Her Last Wish – Episode 18

HER LAST WISH
(Moremi)

Chapter 18.

Zeemah Writes . . .

“We thought you wont be attending anymore” Anne said as she and Fel joined Layla who seem so shy to move, at the door.
“I’m sorry i’m late, I got delayed” Layla smile, her nervousness wearing off now that Anne and Fel were close to her.
She had thought the party was over when she got to Dan’s exquisite living room and found it empty. But Paul, Dan’s driver had led her to the large hall and Layla was so surprised there was a hall in the house. Though the house looked so big and beautiful but she never thought there would be a hall in it, not just a hall but a grand one.
Dan’s parents must be wealthier than she had thought.

Walking in here and having almost everyone attention on her almost made her crawl out, she was so shy and nervous that her cheeks went hot.
She has never had to deal with getting so much attention, maybe she had . . she had gotten a lot of attention whenever Chloe bullied her but this was different, almost everyone had a look of admiration on their faces as they stared at her and Layla felt glad Phil had dolled her up a little, she had felt overdressed but getting here, every female made her think otherwise. They look stunning with different heavy makeup popping up their faces. She would have felt so bad if she had come in here with a plain face and rough hair . . ‘in Phil’s words’
The males were looking great too.

Everyone had turned back to whatever they were doing before she walked in and it made Layla less nervous, most especially now that Anne and Fel were with her.
Their faces were simply made up and their dresses looked beautiful, Anne’s looked stunning though . . anyone would tell her parents were the hosts and this was the first time Layla would be seeing her without her glasses.

“You look so beautiful Layla ” Anne complimented with a smile.
“Yeah and your your make up . . so simple yet highlighting” Fel said admiringly.
“Thanks” Layla smile.. “You both are looking great too”
“We’re so glad you are here” Fel said.

Anne grabbed a glass of drink from the tray of a passing waitress and handed it to Layla.
“Thank you” Layla smile and it was then she noticed almost everyone had a glass cup of drink in hand including Fel and Anne. Though the Adult’s drink looked different from the teens.

She slowly sipped it and the heavenly taste of the drink almost made her down it in one gulp, but of course she had to restrain herself.

“Hello there” Rylan smile, snaking his arm around Layla.
“Rylan” Layla smile, hugging him.
She hadn’t seen him since the last time they all came to the café . She missed him.
“How have you been?” Rylan ask.
“Great and you?”
“Been my normal funny self” Rylan grin and Fel scoffed loudly before rolling her eyes. Layla laughed . . She really missed seeing the both of them getting on each other’s neck.
“It’s so nice to see you again” Layla said.
“Wow . . I felt that deep in my soul” Rylan said, holding his chest with his hand with his eyes rolling upward like he was in a trance.
Layla burst out laughing again and Fel and Anne joined her.

“It’s so nice to see you too again Layla, you should get a phone soon so we can always keep in touch” Rylan said, his arm still snaked over Layla’s shoulders.
“Oh .. yeah, I should” Layla said, sighing inwardly.
“And you’re looking so chic” He wink at her and she laughed.
“Thanks Rylan, you are not looking bad either” She wink back at him.
She likes how playful Rylan is, he makes her get playful too.

Fel suddenly slapped Rylan’s arm away from Layla’s shoulders.
“What was that?” Rylan groan.
“You are suffocating her” Fel roll her eyes.
“Gosh, you are so annoying. Layla didn’t even complain” Rylan hiss.
“She didn’t have to complain”
“How does my arm around her shoulders means suffocation? Oh.. now I get it, You wanted to touch me badly and that’s what you could come up with? Gosh that was so petty” Rylan raised his brow teasingly and before anyone could blink Fel was chasing him all over the hall.
Anne and Layla laughed.

“Thanks for coming” Layla heard Dan’s voice before turning.
“Dan” She smile, she was about asking Anne where he was.
“I’m sorry for arriving late, I got delayed” Layla said.
“It’s fine, i’m glad you are finally here. By the way, you look so beautiful” Dan smiled and her cheeks flushed.
She always find herself blushing whenever Dan complimented her in any way. Maybe it was the sincerity in his eyes whenever he does.
“You look great too” Layla said, taking in his appearance. His hair had been styled differently and it highlighted his already good looking face, he looked so cool and matured in his neat wears. Anyone would have mistaken him for an Adult.

“Where’s everyone leaving to? Is the party over?” Layla ask, seeing everyone move to a direction.
“No, they are moving to the dining area, its time to dine” Dan said.
“Oh” Layla said.
” Let’s go join them but you should meet my parents first” Dan smile, taking Layla’s hand.
“I’ll be going to the dining area” Anne said to them.
“Okay and just ignore my friends if they try to talk to you okay?”
“Okayyyyyy” Anne drawl, rolling her eyes before walking away.
“Brotherly duties” Layla teased as Dan led her towards his parents. They both chuckle.

“Hi Mum, Dad” Dan said standing in front of a beautiful woman who was talking to one of the caterers and a man who stood beside her, the man is no doubt Dan’s father, the resemblance was striking, even if Dan hadn’t called the man ‘Dad’ Layla would have guessed right away that he was Mr Keyes. He looked the older version of Dan and they even had the same color of hair, glossy brown.
Dan’s mum turned away from the caterer and smiled on seeing Layla, her smile totally similar with Anne’s . . Layla noticed, even more beautiful than Anne’s. Gosh . . Dan’s parents are so good looking, it’s no surprise they have such beautiful children.

“You must be Layla” His mum spoke first.
“Yes Mrs Keyes, I’m Layla Moremi Williams” Layla said nervously.
“Oh, the African” Mr Keyes smiled and Layla nod shyly.
“Woah . . an African in the building” Mr Keyes danced and they laughed. Layla suddenly felt less nervous around them.
“It’s so nice to meet you dear, and thanks for coming” Mrs Keyes said.
“It’s a pleasure” Layla smile.
“Yeah, it’s so great to have you here .. I hope you’re having fun?”
“Very well Mr Keyes”
“And . . Thanks for making Anne better at pies, the last one she baked was so tasty. i’m so glad she’ll stop wasting my flour” Mrs Keyes said with a relieved sigh.
Dan and his dad chuckle. . The fight between Anne and her Mum whenever Anne made bad pies is no small one.
“It’s nothing Mrs Keyes” Layla smile.

“Dan’s told us about you and I would really love to know you better, have a lengthy conversation with you but this is no place for it, everywhere is so tight now. I’m going to invite you over for lunch some other time, I hope you don’t mind darling?” Mrs Keyes smiled.
“Not at all Mrs Keyes” Layla smiled back, thinking of how she’s going to get another permission from Phil once Mrs Keyes invites her over.
“Alright”
“Uhm . . i’m sorry we’ll have to leave you guys now, to make sure the guests are fine. Have fun Layla and it’s so nice to meet you once again” Mr Keyes winks, tucking his wife’s arm in his.
Layla smile.
“And, I must say you look really beautiful Layla” Mrs Keyes said before walking away with Mr Keyes.
“Thank you” Layla called after them shyly.

“Wow, your parents are terrific” Layla grinned.
“Thank you” Dan smile. Though his parents were always nice to his friends but he could see they liked Layla more . . just like they had liked Ry and Fel at the first meeting. If he had told them she was now one of his special friends, he would have definitely thought that was the reason they seem to like her more but he was yet to. They thought she was just a normal friend.

“Now you should meet my friends from Prestige High School” Dan wink.
“I’m going to meet every one of them” Layla ask and she started getting nervous when Dan nodded.
“Don’t be nervous” Dan said like he was reading her mind. “They are cool people, though most of them are crazy but you’ll find yourself relaxing among them in no time”
“Okay” Layla sigh.
“We should join them at the dining table” Dan took her hand, she dropped her almost empty glass of drink on a nearby table and they were both heading towards the dining area.
Layla realized the teens had a separate table from the adult . . Great! She would have been so nervous eating at the same table with so many adults.

“She have to meet Mr and Mrs Summers too” Fel said suddenly popping up behind them.
“f**k! Must you always have to scare me!” Dan groan.
“No” Fel replied with a straight face and Layla chuckle.
“You both be quick and join us at the dining table, I need to introduce Layla to our friends” Dan said.
“Okay Dan, we’ll be back in a jiffy” Fel said, pulling Layla away and they both went in search of Fel’s parents.

“There they are” Fel smile, approaching a couple who were interacting with others.. They excused themselves when they saw Fel approaching with a girl they’ve never seen with her.

Fel’s parents were good looking but in no way looked like Fel, her dad was tall,bald and heavily built, with a ‘no-nonsense’ look on his face, his presence was almost intimidating and Layla had to swallow hard as they approached them. Her mum was less intimidating, though the makeup on her face was so heavy that Layla doubt if she would recognize the woman without makeup on, and her dress looked so beautiful and expensive, glittering extravagantly all over the place. The bright smile on Mrs Summers face made Layla relax a bit.

“Hi Mum, Dad this is Layla” Fel smiled.
“Oh . . Your new friend” Mrs Summers smiled at Layla and she smiled back, fully relaxed.
“I’m Layla Moremi Williams” Layla introduced herself.
“Oh dear, it’s so nice to meet you” Mrs Summers kissed Layla’s cheeks, surprising her.
She was yet to recover from the surprise when Mr Summers whom Layla had thought to be rigid, stretched his hand to her for a handshake.
She swallowed, taking his hand. His hands were as hard as he looked but there was this gentleness to it.
“Hi Layla” He smiled down at her and that was when Layla realized he looked like Fel, but only when he smiled. He looked less intimidating wearing a smile.
She was thrown aback by their pleasantness that she went mute for some seconds, she hadn’t expected this, especially with how Mr Summers looked.
“Hi Mr Summers” Layla finally said, looking up at him like a tall tree.
“It’s so nice to meet you both too” She added with a smile.

“Your dress is so beautiful, it’s of which design?” Mrs Summers asked, checking out Layla’s dress with admiration. Layla could tell Mrs Summers is a lover of beautiful dresses, a fashionista just like her mum.
“Thanks Mrs Summers, It belonged to my Mum” Layla said.
“Wow . . She must really have an eye for dresses and . . . did you say ‘belonged?’ ” Mrs Summers asked.
“Yeah, she’s late” Layla said.
“Oh my .. dear, i’m so sorry about that” Mrs Summers said, looking so concerned as she hugged Layla.
“Accept my condolence Layla” Mr Summers said looking sorry too and Layla didn’t know why she almost laughed.

“It’s fine, it happened years back, i’m over it” She smiled.
“We have to go join them at the dining table now. Dan is waiting for us” Fel said to her parents, knowing they were talkative.
” it’s nice meeting you once again Layla” Mr and Mrs Summers said and Mrs Summers kissed Layla cheeks again.
“I’ll have Fel invite you over for a nice meal some other time, I hope you will come” Mrs Summers said.
“It’ll be a pleasure” Layla smiled but Phil’s voice started ringing in her ears “YOU ARE GOING NOWHERE!!!”
“Damn” She muttered under her breath.
“See ya” Fel said to her parents before pulling Layla away.

“Your parents really beat my expectations” Layla said to Fel as they headed towards the dining table.
“Especially my dad right?” Fel laughed.
“Yeah, I was almost intimidated by his height”
“His looks are very deceiving, my dad is one of the nicest person you would meet, even more softhearted than my mum is” Fel said.
“Are you serious?”
“I know you find that hard to believe, people find that hard to believe but its the fact, they are my parents and I’ve lived with them all my life”
“It’s hard to believe but I believe you, I’ve always known looks can be deceiving ” Layla said and just when they were about getting to the dining room, Rylan popped behind them with a squeak.

“Are you crazy?! You f****ng scared me!” Fel yelled.
“It’s not my fault you’re a chicken that gets scared every single time” Ry scoff and Fel scowled, glaring at him.
“Any way, Layla needs to meet my parents too” Rylan announced, smiling.
“Gosh, she’s tired already” Fel said and before she could blink, Rylan was pulling Layla away like she had done.

“Rylan!” Fel screamed, running after them.

ZEEMAH