Swapping Places Chapter 27

Read ​Chapter 26 here. 

                                    *

Kobby returned home from work and was met with a sweet aroma. He smiled despite his weariness. He walked towards the kitchen. Daphne was talking on the phone and stirring something on fire. She looked up when she sensed his presence and smiled. He smiled back and kissed her on the cheek.

“Yeah, he just walked in. Del says hi.”

“Tell her she has been missed. She should come back now!” he said and opened the fridge for a bottle of water. 

“You heard that, right? You said you were coming back this weekend, right? Great, come over and let’s have dinner together, all right? Kobby will cook,” Daphne winked at her husband. 

“She’s excited!” Daphne said to Kobby. He gestured to speak with Delphine. 

“Kobby wants to speak with you.” She handed the phone to him and turned off the gas.

“Hey, how are you holding up over there?”

“Great, actually. You?”

“Good. It’s nice to hear your voice.”

“Awww…so you really going to cook for me?”

“For you, I’ll do anything,” he said and chuckled when Del reeled with delight.

“I’m being called. Talk to you later and kiss my sister for me. Bye.” The call ended.

“Someone called her.” He put the phone down. “How long has she been gone?”

“Two weeks, I think.”

“Wow, feels like forever.”

“I know, right?” They both sighed.

“I miss her,” Daphne admitted. He nodded his agreement but kept his thoughts to himself. 

“I’m starving.”

“Like always. Go and change and I’ll set the table.” They shared a light kiss and he left the kitchen.

                                   *

Kobby hummed and whistled to himself as he cooked. He had woken up in a delightful mood and kept his spirits up throughout the day. Daphne had shopped for groceries the day before but the recipe he had in mind required more ingredients. It was his mama’s special recipe, one he particularly loved. Why he thought that he had to impress Delphine, he didn’t know but he was excited about it; so much so that he didn’t bother to think if it would upset his wife that he chose to prepare a special meal for another woman aside her. They were one after all, right?

Daphne helped her husband with the cooking. But when she was doing something too slowly or wrongly, he would gently push her aside and do it himself. She resigned herself to making the table ready whiles he did his thing. She watched him keenly over a glass of wine as his brows came together in concentration as he garnished his finished dishes.

“When will she arrive?” He asked, his eyes glued to his culinary work.

“Any moment from now,” she replied, checking the time on her phone.

“Got to freshen up. Please don’t mess it up,” he said. Daphne chuckled and nodded. He rushed to the bedroom. Daphne smirked to herself. She was marking time; she just couldn’t wait.

                                  *
Kobby came out of the bedroom smelling and looking nice. He paused and raised a brow when he glanced at the dining table.

“Honey?”

“Yeah babe.” She walked towards him. Her phone rang.

“A minute, please.”  She answered the call.

“You’re here? Sure, come on in.” She ended the call.

“Uh huh?”

“Why have you set the table for four?”

“Because it’s for four people. You, me, Del and her new guy.”

“Her what?” Daphne did her best to keep a straight face.

“Oh I didn’t tell you? Yeah, Del met some guy at her training and it seems they are hitting it off. So when she asked me if she could bring him along, I said sure, why not?”

“And you didn’t think to let me know? And you watched me cook my heart out like that?”

“I honestly thought I had told you. I figured you wanted to show that Del has a sweet brother-in-law. Are you saying you wouldn’t have ‘cooked your heart out’ if you knew Del was bringing someone along?” The doorbell rang. The question hang in the air unanswered as Daphne turned to go open the door.

“Hey sis!” They said simultaneously as they hugged.

“You look amazing! Come on in.” Del entered.

“Hey, welcome. Robert, right?”

“Yeah.” Robert? Kobby hated the name instantly.

“Hey, brother-in-law,” Del said with a smile as she approached him with open arms. They hugged. Kobby watched the Robert guy with wary eyes as he hugged Del. 

“Meet Robert, a new friend I made on the training trip. Rob, meet Kobby.”

“Nice to meet you, man. Del has said a lot of great stuff about you. It kind of makes me feel I have to live up to your standard if I have any hopes of having her,” Robert said lightheartedly. The twins laughed, Kobby did not which made the smirk on Rob’s face fade.

“Let’s head straight to the table, shall we? Some of us are starving,” Daphne said to end the awkward silence that followed. They entered the dining room. Kobby sat at the head of the table whiles the sisters sat on his left and right and Robert sat next to Del. They held hands for grace and for a moment, Del felt flooded with emotions from both male hands holding hers. She opened her eyes to peek at them but they both had their eyes closed. She closed hers and Daphne said grace.

“This is a special recipe from my dear husband,” Daphne said as she began serving.

“Smells delicious!” Del said, rubbing her palms together. She glanced at Kobby with a smile. He smiled back, but it didn’t reach his eyes. 

“Tastes…interesting,” Robert remarked after savoring it in his mouth for a few seconds.

“It’s a special family recipe,” Kobby retorted. When Robert saw the look on his face, he backed down.

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I was impressed to know you did the cooking. I suck at cooking.”

“Well, it takes real men to go to the kitchen,” he said. Daphne cleared her throat while Del shot Kobby a stern look.

“So, how did you two meet?” Daphne asked in a falsely cheerful mood to counter the awkward silence that was again threatening to overshadow them up.

“Well, after one long training session, my colleagues suggested that we go to the spa as a treat for us and I accepted. I was a bit nervous about who was going to be rubbing my body but when I met Rob, I felt strangely comfortable.” Kobby couldn’t hide the shock on his face. He had figured he was a fellow bank employee from another branch she had met at the training. He glanced at Del to be sure he heard right.

“Yeah, I’ll call it love at first touch,” Rob said jokingly and the three laughed. 

“I can’t imagine how many times you’ve said that to other clients,” Kobby said harshly. Del dropped her spoon.

“Can we speak privately for a minute? Please excuse us,” Del said and went into the kitchen. Kobby looked at his wife who wore a blank look. He put down his cutlery and got up. Daphne flashed Robert an apologetic smile. 

“Why on earth are you being such a jerk to my guest?” Del asked, looking unamused.

“I’m being a jerk? What the hell do you think you’re doing with that guy?”

“What do you mean what am I doing with him? He’s a single guy, I’m a single lady and we are hanging out. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal? He rubs people for a living! How could you even consider him to be your whatever?”

“You do know it’s a profession, right and not some pervert’s play?”

“I don’t care. You shouldn’t be with him!”

“Why not? Do you have a problem with me going out with him or going out at all?” He said nothing. 

“You do know that sooner or later, I’m going to be with someone, right? You are married, Kobby; I’m not. I hope the fact that I’m wearing your wife’s face doesn’t make you feel like I’m your wife because I’m not.”

“I know that. It’s just that I didn’t know you’d be coming with someone…” Daphne came in.

“Is everything alright?” Daphne asked.

“Why didn’t you tell me he rubs people…?”

“It’s called a masseur, Kobby.”

“Whatever. I just wasn’t expecting company. I thought it would be a family thing.”

“But I told you…” Del said to her sister.

“Yeah I know. It must have slipped. I thought I told him.”

“Yeah right,” Kobby said and walked out of the kitchen. Daphne bit her lower lip.

“You intentionally didn’t tell him, right?”

“He needed the rude awakening. Let’s go before he tears Rob apart.” Kobby had just apologized to Robert and was shaking hands with him. They sat down and resumed eating. When they finished, Daphne cleared the table whiles Del washed the dishes whiles the guys tried to engage in small talk. 

When the sisters entered the living room, the guys looked up, both feeling relieved that the civil charade was over. 

“Ready to go?” Robert asked Del.

“Yep.”

“So soon?” Kobby asked.

“Yeah, we have to go to that special place I told you about before the night ends, remember?”

“Oh, sounds cozy. Hey was wondering, do you offer home services too? I could use a good massage,” Daphne said. Kobby glared at her. Daphne pretended not to have seen his face.

“Yeah we do. Whenever you are free, just let me know. Delphine will give you my number.”

“Thanks, Rob.”

“So we’ll be on our way. It was such a pleasure dining with you. I had missed you so much,” Del said as she hugged her sister. They squeezed each other tightly. Del kissed her cheek. They pulled apart from the hug and held each other’s face. Del turned to Kobby and hugged him. His eyes met Robert’s as his hands wrapped her body. He let her go before getting tempted to hug her tighter.

“Hope to see you soon.”

“Definitely. We’re family now, remember? See you guys.”

“See you too, darling. Have fun and take care.” They left the house. Daphne turned to face Kobby who still had his eyes on the door Robert had just shut behind him.

“I’m sorry for the unpleasant surprise. Didn’t mean to ruin it for you. Am I forgiven?” She asked as she hugged him from behind and placed her head on his back. She felt his breathing. He took her hands from his body and turned to face her.

“I’m sorry for how I acted. I was a jerk. Your sister’s words.”

“No comment.” They both chuckled and their foreheads touched. He kissed her forehead.

“I love you, Daphne.”

“Love you more, Kobby.”

                                *
“That was one interesting dinner,” Robert said as he drove.

“Watch it; that was the word that set my brother-in-law off.”

“Is it me or was he not pleased to see me?”

“Forgive his manners. He can be a little…overprotective.”

“You call that being overprotective? One could say he’s a little into you.”

“Oh come on, he’s married to my sister.”

“Who looks just like you! Do you know how shocked I was seeing your double in the flesh? For a second, I thought I was hallucinating.” Del laughed.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets confused and sees you as his wife. How can he tell you apart?”

“I don’t know but he can. He’s a nice guy though. Don’t take this first impression to heart.”

“If you say so.”

                                 *

The next day, Robert and Del met up for lunch at KFC. Out of the blue, Seth appeared at their table.

“I thought I recognized the laughter,” he said. Del’s smile changed into a scowl instantly.

“Do I need a restraining order?” 

“Come on, Del. I’m not stalking you. Hi, I’m Seth. Delphine’s friend,” he said, offering Robert his hand. 

“Hi, Robert.”

“Great. I hope you know she’s a twin who looks exactly like her.”

“Oh yeah, met her yesterday.”

“Good for you. I had to find out the hard way. I…”

“Could you excuse us? You have no business being here,” Del said, clearly irritated.

“Sure, I’m sorry. Enjoy yourselves,” he said and walked away.

“What did he mean by he found out the hard way?”

“Don’t pay attention to him. I’ve lost my appetite. Shall we go?”

“Sure.” Robert signaled the waiter.

                                 *
Robert turned to look at Del who was in deep thought.

“You seem like an uncomplicated person but something tells me your life is full of drama.”

“Something tells me you find my life too much to handle. If I’m right, let me know and I’ll get out of this car and forget we ever met. I’ve enough on my plate.”

“Does your plate perhaps include your brother-in-law?” She gave him a sharp look.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing. Just wanted to pull your legs.”

“You pulled it too hard.”

“I apologize. I find you intriguing, Delphine. I like your personality and I’d like to stick around if you don’t mind.” She chuckled.

“Is that a yes?”

“Let’s see.”
© Josephine Amoako 2017

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