A lifetime worth of love

Emily.

"Hello, it's an emergency!" I spoke with my frail voice into the phone as I spoke with the state emergency number.

"He..he..He's having a stroke, sir!" I said, trying frantically to keep my breathing under check.

"Please be quick, he's just a kid" I said with years in my eyes.

"Continue doing CPR till we get there, we'll be there in 5 minutes" the man spoke from the other end of the phone.

I looked at my mom, fear was written all over her face. I understood why. She was doing her best not to lose her faith that her son would be fine. I looked into her eyes and I could read what was going on in it.

Dad.

We had lost dad a few months ago to the same thing my little brother was fighting for his life with right now.

Mom felt her world crash when dad died. He was her favorite until the day death took him from us, I still remember how he teased me about getting a husband before he gets too old.

Heart failure, that was what took him from us. We had spent so much on medication not knowing his fate had been settled. We were told he needed surgery, but due to the situation we were in, we had spent all our savings on medication for him.

Now we were facing the same trauma with my little brother.

* * * *

"Mrs Spencer?" I jumped up from my seat as I heard the doctor's voice. He was holding a file in his hand which I felt would be my brother's result. He wasn't smiling. My heart had started to beat fast.

"Can I have a moment with you?" I followed him closely to his office praying I would get good news from him.

"He's in a bad condition" He said after clearing his throat.

"But he's going to be fine, we have it under control" he said reassuring me.

"But...he'll be admitted for a few weeks in preparation for his surgery." He said without taking his eyes off my eyes.

"Surgery?" This can't be happening, that was one word I was praying I won't hear again in my life.

Not life repeating itself again, it was just like a few months back when I was told my dad would need to undergo surgery.

We were completely dried out financially from taking him to ine hospital to another, from spending money to buy his drugs and other things that he needed before we were told he needed surgery.

He died a few weeks before the date of the surgery.

I bet he didn't want us to go through hell looking for funds for his surgery.

"Why does he need surgery?" I asked.

"It's been 3 months since he started having this health issue, waiting any longer before removing the tumor could put him at greater risk, and low chances of surgery success." He said without still taking his eyes off mine.

"How long do we have for the surgery?" I asked him, during my dad's time..we had just a month to put up the bill.

"6 months, 7 months at most." I sighed deeply, thank God, at least I have enough time to work out the surgery bills.

"He'll be discharged in a few weeks, his medications would have been sorted out by then"

"Thanks sir." I said as I walked out of his office with a heavy heart.

"Good morning, mom" I said while rushing doing things I needed to do before leaving the house. The was a hot pancake on the kitchen shelf, I took one and nibbled at it.

"Hey, sweetie." She replied with a beaming smile on her face.

Then the smile on her face slowly turned into a frown.

"Aren't you always on off today?" She asked.

I nodded my head and swallowed what I was eating.

"I need to check something at Clara's place real quick." Clara had been my best friend since I was in high school, she had been with me during the period my dad died. She was also helping in raising the surgery funds for my little brother.

"She told me someone had an offer for a job somewhere nearby, so I'm gonna go check it out."

I have two jobs I'm doing already, but it wasn't paying enough to boost my savings for Bryan's surgery.

I had to go out and scout for a third job. Maybe the pay would assist more and increase the surgery savings.

"See ya, Mom." I said as I closed the door behind me.

"Hey babe, what's up?" I said excitedly as I saw my Best friend, it's been a while since I saw her, I've been really busy with work.

"Here comes the workaholic," Clara replied to me jokingly.

She stood up from where she sat, came near me and gave me a very tight hug. I could smell her strawberry cologne on her, she has been a fan of strawberries that has affected almost every aspect of her life.

"Emily!!!" I heard a tiny familiar voice, it was Tracy, I was just going to ask of her now.

"Baby," I said to her. She was so adorable, she's just 5, but she has the brain of an adult. I met her at Clara's ice cream store, since that day she always wanted me to come over.

I squatted down to her height as she was running towards me. I smiled as she ran into my already spread arms and hugged me.

"I've missed you," she said as she buried her face into chest.

"I've missed you too," I said to her smiling.

"So tell me, you promised I would get an answer from you today,". Oh Christ! I had almost forgotten, she asked me to be her bestie, children never forget this kind of stuff. I had promised her I'd give her an answer today.

I looked at Clara who was smiling at me and I looked back at Tracy, whose face was already on me, waiting for an answer. I couldn't say no, could I?

"Yes, I will." I said smiling, accepting my fate. I couldn't just resist her request.

"Yayy!!!!" She said excitedly, holding me more tightly this time and giving me a kiss on my cheek, guess she was happy with my response.

"I have a best friend now," she continued. I could only laugh, she looked so adorable when she's excited.

"Hey sweetie, Daddy's back." I looked up and saw a handsome man hovering over me. He was huge. I stood up, releasing myself from Tracy's soft grip, I was lost looking at this man's face. He had the face of something perfectly carved by a Greek artist. He was wearing a dark gray T-shirt, his blue eyes were fixated on me for a few seconds then took it back to Tracy, he had a very nice smile.

"Daddy, guess what," He bent down and picked Tracy up, carrying her into his broad chest and looking straight at her, smiling.

"What princess? Tell daddy.' He said.

"I got a best friend today." His eyes widened.

"You're so lucky, princess," She nodded in excitement.

"So where's this new best friend of yours, or won't you introduce Daddy to her?"

"She's the one, dad" Tracy turned back, pointing at me, still smiling, then turning back to her dad.

"Nice to meet you sir, I'm Emily" I said, stretching out my hand for a handshake.

"Nice meeting you Emily, I'm Zach" He said, giving me a faint smile.

"I suppose you're my daughter's best friend" he said looking straight into my eyes, smiling.

"Yeah, she's an adorable kid." I said, returning the smile back to him.

"Thanks for being a nice bestie to my daughter," he said to me and then looking at Tracy, he arranged her hair.

"Let's get going honey, daddy has somewhere important to be."

He turned back and walked towards the exit, with Tracy hanging on his shoulder, she waved me goodbye, I smiled and blew her a kiss.

"Byeeee."

Zach.

"So, tell me angel, where are we going today?" I asked my daughter, Tracy. She looked up at me giving me the warmest smile I could ever ask for. She was my favorite person in the world.

"Let's get ice cream, dad." She said excitedly.

"Ok, dad will take you to the biggest ice cream store in town." I said to her,

She shook her head sideways to indicate she wasn't going.

"You have somewhere in mind?" I asked her, giving a bit of a surprised face.

She nodded her head and gave me a very sweet smile.

Today was Saturday, and in order words, it's one of the days I get to spend with my daughter.

Working as a CEO of the biggest company in town can be so time consuming, I hardly have time for her during weekdays, except for when I see her before I leave for work in the morning, but on Saturdays and Sundays, I dedicate them to her.

"No problem darling, anywhere you want," I said to her as I sat down on the floor allowing her to finish her makeup on my face.

"You look pretty, dad" she said as she applied a pink lip gloss in my lips, turning me into her perfect barbie.

"I know, right, and you're the best makeup artist."

Ring ring

"You have a call, dad" Tracy pulled my hand towards my phone which was ringing out loud on the sofa next to us.

I had been trying to ignore the call.

Picked it up to check who was calling, it was Alfonso: my personal assistant.

I tried my best to hide my annoyance so as to avoid questions from my little makeup artist standing in front of me.

I hated two major things in my life: cold coffee and being called from work on a Saturday morning.

I answered the call, stood up from where I sat and walked a few steps away from Tracy, with the phone glued to my ears.

"Do you wish to be fired, Alfonso?" I said immediately I was able to talk.

"No sir, but it's urgent." He said with his voice shaking over the phone.

"It's Mr Williams, he asked me to get to you, he said it was urgent."

"Tell him, we'll talk on Monday." I said and hung the phone.

Then facing Tracy who was already waiting for me to finish, I rubbed her head and carried her on my shoulder.

"Let's get you all cleaned up, so we can go get ice cream." I said smiling to her.

"Stella, could you please clean her up for me?" I asked Tracy's nanny who was sitting nearby. For as long as I remember, Stella had been living with us, she was once my nanny, and now she's also helping look after my daughter.

I had even stopped seeing her as an outsider, she was family now, but she just won't accept. She treated me like a mother would treat her son.

"Here we are ladies" I said as I parked my car a little distance from the ice cream store. It was a bit big but not something I would say it's up to my class. I guess Stella was the one who introduced Tracy to this place, I had no issue with that though.

"You two go on ahead, I'll catch up to you in no time." I said to Tracy as my phone started ringing beside me, it was the second time today. I could eventually fire Alfonso, I thought to myself.

"Mr Zach" I heard Mr Williams voice on the phone, one could tell from his voice that this man was getting old.

"I'm sorry, but I can't hold any meeting today, I'm with my daughter!" I said to him,

"I understand, but the gravity of the situation is beyond us waiting, your business could be at stake." he said to me.

"My business? What'd you mean my business could be at stake?" I asked, almost getting really tense.

"I'll come over to your place this evening, we'll talk." He said and hung up the phone.

I sighed, I guess it was important after all.

I walked towards the ice cream store to meet Tracy and Stella, but to my surprise, when I walked in, Tracy was buried in the chest of a lady, and she was smiling really bright.

"Hey sweetie, Daddy's back." I said to her as I came into the ice cream store.

I bent down to pick her up as she let go of the lady she was hugging.

"Daddy, guess what," she said as soon as she was coupled up in my arms.

"What princess, tell daddy," I said to her smiling, looking straight into her eyes.

"I got a best friend today." My eyes shone bright in excitement.

"You're so lucky, Princess." I said to her as she nodded her head in excitement.

"So where's this new Best friend of yours, or won't you introduce Daddy to her?"

She turned back and pointed at the lady who was still squatting.

"She's the one, dad" she was smiling at the lady.

I guess they were Best friends after all.

She stood up, now I could see her face well, damn was she pretty. I tried not to get carried away by her pretty face.

"Nice to meet you sir, I'm Emily." She said, still stretching her hands towards me.

I received her handshake and my God, what a soft palm she's got.

"Nice meeting you Emily, I'm Zach, Tracy's Dad" of course she knew, she just heard Tracy call me Dad. I felt awkward, so I just gave her a faint smile.

"I suppose you're my daughter's best friend" I said looking straight into her eyes, searching for what I don't know.

"Yeah, she's an adorable kid." She replied to me, smiling brightly.

"Thanks for being an amazing bestie to my daughter, we'll stay longer some other time." I said to her and then looked at Tracy who I was still carrying. I stroked her hair to the side revealing more of her face.

"Let's get going honey, daddy has an important meeting to prepare for." I said to Tracy as we moved out.

"Bye"

I could hear the lady say to Tracy as we stepped out.

I signaled to Stella who was still getting the ice cream on the counter that we were about moving out.

She gave me a worried face wondering why we were leaving as soon as we arrived.

I had an important meeting by 4pm this evening, we can take the ice cream home.

Zach.

"We'll be having company soon" I said to Stella as she came down from her room after I called her.

"I'll need Tracy to be in check" I concluded as I checked my watch to see the time.

Mr Williams is known for one thing, punctuality. He's never one minute late for a meeting. He has been my Grandad's lawyer for as long as I can remember. They've been close friends according to my dad. Although my grandad was older, he treated Mr Williams as if they were age mates.

The alarm bell rang.

He's here.

I walked to the door, opened it and to my utmost surprise, Mr Williams wasn't alone. He was with my dad and Grandma.

I was surprised, what could the meeting be that my dad and grandma would have to be present for.

"We don't have time, let's get straight to our discussion." Mr Williams said immediately he sat down.

"What's the rush, at least let's get a cup of coffee to smoothen the conversation." I said jokingly.

Mr Williams would never reject a cup of coffee.

"When we're done with our discussion, we can take as much coffee as we want." He said.

I guess it's something serious, so I signaled Stella to excuse us.

"So, can we get started now?" I said, immediately Stella was out of sight.

Mr Williams took a deep breath in, reached inside his bag and brought out a file and handed it to me.

"Go through it," he said.

I opened the filez flipped through them and met a shocking revelation.

"What's the meaning of this?" I asked no one in particular, I sent a gaze to my dad, then to my grandma and then back to Mr Williams.

I needed someone to explain to me better what I'm reading. Or maybe it was the wrong file they brought?

"I can understand your shock, Mr Zach, but whatever you read in that file was what your grandad wrote down for you, and we can't go against it." Mr Williams said, finally breaking the silence that had begun to build up.

"So you mean, I have to get married before I'm 32 or I'll lose my right to inherit a business I've been toiling hard for...?. And besides, if I don't inherit it, or if I fail to provide a wife before I'm 32, what happens to the business?" I asked in annoyance.

"Jade would." My dad spoke for the first time since he entered my house.

Now I understand the level of the situation. Now I see why my dad was here with grandad's lawyer.

My grandad had two wives and Jade was the first son of the second wife. He was a very spoiled brat who had no business orientation. He'd bring the business down if he had total control over it, and no one would be able to stop him.

Although I was older than him by a few years, we never did get along for once.

The only way the business could survive was if I could get a wife before I was 32 years old. I just clocked 30 a few months back.

"Sweetie," My grandmother spoke for the first time, she has been silent for a while.

"Nana," I said as I had always called her.

I could see the sincerity in her eyes. She was grandad's first wife and wouldn't want the business given to her rival grandson. She had helped grandad build his business to a level.

"Your grandad wasn't only bent on his business, it's also for Tracy's sake." She said looking into my eyes with sincerity.

"You can't lock your heart forever because of the past,"

"You have to move on and find a partner for your daughter's sake." She added.

Yes I knew Tracy would be involved in one way or the other. I wasn't just ready to get involved with another lady.

"Tracy is happy, she has always been." I said.

"She needs a mother figure in her life, Zach, that what you're not understanding," My dad replied immediately I spoke finish.

"She has Stella." I added it almost immediately.

"There's a difference between a nanny and a mom!" My dad said almost shouting.

Nana held my dad's hand down and rubbed his thighs to cool him down, he was getting tensed already.

"I've heard you all." I said after giving off a deep sigh.

I didn't have the strength to argue with 3 old people, and besides, not like I even have a choice.

"I'll find someone, I'll give love a chance if that's what y'all wants."

I didn't know where to start from, but I know I'll figure something out.

"I'm sorry if your grandad put you in a bad position sweetie," Nana said.

"It's all for your good." she concluded.

"Can we have coffee now?" I asked openly since we were done with our meeting.

"Yes please," Mr Williams said with a smile.

"If you'll excuse me," I said as I stood up, trying my best to hide my disgust at whatever meeting we just had.

"I have a relationship and wedding to plan." I said and walked out on them.