Episode 8
Tinuke knocked on the door to her motherâs house. She wondered why the door was not being answered. She had packed up her load with the aim of going directly to Raymondâs house but she had decided to get some real advice from someone that loves her unconditionally â her mother. She had been standing there for more than three minutes and the door didnât portray the fact that it might be opened. Suddenly, the door opened and she stared at the sleepy face of her mother. She had known that her mother would be at home because she passed by her shop and met the sales girl there.
âAtinuke miâ her mother called, surprised.
âGood evening maâ she knelt halfway, embracing her mum.
âYou did not tell me you are coming, come insideâ. She entered with her mother following behind.
âOh⊠mummy, I am sooo thirstyâ she proceeded to the kitchen and pulled out a pack of juice. She returned with a full glass of juice in one hand and the remaining pack of juice in the other.
âWhat is with the luggage? Where are you going?â
She sat on the chair opposite her mum. âI was going to Rayâs house but I decided to stop by your placeâ.
Her mother laughed. âThe route to his place is different from mine, so get another excuseâ.
Tinuke smiled but the smile soon faded out. âMum, I need your advice. Ray wants to replace meâ
âWhat?â her mum exclaimed. âDonât joke with something so seriousâ
âI am not joking mum. For the past few days, I have been calling him but he has refused to pick my calls. I tried using another number but immediately he heard my voice, he hung up.
I am tired mumâ
Bewildered. âAnd you did not tell me sinceâ
âI am sorry mum. Do you know the most ridiculous part of all these? The other lady is his maid. Can you believe it? A stupid maidâ she hissed.
Mrs Rogers could not believe her ears. âDonât just fold your arms while your husband is being taken from you; this is not how I ended up in your fatherâs houseâ. She almost yelled.
âThen what do I do mum, that is why I came hereâ.
âOk⊠here is what you would doâŠ.â
Sleeping while Luciana is missing was obviously an impossible task for Deolu. He left the room after he had called Caleb. Caleb had told him that the police is out, searching for Fred. The pictures of Fred now graced every corner of the state with the promise of a handsome reward for anyone who leads them to Fred. He hadnât taken anything since morning and his stomach was beginning to complain but he had no appetite. He sat on the chair in the sitting room with his thoughts scattered. He took out his phone and started going through all the pictures again. His album was filled with pictures of Lucy. You can never get tired of looking at her pictures; the more you look, the more attractive they become. Tears threatened to break free and he quickly blinked them away.
âWhat is this? My son is getting emotional, right here in my sitting room?â
Deolu looked up and saw his father. He smiled and prostrated before him. At least, he would have his best friend to talk to, he thought.
âGood evening dad.â
âEvening my boy. I donât need to ask how you are doing because it is obvious that you are not yourself. I would bet my fortune that the problem has to do with a womanâ he sat beside his son. âshe is a beautiful oneâ his eyes was fixed on the Deoluâs phone which was displaying Lucianaâs picture.
Deolu had heard it said before that men love their mothers more while women love their fathers more. That logic does not apply to him. The love he has for his father is great and even though he still loves his mum; it is not as much as he loves his dad. Though his dad chastises him at times, he is still his closest friend. No problem brought before him can leave the same way it came. Although, in this case, he seriously doubted that anything would happen to his problem today.
âShe is a rare gem dadâ he responded, dropping the phone on the table.
âI can see thatâ he looked at Deolu with worry lines on his forehead. âLast time I checked, she was just your friend. Has something changed?â
The question did not quite sound like a question because the answer was very clear.
âThat status changes four days agoâ it seemed more like an eternity ago.
âHmmmmmâ his father grunted, waiting for him to proceed.
Deolu stood up and started pacing. âBut what is that when she is nowhere to be found?â
âWhat are you saying?â
Deolu exhaled slowly. âLucy is missing dadâ
âWhat?â He exclaimed. âAre you sure she didnât travel or⊠Or run away with someoneâ.
âNo. None of that happened. All her things are in the apartment, including her phoneâ he exhaled again and proceeded to explain everything to his father: Bewajiâs dream; the empty house; Fredâs disappearance and all the efforts they had put in finding Lucy.
Mr Aremu just stayed there, listening without interrupting his son. When Deolu finally landed, silence prevailed for the next couple of minutes. âWhat if he is not in Ogun state?â
Deolu raised his eyes to his father.
âYes. If I killed someone which is impossible, I would flee. If I am running away from the cops, it would be stupid of me to tell someone where I am running off to when information can easily be coerced from that person. The only way I would do that is if the information I am passing is a wrong one.â
Deolu stood with his eyes fixed on his dad. There is always an added advantage when you talk to him. His ways of looking at things are always superb. âI never thought of that⊠I would search the whole planet if I have to. I must see Lucy and that b—–d would pay.â
âAnd if the dreams are true, then your girl is in danger. She must still be in Lagos. We need to start a thorough search for her here. Go to every hospital and mor-â
âDonât even mention it dadâ Deolu cut in, alarmed. âShe is not dead.â
âOK son.â
Bose was perplexed. This is the first time that she would admit her feelings to a man and now, she is feeling like crap. She wondered why she had answered the question. Why hadnât she lied? It would have been easier for her. She could have easily told him that he was imagining things. Instead of âyesâ, she could have said ânoâ and everything would be fine. Why did she make herself look like an opportunist?
Ever since Ray drove out, she had dived into work like her life depended on it, hoping that work would distract her from the past hour but no. Instead, her thoughts increased.
Ray is obviously not in love with her.
She had seen it in the way he looked at her, in the way he held her in his arms. He is just someone that is too friendly and down to earth. Anyone would fall in love with him; she only wished that âsomeoneâ was not her. How can you cope, knowing that the love you feel cannot be returned?
She contemplated leaving without any goodbyes but had a rethink. She already had more than enough in her savings to sustain herself and start up a small business but how would repay good for evil? Raymond and his family had been good to her; too good actually; and vanishing just like that would be too bad. Who would see to Rayâs meals, chores and other necessities? Even though Ray would not love her like a woman, she was hundred percent sure that she meant more to him than just a mere maid. The heart cannot be controlled so, his not loving her is not his fault.
She heart a knock, coming from the gate and tensed up. She went to the gate and opened it. Tinuke bounced in, almost throwing Bose off balance in the process. She had three bags with her, which she dropped in order to stretch her hands. She picked one of them and made for the house. âBring those bags inside for meâ she ordered. She had noticed the absence of Rayâs car and she smiled internally. âPerfectâ she thought.
Bose was bewildered. Things just got worse. âYou canât enter maâamâ she said, blocking her.
âOh⊠And why is that? Ray called me this evening, asking me to come over. If I were you, I would choose my words very, very carefully, if I have a job to protectâ. With that, she pushed Bose out of the way and marched into the house.
Bose was left standing there, momentarily stunned. So Ray had called her. Is it because of my confession? Perhaps he called her to remind me of my place in this house. All these went through her brain as tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped her face and proceeded to carry out madamâs orders.
Tinuke lay fully clothed on Rayâs bed with her eyes closed, feeling so tired. She heard the door open and guessed it must be Bose.
She opened her eyes as Bose dropped the bags and saw the sober expression on her face. She smiled. She remembered her expression of shock and surprise some minutes ago. âI donât think she knows who she is dealing withâ she thought.
Bose exited the room and Tinuke stood up. She stripped and walked into the bathroom. She allowed the cold water to caress every part of her. After some minutes, she was back in the room. After wiping her body dry, she polished her skin with body lotion. She took out her body spray and applied it on some sensitive spots, keeping it moderate and not too toxic. She had realized over the years that Raymond goes wild with desire whenever he perceives the scent of that spray. She unzipped her box and pulled out a wine coloured gown who stopped just below the butt. She gave a winning smile. God bless experienced mothers!!!
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Teju alighted from the bus and entered the street by the junction. She does not have the connections required to pull the police force but she has legs to walk the whole of Lagos if possible, in search of her friend. She had been to six hospitals and she so wanted to visit one more before the day runs out.
She sighted the hospital she was looking for â Hope Hospital. She entered the reception and greeted the nurses there.
âGood evening miss, how can we help you?â One of the nurses asked with a smile.
âPlease, I am looking for someone named Luciana Jones. I donât know if she was admitted here. We have been looking for her for daysâ.
The nurse looked thoughtful. âNo, I donât think so.â She pulled out their register and checked through with Teju checking with her but found no one with that name. Teju looked dejected as she exited the hospital. She passed by another nurse on her way out who was wondering why she looked so depressed.
Teju did not bother look at her, she was too depressed to pay attention to anyone. Something told her to go back but she didnât. The nurse entered and asked the other nurses what the lady came for and they explained the issue.
âWhat if it is the lady that was brought here by Mr Raymond?â The nurses looked at each other. She ran out to see if she can catch up with the lady but she was already gone. She exhaled and went back inside.
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