He was discharged from the Mbale Regional Referral Hospital two weeks later. Jacob felt better. He could walk properly, but with what appeared to be a slight limp. The operation had been successful, and the bullet in his thigh was removed.
He left the hospital and stepped into the hot sun. As he walked along the road, he had already made the decision to go in search of his grandfather. He went past the shops and headed for the bus park.
Here, he saw a man in pink uniform. He was holding currency notes in one hand but also talking to an elderly couple. He saw one of them give the man in uniform some Kenya currency in exchange for Uganda shillings.
Jacob instantly knew he was a money changer. He approached him and said, "Brother, can you exchange for me eighty thousand Uganda shillings into Kenyan currency? How much is that?"
The man sized him up, realised he was new around, and seized the opportunity to make easy and quick money. "Sure, the rate today is fifteen Uganda shillings for one Kenya shilling," he said.
"No, take thirteen," Jacob tried to bargain.
"Business isn't good today, but I'll let you have at fourteen."
Jacob thought the man had well to come down from fifteen and said, "Okay, we have a deal."
He gave out the eighty thousand shillings, and the man dropped these into his coat pocket. Then he counted some roll of bills and gave them to Jacob, "Take these."
Jacob took the bills. He counted five thousand, seven hundred shillings and fourteen Kenya shillings. But even as he was counting, he saw the man walk away quickly as he went in search of the other travel customers.
"How much did that man give you in exchange for eighty thousand shillings?" A middle-aged woman who sat next to him at the bus park asked.
Jacob told her.
The woman's face lit with surprise as she said, "These money changers pry on unsuspecting victims. You've been conned. He should have given you eight thousand shillings."
"Is that so? I'll go after him then," Jacob said and began to rise on his feet.
"It's no use. By this time, he's gone very far." The woman warned him, "Even if you were to catch up with him, he'll deny or even claim he does not know you."
Just then, the bus arrived, and the passengers were asked to get inside. Inside the bus, Jacob's mind tried to imagine the grandfather he was going in search of. What did he look like? He wondered.
Suppose he was dead? The fear that his grandfather could have died during his long stay at the Kabwegyres began haunting him. If that was so, no one would be there to receive or even believe him.
There would be no one to ask for. The grandfather was the only link to him. Suddenly, Jacob began wishing his dying mother, Angela, had even told him of her sisters' names, his aunts.
Had she really told him their names? He could not remember. Then another fear came to him. Suppose no one was there to receive him. Where would he go? Would he return to Uganda?
Definitely not. He had no one else he could go back to. He could not go back to Kampala. He had abandoned both shoplifting and pickpocketing. Mubende was out of question. There would be no place to go, whether it was Kenya or Uganda.
As the bus roared into life and started moving slowly on its journey to Kenya and gathered speed, wild thoughts raced in his mind. He remembered his personal documents, which had remained at Kabwegyre's house.
Suppose Kabwegyre found his London General Certificate of Education and decided to destroy it out of anger of Jacob messing up with his daughter, Lisa?
All my academic efforts, he thought, would be in vain. He should never have touched Lisa, he reasoned, but she had pushed him into submission. And she claimed she loved him.
But did he really love her? He wondered. The only thing he was sure of was that she had made a lasting impression on his mind as his first love.
What Jacob never knew as the bus roared down the road to Tororo on its way to Kenya was that Lisa had found his documents in his room. She had also decided to keep for him in the hope and belief they would one day meet. She loved him and had been disgusted by the action her father took against him.
The bus went past Tororo, Malaba, and arrived in Bungoma late in the evening. Jacob was quite happy to set foot on Kenyan soil despite having been disillusioned when the bus broke down past Tororo on its way to Malaba.
It had taken the driver and the bus mechanic to work almost two hours to get the bus back on the road.
At the Bungoma bus park, Jacob knew he was unlikely to proceed with the journey. It was quite late and there were no buses leaving for Mumias at that hour. Left with no other choice, he decided to spend the night in a lodge and leave early in the morning.
He had enough money to book himself a room in a guest house, lodge, or hotel. Thanks to Ozo, who had demonstrated the Christian spirit of love and charity to strangers.
Jacob counted the money he had and realised he was left with five thousand, the balance left having paid for the bus ticket, and the soda he took on the way.
He started walking along the street towards the shops as he went in search of a lodge. Then, from the distance, he saw the bright neon lights, which lit the beauty of the night. One particular building written BUNGOMA HOTEL AND NIGHT CLUB caught his attention as the lights lit the building.
He walked briskly towards the hotel and paused at the entrance. His eyes surveyed the hotel for a few minutes. He could see the bar was dimly lit by disco lights, and also women whose skirts and blouses shone.
Satisfied, he entered and stopped at the reception. "Sister, do you have a room where a man can rest, bath, sleep, and probably have something to drink and eat in the morning," he asked.
The woman at the counter eyed him with a lot of interest. She was a middle-aged woman whose attractiveness had faded over the years.
She tried to smile, revealing some broken teeth. "Welcome. You've come to the right place."
"How much is a room per night?"
"One thousand shillings, single. Two thousand five hundred, double."
"Let me have a single room." Jacob said as he took out the roll of bills, counted some one thousand shillings, and returned the rest in his trouser pocket.
The woman eyed the other bills with greed in her eyes. Then she reached out, took the money, and wrote a receipt for him.
"Are you not in need of company tonight?" The woman asked, smiling.
"What company?" Jacob was seemingly confused.
"Ah, I see you're new around," she observed. "Your room is at the far end of the corridor, the door marked number 7."
She picked up a key from the bunch of keys on the hook on the wall and gave him one. Jacob went past the counter and started walking along the corridor towards his room.
"Wait!" The woman called out. "She'll show you."
Jacob stopped and turned. An averagely built woman with a shapely, curveous figure appeared and started walking towards him.
She wore a tight-fitting white trousers which revealed the outline of the red pants she wore. Her curved figure and large hips swayed as she moved towards him.
Jacob instantly felt a surge of excitement running through his body and a burning sensation inside him.