CHAPTER 35 – FAMILY TUSSLE

“Hello everyone, breakfast is ready” Maeve announced.

She entered the sitting room carrying a tray of food as she called on her family to come to the dining for

breakfast.

Riley and wright were the only ones in the sitting room by the time Maeve entered with the breakfast.

“Okay mum, I think I am starving already,” Riley said.

Riley was happy to hear that the breakfast was ready and she could not wait to devour the meal. She

walked up to the dining table while her dad followed behind but he was walking slowly.

Maeve was already seated on the dining table when Riley and Wright got to it.

“Where is Riona?” Maeve asked.

“Should go and look for her?” Riley asked.

“No need to. I actually saw her in the kitchen so she should be here soon” Maeve said.

Riona had entered the kitchen when Maeve was rounding up with making breakfast. Maeve had

greeted and wished her a happy birthday, but she did not respond to her greetings. She wondered what

she wanted to do in the kitchen that early, but in order not to get on her nerves, she had ignored her

and did not ask her any questions.

Ever since the encounter with her family members some weeks back, Riona had been ignoring and

avoiding her completely. Even Wright did that for some days before he finally came around after Maeve

had explained to him for the untempt time that she never intended to castigate Riona in the side of her

family.

“Just that today is her birthday, and we have to start the celebration from having breakfast and that’s

why I made us something special, her favorite” Maeve said

Maeve was hoping that Riona would agree to join them for breakfast today. She has painstakingly

taken her time to prepare this meal this morning just for Riona.

Maeve felt bad that just when she was finally succeeding at building a relationship with Riona, her

family had appeared from nowhere just to come and destroy everything. She already felt it might get to

this, and that was why she had insisted on not saying anything about Riona’s attitude to any of them.

When her encounter, she had been so annoyed and disappointed with them that she had to ignore their

calls for a few days just so they would get the message. Next time, they would learn how not to meddle

in someone else’s internal affairs, no matter who that person was and especially where there were not

invited to act as mediators.

Maeve was disappointed when she looked up and saw Riona coming to the dining with a tray

containing her own meal.

“Hello dad, good morning,” Riona said.

“Good morning Rio, and happy birthday” Wright responded.

“Thanks so much, dad,” Riona said.

Riona smiled as she dropped the tray on the dining and she sits next to her dad.

“Happy Birthday, Rio,” Riley said.

Riona acted as if she was not the one that Riley was talking to and she continued to talk to her dad.

”I made something nice for us dad,” Riona said.

Wright was not happy with how Riona had ignored Riley, and he felt he had to interfere in it.

“Riona, please,” Wright said.

Wright looked at Riley with the corner of his eyes so as to signify to Riona that he was referring to how

she had ignored Riley when she had wished her a happy birthday.

Riona looked at her dad and tried to put up some protest, but seeing that Wright was not ready to

condone her excess, she had to succumb.

“Thanks, Riley, I appreciate your kind wishes,” Riona said.

With the way Riona had replied to Riley’s kind wishes, she made it obvious that she made the

utterances under protest.

Knowing that her dad was now ready to listen to her, she continued.

“See daddy, I made something nice for us. Today is my birthday, and I would like us to have a treat”

Riona said.

“What did you make honey? I can’t wait to have a taste of it” Wright said.

Maeve was furious, she was not going to accept this. She had already made something for the whole

family to celebrate Riona and Riona has no right to just show up with something else too without any

form of notice.

“But I have only made something for the whole family Wright, what is going to happen to this?” Maeve

asked.

“And what is going to happen to what Rio has made?” Wright asked too.

Wright does not understand Maeve anymore. Her line of reasoning has become so alien to him. He

feels she is always inconsiderate and only thinks of herself in all that she does.

“But she knows that I was already doing something for breakfast and she never deemed it fit to notify

me of her plans,” Maeve said.

Riona ignored Maeve and her usual ranting and scooped out some food into a plate for her dad.

“This is her day Maeve. Why not allow her to run it as it pleases her?” Wright asked.

He was starting to get infuriated and if care is not taken, he may not like how he is going to react to

Maeve.

“But she has been with us all along, I have since been making plans for today and she never objected

to any of it, including the idea of this breakfast,” Maeve said.

“Of course you have Maeve, but did you ask her, did you try to know what she might want for her

birthday?” Wright asked.

“Did I hear you say ask her? You and I know she completely ignores me, Wright, how was I supposed

to ask her?” Maeve asked.

“All I can say is that today is her day, Maeve, please allow her to have some fun in her own way,”

Wright said.

“I am her mum, Wright,” Maeve said.

“Still doesn’t change a thing Maeve, I can assure you that I would say the same thing for Riley,” Wright

said.

“And so what happens to all the plans I already have mapped out for today, the outing, the beauty spa,

the party et al?” Maeve asked.

Maeve did not like how Riona is reacting to all that she had carefully planned out for her. But the worst

of it now is Wright. Can’t he see that his daughter is being unfair to her, why was he acting as if it is

nothing and making it look like she was the nag here?

“Forget it, all of it. I have my plans for today well-arranged and ready for execution” Riona said.

“What did you just say?” Maeve asked.

Maeve was shocked at Riona’s response. Did she just say that she had everything sorted out, but she

has been here all the while she has been making preparations, and she never for once objected to any

of her plans right until this very morning?

“I am no kid anymore Maeve, I am sixteen and can adequately plan for myself. I hope we are clear on

that now?’ Riona asked.

“You cannot do that Riona, you have no right to you ungrateful brat” Maeve screamed.

Hearing Maeve refers to her as an ungrateful brat, Riona dropped her spoon and looked up to her.

“Ever since you stepped your foot into this house uninvited, all I have done is to try to avoid you. But it

is obvious that you are not someone that could be avoided and since it is a fact that you so desperately

want to belong …”

Riona was still speaking when her dad interrupted.

“Riona stop,” Wright said.

He dropped his spoon on his plate and it made a loud noise. He had wanted to allow the two of them to

engage peacefully in the batter, but it was beginning to look like their exchange would degenerate into

something else if he does not interfere immediately.

“Please let me dad” Riona pleaded.

“No Wright, allow her to talk to me as she damns pleases. You have always allowed her from the start

so let her continue” Maeve said.

Wright was completely disappointed at Maeve's utterance and to show that he stood up and walked out

of the dining.

“You so much wanted to belong to this family that you never cared to ascertain if you were wanted and

welcomed. So why do you all of a sudden desperately needs to be accepted Maeve, isn’t it obvious

that you can never fill that gab Maeve, the gab that my mum left can never be filled. Not with someone

like you, and not to me, and most importantly, not to my dad. The earlier you bring yourself to such

reality and begin to live with it the better for you and your daughter” Riona said.

“And just so you know Riona, I have never for once tried to fill up any gab been left by Evolette. I am

here as Wright’s wife and your step mum and not to make any of you forget Evolette. I did not enter

into this house as a rival, and I had never waited or hoped for you to accept me because I had felt you

were still suffering from, the pains of losing your mum, and I had only hoped that with time, you would

come around. But now, it is so clear that your attitude was never as a result of grief, but has all along

been as a result of your unwillingness to see others happy which is because you have allowed your

hatred to eat deep into you” Maeve said.

Riona stood up from the sit. She looked over at Maeve’s and Riley’s plates that were still untouched

and she shook her head and smiled.

“Bravo Maeve, bravo,” Riona said as she lightly claps her hands together.

“This is the first time that I am hearing you say something close to being meaningful. But sadly, just as

everything that you stand for, all this stuff about me having hatred eating deep into me can’t be coming

from someone that pure envy towards a little girl that her dad had decided to eat her food on her

birthday, had made her not to touch her own food. You disgust me Maeve” Riona said and walked out

of the dining room.

……………………………………………..

Maeve walked into the room angrily and went for her wardrobe. She opened it and brought out her bag

and started to pack her clothes into it.

Wright, who had woken up as a result of the noise from the door when Maeve jammed it as she

entered in anger, was startled to see her packing her clothes. He quickly got up from the bed and went

to stop her.

“What is going on here Maeve, what are you doing?” he asked.

Maeve ignore him and continued to pack her stuff. He continued to ask her and to plead with her to

stop whatever it was that she was thinking of doing, but she said nothing to him.

"Talk to me love, what are you about to do?" Wright asked.

“And what does it look like I am doing? She responded.

“Come on darling, it hadn’t gotten to that, do you want to leave me because of some little fights you had

with Riona?” he asked. Exclusive content from .

“No Wright, I am leaving because of your attitude in handling the whole thing,” she said.

She stopped to look at him.

“But come to think of it Wright, am I supposed to be having some little fights with Riona?” she asked.

She continued with her packing.

“Come on Maeve, even mothers have bigger fights with their children, it is nothing out of the ordinary,”

he said.

“I have instructed Riley to pack her things too, we are leaving. You would agree with me that this

atmosphere is not conducive for her mental health” she announced.

“You are taking this too far Maeve, you are always extreme in your dealings. Even me too have little

fights with Riona, do you advise I pack my things and leave too? He asked.

“Hmm, I see,” she said.

To Maeve, Wright’s approach is not going to make her stay and the earlier he comes to terms with that,

the better for him.

Wright could see that how he was handling this would not yield any positive result. He could see that

Maeve’s mind was already made up. If really he wanted her to stay, he has to come up with an idea

that would be helpful real quick.

“Please love, I need you here, you know I love you and would want you to remain by my side forever”

Wright pleaded.

Maeve still ignored him and continued with what she was doing.

“Put yourself in her place, I bet you would react the same way too,” he said.

“I am done putting myself in her shoes,” she said.

“Please try to understand me in all of these, baby, if you love me, you would see it from the angle that I

am looking at it. Remember that at a point, she already accepted you and we were all living as a family

until Cynthia showed up and say those derogatory words to her. What would you have her do darling?

She only felt you were not as you made yourself appear dear, the poor girl felt betrayed, another one

after her mum’s death. Please be patient with her, she would come around one more time” Wright

pleaded.

“I don’t care about that anymore Wright, it is too late already,” she said.

Seeing that he is almost on the verge of losing her, he grabbed her by the hands and knelt down.

“Please love, even if you are not going to do it for me, please do it for our baby, our little angel that is

growing inside of you” he pleaded.

Hearing Wright make reference to their unborn child instantly melted Maeve’s heart. She could not bear

the thought of staying away from the father of her unborn child. She slowly pulled Wright up and she

held him to herself and began to sob.