The Zulu Maiden

CHAPTER 14

Mary and Martha were just as Jason's mom had described them. The one was a food fundi the other was a cleaning fanatic. Liz didn't mind because all she had to do was look after the baby and do some laundry every other day. Lisa worked as an administrator in some big company. Leo was a university student. His mother was very proud of of him. She called him her future accountant. The aunts were nice if a little nosy. Liz liked them they were nothing like their sister(Jason's mom). The cousin werr also nice. Liz liked Leo more because he was so much fun. He always wanted to help choose Lu's outfit saying she had to be the cutest baby ever. He was always taking photographs of her and they always looked so good.

They had gotten used to having other people in the house. Pretending to be in a relationship wasn't as difficult as either of them had thought. They'd even gotten used to sleeping in the same bed. On the night they arrived, aunt Martha walked into Jason's room with out knocking and found him making a bed on the floor. They had to pretend that they were fighting and that's why he was sleeping on the floor. Aunt Martha gave them a lecture about couples never going to bed angry. She told them they should always sleep in the same bed no matter what, and to always sort out their issues before going to bed. This would make their relationship strong and make it last longer. They were sooo embarrassed and did not want to risk another lecture so they slept in same bed ever since.

The Friday before the funeral Liz woke up early. More like she got out of bed early because she had been up most of the night with the baby. She went to the kitchen to make a fresh bottle. She was so tired she almost tripped in her own feet.

Jason woke up just as Liz closed the door behind her. He stretched his hand out to her. Only to find an empty space. He opened one eye. No Liz. He got up and checked the cot. There was baby Lu fast asleep. Liz must have gone down stairs he thought. There was no point in going back to bed because he couldn't sleep without her. He didn't know how it had happened. They'd been sharing a bed for barely a week but, now he couldn't sleep until she was in bed with him. He knew this because the other day aunty Mary had kept Liz in the kitchen long after everyone had gone to bed to show her some recipes. Jason had tossed and turned until Liz had come to bed and then he'd been out in five minutes. He didn't know how to explain it. He decided to go and see what she was up to.

He found her standing at the kitchen counter making Lu's bottle. He put his arms around her from behind, fully expecting her to push him away. She just added formula to the water in the  bottle and didn't even seem to notice him. He decided to push his luck. He lowered his head and dropped a kiss on her neck. Still nothing. She just closed the bottle and shook it to mix it properly. Okay this was strange. Something was definitely wrong.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked
"Nothing. I'm just tired" she said, turning around and laying her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. I could definitely get used to this. Jason thought to himself.
"Didn't you sleep well?" He asked wrapping his arms tighter around her . He loved the way she felt in his arms.
Liz lifted her head to stare at him.
"You're kidding right? Lu was up half the night. She was fussy. She wouldn't sleep. She didn't want her bottle. She just cried and cried. You didn't hear any of that?"
"No, I'm sorry." He said pushing her head back onto his chest. "You should have woken me up."
"What's the point of both of us loosing sleep?" She asked as she yawned into his chest.

"Hey love birds" Leo greeted walking into the kitchen. "Don't you have a room where you can do all that cuddling?"
"Morning Leo" Liz greeted back, trying to pull away from Jason who just held on tighter. "We can do whatever we like in OUR house" he said. "Fine" Leo said putting up his hands. "I just wanted to make some coffee". Jason moved away from the counter, pulling Liz along. "Go ahead"
Leo just shook his head and walked pass them.
"What's wrong with you?" Liz asked Jason, leaning away from him so she could see his face. "Nothing" he said. "Why don't you get Lu ready and we'll take her to the Doctor"
"Alright but you'll have to let me go first."
"Oh yes, right right." He said laughing at himself as he let her go. He watched her walk away. "Nice ass" he heard from behind him. "What?" He asked angrily turning to Leo. "Don't you dare look at my girl's ass" he said grabbing him by the collar. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Geez, I was just playing"
Jason let him go and ran upstairs. He found liz giving Lu a bath so went to take a shower. He came out to find that Liz had made the bed, dressed the baby, packed her bag and fallen asleep.

He decided to let her sleep since she hadn't slept during the night. He coveted her with a blanket and picked up the baby and the daiper bag and left. He found Leo in the kitchen. "You're coming with me" he told him.
'Where are we going?"
"To the Doctor's" now grab that bag and come on.
"What about Liz?"
"Liz has been up half the night because Lu wasn't feeling well. So I'm letting her sleep. And you are coming with so you can help with the baby"
"Maybe I should stay and look after Liz"
"No, Liz just needs to sleep. The aunts and Lisa are going to help mom with final arrangements for the funeral. So the house will be nice and quite for Liz." Jason said. No way was he leaving Leo alone with Liz. He didn't like the way Leo looked at her.

Few hours later they were back. Liz was up and looking relaxed and refreshed. "The doctor said Lu is teething." Jason told Liz. "I know" Liz said waving her phone at him. "I called my mom when I woke up and told her about Lu being fussy. She said that Lu was probably just teething. I guess she was right. After all mothers know best right?"