Dwayne was surprised by the august visitor he received, he did not even expect to see him, not even in the nearest future.
"Dwayne..."He called out, snapping him out of his train of thought. "Won't you let him in? Or you are planning to let him stand out here until forever, eh?"
Dwayne regained his senses, quickly masking his shocked expression with a smile. "Oh, I'm sorry, uncle Ferd..." He was quick to utter an apology. "Please, do come in."
"Oh, yeah!" Ferdinand uttered in a dried tone, sarcasm laced in his voice. "I was even planning to come in, even if you are, or you are not intending to keep me here."
Dwayne sensed he was angry but said nothing, he only paved the way for him to come in, and he gently closed the door behind for him since he wasn't intending to do so himself. Dwayne followed his trail quietly and watched him have his seat first before speaking.
"It's surprising to see you here, Uncle Ferd." Dwayne began slowly after clearing his throat lightly. "I could bet that you've forgotten about us ever since your older brother's death
-your visit here is unexpected."
"Is that supposed to be coming from you, Wayne?" Ferdinand uttered, holding his tongue in to prevent him from letting out the urging hiss he is having. "You know Brandon's and I position with your father, it's improper to just come visiting after his death."
Yeah, true! Uncle Brandon and himselfwere never in good terms with their father, and they often fought on every of their visits. They both stopped coming a few weeks to their parent's death and since then, Dwayne had never set his eyes on them again until now that Uncle Ferdinand is surprising him with his unplanned visit.
"Oh..."Dwayne mouthed, unsure of what to say in response, he decided to change the topic instead. "What should I offer you, I'll ask my maid to prepare anything you desire -or maybe I should do that myself, it's been ages since we saw you?"
"Ah -that can wait, I think." He said to Dwayne. "Least I forgot, where is Ciara, why hasn't she come out yet? I bet she did hear my voice."
Dwayne chuckled softly at his uncle's naivety. "She doesn't stay here anymore, she resides in one of dad's houses on the outskirt of the States." He explained as he took his seat opposite his uncle. "I don't know why she suddenly wants to move out then, but I guess she's old enough to have her privacy."
"Kent told me she has a baby now, how true is that?" Ferdinand asked, clearly poking his nose to gain information on Ciara -even when he's aware of everything he is asking, except for the exact place she resides.
"Very much true, uncle Ferd. And it's a boy, Herzl, to be precise." Dwayne replied with a smile on his face. "You should meet him sometime, he is a sweet boy, and you will enjoy having him around you."
Ferdinand reciprocated Dwayne's smile, even though his was a fake. "Now I'm eager to meet him, you wouldn't mind taking me to Ciara's new home, or would you?"
Dwayne thought for a second before replying. "That would be a stress on you, I should call her over instead. She's a very busy woman these days, and she returns home very late, it'll be better if I invite her over instead."
"Ah -Wayne..."Ferdinand muttered slowly with a dry smile on his face. "That's very thoughtful of you. Let it be a surprise, don't tell her I'm here."
Dwayne flustered at his uncle's quick comment. "Yeah, I've always been this thoughtful when it comes to family, and you know that." He enunciated as he picked his phone. "I'll send her a quick message now."
"It might skip my mind, before it does, I want you to keep this until Ciara comes here -it's hers." Ferdinand said, dictating clear ownership as he offered Dwayne a portable wrapped box. "I want her to have it since it's her favorite."
Dwayne collected the wrapped box from him and shook it lightly. "What's in there?" He asked. "I would have said it's jewelry but it doesn't appear as one to me." "Stop being curious, since it's never yours to start with..."Ferdinand's voice was flat, but it holds a clear warning and Dwayne did not miss it, but he only shrugged his shoulders, reading nothing into it.
******
As Ciara stepped in after being ushered in by her brother, her gaze widened at the sight before her. Uncle Ferdinand? She thought with in herself, her feelings were reflecting on her face as she wondered his reason for his impromptu visit.
"What's he doing here?" She asked Dwayne in a hushed whisper over her shoulders since he's closed to her. "Why is he here all of a sudden, eh?"
"Be nice to him, Ciara, he only came to pay us a visit." Dwayne replied with the same tone as Ciara, their talk out of Ferdinand's ear shot. "I'm surprised too when I saw him, after all these years, it's now he remembered his brother's kids are still alive."
Ciara needs no one to tell her his visit was anything but ordinary. Yeah, she did not suspect, but she knows that he has sneaky and foxy moves up his sleeves, he is only disguising with his false smile.
"Hey there, uncle...？" She hailed slowly, putting on her version of false smile. "I never knew I'll run into you here, were you the one to asked Dwayne to text?"
"Yes, I had wanted him to take me to your home instead, but he insisted on asking you to come over instead." Ferdinand said, his voice filled with nothing else but disappointment!
Ciara, on the other hand, was grateful Dwayne had chosen that reply instead. Ferdinand is full of schemes and foxy moves, maybe, who knows, but this might be one of the schemes -knowing her place of residence so as to harm her later!
She can't forget in a hurry of the conversation she overheard at her oldest uncle's house, uncle Kent's conversation with uncle Brandon -how Ferdinand had planned to kill her once but missed his target, causing her to slip off his grip. Is he here to renew his plan, eh?
"Maybe because I live very far away from here, Dwayne is always the considerate type, he might not want to stress you out over nothing, you know?" Ciara said in reply to Ferdinand's words. "You shouldn't think much of it, dear uncle."
"I know, right?" Ferdinand was quick to laugh it off. "I was so eager to see you, now that you are here, I couldn't be more happier."
Yeah, very much happy to execute your plans. Ciara thought in her head, holding herself from scoffing at his reply.
"Is he another granduncle, mom? He looked very much like the uncle we visited in the hospital the other time?" Herzl chipped into their conversation since none of them was ready to notice his presence.
"Yes, he is." Ciara's reply was flat.
"Oh, is this your son?" Ferdinand was very much good at acting, wearing a bright smile on the outside. "Come, boy, come greet your granduncle."
Herzl, hesitating went towards Ferdinand, who wrapped him in his arms. "It's a good thing you are here, I brought you and your mother a surprise, I bet you will love it."
Ciara knew it wasn't just any type of surprise, judging from his tone and the way he emphasized the word 'surprise'. This made her wondered what the so-called surprise was all about, her curiosity rising to its peak...