"Where's your cousin, Matt?," Vini Liko asked, looking around.
"I have no idea. Ever since we came back from the lake, I haven't seen him. Maybe he's upstairs in his bedroom," Matt explained.
"That foolish boy, he behaves like a tiny girl. He gets a little scratch and he runs to the bedroom!" Vini replied, cursing.
The Liko family had gone out to the lake for an outing, but things weren't good for some of them, yet to others, it was fun for some time.
While there, Matt was with his wife Fatmah, and the child was with the new babysitter, Vini Liko sat with Fatmah's mother, Sarah having their oldies' boring conversations, while Vanny was lying down, sunbathing.
As she was watching the sun and enjoying the view, Matt's cousin Mickey had seen a chance to get to her and start up a conversation which Vanny hadn't found comfortable and she had declined humbly.
"Mickey, I am sorry but I feel like being alone, on my own for now!," Vanny had said at first.
"C'mon, we're grown ups, why don't we have fun? Look at Matt with his wife, your sister. They're having a good time. We can...,"
A hot slap hit him on his right cheek, stopping Mickey from continuing. He had started caressing Vanny and touching her breasts.
"What's wrong with you? I told you I don't want anything. I just want to be alone," Vanny had said, emphasizing 'alone'.
"What's wrong with men nowadays? You can't be like Matt and Fatmah! Oh..! I even want to go back home now!," Vanny had said, standing up, and picking up her towel.
"Okay, at least let's have a child together, the old man needs more grandchildren..," he followed up suggesting, touching the cheek-side that had been hit.
Vanny turned in rage and retorted, "what do you want? Why don't you leave me alone?!," she had said angrily.
By that time, the scene had attracted many who were at the beach.
Matt had rushed over hurriedly, followed by master Yamato who had seen the whole scene playing out.
"Mickey, why are you trying to get at?!," Matt had demanded, angrily.
"Nothing!," he had replied innocently, raising his hands in denial.
"You're lucky that young girl can't throw punches; you would have been bruised beyond recognition by now!," master Yamato had said, walking over slowly.
"Master, what do you mean? What's going on?," Matt had asked, puzzled.
Vanny was her responsibility. She came with her sister, who is also Matt's wife. So, if anything happened to her, it was all his responsibility.
"Alright Matt, you can have both sisters by yourself... I go now!," Mickey had said, turning to leave.
"Big mistake!," master Yamato had said, pitying the young man.
"What did you say?!," Matt had asked, unsure about what he had heard.
Mickey had turned halfway and said, "I said, they're all yours! You ca....,"
A very swift ragious powerful blow landed in Mickey's face, breaking his nose.
Master Yamato had been so slow to prevent the knock out yet also a bit reluctant to stop the expected.
"Never disrespect anyone of mine!," Matt had yelled at him.
He had then turned to Vanny, who was by that time standing with Fatmah, comforting each other.
Fatmah was yet another time surprised by the brutality of her husband. She hadn't ever seen this side of him.
"Yes, I have seen him standing up for the people he cares about, but not with this kind of brutality," she had thought.
The scene had attracted yet more people, Vini Liko and Sarah inclusive.
"Alright, party time is closed! Let's go back home!," a commanding voice echoed in the area, and everyone had known whose the voice had been. Vini Liko had stood with his arms crossed at his chest.
Master Yamato had helped Mickey up, cleaned his bleeding nose and repositioned it to its place, then had him taken, by the hand, to the parking lot. Matt, Fatmah, Vanny, and the babysitter had followed suit at a distance. Vini Liko and Sarah had also followed, with Vini cursing, "damn it!!! A parent can't have a peaceful time alone,with children around?!! They are ever ruining it!"
Sarah hadn't said a word. She had just followed quietly.
The family had boarded their cars and had reached home in graveyard silence. Some in pain, some in disbelief, others in anger, others having mixed emotions, yet others, like master Yamato, emotionless.
When they had reached home, it was Mickey's car that had arrived first. He had run to his bedroom and locked it tightly.
When others had reached, he had already vanished out of sight.
Vini Liko's car with Sarah had arrived latest.
After knowing where Mickey might be, he called out, "Mickey..., come down now!
"That foolish boy of yours broke my nose," Mickey shouted through the window of his bedroom.
"Aaah! Am I your equal or your child that you can't come down and talk to me respectfully, instead of shouting at me? Children of this foolish gen Z era!! Come here!," he commanded.
Mickey sloped down the staircase and came to meet with Vini Liko and the group.
Vini Liko had commanded them all not to leave or they would bear the consequences.
"You have to tell me what the heck happened down there!," he had said, fuming with rage.
"Now that everyone is here, can someone tell me what happened at the beach?," he demanded.
"Dad.. you know I hate people who disrespect ladies and people in general, especially those that I care about,..." Matt started explaining.
"What does that have to do with your petty fights with your cousin?," Vini snapped.
"Vanny is a married woman and my sister in-law; he can't disrespect her like that! Mind you, I brought her here; she is part of my family. No one disrespects my family and goes unpunished!," Matt raised his voice, speaking with passion, facing Mickey.
"Hm, hm," master Yamato cleared his throat, as though to signal his presence and that he wanted to say something.
"Master Yamato, do you wanna say something?," Vini asked, calmly.
"I watched the whole thing play out, how it started, to the final blow that sent us here!," he said, "I said to myself, 'this foolish boy needs a beating,' and thank God Matt did it well. You can't caress a woman and touch her breasts without her consent!" He then slapped Mickey squarely on the cheek, where Vanny had slapped him.
"Tell me! Is it true? Is that what I taught you growing up?," demanded Vini Liko in a deep intimidating voice.
"D.. dad, uncle, I am sorry, I was drunk!," Mickey panicked, sensing the danger ahead of him. "And I also didn't know she was married?," he continued innocently.
"Oh! If she weren't married, were you gonna rape her! You're so shameless! Repent to her, now!," Vini commanded him.
In their culture, it's very ego stinging for a man to repent to a woman.
"You have two options; you repent to her, or you are banished from this family for good!," Vini said suddenly.