One Wild Night

While everyone else was busy chattering and talking about the coming interview with Eric Howells and the possible questions they might be asked, Bernice kept mute as she looked at her mother's neck but with a distant look in her eyes.

After they spent hours shopping for the clothes and jewelry they would wear to the interview, they had decided to have a quick brunch together before going to find the designer who had made the dress Anita wanted.

"Why are you so silent, Benny? Are you alright?" Tiffany asked when she observed Bernice's disposition.

Rebekah smiled knowingly as she looked at her oldest daughter, thinking that she was probably distracted because she couldn't wait to go be with her lover.

Of course she could understand that feeling completely. It wasn't easy staying focused on any conversation when you knew someone was somewhere waiting to eat you up.

"You can go home to get some rest if you are not feeling too well," Rebecca suggested, wanting to give her an excuse to leave.

Bernice looked into her mother's face. She didn't know what to say or how to feel. What sort of mother gave the sort of advise her mother did? She didn't even ask for the details of the affair, but instead had asked her not to be so obvious.

Didn't that mean she was experienced in having affairs herself? Or was she just feeling this way because of the necklace?

If her mother had merely come out right to say the diamond jewelry was a gift from Adam she wouldn't be feeling so suspicious, but the fact that her mother had said it was a gift from an admirer was what she couldn't wrap her head around.

She was feeling very tempted to confront her mother about it, but she didn't want to offend her mother just in case her mother was not aware of the identity of her admirer. But her mother was smart. There was no way she would accept a gift from someone she did not know or flaunt it this way if she didn't know who had sent it.

"I'm okay. I will leave after we are done," Bernice said with a forced smile, and Rebekah gave her a nod.

"So, can we know the identity of this secret admirer of yours?" Bernice asked casually and she noticed how her mother's smile wavered as she looked at her as though she was trying to discern if she was asking because she knew who the person was.

Bernice flashed her mother an encouraging smile, "Don't tell me you don't know the identity of your admirer," Bernice said, urging her to tell them.

"There is no way mother would accept a gift without knowing who sent it. She taught us that much," Anita said, and Bernice nodded in agreement.

"You shouldn't tease her. Mother has been alone since dad's death, so she deserves every attention she is getting," Tiffany said, and Bernice rolled her eyes.

"Can you stop being mummy's girl for a moment? No one said she doesn't deserve it. Shouldn't we at least know if our mother now has a man in her life? There is nothing wrong in knowing who she is seeing," Bernice insisted, and Anita nodded.

"Bernice is right. Do you know the person who sent it? If you don't we can just find out where the necklace was bought..."

"That won't be necessary," Rebekah quickly cut in. She was beginning to think that wearing the necklace was a bad idea. She had wanted to flaunt it before her daughters, but had she known it would get so much attention she wouldn't have worn it.

"I know the identity of my admirer, however, I can't tell you his name right now due to personal reasons, so I request that you respect my privacy," Rebekah said, giving Bernice a pointed look since she was the one championing the issue.

Respect her privacy? Respect her privacy when she just admitted that she knew Adam had bought her the necklace and was still referring to him as her admirer? There was no way in hell she was going to respect her privacy. She was going to look into this, and if she found out that her mother so much as had anything to do with Adam, there will be hell to pay.

Thinking about it now, it occurred to her that her mother had an unusual relationship with Adam. They were sort of close, and how come her mother was always taking Adam's side whenever she complained to her? Why did her mother keep advising her not to pry into Adam's business?

It was weird that she was suspecting her mother of having an affair with her husband, but after the sort of advise her mother had given her, she wouldn't put something as immoral as this past her.

"Bernice? Why do you keep zoning out?" Anita asked, snapping her fingers in front of Bernice to get her attention.

"I can't wrap my head around the fact that mother still has such generous admirers at her age. Don't you envy her?" Bernice asked Tiffany and Anita, and they laughed.

"We've left that topic. Keep up," Rebekah said irritably, wondering what was going on in Bernice's head. She didn't happen to know about the necklace, did she?

"Oh, really? So what are we talking about now?" Bernice asked as she tried to come up with an idea on how to find out the truth.

"Your uncle Richard. It's been a while since I heard from him. Have you heard from him recently?" Rebekah asked, and Bernice shook her head.

"No, I haven't. Have you tried reaching him on phone or visiting him?" Bernice asked, and Rebekah shook her head.

"His lines are not reachable, and I don't have the time to make the trip to his house," Rebekah said, while Anita pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"He sounded weird the last time I spoke with him. He kept asking questions about what I was going to do about Lucy and Tom," Anita confided.

"He did? Why? What exactly did he say?" Rebekah asked and Anita told them the details (chapter 246) of their conversation.

"It's probably not a big deal. I'm sure he was only asking out of concern. You know he sees you like a daughter," Tiffany said, and Anita nodded.

"Maybe he traveled out of the country on a vacation?" Bernice suggested.

"Without informing me? Besides, I don't think he would have traveled just like that when he is supposed to be receiving treatment," Rebekah pointed out.

"How about you give his doctor a call? You have his doctor's line, right?" Tiffany asked, and Rebekah gave her a nod.

"That's a good idea. He must keep in touch with his doctor," Rebekah said as she took out her phone to dial the doctor's line.

The phone rang for some time before the doctor received the call, and when he did he sounded pissed the moment he realized who the caller was.

"Have you heard from Richard?" The doctor asked before Rebekah could ask, and she frowned.

"I don't know. I was hoping you would know as his doctor. I haven't been able to reach him for some time now and I'm very concerned about him," Rebekah said, and the doctor snorted.

"Did he ask you to tell me this? If you who are his sister doesn't know where he is, how do you expect me to know? If you hear from Richard, tell him to pay me what he owes or else I will go to the press with the information I have," the doctor threatened, and Rebekah frowned while her daughters watched her, wondering why she was frowning so much.

"Information? What information are you talking about?" Rebekah asked before the doctor could hang up.

"Richard is not ill. His major illness is his chronic gambling addiction, and that is what has taken all his wealth. If he doesn't pay up what he owes me I'm going to release this piece of information to the press," the doctor promised, and Rebekah raised a brow.

"The first time we spoke before we concluded on selling off the airline to pay his medical bills you said he was dying, and needed money to..."

"Richard asked me to tell you that. He said that was the only way you would let him sell the airline. He was knee deep in debts and needed to sell the airline to pay off his debts," The doctor explained, and it was all Rebekah could do to not to explode.

"Are you telling me the truth?"

"Do I have a reason to lie to you?" He asked irritably.

"Text me your account details and the amount he owes you. I will clear it up. Keep this information to yourself," Rebekah said before hanging up.

She couldn't let such a scandal taint her. Especially not when she had to be on Eric Howell's sure. She was going to clean up his mess, and then find him. She had to take care of him once and for all. She didn't need a liability in her life.

"What did he say?" Anita asked as they all looked at their mother expectantly.

Rebekah balled her hands into a fist,"Richard is not dying. He lied just so he could sell the airline and take care of his gambling debts," Rebekah announced, leaving her daughters stunned.

"I can't believe he did something like that," Anita said with a frown.

"I thought he was done with gambling," Tiffany murmured.

"It's an addiction. He didn't give it up, he only learned how to hide it," Bernice said with a shake of her head.

"Tiffany, you can go with Anita to see the designer. Make sure she gets a makeover for the anniversary week. I have to find your uncle before he causes any more trouble and clean up his mess. Bernice, you can go see your friend," Rebekah said as she rose.

"I was thinking we could all have lunch tomorrow at my house?" Bernice asked as they all rose to leave.

"Lunch?" Anita asked as she looked at their mother and Tiffany to hear what they had to say.

"Yes. It's been a while since the whole family gathered together. You and Lisa could come along with your husbands. The boys miss their grandma and aunties," Bernice said as she dropped some bills on the table and Tiffany smiled.

"That's not a bad idea. Please let it be outdoor and I don't mind a pool party," Tiffany said with a wink as they all walked outside.

"A pool party would be great! The ladies can cool off at the pool while the men play a game or talk about football, politics or whatever they like to talk about," Anita suggested.

Rebekah sighed, "Alright. Tomorrow then. Remember, do not bring up the interview in Lisa's presence," Rebekah warned as she got into her car and rolled down the glasses.

"Are we really not going to tell her about it?" Anita asked with a slight frown.

"Not yet. I will tell her about it if I want her to know. Just keep it to yourselves," Rebekah warned as she shut the door and turned on her car's ignition.

"What are you going to do about Uncle Richard?" Tiffany asked curiously as they remained standing beside their mother's car.

"Isn't it obvious that he has lost his mind? I'm going to have to keep him in a place where crazy people like him are kept. Let me know how it goes with the designer. See you ladies tomorrow," Rebekah called as she rolled up her glasses making it clear she was done.

Once they moved away from the car, Rebekah drove off. As she drove, she dialed a line, "Make sure you keep an eye on Bernice. Find out who she is going to meet," Rebekah instructed.

She needed to know who her daughter was involved with to make sure she didn't make any silly mistakes that would tarnish their reputation.

Still standing at the parking lot with her sisters, Bernice had a satisfied smile on her face, as she was pleased with herself at coming up with the Sunday lunch idea.

She was going to observe and monitor her mother and husband during lunch tomorrow so she sees if they were hiding something. God save them both if they were.

She sighed inwardly when it occurred to her that Tiffany would most likely feel this same way if she found out that she was having an affair with her husband. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought.

Tiffany was her sister and best friend and she loved her. She didn't want to hurt Tiffany.

This was wrong. All of it was wrong. If her suspicion ended up being true and she was going to punish her mother and Adam, she had to do so with clean hands not with guilt.

Why did she let herself get involved in something as stupid and immoral as having an affair with her own sister's husband? She was better than all of this for crying out loud.

No. She was done. She was going to meet Jackson and let him know that she didn't want to continue with any of that anymore.

"I have to run now. I need to meet up with my friend and also prepare for our lunch tomorrow," Bernice said as she embraced Tiffany and Anita.

"See you tomorrow. I will come with Lisa," Anita said, since they all knew Lisa might not want to join them.

"I can't promise you that Jack will come with me. But I will let him know," Tiffany said with a wave as she watched Bernice walk to her car.

"It's just me and you now," Tiffany said as she looked at Anita, "Let's go find that designer," Tiffany said, and they both headed for their cars.