CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

"Are you Nolani's father?" John asked with a bewildered face.

"First of all, No I am not"

Jason approached the little girl and crouched down to talk to her.

"Sweetie...You can't call me Dada. My name is Jason. Can you say Jason?"

The little girl wiped her nose with her palm but the snout dragged as she wiped her face and ended up making a mess. Jason took the clothes she offered to her earlier on and wiped her face with it. He almost threw up as he did.

"Nolani...can you say Jason?"

Jason waited patiently for the little girl to comply and he really must find a way to stop this little girl from getting emotionally attached to him and most importantly, stop her from calling him father. Jason immediately made a list in his head.

The first thing on his list of 'how to get rid of Nolani' was to get a lock for his door to prevent the child from coming inside his room.

The child was willful and She refused to call him by his name.

"If you call me Jason...I will resurrect Bubba for you?"

Now he was negotiating terms of surrender with a two year old. Jason was supposed to be amused but he wasn't. He was terrified of breaking her little heart.

"You will fix Bubba?" She asked and blinked and at that moment she almost looked like a familiar face. A face, Jason was finding hard to place.

"Yes I will fix Bubba" Jason promised.

Maybe there was hope at the end of the tunnel on his negotiate with the stubborn two years old.

"Okay....Jason" she said and giggled.

Jason was relieved for a moment but not for long.

"Now you fix Bubba, Dada!" The child stood up and left the room leaving a confused Jason and an amused John behind.

John tried to stop himself from laughing but failed miserably.

"I don't think she understands the concept of a negotiation" Jason said out loud. His eyebrows came together like he was frowning and his lips twisted to give a sad appearance. He really was mystified.

"Nolani is Two and half, big boss..... And she kept her part of the deal. You asked if she can say Jason and she did say Jason. Now you will fix Bubba for Nolani" John said

A smile returned to John's face but the mystified look on Jason's face didn't waver.

"What! You mean I got played by a two year old… Oh, she is really good"

John laughed heartily. He stopped when Jason gave him a pair of shoes.

"For me?" John's eyebrow was raised and horizontal wrinkles appeared on his forehead. His jaw was slightly slacked with his mouth hanging loosely open. He was also wide-eyed.

"Yes, for you John" Jason assured him.

"For me!"

The kid sounded surprised. Jason opened his bag and handed to John, one of his body hug shirt since it was the only one that would at least fit his skinny body.

The boy was astonished and speechless. He scratched his head and turned away for a minute to get a hold of his emotions.

"You really are a God sent just like Miss Naya said....Can I go? I have to put on my new cloth and shoes"

Jason smiled and ruffled his hair before sending him on his way.

"Now, I will see the world wearing a new cloth and shoes!" John yelled as he left Jason's room.

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

Thokozani packed his bus inside the compound. The old rickety yellow bus was once again needed. Thokozani was in his best clothes and his two children were comfortably seated in the front row of the bus.

Jason came out of the room and he was comfortably dressed in a pair black slacks and crew neck black shirt with a pair of men color-printed sneakers. He shook hands with Thokozani and said hi to his twin sons.

"Sir, I was wondering if my sons can join the orphans on their trip today, since it is their birthday today"

Thokozani clasped his hands like he was delivering a very important message that had grave consequences. He swallowed his saliva loudly and smoothed his cap. Thokozani wore Malawian traditional attire with matching cap and a walking stick. His two sons had his big nose and warm eyes.

"Thokozani, your sons can tag along of course…I mean, I am already going to a public place with fifty-eight children and what's two more. But I do have two conditions" Jason dusted his slacks with his palm when he noticed a white thread on his slacks.

"Okay sir" Thokozani beamed up with smiles as he waited patiently for the conditions. He turned to smile at his sons as if he was giving them the good news.

"Naya insists we don't call the children Orphans and I want you to take note of that. Secondly, since we will be driving around today, I made an arrangement for another bus to pick us up, if you don't mind?"

"What is wrong with the yellow bus?"

How do you tell someone their priced vehicle is a deathtrap?

"Nothing is wrong with the yellow bus but we won't be taking it. I already arranged for a bus with a functioning air conditioner and a stereo to pick the children up... and Mr. Thokozani, you want your sons to have that experience, don't you?" Jason asked with his 'this is not up for debate voice'.

"You are right sir. But I already cancelled the previous bookings for the yellow bus. I can't go back home to my wife without any money sir" Thokozani was fidgety.

"I will pay you for today's service but the children are still not going with the yellow bus. You are free to tag along if you want" Jason said before he got distracted.

Naya made her way to where Jason and Thokozani were standing. She could see that Thokozani was distressed and Jason was breathtaking in his slacks and crew neck shirt. She saw the expression on Jason's face when he saw her. No matter how much she will deny it, she did really dress up for him.

She was wearing a long floral dress with a slit that showed her flawless right leg. She was on a nude color heels, a purple color hat and matching handbag. Naya made her way to where Jason and Thokozani stood and flash them a smile. She was sexy but classy in her alluring long floral dress.

Jason kept looking at her without uttering a word.

"Are you going to keep staring at me or will you tell me how I look?" Naya smiled showcasing a perfect dentition.

"You look fierce!" Jason blurted out before he could stop himself.