By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu
‘Tomorrow evening, William is taking me to Shoprite. Have you been there, Margaux?’ Eva said unclearly as her mouth was stuffed with suya.
‘You know I haven’t been to Shoprite. But, I hear it’s lovely.’
‘You should come with us.’
William nodded his approval. ‘The more, the merrier.’
‘Nathan can go as well,’ Beatrice said.
‘I have football match to watch. I’ll pass.’
Eva looked from Margaux with her smiling face, to Nathan who was drinking his cola. ‘Nathan, you should go with us. Couldn’t you skip watching the ball?’ Eva asked gently.
‘I understand that you really want me to go with you guys. I want to watch the ball. You go ahead with him and enjoy.’
Eva blushed at the knowing grin on Nathan’s face and the meaning behind the word enjoy. Anyway, why should she think deep into it? She was very close to William, and for the many years she had known him, she had always seen him as her best friend and big brother. ‘Tomorrow I’ll come and pick Eva and Margaux for shopping.’
‘Yeah.’
Margaux was really happy. ‘We’ll have a lovely time.’
After they were done eating, Eva took the dishes into the kitchen. As she turned around, she bumped into William. She wasn’t surprised to see him in the kitchen, for he was always at ease here. This place was like his home, and so he freely entered any room he wanted.
‘I’ve got you a special present,’ William said, withdrawing a small box from the breast pocket of his white shirt.
Eva smiled up at him. She wasn’t expecting him to gift her anything special, she only wanted to see her best friend. Her heart was too full to speak.
‘Little Lamb, go on an open it,’ William said with a sweet smile.
Inside the box was a silver heart on a chain. The heart of the necklace was engraved, My Little Lamb. It was beautiful and truly a real piece of jewellery, which left her in awe. ‘Oh, Liam, it’s beautiful!’ She whispered adorably as she held it up.
‘What was that?’ Margaux laughed as she and Nathan came to look.
Eva showed them the beautiful necklace William had gifted her, and they turned to look at William, requesting for their own gift.
‘Tomorrow, you’ll have yours, but not necklace. Anyway, we are going shopping tomorrow.’
‘I’ll surely rip you off, William,’ Margaux said with a smile.
Nathan turned to Eva. ‘Let me put it on you. That’s if my clumsy fingers can do the clasp…and if big brother William wouldn’t mind?’ He turned to William.
‘Let me do it,’ William offered, and both Margaux and Nathan teased him. He took the necklace from Eva and gently wore it on her neck. ‘There. It looks nice on you.’
Eva smiled as she reached a hand up to caress the beautiful necklace. It was the first piece of jewellery William had gifted her. William had always made sure to be there for her. He was her best friend for many years, and not once had William made her cry. She met him when she was just fifteen years old, and even now that she was twenty-three, turning twenty-four by December, their friendship was still strong. Today wasn’t her birthday anyway; her birthday was still far away. But then, this special gift from William made it seems like today was her birthday.
Looking up at William, she loved him with all her heart. With a lovely smile pinned on her face, she reached out and gave him a big hug. ‘You’re the best…always the best,’ she whispered.
William nodded with a smile.
No comments:
Post a Comment