(Continued from In Sickness and In Health III)
Kenneth can hear the sound of Fancy vomiting from his position outside the door. He bangs the door even more loudly begging her to open up, but she does not heed to his pleas. That makes him even more frantic, and he rushes down to the reception desk.
“Mercy, I need the key to my room.”
“Didn’t you and Fancy already take it?”
“Fancy has locked me out, but she is unwell. I need to get in and assist her.”
“Come on Ken, it is against our company practice to use the spare key when someone is in the room. If you and Fancy are having a fight, then sort it out privately. If I give you the key and she complains to the management that I used the spare key to infringe into her privacy, I could lose my job.”
“This is not about the misunderstanding between me and Fancy, Mercy. Believe me when I tell you that Fancy needs help.”
“Stop being a cry baby, Ken,” Geraldine interrupts their conversation. Kenneth did not see her approach, and is surprised to hear her voice. “My bed is cold and it needs a real man like you to warm it. If that uncouth woman does not appreciate you, then come home baby. You need an upgrade in your life…”
“Get thee behind me Satan!” Kenneth snaps at her and returns his focus to Mercy. “Why don’t you get this leech out of your premises?”
“I really would want to help you, Ken, especially about your wife. But I am a lowly receptionist. But don’t worry, I have called my boss Lisa. She should be here any minute. She is the one who can do all the things you are asking.”
Mercy is still speaking when Lisa, Creek Point Hotel’s Customer Experience Executive strides in. She is in a foul mood because of being woken up in the middle of the night.
“What is going on here?”
“I just want two things. First, get this woman off my back and then give me keys to my room so that I can attend to my wife.”
Mercy quickly fills in her boss on the situation.
“Geraldine paid for a room here so I can’t kick her out. I know you don’t like her but she has a right to be here. And I can’t give you keys to the room because as Mercy already told you, we have policies here in this hotel.”
“You are a smart woman Lisa,” Geraldine says. “Sometimes these men don’t know what is good for them, and so we have to assist them. Ken baby, I know you enjoyed the kiss as much as I did. And you have always been a beast in bed. I love it every time you wrap your arms around me…”
“What are you talking about?” Kenneth demands.
“Stop acting shocked. Didn’t you and I spend three days in Zanzibar last week while you lied to your wife that you were in Entebbe? Are you not the one who told me to come here so that we could have a good time after your wife fell asleep? Didn’t you tell me that I am better in bed than your wife? Why are you pretending now?”
Kenneth notices that the crowd is growing around the reception area as staff and some guests come to watch the drama. Many are taking photos or recording videos with their phones, but there is a young man with a camera on a tripod. Kenneth correctly assumes that he is Geraldine’s assistant. Kenneth is averse to drama of any kind. He takes stock of the situation and decides that the best thing to do is to walk away.
“Lisa, if you are not going to give me access to the room, then at least give me my car keys.”
“You cannot sleep in the car Ken,” Lisa replies in a placating tone. “I can give you another room to spend the night…”
“Give me my car keys!” he snaps and bangs the table. “Those instructions are in simple, clear, English.”
Lisa has never seen Kenneth angry, so she hurries and gets the keys from the safe. She doesn’t even dare to suggest that he waits for the valet to bring the car around. She just hands him the keys and explains where the car is.
“I am going home, but I want to say this in front of all these cameras that have been thrown on my face. If something happens to my Fancy, then it is on you Lisa, and I will make sure you face the full force of the law,” he tells the executive before striding out of the room.
Geraldine, realizing that the drama is almost over, decides to make one last effort at getting attention. She and her cameraman follow Kenneth out of the reception. When Kenneth gets to the short steps outside the lobby, she grabs his hand.
“Babe, don’t be like this. I am sorry if I offended you. Why don’t we go to my room and talk about this?”
Kenneth tries to shake her off, and when she resists, he pushes her. She trips and falls. Kenneth does not pay any attention to her. Instead, he walks to the parking lot. He gets onto his car and drives away.
*
Contrary to what some people think, Geraldine is not crazy. Each of her moves is usually cleverly calculated. Unknown to many of her fans and critics on social media, Geraldine was actually an A student in primary school. Born in a poverty stricken family, her single mother made it clear to her that education was the only way she would lift her way out of poverty. With a single-minded determination that has become characteristic of her, she topped her class from class one to class eight, completing her studies with 403 marks out of the possible 500.
She would have loved to go to Kenya High School, but she missed out on the prestigious national school. She joined a good provincial school, however. She continued with her good performance and topped her class from form one to the first term of form two, even though she was in and out of school due to lack of school fees. It was while she was in form two that she found a sugar daddy and became distracted. The sugar daddy was none other than the school principal. Ever brilliant and calculating, Geraldine knew that immediately he slept with her, he had committed and offence and could be jailed. She used that to black mail him into giving her money and remaining faithful to her. He also made efforts that saw her get bursary that settled her school fees from form one to form four.
Geraldine used the money she was getting from her lover to start a business for her mother, lying to the older woman that she was receiving sponsorship from an NGO because of her excellent performance in school. According to her, the money she was giving her mother was meant for her pocket money and personal effects. Her mother was illiterate and so believed her. She used the money she got from her daughter to start a business of selling groceries at the local market.
Geraldine’s performance in class was dropping, but her mother couldn’t tell since she could not read the report forms. Still, Geraldine managed to squeeze her way to campus after scoring a B+. Some could argue that she could have scored a straight A if she had focused on her education, but the way she sees it, she would have dropped out of school altogether if she had not found a lover. She dumped the school principal when she left for the city, and soon hooked up with a lecturer at the university.
The elderly professor was so hooked that in addition to giving her straight As in his two units, he rented an apartment for her and met all her basic needs. But Geraldine had found a way to make money, so she found other lovers. When the professor tried to dump her, she threated to expose him to the university administration. Student-lecturer relationships were forbidden by the university and could have cost the professor his job, so he toed the line.
By the time Geraldine graduated with a Bachelor’s degree (second-class lower division) in Education, she was already the proprietor of a high restaurant. She knew she would never step into a high school classroom to teach, but she stayed in school until she graduated. She is an astute businesswoman, and her business has been thriving. But she has also been dating wealthy men for money, so cash flow has never really been a problem for her.
She just loves attention, which is why she founded the YouTube Channel.
*
The pain in Geraldine’s ankle tells her that she has probably sprained it, and quick thinking shows her a way to extend the drama and also make some money while at it. She tells her videographer, who also happens to be her driver and occasional lover, to bring the car around and take her to the police station. They pass Kenneth’s car on the road, but Geraldine is certain that he wouldn’t know it is them because this is a different car from the one she ordinarily uses. When they get to the police station, she files a report accusing Kenneth of assault. The police are reluctant to arrest Kenneth, but when she removes a roll of cash from her purse, a patrol car is immediately dispatched to pursue and arrest Kenneth.
It is Saturday morning, so Geraldine knows that she has a whole weekend to smear Kenneth’s name while he is in custody, before he is presented to court on Monday. She doesn’t intend to proceed with the case. She just wants to use it to blackmail him into paying her. She must recover the money she spent buying furniture from Kenneth by all means. Besides, the drama will be good for her YouTube Channel.
(This is the last free part of this novella. To find out what became of Fancy and Kenneth, kindly follow the instructions below to purchase your copy of the novella for only Kshs. 100).
Image by Silas Carmago Silao from Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/photos/hospital-bed-doctor-surgery-1802679/
*
To purchase any of the books in our e-bookstore (including the latest one, In Sickness and In Health, you can follow either one of two main ways:
DIGITAL METHODS
- MPESA Automated Digital Payment Method. Log in to the bookstore- register if you are new-(https://www.maroncha.com/book-store ). Select the book. Add to cart, check out then pay by inserting your number on the space provided then clicking ‘confirm’. You will be able to download instantly from the bookstore. A copy will also be automatically sent to your email.
- Pay Via Till Number. Log in to the bookstore- register if you are new-(https://www.maroncha.com/book-store ). Select the book. Add to cart, check out then pay via the Buy Goods Till Number provided. Once you get the message from MPESA, insert the MPESA code on the space provided then click ‘Validate Code’. You will be able to download instantly from the bookstore. A copy will also be automatically sent to your email.
MANUAL METHODS
If you are completely unable to use the above two methods, you can still purchase your copy manually. The only disadvantage of this method is that you will have to wait for a few hours before you get your copy. But eventually it will come.
- Pay Kshs. 100 to Buy Goods Till Number 297264 and send an email to edward@maroncha.com (or DM Sanctuary Side on Facebook) stating your MPESA name. Use the name of the book as the subject of your email. If you send a DM to Sanctuary Side on Facebook, kindly also include your email address. I will send your copy once I verify your payment.
- Pay Kshs. 100 to Buy Goods Till Number 297264 and send an SMS/WhatsApp message to 0105571156 stating your MPESA name and the name of the book you wish to purchase. I will send your copy once I verify your payment.
Remember you can always DM Sanctuary Side on Facebook, email me at edward@maroncha.com or send a WhatsApp message to 0105571156 if you have a query or feedback.
The next story begins on Tuesday. See you all then.
–Edward.
