CHAPTER 3 Influence

The next morning at the dining table, Vivian had woken up early that morning since she could not even get enough sleep, she had prepared breakfast for the family. Just a short and fast meal of slice bread, egg, toast, bacon and some hot chocolate drink.

She made the table and carried her three year old son to his favorite chair in the dining.

"Good morning mommy"

Justin said cutely and innocently

"oh! Morning my prince"

she said and kissed him.

"now here, you don't want to get your uniform stained"

She tied his napkin around his neck and sat near him while she picked two slice bread and spread some butter, jam and egg

"ahhh!"

She gesturize to make Justin open his mouth, but he refused

"Hmm..nmn."

he shook his head cutely in a negative way.

Vivian sighed and made a funny face, he smiled at her with milk teeth showing.

"Here comes the ...chooo...choo...train.." She used one of his favorite phrase to get him eat his food.

Justin gulped down the meal after having a tiny bite of the brownish toast.

He loved trains so definitely that works all the time.

"Mommy"

Justin called

"Yes"

Vivian answered

"Where is my daddy?"

He asked cutely with a mouthful of toast.

"Well...daddy isn't eating with.........."

Just then Sean entered with his suitcase. Justin got down from the chair and ran to hug his father.

Sean knelt down to the level of his son and rumpled his brown spiky hair cutely. Justin loves it when he does that. He hugged him lovingly

"Good morning daddy"

"Morning my prince. How was your night?

"Hope you dreamt about me"

"Yes, I dreamt about you and mommy" Justin smiled innocently.

Just then Sean and Vivian's eye met and she turned her face away immediately. Sean continued to hug and kiss his son affectionately, Vivian watched on from her seat as she saw the feeling of fatherly love at that moment in Sean, she couldn't help smiling at both father and son although she was madly angry with the father.

Sean carried Justin to his seat and went to his.

"Dad's here, okay?"

he said reassuringly to Justin for that while.

Vivian didn't turn or say anything to Sean, she was still angry and he was not going to apologise either for hitting her since it had become his habit and it was no new thing.

At first, he felt remorseful when he saw a piece of his palm where he'd hit her yesterday had made a mark on her right cheek.

He wanted to apologise but couldn't out of pride besides he felt she started it the moment she started insulting him.

He could remember the very first day he laid his hands on her clearly now, he had felt very remorseful and regretted it although that day Vivian was at fault, she insulted and embarrassed him in front of his friends. After the friends left, he and Vivian got into a very hot argument that even made Justin cry.

Sean had hit her that day and his conscience disturbed him like crazy because he loved his wife and he could not believe he could hit her. He was sad and went to aplologise but she was furious and would not listen. He left the house and went to the bar to see one of his friends, Kendrick . He poured out his emotions to Kendrick .

"Kendrick , I can't believe I did it, I mean I slapped her. I hurt Vivian"

He said crying

"I raised my hands on her and she is mad at me".

Kendrick hissed and called Sean a coward.

" I don't understand why you're crying Sean. She was being too tough to handle, wasn't she? She was the one at fault, man"

Kendrick said, advising him wrongly.

How could Kendrick give him a good advice when he wasn't even a married man? Kendrick motioned to the bar tender,

"More beer please,"

he ordered for he and Sean.

"Come-on drink something and cheer up man, don't tell me you apologised to her" Kendrick asked with disdain as he slipped his champagne.

Sean raised his head from his palm and faced Kendrick

"I had to apologise"

Sean said and gulped down his drink.

"That's you being a coward"

Kendrick finally stated.

"Have you seen how I treat Ava before?" Kendrick tried to explain about the way he treats his girlfriend.

" I do hit her every fucking time she provokes me. I need to show her what her place is."

"You don't have to be amazed at how I act around her whenever she gets me Annoyed"

Kendrick said chuckling

" I can't help it when she gets me mad, I have to tame her so she knows how to watch her ways and shut her tongue tight in her mouth"

"But isn't that too mean?"

Sean asked Kendrick

"She has no choice, she can't leave me...after all i take fucking good care of her with my......"

He brought out some dollar notes and shakes it to Sean's face.

"There is nothing wrong in beating a lady Mike, don't let anyone deceive you, women need to know their place and learn to respect you".

"Isn't that what you want?"

"Respect, man!, You need respect and they need to show that to you at all times"

Kendrick advised wrongly and gulped his champagne while looking at a confused Sean in the eye.

*****************

"Come on Jush!"

Vivian called her son as she always calls him in short, jolting Sean back into the present from his thoughts.

"We don't wanna be late"

She said eventually breaking the silence that had ensued in the dining room.

She held Justin by the hand and took the dishes to the kitchen leaving Sean in the dining.

As she grabbed her bag, she carried her son and was heading downstairs when Justin said

"good bye daddy. Mom, greet dad bye too"

he said smiling.

"bye son"

Sean said and waved to Justin while Vivian just went out with her son and got ready to drop him at school and head to her working place.

She had just dropped Justin at his school and was heading to her office in her Honda jeep car which her husband had bought for her when the going was still rosy.

It was on her birthday that fateful afternoon, Sean had paid her a surprise visit at her working place. After her colleagues at the office had sang her a happy birthday song, she was informed that her husband was waiting for her downstairs.

She rushed down happily while the rest came to watch from the balcony and roof top. Sean was waiting for her and was beside a brand new Honda jeep.

As she got down, she ran into his waiting arms.

He wished her a happy birthday.

"I have bought you this"

Sean stated, smiling

"Please!"

"Please, accept this as a token of my love"

he said and handed her the car keys

"Oh my goodness!"

She exclaimed and covered her mouth with her palm, gesturizing her surprise.

She was so happy that she hugged him tightly and kissed him for a long while on the lips.

They had been so engrossed in the kiss, not minding others watching them. They were lost in their love for each other.

Where had that love that was ruling their lives gone to? Why had it walked out of their marriage and left with all it's joy, happiness and bliss?

Love had left leaving only sourness.

Vivian cleaned her tears as she sat wearily in front of the wheel.

She didn't feel like driving at that moment, she just buried her head on the steering wheel and allowed her emotions to get the best of her.

Just then her phone rang. It read

'Bestie'.

It was Jade calling

She raised her head, picked the phone and cleaned her tears immediately as though Jade would see her from the phone..

"Hello"

She said

"where are you Vivian?"

Jade asked, worried.

"I'm on my way now"

Vivian said and sat upright.

She immediately turned on the ignition realizing she was supposed to have been in the office on her seat working not crying her eyes out inside her car.

"I was held up by the traffic jam"

She lied to Jade who was complaining about how she had covered up her lateness so the managing director wouldn't get mad.

"I'm on my way now"

Vivian said

"Thank you"

She said and hung up the phone.

All thanks to Sean for getting into her head so early in the morning and making her lose the zeal for today. She hissed and sped off.

As she drove across the street, she suddenly turned to her right and saw some couples walking and holding each other by the hand.

She saw the lady Smiling and feeling happy being with her boyfriend or her husband, whichever.

She saw the lady rubbing her protuded stomach continually and the man giving her a peck on her head.

She seemed to be pregnant, well, she looked happy and not moody like Vivian was right now.