I Hope You Will Never Regret

On Sunday morning, the Evans family went to church to thank the Lord for His faithfulness in their lives. Pastor Basil was over the moon when he saw Avery and said, “Congratulations my beautiful granddaughter. My heart swelled with pride when I saw you taking the first spot in the Mathematics Olympiad Competition.” Avery smiled brightly and replied, “Thank you Grandpa, I think I took after my intelligent Grandpa.”

Grandpa Basil was grinning from ear to ear when he heard Avery’s words and said, “You have a silver tongue, my dearest Avery. Someone whispered to my ear that you will come to church today and I have prepared a gift for you.” He took a velvet box from his suit jacket and handed it to Avery.

Avery smiled brightly at her grandfather and opened an exquisite velvet box. Sitting on the velvet box was a platinum wedding band. Avery looked at Grandpa Basil with a confused expression. Grandpa Basil replied smiling, “My dearest Avery, this is your future husband’s wedding band. Please give this ring to him when he proposed to you.” Avery thanked Grandpa Basil, and then she walked to Aunt Bridgette who was standing not far from them.

Avery handed the velvet box to Aunt Bridgette and said, “Grandpa Basil gave me my future husband’s wedding band.” Aunt Bridgette was puzzled but she didn’t utter a word. She took the velvet box and put it in her handbag. Then they went to where her parents and Aunt Rose were waiting for them.

Later, Mr Martins brought Avery’s school uniform to the Evans residence. Avery was overjoyed when she saw her father. She told him about her gifts and said, “Daddy, Grandpa Basil gave me my future husband’s wedding band. Why did he give me such a gift? Let me fetch it from Aunt Bridgette.”

Mr Martins thanked the Evans family and his aunt for the gifts. Avery came back with the velvet box and gave it to her father. He promised to keep it safe for her. When Mr Martins was eighteen years old, his father gave him the ring as a gift to his granddaughter. After his wife, Elizabeth, refused to give him children, he gave the ring to Pastor Basil as a gift. He was surprised that Pastor Basil kept the ring for Avery. After an hour, he bade farewell to the Evans family, then he left.

On Monday morning, Aunt Bridgette drove Avery to school. At the school assembly, Principal Glen was grinning from ear to ear. He asked all the Mathematics teachers and Avery to join him on the stage. He looked at them smiling and said, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Mathematics HOD, Mr Gray and my dedicated teachers for bringing glory to our school.” The learners clapped their hands.

Then he looked at Avery and said, “Miss Martins, we are proud of you. As a reward, we have decided to promote you to Grade 3.” Her father had asked Principal Glen not to promote Avery anymore because it was putting so much pressure on his elder son, Aiden. Principal Glen was so excited, he forgot about the promise he made to Mr Martins.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Principal Glen asked Mr Gray to take Aiden and Avery to Grade 3 class. Then he dialed Mr Martins’ number. When it was connected, he said, “Good morning Mr Martins, I would like to apologize for promoting Miss Martins again without your permission. I was so excited I forgot the promise I made to you. I promise this is the last promotion.”

Mr Martins knew that it was unfair for Avery to be held behind because of Aiden. He sighed and replied, “I understand Principal Glen. I think I would have done the same if I had been in your shoes. Don’t worry about it; at least they are in lower grades.” Principal Glen thanked Mr Martins, and then they hung up.

Mr Gray took Aiden and Avery to Class 3A. However, Avery asked to be moved to Class 3B. She didn’t want to share the same class with her brother. She was thinking that if he didn’t see her maybe he would soften his heart and start speaking to her. Unbeknownst to her Aiden had hardened his heart and he felt that Avery had set him up.

Miss Stella Finn, Class 3B teacher, was overjoyed when she saw Avery. She welcomed her with a warm smile. Then she asked Avery to share a desk with Gabriella Stone. Avery smiled at Gabriella Stone, and then she took her books and the pens from her school bag. Gabriella Stone was four years older than Avery.

Gabriella and Avery became friends. One day, Gabriella looked at Avery with sadness in her eyes and said, “Avery, after June school holidays my parents will move me to a public school. My parents will not be able to afford my school fees because my father has been retrenched.” Avery felt sorry for her new friend; she promised that she would speak to her father.

Gabriella’s father, Jimmy Stone, was retrenched because of the economic disruptions caused by the COVID 19 pandemic. The company closed its doors and went overseas. Mr Stone was the breadwinner, and he didn’t have any skill. He managed to send Gabriella to the prestigious school because the company offered bursaries to its employees’ children.

At home, Avery told her father about Gabriella’s situation. The following day, Mr Martins offered Gabriella Stone a scholarship. Principal Glen invited Gabriella’s parents to tell them the good news. When they arrived at school, they were told that Gabriella had received a scholarship from the Martins Group. They were shocked when they heard the news. They thanked the Lord for answering their prayers. Mrs Stone cried tears of joy.

After the meeting with Principal Glen, Jimmy Stone and his wife, Patricia Stone, went to the Martins Group. Fortunately, CEO Martins allowed them to see him. They introduced themselves and Mr Stone said, “CEO Martins, we don’t have enough words to thank you for what you have done for our family. May the Lord bless you.” CEO Martins offered Mr Stone a job to work at the construction site. The Stone family was overwhelmed with joy.