Chapter Twenty

ANDREW'S POV

The Makau's truly did know how to travel in style. After our exams were over, we had packed for the trip and two days later found ourselves making our way to the airport. Pierra's parents had booked us a private plane to fly us to Lodwar town. From there we took a chauffeured car to the Eliye Springs Resort is located on the Western shores of Lake Turkana. It was a one and hour drive and the environment became more dry as we got close to our destination with a lot of sand dunes.

"How can they sleep with all this beauty around us?"Pierra exclaimed excitedly next to me as she looked out the window.

She was right it was beautiful and my camera was filled with all the pictures I'd already taken.

"Whitney did take that pill because of her aviophobia and its side effects include drowsiness. I think Bishop forced himself to sleep just so he couldn't see us together."I explained and Pierra laughed sticking out her tongue at their sleeping forms.

"Their loss, they are missing a lot."

I turned my camera towards her and she smiled cheekily blowing me a kiss. Pierra and I had talked long and hard about this trip just to make sure we were not moving too fast. We both decided we weren't since we were it for each other. If I was asked to introduced Pierra to my mom and sister I would do it without hesitation so it wasn't a bug deal that she was introducing me to her family. I was definitely freaked out and sweating through my t-shirt which I partly blamed on the heat but with Pierra's assurance and a lot of internal pep talks I was ready to face them. I was most scared of her dad because of his position but Pierra has assured me he was a big softie with his family and I was relying on that. I didn't want to loose Pierra because her parents didn't approve of us, I already had Bishop to worry about.

"You're freaking out again."Pierra pointed out poking my cheek.

"Yeah and with good reason."I replied.

"You'll be fine and besides it will be over soon."She declared.

"How sure are you?"I asked not as confident as she was.

"Because we're already here."She said pointing out the window.

I looked out the window and could see the resort from a distance on the shores of Lake Turkana. There were sand dunes all around but at the beach there were lots of palm trees.

"Get up sleepy heads we're here."Pierra announced shaking the sleeping couple awake.

They woke up with grunts and protests and it took them a few minutes to be fully alert. Ten minutes later after driving around several large sand dunes we drove past the gates of the resort. Pierra was the first to jump out of the car more excited than everyone else. I was excited too but it would surface once I met her parents getting that part of the trip over and done with.

I followed after my hyper girlfriend with the other two behind me. The driver asked us to leave the bags as someone would grab them for us so I just took my camera bag with me.

We walked towards the reception to check in but a family of four immediately captured our attention. Pierra gasped and immediately broke into a splint running towards them. I watched as the older gentleman in his late fifties turn around when he heard Pierra's call. He opened his arms out for her and like the daddy's girl that she was, Pierra jumped into his embrace. They hugged for a moment before who I presumed was her mom pulled her away and hugged her. Her younger brothers tugged at her legs and she went down on her knees to hug them too. Anyone seeing them would not think that Pierra was adopted. They looked so happy to see each other. Guess not all adoption stories were horror stories. Pierra got her happily ever after no matter her story and I was happy for her.

"Welcome to the family."Bishop said patting my back a little too forcefully before he took Whitney's hand and led her to the rest of the group.

I knew he was being sarcastic but that statement pushed my feet forward so that I could join them. Pierra noticed me immediately and took my hand bringing me right in front of the whole family. Her dad was tall, explaining where Bishop got his height from with a dark skin tone, a clean shaven head and a slight beer belly. He had a stoic resting face that I found unerving. Pierra's mom on the other hand was tall too just not like her dad tall with a slim build and a warm smile. She looked forty and definitely not like she had birthed three boys. Her younger brothers though with a clear age and height difference were almost identical and could easily pass for twins if they leveled in height.

"Family I would like you to meet Andrew my boyfriend. Andrew this is my dad Bernard, my mom Stella and my brothers Reed and Weston. She introduced pointing at each one individually. Her dad shook my hand with a flat smile, the mom was grinning from ear to ear while the brothers couldn't care less about my presence which I didn't mind. Her dad was the one I was worried about.

"It's nice to meet all of you."I spoke up not wanting to be rude.

Her dad just nodded at me inventing my anxiety so her mom took over.

"It's nice to meet you too Andrew and you too Whitney. I have lots to ask but you guys have had quite the journey so you are going to go into your assigned manyattas, relax, take a shower and we shall all meet for supper at seven in the restaurant. Bishop and Andrew will be sharing a room while Pierra and Whitney will be sharing another. We and the boys are already settled so don't worry about that. It really is nice to have you all here."Her mom cheered and her positivity was so infectious I found myself smiling.

She pointed us toward the manyattas and Pierra took my arm leading me away.

"So far so good."She said looking up at me.

"You're dad has barely said anything, is he always that quiet?"I asked.

"No he was just feeling you and Whitney out. His motto is observe first, react later. He'll talk during supper."She assured me.

"What about this sharing rooms with your brother thing? He will strangle me at night."I expressed and Pierra laughed even though I had not been joking.

"No he won't, don't tell him I told you this because I will deny it even under oath but Bishop is scared of my dad so he will be on his best behavior this whole trip."She whispered and we both looked back to make sure he hadn't heard us.

They were further behind so he didn't.

"What if your dad doesn't like me and ropes your brother into it. They'll kill me and toss my body in the lake."I relayed and Pierra laughed.

"It's not funny."I argued making her laugh some more.

It took her a few minutes to suppress her laughter at the expense of my misery.

"You should ditch photography and take up journalism, you're good with horror stories and creating thrilling plots."She laughed some more and I gave her a blank look clearly unimpressed.

"But in all seriousness, stop overthinking this. You'll be good, my mom already loves you. It's going to be a fun one week, thank you for coming with me."She said squeezing my hand appreciatively.

"I wouldn't miss it, even with all the tension."I replied meaning each word.

"Okay then, you go freshen up and we'll meet here in an hour so we can walk to supper together."She instructed and I nodded.

Pierra looked around and after making sure that the coast was clear she gave me a chaste kiss. We were in her parents presence so we had to be extra careful about the PDA.

"I saw that."Bishop yelled and Pierra just kissed me again to piss him off.

"See you in an hour."She said before turning left and heading towards her assigned manyatta.

Whitney followed after her while Bishop and I turned right towards our manyatta. The huts all had grass thatched roofs and muddy walls but inside they had air conditioning, twin beds with a white and red spread. Each bed had its one bedside table and lamp. There were fresh towels by the door since the bathrooms were separate from the manyattas.

I sat on my bed closest to the door as Bishop chose the one on the furthest end and retrieved my camera from its bags and started going through all the images I'd taken on the way over. They were mostly all good but I had to delete a few blurry ones. Bishop cleared his throat in the other side of the room and I turned my attention to him.

"Let's make one thing clear so this week and the rest of your relationship with my sister can go smoothly. I don't hate you but it doesn't mean I like you, I just don't think you deserve Pierra, nobody does in my eyes anyway. You're a decent guy from what I've gathered so I will give you a chance to prove yourself but just know this, if you hurt her I will break every bone in your body before chopping you up into pieces, grinding you up then feeding you to pigs."He said praising me and threatening me in the same sentence.

I would never hurt Pierra, not for fear of what her brother would do to me if I did but because I liked her too much to hurt her intentionally. Though her brother's threat definitely reinforced my resolve.

"Thank you, I appreciate the chance."I replied.

"Don't thank me, prove it."He ordered and I nodded.

"One more thing, my dad asked me about you and I said you're a great guy who treasures Pierra. Don't make me wrong because if you think I'm bad then my father is the devil especially when comes to Pierra, she's his little princess and will always be even when she has kids of her own."He emphasized and I visibly shivered.

"I'll do my best not to fail you or her."I choked out.

So much violence in the Makau family but I understood as I would do the same to anyone who hurt my family.

"Good then buckle up because it's going to be a bumpy ride."Bishop chuckled getting up from the bed.

He hit my back encouragingly as he walked by me before he grabbed a tower and left the room. The men in Pierra's family were very overprotective but I would prove to them that I deserved Pierra. She was the best thing to happen to me in a while and I was not going to let her go.

Pierra texted me to wear semi formal so I got dressed in dark jeans, a black t-shirt and a green khaki shirt over it with grey boots. Spraying on some cologne I made sure I was presentable enough and left the room to find Pierra so we could walk to the restaurant together. Bishop had already left claiming he needed to smoke a quick joint in order to be able to survive a whole meal with us.

It was already dark out so the pathways were lit by flood lights and lamposts. I found Pierra walking out of her manyatta so I stood at a distance to admire her. She was wearing an off shoulder black dress that reached mid thigh and black high heeled ankle boots. Her hair was in corn rows and she'd opted for no make up which I was okay with. She was always beautiful to me, make up or no make up.

"You know no matter how much you try, heels will not make you my height."I teased pulling her into my arms and kissing her bare shoulder.

"It was worth the try."She shrugged pulling away front me so she could get a good look at my face.

"You're the most handsome guy in my world and I'm lucky to call you mine."She randomly complimented me and I smiled.

"I'm the lucky one but thank you. You are gorgeous too, noticed the first time I saw you."I replied and before she could ask any more questions I swooped in and captured her lips in a kiss.

We were interrupted by a whistle from Bishop who was calling us to supper. I took Pierra's hand and led her to the restaurant where we found her whole family seated around a table set for seven. We took our seats and I found myself sandwiched between Pierra and Whitney.

"Before we all start talking or eating I would like to pray. It's been a while since our family has been together like this and we now have new additions and should be grateful to God for that."Her mom requested and we all bowed our heads for prayer whilst holding hands.

Five minutes we were done and I took a deep breath bracing myself for the questions. Pierra squeezed my hand encouragingly under the table giving me the strength that I needed.

"So Andrew, Pierra tells us that you're a photographer and took Bishops birthday photos. You're really talented, is that a career you want to pursue full time?"Her mom asked and I was happy that she started me off easy.

"First of all thank you for the compliment and yes I love photography so if luck is on my side and the market favors me I will pursue it but I also have my degree to lean back on just incase things don't work out."I replied and she smiled at me.

"We wish you the best of luck with that and I'm sure you'll find your niche."Stella commented and I smiled.

"You're all on holiday, how did your parents react to you telling them you'll be spending a week with your girlfriends family?"Her dad asked addressing me directly for the first time.

I knew he was just asking about my family indirectly so I gave him what he needed.

"It's just my mom, my dad's not in the picture anymore and she had no issue with it, just claimed that the next holiday is hers. My sister was also happy to have the whole house to herself since she's also on holiday."I explained and he hummed in response.

"So how long have you and Pierra been dating?"Her mom asked and I felt Pierra's hold on my hand get tighter so I decided to answer for us.

"I've liked Pierra for a really long time and finally got the courage to ask her out at the beginning of the semester. I got into an accident that put a pause in our relationship but got together again and have been together for more than a month now."I expressed.

"Accident? What kind of accident?"Her dad asked and I immediately turned my gaze towards Bishop.

He was looking at me and for the first time I saw him get a sacred look on his face as I had the power to destroy him. I wasn't petty though and we had already let go of that grudge so I settled for a filtered version.

"I got hit by a car while riding a bicycle. I skid off the road and landed on the tarmac breaking a few ribs but other than that I was okay."I explained.

"So sorry about that, you're okay now though right?"Stella asked and I nodded.

"Yeah I healed fast."I answered.

I saw Bishop visibly relax from the corner of my eye when I didn't sell him out. Pierra gave me a grateful squeeze and I turned to smile at her.

"Okay enough of grueling Andrew, Whitney is also new, do her."Pierra declared and I smiled at her protectiveness.

Her mom chuckled at her protectiveness but the conversation thankfully switched to Whitney giving me a minute to breath.

"So far so good."Pierra whispered so only I could hear her.

"Only for you."I replied with a smile.

Twenty minutes later the food was served and it was a lot. There was grilled meat with a side of mukimo, fries, chapatis, ugali, greens and of course dip. The rest of the evening went on perfectly and the more I got to know the Makaus the better understanding I had of Pierra and her close knit family. I was happy to have agreed to tag along. It was already shaping up to be a great trip yet it was only the first night.

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