My boss's wife's tailoring shop is very close to my workspace and she usually comes with her two kids to shop whenever it's the weekend. Honestly I like the company of her two kids, David and Benita even though they stress me out with shouts whenever they come around because they spend less time with their mom and spend more with me.
A particular weekend came and I had been informed by Benita that the Saturday was going to be her birthday. As such, I planned to treat them well by taking them to an eatery to eat and catch fun with kiddies features in the eatery.
So early that morning when I knew that the mom would be preparing to leave the house, I picked up my phone to call her to remind her to bring her children because I wanted to celebrate Benita's birthday and the reply I got when she picked my call was shocking, it was a hiss and a sharp hung immediately she shouted "Kingsley don't disturb me this morning!"
I assumed that maybe she was busy with home chores so I didn't bother to call her again and instead hoped she got my message.
Earlier that morning, I got called out by a client and I spent a lot of time outside. When I came back around 1:20 pm expecting to see David and Benita giggling in the mom's shop as they normally do but no, the shop was quiet with only the mom inside, glued to her sewing machine and sewing nylon-like attire.
"Wait, don't tell me that you didn't bring them" I said standing at the door with my face filled with surprise and confusion. Meanwhile, she was still bent to her work, acting like she didn't notice my presence.
"Kingsley! Didn't I tell you not to disturb me in the morning" The way she called my name sounded like a warning with her squeezed face and full concentration on her sewing but I knew it was all a joke.
"What do you mean? I said I want to take them out for a birthd..."
She didn't allow me to finish when she interrupted and began to pour out everything on her mind. "Let me hear word! Do you know how many birthdays you've promised such and didn't do anything? You were expecting me to dress them in their Christmas clothes and bring them here with all hope of going out with you and ....abeg Kingsley leave me oooooo!"
"Hahahahah! Oh my God! So you thought I was pulling your legs as usual?" I laughed seeing how serious she was.
"Yes, ooooo! You're very good at pulling someone's leg and I didn't want to fall for that today"
I was touched by her words but I tried to maintain a smiling face and joked my way out of her shop. When I got to my working space, I sat down and began to reflect on the moments I mentioned treating Benita on her birthdays but I never did.
'I wasn't able to fulfil those promises shouldn't be my fault. I wasn't having money' My instinct intruded and I was feeling justified and immediately the other side of my instinct countered it with 'Why didn't you make sure you had the money first before making such promises?' This last one spoiled the mood the more for me because my whole heart was arrested with guilt.
I got up, picked up my keys, walked to a road and boarded a bike to an Eatery where I bought two plates of jollof rice and chicken in a takeaway pack and returned to my boss's wife's shop and gave her the nylon containing the food.
"Yay! You should have been more serious when you called in the morning for me to bring them. I thought it was you with your jokes again" She was full of surprise at the nylon of food dropped on the desk of her sewing machine and she gave me a sorry-filled face in a bid to justify her actions.
"By the way, where's my own?" She asked while searching inside the nylon to see if there were three packs.
"That's your cup of tea. I would know if the full portion didn't get to David and Benita" I walked away and all I could hear was her laughter and "Kingsley you're crazy!"
