

"Aaaw... How very gentlemanly of you. "

"It's the least I can do seeing that you leave me with no other choice. "

"Yeah, yeah, I am a demoness who is taking advantage of my situation and your very kind nature." she grinned back at him and he released a very tired sigh. However they both knew that he enjoyed it. That is, their constant bickering. He was not faking the tired sigh though.

After a long and arduous day at work, spent between meetings and wondering what his mother had been up to for the whole week, his plans for resting up during the weekend seemed to be currently in jeopardy and what for, a blasted art show?

"Don't do it. " his wife nudged his side.

"Do what? "

"You are thinking foul thoughts, I can see it on your face."

"I did no such thing."

"Really? " she lifted up a carefully crafted eyebrow and he looked away from her.

What was she now? A mind reader?

"When you two are done bickering, can we finally take off? "

"We can take off right away." Alice beamed and the older Mrs Maracheli shook her head at the two who seemed more like kids the more this pregnancy continued to progress. However, she had no qualms about it. It was fun to see Alice up and about making her son's life miserable. Miserable, had she not known that he was secretly enjoying every bit of their banter and was only acting disgruntled for appearances sake. She only hoped though, that it would continue to remain this way even after the end of the pregnancy period and if not, the plan that she had set in motion would see to it that he had no choice but to spend more time back at home with his growing family.

He needed to be a better father.

She did not know how much longer she had to live. Not that she was dying right away, but twenty years down the line, she knew that she would not have the strength to counter him in this way. Hence, the reason why she was handing over the reigns as the Matriarch of the Maracheli family over to another. She had spent the whole week finalising the whole process and she knew that Dominic was suspicious, but even he could not imagine the shock that she had in store for all of them. Alice was aware though, being that she was her personal lawyer, but the games she was playing with her husband would never allow her to reveal the secret to him.

Truly, this baby shower was going to be one of a kind.