Sharp Tongue

Episode 9

He shrugged. His wife got up again.

“I have to get ready. What am I going to
wear.

Oh my God!” She walked out of the sitting
room in a hurry. Imabong chuckled and met his
children’s puzzled gazes.

“Your mum is okay. She is perfectly fine.”

XXXXXX

Sheila sat on a cane chair in the balcony
chatting with one of her course mates on
her blackberry phone. School would soon
resume and she had not paid her hostle fees for the new session. She was still contemplating if
she wants to go back to Amina hall or move to
one of the hostles outside the school’s
permises.

She has to look for a considerate one in
terms of fee.

Her parents were not ready to lavish
money on hostles. She remembered when she got an admission into Unilag, they had almost
convinced her to go to school from home.

Thank God the school gave out
accommodations to first year students.
Staying in Amina hall had been eventful. She had
met different kind of girls from diverse
backgrounds.

“What are you doing?”

She looked up and saw her mother staring
at her. She didn’t notice when she came in.
She must have been engrossed in her own
thoughts. She looked away.

“Nothing.”

Eureka sat beside her daughter. Sheila
shifted away a bit. What does she want now? She
and her mother had not been on speaking terms
since the incident at Martha’s party.

“When are you going back to school?”
A frown creased her brows, why was she
asking? “May be next week, may be next
two weeks.”

“I was disappointed when you and Martha’s
fiance turned her birthday party into a
kissing challenge.”

Sheila bursted out laughing. Her mother can
be comical with words at times.

“It is not funny.”
“I know mum. But you sound funny.”
Eureka smiled, but it thinned away, leaving
a stern expression, “I don’t know what you
were thinking. But, what you did was wrong.

Regardless of your grievance towards your
aunt, using Daniel as a weapon of pain was
wicked.”

She folded her arms across her chest. Her
methods might have been harsh, but it
drove home her point. Her aunt will think twice
before crossing her path next time.

“Your father and I did not train you this
way.

You need to ponder on the way you relate
with people, both family and strangers. Think
deep…

What you sow, you reap.”
Sheila groaned. Here we go again. Her
mother
and scriptures. At least her aunt has reaped
what she sowed.

“I am serious,” she got up and walked out.
She was glad that her mother had made an
effort to bridge the gap between them.
Whenever she and her mother quarrelled, it
always feel as if she was fighting and
hurting
herself.

XXXXXXX
“Tejumade Lewis!”
Her boss shriek echoed through the walls of
their office. Lord, Lord, this woman can be a
pain in the butt sometimes.
“Where is the file for Peter’s sake?!”
Teju shuffled through dozens of files in the
cabinet and pulled out one. She raced into
her
boss’ office and placed it on her table.
“Set up a meeting for two, I want to see the
representatives of Cashpoint firm today.”
“Yes ma.”

Martha returned her attention to her ipad
and her personal assistant showed herself out of
the office.

“Morning Teju.”
She turned and came face to face with her
boss’ fiance.

“Oh! Morning Mr. Daniel.”
“Looks like your morning has been busy.”
She smiled and returned to her desk. ‘Busy’
was
an understatement. Her morning have been
catastrophic.

“I will let her know you are here,” she picked
up the intercom phone and called her boss.
“Mr. Daniel is here to see you,” she faced him,
“You can go in.”

“Thank you Teju,” he knocked and went in.
“What can I do for you Daniel? Please make
it quick, I am very busy,” she placed her ipad
on the table.

“You have definitely lost your manners, a
‘good
morning’ would have been nice,” he sat on
one of the chairs at the table. She eyed him and
remained mum.

“It’s being three months Martha. We are
suppossed to be planning our wedding not
fighting.”

She leaned back on her chair and held his
pleading gaze. “What wedding?”
“Martha… We love each other, do not let
Sheila come in between us. The naughty girl has
even forgotten the prank she played on us. Why
are we still circling this issue?”
Why has Daniel come to her work place?
She
has so much to do today. She can’t deal
with
this right now.

“Can we talk about this some other time?”
“When? You have been avoiding me.”
“Daniel, I am busy at the moment. I can’t
do this right now.”

“Do you realize that your resentment
towards your neice is pulling us apart?”

“My resentment?” Her voice rose. “You were
the one that kissed her.”

He leaned forward, “She kissed me, she
distracted me long enough to plant herp@
nties in my pocket, knowing fully well that it will
hurt you. This is all a game to Sheila… But, this
is our lives at stake.”

Martha tore her eyes away. He was right.
What Sheila did had hurt her, more than she
would admit to anyone or herself. She knows that
Daniel loves her and he would never do
anything to hurt her. Why was she
punishing him for Sheila’s actions? She was
transferring aggression and this is ruining her
relationship.

Why has she allowed her neice to get under
her skin? What is she doing? She has been
praying to God for a life partner, here he is, and she
wants to drive him away. What is she
doing?

“Whatever your issues are when it comes to
Sheila, we will deal with it together. But, I
am not ready to throw away what we have both
worked for.”

She met his undaunted gaze.
“I love you and I want to spend the rest of
my life with you.”

“I love you too Daniel,” tears gathered in
her eyes. He crossed the table and pulled her
up.

“You cannot run away from me girl, you are
stuck with me for life.”

She smiled and leaned into his warm
embrace.

She must have been crazy for calling off the
wedding. She will never allow Sheila to get
under her skin again.