Slowed by a Baby Read online

He tapped on one side of the window frame while considering the benefits associated with being director of a department at the Mwasimba Group of Companies. He would earn enough money to support the financial needs of his wife and the three children they planned to have.

  Thinking of children, he made a mental note to discuss with Sophia when to start a family. He sighed before he walked back to his chair and looked at the computer screen. But his mind was far away, wondering what to tell Sophia if she brought up the topic of moving out of his parents’ house?

  Dragging himself out of the chair again, he went to a bookshelf at one side of his office, though he had no need for a book. His mind was occupied with thoughts of Sophia, his wife of two months.

  He reflected on the promise he had made long before he married that he would not only be a loving husband and father, but the financial provider for his family. Taking up the full monetary responsibility would release his wife from having to be employed, into their home, just like his father and older brothers had done – their wives were not in employment.

  Richie was aware that Sophia loved her job and the idea of working hard to earn money. She had made it clear to him that she wanted to contribute to their financial needs as a couple. Therefore, Richie was aware that asking her to resign from her PA position would be a challenging task. He put back a book he had removed from the shelf without opening a single page.

  He was surprised that a matter which had initially appeared easy to implement was now consuming much of his time at work.

  A new thought brought a smirk to his face. Unlike most twenty-six-year-olds in the city whose problem would be lack of money to rent a house, his challenge was what type of house to purchase and how to convince his wife to resign from her job.

  ~~~~~~~

  The connecting door closed as Sophia entered her office. The door reopened, and Michael strode back in. “Thanks for the summary,” he waved the papers in his hand. “There are a few changes to be made,” he said as he went and sat by a small round table at one corner of the office.

  Sophia followed him and sat on a chair opposite from his, surprised to see that within the brief time she had spent at the washroom, Michael had printed, read and red-marked some parts on the six-page document. She straightened the collar of her skirt-suit jacket and looked at him, listening while he explained the changes to be made in the document.

  When they finished reviewing the document, Michael stood to his full height of six-foot three clad in a designer grey suit. “What’s your plan for tomorrow? Do we meet here and travel together, or do we each proceed to the meeting at Two Hills?”

  Sophia tilted her head upwards, her eyes focused on the ceiling while patting her cheek with her index finger. “Being an early morning meeting, let’s meet at the venue.” She turned her eyes back to Michael. “I hope that will be okay with you,” she said while she walked towards her desk.

  “I am okay with that. How is your daily travel to the office, now that you reside much farther from the city center?”

  “I’m still learning, adapting. I will soon be back to my normal time, arriving earlier than eight o’clock,” she said as she wheeled her chair to one side and lowered her sixty-one kilograms onto the soft leather.

  “No need to struggle.” He chuckled. “I can imagine the many adjustments you are having to make,” he completed the sentence as he walked into his office and pulled the door behind him.

  Sophia chuckled as she punched in a password to access her computer screen before she picked the marked document and started inserting the corrections. She flipped the paper to page two as she heard a message drop into her cell phone. She retrieved the phone from a drawer and read, “Sunshine, what did you do to me today? I miss you.”

  Her face beamed with a smile as she typed a response. “Sounds like you need an early break. Go to the restaurant with Patty” She clicked send and turned to the next red mark on the paper as another message arrived.

  “Only you can help, not my cousin.”

  “Are you for another holiday, barely two months after our honeymoon?” She clicked send, picked up the receiver of her desk phone and dialled Richie’s extension.

  The first thing she noted in his voice was the lack of his usual enthusiasm, so she asked, “Are you unwell? Do you need to see a doctor, or will an early break do you some good?”

  “A break might be worse. Remember, I have a presentation to make on Friday?”

  “Okay. What if you go home, rest, and return to work later in the day?”

  “Going home will land me uncalled for questions from Mum. You know how she worries if one of us is not as happy as she expects?”

  “Good reason for us to move to our house, that way, you would go home and have a good rest without worrying about questions from Mum.”

  “Is it okay if we shelve that topic of a house until at least the weekend, or the week after?”

  Sophia reckoned that if Richie was to complete his presentation, then her mention of their relocation had sucked up whatever energy he had left. “I will give you four weeks.”

  She regretted her offer as soon as the words left her mouth. She tilted her head upwards, like she was in search of divine intervention. Why had she offered a whole month, instead of the few days Richie had asked?

  “You give me so many reasons to keep missing you.” He followed the words with a smooching noise. “Was that good enough or should I come over to thank you?”

  “I got it. Please focus on your work tasks.” She ended the call and continued to input revisions from the corrected document which she had held in her left hand all that time.

  Chapter 4

  ~~~~~~~

  At five o’clock Sophia received a message from Richie. “My afternoon turned the right way up. One more hour and I will chauffeur my wife to where she belongs.”

  Her cheeks dimpled as her face beamed with a smile. She typed a response, “Thanks for that enticing offer, but I will use office transport as I have formal documents for a meeting tomorrow morning. See you soon.”

  Sophia pressed a button on her desk phone to alert a driver that she was on her way to the parking garage before she left her office, wheeling a leather bag beside her. At the elevator, she saw Patty hurrying her direction, arriving just as the elevator stopped and announced, “52nd floor, going down.”

  Patty jumped inside the elevator, turned, and stared at Sophia as she wheeled the bag inside. Patty pressed “parking” on the elevator buttons before making eye contact with Sophia. “Newlyweds do not carry office work home. That is a no, no.”

  “Stop feeling so good, where’s your homework?”

  “I will initiate a campaign for a new regulation, just for you,” she said as she pointed her index finger at Sophia.

  Sophia held Patty’s finger and guided it away from her face. “My husband is busy with his office work, and he will not know of this bag unless you alert him.”

  Patty locked eyes with Sophia, which was easy as they were of similar height. “What’s up with work and bags? What are you up to this weekend? We need to meet, just the two of us. I need to hear details of your honeymoon which you have refused to share. How’s life?” Patty asked the many questions in one breath.

  “Life gets better by the day,” Sophia said with a chuckle. “What else would you expect from your cousin?” She stretched a hand and gently poked Patty’s shoulder. “He’s as loving as ever. Details of our honeymoon are to remain with only me, in my heart.”

  Patty laughed loudly. “Keep those details with your husband, though I see they are already escaping, making your face smoother.” Her eyes darted to the elevator floor-reader before she turned back to Sophia, “Did you change your facial regiment already?”

  Sophia involuntarily touched her face while smiling, though she would have been annoyed if the comment had come from anyone else other than Patty. Sophia knew the words were not meant to hurt her.

  Patty had
been Sophia’s friend since her second week of employment at the company. Though Sophia would never confess it, she had observed Patty whenever they ate together, picking tips on how to eat at prestigious eateries.

  Their friendship had strengthened long before Sophia discovered that Patty and Richie were first cousins and close friends. She turned to Patty, “I am afraid if I narrate details of our honeymoon, the good feeling will escape from my heart. That means no story for you, as I have told you many times before.”

  Patty softly poked Sophia on the chest. “You have lost a chance. I will ask Richie for the answer, though his vivid details make me uncomfortable.”

  Sophia’s eyes widened, like they would pop out of their oval-shaped sockets.

  Patty broke into loud laughter before she said, “Are you ready for a girl-to-girl talk, or do you still prefer leaving all the storytelling to your husband?”

  The elevator came to a stop and the twosome stepped out as Patty leaned closer to Sophia’s ear and whispered, “I am asking about the honeymoon for myself. Since your wedding day the aunties have been on my case. Richie is my junior by very many months.”

  “Serves you right,” Sophia joked.

  Patty whispered, “I need someone to convince me that going on a honeymoon is the right thing to do.”

  Sophia took one step back, letting the office bag stand on its wheels before she held Patty’s hands at arm-length and said, “Sounds like we will drink lots of tea. Saturday afternoon is good. Will you come over or—”

  Patty interjected, “I will come over to the house, and we’ll find a quiet place for girl talk.” She spread out both arms and embraced Sophia, then walked away, towards her car.

  Sophia walked a few steps in the opposite direction and greeted Elvin as he received the office bag from her before she climbed into the car whose door was already open for her.

  Elvin, about sixty-seven years of age was a senior driver in the company. He had started as a driver to the Mwasimba family where he used to chauffeur the children to and from school. He now worked as the senior driver, mostly entrusted to drive family members who worked at Akoth Towers.

  He got into the driver’s seat while asking, “Is Richie joining us?”

  She shook her head. “He is delayed at work, he will travel later.”

  “That means we can leave now?” Elvin asked as he started the engine and drove out of the basement parking of Akoth Towers, a 55-storey dark-glass building in the city center of Nairobi. The magnificent building was used by many as a landmark and direction reference point.

  Elvin manoeuvred through the evening traffic onto the busy University Way and merged into the stretch of vehicles on Uhuru Highway.

  Sophia sat at the back of the Mercedes Benz, enjoying the soft classical music emanating from the concealed speakers.

  As they waited in the slow-moving traffic, she was thoughtful, trying to guess what could have been worrying Richie that morning. She resolved that the way to figure that out was to be jovial throughout the evening and night. Her happy mood would help clear his anxiety and make him voice whatever was disturbing him.

  Next, she reflected on how hard the Mwasimba sons worked, putting in more hours at work than most employees did. A frown replaced her smile as she recalled a common narrative along the city streets – that, children of rich people did not work hard, all they did was spend the wealth of their rich parents.

  Sophia wished for an occasion to correct such beliefs and opinions. According to her, though poor people like her father worked hard but yielded fewer returns, some rich people worked very hard. She mulled over what it was that kept two equally hard-working people—the rich and poor, worlds apart in terms of money and other assets.

  She lifted a hand to cover her mouth, rather, the smile threatening to break into laughter, as she remembered what Patty had shared about her fear of getting married.

  Sophia was delighted that Patty had changed her views on men and was considering marriage. She smiled as she recalled that less than a year ago, she herself had held similar views, afraid of marriage - even of romance. Her argument had been that love and romance were invented to derail women from working hard and getting ahead in the public domain. She had vowed not to let romance distract her, yet here she was, married to Richie and liking her married life. She would encourage Patty to get married.

  She looked forward to Saturday afternoon to share whatever information Patty would need to decide on marrying the man she was engaged to. Sophia was aware Patty would ask very private questions about her honeymoon, and her life as a newly married woman. Sophia resolved that she would spend Saturday morning reflecting on potential questions and how to answer them without offending Patty, though she could not recall a time when she had ever seen Patty unhappy.

  The car came to a complete stop, alerting Sophia they had arrived home. She thanked Elvin and walked towards the house as she heard Elvin remind her of the bag in the car.

  “Thanks, Elvin. I almost forgot about the bag. I will need it for a meeting tomorrow morning.” She rubbed her left eye. “Do you know who will pick me up in the morning? I need to be at Two Hills at eight for an eight-thirty meeting.”

  “Okay. I will be here so that we leave at seven-thirty,” Elvin said as he carried the bag to the main door where he handed it to Teresa, the senior employee among the house workers.

  Sophia waved a good evening to Elvin as she walked into the house, happy that she could now strategize how to welcome Richie upon his return home.

  Chapter 5

  ~~~~~~~

  Sophia paused in the kitchen and greeted Patience, her mother-in-law before she proceeded towards the north wing of the house.

  She entered their bedroom, one of the four on that side of the house. Upon entry, she stood on her toes and swirled round for a 360-degree view of the room, as though she was seeing it for the first time, the room she had slept in for sixty nights.

  Humming a song on God’s love for the world, she sat on a two-seater sofa along the wall next to the door from where she admired their queen-size bed, donned in a brown and lime-green bedcover with matching pillows.

  The bed was right in front of her view, at the far end of the opposite wall. She shifted her eyes to the left side, letting them fall beyond the dresser table, to the sheer-draped panel of glass windows.

  She went closer to one of the windows from where she had a better view of the neatly cut live fence a couple of metres from the veranda outside the bedroom.

  She lifted her right hand onto her chest for no obvious reason other than gratitude, that she was now part of an endowed family, resident in a serene environment in the city. No noise from passing vehicles.

  The Mwasimba palatial home in Karen was located at the far end of a private driveway, off a public road.

  Sophia walked the length of the wall, stopping to unhook curtain holders, freeing the cotton-lined silk window drapes. She blocked out the African sunset streaming into the room before she walked the direction of the door, turned left, past the walk-in wardrobe and opened the bathroom door.

  Thirty minutes later, Sophia had bathed and changed into casual clothes, a floral cotton umbrella skirt that reached just above her knees and a plain cream blouse. She left the bedroom and walked across the family room, and into the smaller dining room. She stepped into the kitchen with an excuse, “Sorry I am late. I wanted to be here as you start cooking the main dish for dinner,” she said while looking at Patience.

  Richie’s mother rarely missed taking charge of the food preparation whenever she was home, which was often. Though she always had two people in the kitchen, a house chef and a cleaner, she liked to cook for her family. Having spent most of her married life as a stay-at-home mom, she was accustomed to working alongside her staff, both within and outside of the house.

  Patience got married to Mwasimba at the age of twenty and worked as a teacher until Bill, her third child was born. Mwasimba then reque
sted her to stay home and take care of the family, since he worked long hours to build the family business. This was his way of ensuring that their children grew up with at least one parent at home.

  By staying home to take care of the children, Patience enabled Mwasimba to focus on growing the business, and in turn provide for the family financially.

  Mwasimba, a self-made billionaire had ventured into business at the age of fifteen. He had made his seed money after he convinced his father to let him sell part of their farm produce to traders in their hometown.

  After a few transactions of selling potatoes, bananas, and avocados, Mwasimba refunded the cost price plus some profit to his father but kept the extra money he made from quoting a price higher than what his father had indicated. He later registered a business.

  Over time the company grew from a one-man enterprise into its current status of a multinational group of companies, employing thousands of people in real estate, manufacturing, investments in information technology and agriculture.

  As the Mwasimba children grew older, with the youngest reaching his teens, Patience started to tend to the home library, and took charge of filing the company’s confidential documents. She later became one of the directors of the company.

  Now, Patience had one wish, to one day have grandchildren to visit or reside with her. Space was not an issue in the Mwasimba family residence within the Karen suburbs of Nairobi. The home, hidden from the outside world by mature trees in the five-acre compound had more than enough space for her family of five sons.

  The house which compared to few others in the city had nine bedrooms, most of them with attached bathrooms.

  When all the children lived at home, there were three extra bedrooms – two for visitors and one for a nanny on occasions when she was needed to sleep in the main house. There was also a three-bedroom house for domestic workers, located within the expansive compound.

  On the few occasions when Richie had mentioned that he and Sophia planned to move out to a separate residence, the response from Patience was simple, “What would be the difference? The north wing is almost a house on its own, only connected to the main house by the family room.”