Loving Pezo

Episode 4

Joe: [cutting in] Chanda will have to reschedule
Pezo couldn’t argue further. Mr. Mitti immediately started the engine and in no time, they were at a
named restaurant. Just at their appearance, Pezo had a strange feeling that it all seemed like a
preplanned thing. The waiters all seemed to know Mr. Mitti by name and were so welcoming.

Besides them were two of his colleagues who seemed to be waiting for him. They never seemed
to have any dull moment together. Although Mr. Mitti tried his level best to drag her in the
conversation at every point of their discussion, Pezo could not wait to leave. At the end of the day,

Mr. Mitti who really seemed to be at ease was still her boss and she couldn’t contribute as much
except from her smile that would signify her being with them in whatever topic of discussion they
had at any particular point. Just when she thought they were close to leaving… after their meal…

a few other collogues joined in and it took another 3 to 4 hours till they could leave.
The office was already empty except for security guards when they arrived. Being a Friday,
everyone had obviously left by 14hrs.

They separated with simple and formal goodbyes and
unknown to her, Pezo left behind her scarf. As she was getting inside her car, she wished she
could have someone drive her all the way home. She felt so tired as she slept very late the
previous evening working on her presentation. She could only thank God that the next day was a
weekend and she had off day on Monday. She had not even reached half way and she received a
text from Mr. Mitti. She wondered what it was all about but chose to read it once she was home.

Nobody was home except for the house helpers. She never bothered to ask were her family had
headed to but decided to go straight in her room for a nap. She remembered her text and quickly
opened her phone and it was just a text informing her she forgot a scarf and he had left it on her
desk. She quickly responded with a blank “Sorry” and “Thank you”. She took a quick shower and
took a nap. It was only after 18.30hrs that she woke and she was almost heading out of the room
to look for her mother when one of their helpers entered the room with a tray of hot tea

Lillian: Madam Pezo- Your Ginseng tea. Maam suggested it to help with your stress
Pezo: Thank you Aunt Lillian- I actually needed it [short silence] – is she back? [Smiles] mummy I
mean

Lillian: Not yet – but she called to say they proceeded to the Chomba residence and may take a
little longer and that you shouldn’t bother waiting up for them.

Pezo: and Chiwande?
Lillian: they are with him. [Short silence as she poured her tea] what would you like to eat for
dinner?

Pezo: don’t bother. I will see what leftovers I can get from the fridge.
Lillian: Okay my dear. Do let me know if you will require anything else. I will be at the cottage.
Pezo: Sure. Take care.
As she had slept a lot earlier, Pezo could not sleep and both her parents found her very awake
even as they were retuning slightly past midnight.

Pezo: [rising to her feet to receive them] Mummy- dad- you are welcome. I hope you enjoyed
yourselves.
Mrs. Chinyama: as always- we did dear.
Mr. Chinyama : and of course, the girls missed you and so did everyone.
Mrs. Chinyama : [handing her over a lunchbox] here- we had your favorite for dessert and Chisala
thought of packing some for you.
Pezo: Oh so thoughtful of her. I will give her a call to thank her. [Looking around] – And
Chiwande?
Mr. Chinyama: as always- he slept off. Mukuka said she is scheduled to come through tomorrow
and she will be happy to come along with him.
Pezo: Uh Okay.

Mr. Chinyama: and you? Shouldn’t you be asleep by now?
Pezo: I couldn’t dad. At least I had to see you both before I could. I haven’t spent much time with
you lately.so waiting up was the least I could do

Mrs. Chinyama: You did well. I hope you still remember that Kalima will be flying in on Monday
and the Chombas would really like you to be around to welcome him. They would like us to have
lunch together afterwards
Pezo: [seeming not so interested] yes mummy. I do. [Rising to her feet] I need to retire to bed now
[smiles] am happy you had a good time.
She gave her mother a kiss and said goodnight to her father. As she changed in her little lace
nightie and slid her body into the warm duvets, she couldn’t stop wondering why it was so much of
a big deal for her to be part of the family members that would have to welcome the famous son to
the Chombas. He was very well pronounced by both his sisters, Chisala and Mukuka as well his
parents whenever they were together. He had been out of the country for close to ten years and
finally he was coming back home for good. The entire Chomba family were so excited about this
and started the preparations for his coming three months before now. Pezo never saw any
importance she would bring by being present but she had to do it for her friend Mukuka too other
than her parents. She had never met Kalima but had only seen his photos. Once in a while,
whenever he would call and she is with Mukuka, he always said hello to her too and it never went
further than that.

It had not been easy to get a day off being a Monday that all this would have to happen but
eventually, she had her request for a day off approved by her immediate supervisor at the very last
minute that Friday via email. For her parents, the excuse of being at work was never justification
enough not to accompany the rest to the airport seeing that it was more or less a voluntary service
that she was offering and didn’t even require to go through all the complicated processes of
getting one day off work. The Chinyamas and Chombas came a long way and for most of family functions, they each supported each other with a lot of business partnerships that even made their
families bond the more. Their children lived like siblings and whenever they could, would always
attend the same schools and attend same church in the Catholic. For Pezo, she always thought
this relationship was tied by blood and she was only shocked after some time that their parents
were only friends. But whenever Mukuka and she grabbed a chance to introduce themselves to
any person, they were quick to state their relation as cousins and that way, they always justified
their closeness to each other. Even though Mukuka was two years older than Pezo, their parents
tried their best to send them to same schools, universities and colleges. Aged 24 and 26
respectively, they were both well cultured, intelligent, smart, good hearted, beautiful, humble and
no so much into worldly things but rather, so supportive of their family businesses and so much
dedicated to their career building. With Mukuka good at her numbers and the like as a banker and
Pezo more into Information Technology and the like, they simply made good friends who always
viewed issues differently but put together gave the best of life options. As daughters of prominent
business tycoons of the town and mostly with their parents whenever they were attending
events/parties, not many suitors easily approached them and even when they did, the two had set
their standards so high they easily turned down proposals. But even with that, Pezo and Mukuka
were always the beauty icons of the town.