CHAPTER 12

“What did he do?” Jewel’s eyes were sparkling as she asked for more.
“He drew one for me, a butterfly and I went there again and again until he became mine,” Rora said with a smile.
“How many tattoos do you have?” Jewel asked curiously.
“I have a total of five,” Aurora was very proud when she reported that.
“Can I see them?” Jewel was in heaven, where else can she get time and the pleasure to be this free?
“I will show you when we are inside,” she said agreeing as they get off the elevator.
They carried their bags to the door and Rora unlocked the door and they both got inside. Rora unloaded the food into the fridge and cupboards.
“Do you want to cook with me?” she asked.
“Yes, I would love to but I have never done it before,” Jewel was very worried about her lack of expertise in almost everything.
“It's okay; I will let you cut the onions, carrots, green and red peppers and tomatoes. You can do that right?”
“I think I can. I should wash them first, right?” Jewel asked to make sure.
“Yes, and I will cook the rest,” Rora said.
“I can't wait.”
“Before we start, we need to change the clothes. I won't let you spoil those clothes,” Rora said and took her to the bedroom. That was the first time she was seeing it.
The room was packed unlike the other rooms she had seen. There was a double bed covered with a nice blue comforter, a huge wardrobe which she was opening and inside there was a lot of clothes. Rora racked through the hangers and she took out a black t-shirt and some shorts for her.
Jewel disappeared into the bathroom and put on the clothes Rora had given her. They wore the same size apparently which was sheer luck. When she returned Rora was wearing her huge t-shirt she wore before they went shopping. It was then that she noticed the other tattoo on Rora. She had a butterfly on the back of her thigh. She was staring at it when Rora cleared her throat.
“I'm sorry I couldn't help myself,” Jewel said shyly and Rora removed her t-shirt and she closed her eyes.
Rora was naked upwards and just staring at the woman who will be marrying her dad was just not natural.
“We are both women,” Rora said and she opened her eyes.
Rora had a tattoo just above her left breast and it was the word LOVE, the other one was on her right shoulder and it was a dove, the fourth one was on her left hip and it was a bouquet of red roses. Rora turned around showing her back and she saw the last one there.
Her upper back had her name printed in block italic letters. Her boyfriend must have loved her to draw all these on her. Rora put back her t-shirt on and left the room. She followed her to the kitchen where she began to wash the tomatoes.
“Do you mind finishing the story you were telling me earlier?” Jewel asked politely as she was afraid that Aurora may find her urging impolite and rejects her.
“Are you sure you want to hear it? After all I will be marrying into your family soon,” Aurora asked seeing the interest Jewel had of her ex-boyfriend when she was about to marry her dad.
“I just want to get to know you better,” Jewel confessed with a flushed face.
“Okay then. We began to date and everything was okay for a while. We dated roughly for four months before he got shot in the head and died on the spot,” Rora narrated as if it was just some fiction story and not a real one.
“What do you mean he died?” Jewel was shocked when she heard this, was Aurora pranking her right now?
“He got shot while walking back home. I never get to say goodbye and from then on I was lonely again. Soon after that I lost my parents too. I didn't want to lose anyone else so I just kept to myself. Never dated, never befriended anyone and never thought of marrying anyone until now. I guess I will never escape it,” Aurora was very sad as memories flashed into her head when she said that.
“But it's good that you are marrying someone. You won't have to be alone anymore. You have me Rora. I will be there for you even when dad won't be.”
“I may disappoint you one day,” she sighed as she said that.
She wasn’t perfect and she was full of many flaws and if one day they learnt of who she really is or was in the past, they will probably run away far from her.
“Shit always happen Rora. Let's worry about the future when the time comes. For now, let's be happy and cook a delicious meal,” Jewel said comforting Aurora as she began to cut the first onion that made her tear up.
She stopped midway and reached for her phone. She turned on her camera and placed it in a nice position where it could record the whole thing.
“Are you for real?” Rora asked in shock seeing how crazy Jewel was acting.
“It's my first time doing this so I want to record it,” Jewel was a hit embarrassed but she wanted to capture this memorable moment.
She will probably tell this to her grandchildren in the future and brag about it.
“Just don't cut yourself, it will be embarrassing to watch by then,” Rora said and they both laughed.
To be honest it was really fun giving a hand in the cooking process. She watched as Rora boiled the chicken, deep fried it after she boiled it. She watched as the chicken got fully fried. Rora made her cook the soup and it was easier than she thought. Rora was with her all the way.
They finished cooking the relish before they cooked the rice with the rice cooker. Thirty minutes later Rora was dishing the plates when there was a knock at the door. Whoever was there made it sounded like an emergency.