Ria Episode 40 by Ademide

Ria Episode 40 by Ademide

THEME:MY OLD FRIEND ?
°° RIA ROBERT COUTURE °°
RIA POV ?‍♀
I heard the soft knock on my office door
“Come in” I said to whoever was at the door.
Then Ian popped his head in
“Busy?” He asked
“Not really”
I dropped my pencil and stood up to meet him half way
“Good morning” I said
Ian placed a kiss on my forehead. We’ve been doing that a lot these days..i mean Ian kissing me. He kisses just my cheeks or forehead when we greet in the morning or whenever we’re about to call it a day on my porch.
“Morning.. I brought Coffee”
He raised the 2in1 coffee park in the air.
Ian made a custom that we have coffee together every mornings ever since I started working at my place.
We have our coffee before he drops me off at school.
Ben always come around to pick me when I’m done with classes cause Ian was always busy during the middays.
What I’m trying to say is that Ian has been doing all he can to make sure I’m comfortable and fine. And not go through the stress of getting a taxi.
“Thank You”
I collected the coffee and drank it. It was refreshing!
And it tasted good
“What time are you scheduled for classes today?”
“12:00pm”
“12? I’ll be in meeting by then”
“It fine you can send Ben over”
Ian drew in a deep breathe
“What’s wrong?”
“Ramsey called me this morning and said that Ben tendered his resignation letter”
“Why?”
“I don’t know Ria..but I’ll talk to him when I get to the office…even if I will have to increase his salary”
“Do you think he wants to resign because of the payment?”
“I have no idea.. I’m only suggesting that I will increase his pay if I have to”
Well I don’t think it because of the payment. Ben’s salary is good.. Better off than the normal driving salary. And Ian do give him bonus. And sometimes I tip him whenever he drops me off at school.. Even though I always have to persuade him to accept it from me.
Now he wants to resign!
Cassidy won’t be happy because Ben won’t be coming around anymore.
They are pretty close now and Mrs Elise already sensed a connection between them.
Like Cassidy is in love with him!
Now what’s she going to do?
“I was thinking of something” Ian said
“What?”
“Even if Ben wants to leave I’ll allow him..but at the same time I will ask him to teach you how to drive before he leaves finally”
“How to drive?”
“Yes..or don’t you wanna learn how drive a car?”
“I want to Ian”
“Good it will much easier for us if you can drive a car”
It a good Idea!
“I know you are busy but Saturdays and Sunday evenings will do”
“And Wednesdays too..no classes”
“Yes Ben will teach you on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I will take Sunday”
“But won’t he feel like you don’t want him to go?”
“I will pay him. Or do you wanna go to driving school instead?”
“I’m too busy Ian”
“Then Ben is our best option now”
“Talk to him about It first”
He nodded
“You don’t have to worry..I’ll work on your driving license when you can drive perfectly”
“Okay. And thanks”
“You’re welcome”
“So what are you up to?”
Ian sat on the couch
“School project”
I went back to my desk and took the big notepad and pencil
“Making a new design?”
“Kind of -“
I settled beside him
Then he placed his hand on my shoulder.
“A wedding gown design”
I gave it to him as I soak in his scent.
“Your lecturer asked you to design a wedding gown”
“Yes..and this is my first design”
Wedding gowns!
The main reason I decided to attend a fashion school!
The design I sketched on the pad was an off shouldered dress and it flowed out in a billowy wave with it veil attached to it.
“It beautiful”
He complimented
“Really?”
“Yes” he grazed his knuckles on my cheek
“And what else do you have to do now?”
“I’ll make it look better than this when I wanna submit it. And I think we’ll have to make the sample too”
“Wedding gown classes this week I guess?”
“Yes for three weeks”
“You can do this Ria” he said
“Yes I know Ian”
“So what else are you working on aside this one?”
“Mrs Elise and Loretta are the ones working on The dresses for now. They want me to focus on school works”
“That’s right. What about the supplies?”
“They will deliver it today”
“Everything is fine?”
“Yes Ian everything is fine”
“Okay”
He gave the pad to me
He stood up and I did the same too
“Are you leaving?” I asked
I wanted him to stay!
“Yes”
He covered the inch between us
“I really want to stay too Ria..But -“
He cupped my face
“I have a lot to do at the office”
My mouth twisted as I studied his expression
“I understand”
Then he placed his forehead on mine.
“Thanks for understanding. I’ll give you a call”
He kissed my forehead
“Okay”
Ian stepped backward
“Bye”
He walked out of the office
My mind was spinning!
I was trying to control my whirling emotions
What is this feeling?
A voice whispered in my mind
“You’re in love with him!”
In love?
It couldn’t possibly be!
I knew I was attracted to him but not in love.
There hasn’t been enough time for that..
“But maybe you’ve fallen in love with him”
I heard the soft voice again
“In that ridiculously short time?”
I said loudly
“Short time?..it’s been months!”
It not a short time..thinking about it now…we’ve been together for months now.
Is this how it feels to be in love?
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
RORY THOMAS INSTITUTE
AUTHOR POV ??
He sat in his car,holding an old picture in his hands. He compared the lady he had saw on TV.
There was no doubt that she was the same person. He just wasn’t sure if the 16 years old girl in the picture had survived six years ago. The cops confirmed her dead but they never showed her true body.
And he had searched the whole town cause he never believed she was dead! He kept searching,hoping to find a sixteen years old blind girl but he failed!
Days turned Into weeks and then Into months.
Then he had to believe it!
But it was really hard to accept that she was dead!
Ria was talking to a man at the huge steel gate of the institution!
They men in uniforms knew who she was…the latest clothe designer in Chicago.
Then she moved to the roadside to take a taxi to her shop. Ben resigned but agreed to teach Ria how to drive while Ian was busy at work.
He glanced up from the picture and saw Ria Robert trying to hail a taxi.
She was alive!
Feeling of guilt washed over him!
He should have done better!
He should have searched!
He shouldn’t have given up like that!
The 16 years old girl was now a fully grown woman.
The dimple on her right cheek was still eminent enough to prove that she was Ria Robert.
The same Blind girl that had mended his rags.
The same Ria he had helped to school whenever he was less busy at work.
Memories flooded his mind…images of how they used to play in the small garden in her family home.
Now here she was,after six years!
Would she recognize him?
No she possibly can’t because Ria was blind back then. But She identified people by their voices.
He started the car and drive closer to Ria.
He stooped the car right in front of her and rolled Down the glass.
Ria raised her brows at him while he stared at her.
Taking in her feature closely,cataloguing every changes from The 16 years old girl he used to know.
The patches on her eyes were gone,now replaced with Vibrant Aquamarine eyes. They stared back at him intensely.
Those eyes was just like the old woman’s picture he used to see in her home.
Her Grandma.
And she now looked like her mother.
A striking image of her late mother..just that her mom had a brown hair while hers was black. She got the black hair and nose from her dad.
He had promised that he would help her see the world and he had worked hard back then…and gave the tokens he had to her mother to add it to their savings for Ria surgery. But he couldn’t fulfill that promise cause he found out she was dead.
At first he didn’t know what happened cause he was out of Town until he received the call that they were dead and Ria was missing.
He wondered how she had left Idaho as blind girl and made it big in Chicago.
♦••♦••♦
RIA POV ?‍♀
I stared back at the man in the car. He doesn’t look like a taxi driver and the car was a BMW.
Definitely not a cab!
He didn’t say anything.
He just stared at me.
I moved away from his car.
Where are the taxis in Chicago?
I heard the closing of a door.
The man was already out of his car.
He was tall and well built-in..
I knew he would be regulars at the gym center.
His hair was cut in a way that suited his face and extremely pointed nose. He was dressed in a fitting dark Jean and a blue body hogging top that showed off his tight arms and well sculpted chest. He paired it with a dark vans.
I don’t need a free Ride!
He must be insane to think that I would just go into his car like that..cause I couldn’t get a taxi.
Men have no shame!
Luckily for me a taxi stopped in front of me and I entered it without looking back at the man.
“Where ma’am?” The taxi driver asked
“RRC” I said and he looked back at me and smiled
“Ria Robert Couture” I completed
“Yes ma’am I know. And it nice to meet you in person”
He said before the car hit the road again
And I smiled back at him
“Perhaps ma’am can I get an autograph for my daughter?”
He said seconds later
“She want to be a clothe designer like you”
“How old is she?”
“She’s just 7 years old. She actually watched your interview on national TV where you had shared your success story..so then she decided that she want to be a clothe designer too”
“Okay”
I brought out a large paper and pen from my bag.
I don’t have an autograph so I just wrote down my name and signed on the paper.
Then I gave it to him.
“I’d like to meet your daughter Mr -“
I waited for him to tell me his name
“Mr Maureen”
“Mr Maureen just bring her to RRC with this note”
“Oh thanks Ma’am”
He collected it from me
“I’m always less busy on Saturdays”
“Okay ma’am”
My phone buzzed. I took it out of my bag. It was Ian!
“Hello Ian”
“I’m coming to pick you up”
“No you don’t have to Ian I’m in taxi now”
He was silent
“Since Ben resigned and I figured you’d be busy at work so I took the taxi. I’m on my way to the shop now”
Ian called me around 10 that he wasn’t able to convince Ben to stay but he had asked him to teach me how to drive before leaving finally. Ben told Ian he wants to stop working as a driver.
“Okay”
“Believe Ian I’m in the taxi”
“I believe you. See you at the shop”
“All right” I hang up
“Excuse me ma’am”
“Yes Mr Maureen”
“Do you know the owner of that car behind us? I noticed it being following us”
I looked back and saw the same car from earlier.
What does he want from me?!
“I don’t know whoever own that car”
“Should I call the cops?”
Now don’t tell me I’m being stalked by some weird guy!
I wanted to say yes but part of me wanted to know who that guy was.
He can’t be following me like that!
“No don’t call the cops”
“Okay”
Mr Maureen pulled off from the road and cornered into a quiet Street.
“Don’t worry we’ll still hit the highway. Let’s see if the car will come after us Ma’am”
“Okay”
At least I was in safe hands!
But then I looked back and saw the car now making the same turn.
“He’s coming”
Who is this man?!
“Mr Maureen stop the car”
I’m not going to allow him come after him like we are on a chase. It better I face him!
“Are you sure Ma’am?”
“Yes please” he stopped the car.
And the other car stopped too and the man came out.
I got out of car
I was ready to lash out harsh words at him!
“Who are you?! A stalker?”
I screamed at him
He didn’t respond
“If you don’t have better things to do other than stalking women with your car then you might as well find a better job!”
He stared at me
His Adams apple bobbling up and down his throat
This is so annoying!
He’s good at just staring!
“You know what – you should consider a staring competition”
I hissed and turned back to the taxi
“Ria” he called
I heard his voice
I was three steps away from him.
My heart beats rapidly as I tried to trackback where I’d heard that voice.
It was familiar in my ears!
Like a voice I was used to hearing everyday!
It couldn’t possibly be!
I turned to face him.
“You’re Ria Robert”
He took one step forward
“The child of Mr Nathan and Mrs Madison Robert”
He took another step
My mouth opened slightly
He knew my parents names!
“Am I right?” He asked
There was only one person with this voice…
Is this really him?
When I was blind I recognized my parents and Friend with my sense of touch and hearing their voices. And I was very familiar with three voices..my dad,mom and a Friend named Ethan..the only friend I had back then.
And now this man’s voice sounded like Ethan’s and he knows my parents names!
What if he is Ethan?
“I used to know a blind girl named Ria Robert and she used to help me mend my torn clothes. But I don’t know if I’m mistaken now or if I’m right..that the owner of RRC is the same Ria Robert I used to know”
He paused and drew a deep breathe
“Please just tell me if I’m Right”
He whispered
This man Ethan!
No doubt about it! With everything he just said!
“Ethan?”
I muttered
And a smile formed on his face.
Of My God! I can’t believe this is happening now!
“Are you Ethan Dantes?”
“Yes I’m Ethan Dantes”
Then without wasting time..like in slow motion I went to him and hugged him.
“Ethan”
My eyes became blurry
“Ria..it me” he said
I was so happy to see him!
Extremely a glad to see someone who knew things about me.
Another companion who encouraged and stood by me when I was blind.
Ethan was my childhood friend even If he was older than me.
My mom met him when I was 6. She took me to the store that day and Ethan had offered to help her carry her load so she could hold me properly. Then Ethan was 10.
He followed us home and ever since then Ethan was always coming to help my mom buy materials from the store..and practically Ethan ran errands from my mom. He did things I wasn’t able to do for my parents
My parents loved him…most especially my dad.
I came out of the embrace and stared at him.
“I’m sorry Ria”
“Sorry about what?”
I noticed the drop of tear on his right cheek
“We need to talk Ria. I want to know how you survived”
I nodded
“Yes there’s a lot of Talking to do”
He wiped the tear with his fingertips
“Can we do that now?”
I looked around
“We can go somewhere else”
He said
“Okay..I’ll just get my bag from the taxi”
“All right”
I walked to the taxi
“Is everything okay Ma’am?”
“Yes Mr Maureen. He’s an old friend”
I took out some notes from my purse and gave it to him
“Thank You Mr Maureen and I will be expecting you at RRC”
“Thanks ma’am”
He drove away and I walked back to Ethan.
Meeting Ethan again was the answers to my prayers!
I needed someone who was in Idaho around the time my parents died. Ethan must know what happened after the cops came around that night!
He will give me answers to the missing puzzles!
And there was only one thing I was more concerned about which was where my parents were laid to rest.
♪♪♪♪♪
My Old Friend ?
I remember you would tell me things you never shared with anyone because you know I’ve seen…”
?
Another new Character! Ethan Dantes!
Hmmm are sensing what I’m thinking right now? ?
I hope you all enjoyed reading this episode!

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