Unfulfilled promises 56

Unfulfilled Promises

Written by Audrey Timms

Episode 56

Dave sat by her and consoled her while she told him everything that happened.

“You mean she actually said all those heart rendering things to you? Her daughter?” he was bamboozled.

Oleng raised her tear stained face. “She’s no longer my mother. I’m an orphan now.”

“O Oleng! I’m so sorry.” He held her again, feeling her misery.

“It’s okay.” She sniffed. “I’ll get over her. I just need to get out of town now. I can’t stand this place any more.” she lamented.

“It’s alright. We’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

“What about the things you wanted to clear?” she asked concerned.

“Forget about them. I can always do them some other time,” He waved it off nonchalantly. “I’ll take you to Calabar tomorrow.”

“Oh! Thank you so much, Dave. You’re a friend indeed.” She hugged him again as tears dripped from her eyes.

“It’s no big deal. Please stop crying. Things will turn out fine. Okay?”

She nodded her head slowly. “Okay.”

Dave played music and movies to cheer her up. When she got tired, she went to his sister’s room to sleep. She had a restless night. She kept dreaming of her mother insulting her and Wale trying to rape her. She woke up early the following morning. She was appalled to see that her clothes were not dried and she had nothing to put on; her undies were dried though. She sat on the bed in a despondent state and was about crying when she heard a knock on the door. Dave came in with a nylon bag.

“Good morning.” he cheerfully greeted.

“Good morning.” she tried her best to be as cheerful but failed.

“I brought you some clothes. I don’t think your clothes got dried. It rained throughout the night.”

“Thanks but I don’t think I can wear your sister’s clothes home.”

“They’re not hers. I went to a boutique to get them just now.”

“You did?” she was shocked.

Dave looked at the floor. “I knew your clothes wouldn’t be dried and you wouldn’t want to put on my sister’s clothes to Calabar. So I decided to get you these. I know they might not be the sort of clothes you’re used to wearing in terms of quality but it’s just for a few hours. At least until we get to Calabar.” he explained slowly.

Oleng got up from the bed and hugged him. “Thank you very much. I don’t care if they are rags. I really appreciate the gesture. And as for my putting on quality, don’t you think I should start getting used to not putting them on anymore, now that I’m an orphan?” she said on a sad note.

He shook his head sorrowfully. “Get dressed and join me for breakfast before we leave.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to cook.” she teased.

“It’s just bread and tea and fried eggs.” he shrugged.

“Please don’t fry the eggs.” she pleaded, grinning.

“Okay. I’ll boil them then.”

“Don’t do that either because it is going to be either half cooked or over cooked. I don’t want to have runny stomach while traveling.” she teased again.

“Come on, Oleng. I’m not such a bad cook.” he protested.

“Really?” she said with doubt.

“Really. I’ve an boiled egg before.” He defended.

“And?”

“First was half cooked. Second was over cooked. Third was perfect.”

“Fourth?”

“We’re about to find out.”

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

“Please do because I don’t want eating my food to be a harrowing experience for you.” he jeered

She laughed heartily. He was pleased to hear the musical sound. “God help me.” she said before he left.

She looked at the clothes and discovered it was a beautiful dress top and jean trousers. After taking her bath, she tried them on and was surprised to see they fit snugly on her. She was proud of Dave for being accurate at guessing her size. She put her wet clothes along with others in the box and rolled it down the stairs. She was glad his family was not around because she wouldn’t have been this free.

“You look good.” Dave complimented when he saw her.

“Thanks to you.” she replied.

“Breakfast is ready.” he declared smiling.

“Help me, Lord.” Oleng prayed jocularly, following him to the dining room and they both laughed.

Fortunately the eggs were properly boiled and she praised him. He smiled happily. After breakfast, he brought down his bag and they left in one of his father’s cars. His whole family were in Abuja where they went for the wedding of one of their relatives. He had been lucky to meet them at home because he arrived a day before they all left. He left the house key with their trusted gateman who was more like a part of the family than a worker; having worked for them for so many years. Oleng tried desperately not to look at her house when Dave drove past it. Tears welled up in her eyes. She shook her head. It wasn’t her house anymore. Dave drove at a sedate pace to Calabar.

It was early evening when they got there. He drove straight to her aunt’s place. Her aunt was surprised to see them but thanked him profusely for bringing her niece home. Dave left after promising to visit the following day.

When Aunt Vien asked her why she had returned so early, with tears Oleng told her everything that transpired between her, her ex-mother and her lover. Aunt Vien actually wept when she heard what her sister did. Oleng then asked her about her father. Aunt Vien told her everything. How her mum and dad had had a drunken one night stand which had resulted in her, how her mum had lost her fiancé and how she refused to marry her dad at first, how she had finally persuaded her to marry him, how her dad had died, how she, Vien had breast fed her and taken care of her till she was two years old. Oleng wept bitterly when she finished.

“So she hated me even from the womb. But tell me, was it my fault? Is it my fault? I didn’t ask to be given birth to. I didn’t!” she yelled still crying.

Her aunt held her and wept with her. It took a while before Oleng finally stopped weeping. She was moody for a whole week. Not even Dave could cheer her up. She continued weeping. She wept for her mother, she wept for the love she never had from her and mostly she wept for her late dad who she felt would have loved her immensely.

When her aunt couldn’t take her moody nature anymore, she traveled to Port Harcourt to speak sternly with her sister.

“How could you?” she didn’t even waste time with pleasantries when her sister led her into her luxuriously furnished living room.

“How could I what?” Linda asked nonchalantly and sat down while Vien remained standing.

“How could you throw your only child out in the dark and rain like that because of a man?” she raged.

“Oh!” Linda chuckled. “Was that what she told you? Did she tell you what she did with the man?” she enquired sweetly.

“She didn’t do anything with him. He was the one who couldn’t keep his zip up.”

“Was that what she told you? I know what I saw.”

“You don’t know anything. You don’t know anything about your daughter so you were wrong to jump into conclusions like that.”

Linda got up in anger then. “What did you expect me to think about a girl who not only had sex at the young age of fifteen but got pregnant also?”

“You know that was a mistake she regretted bitterly. She changed after that. I should know because I have lived with her for over six years now. She has not had a single boyfriend since then. Her friends even complained to me to talk to her to have one or go to a convent.”

“Oh! That was just pretense. Did you follow her every movement? Do you know what she did when she was not with her so-called friends?”

Vien looked at her in disbelief. “Why are you so bent on thinking the worst of your own daughter? You’ve never for once showed her love!”

“I buy her clothes and jewelries. I stuff her account with money.”

“Do you think money is everything?”

“O please!As if you all haven’t been living off my money. Aren’t you paid peanuts at your job?”

Her sister was flustered for a moment then she asked, “Have you ever hugged your daughter? Have you ever told her you love her? Have you ever sat down with her to discuss things?”

“And you’ve done that, Saint Vien?”

“Yes, I’ve done all that and more.”

“Yet your own daughter still got herself pregnant out of wedlock.” she harshly told her sister.

Vien was floored for a moment at her sister’s wickedness. “Yes, she got pregnant because she wasn’t with me. She was with her dad when she got pregnant.”

“Pity then. Please Vivien, I don’t want to quarrel with you over an unworthy child. Just let me be.” she sat down in exasperation.

Vien was quiet for a long time. “I’ll let you be alright. This is the last time you’ll see me. If you could do all that to your own child whom you carried for nine months, then you can do worse to me who is just your sister. All Oleng ever wanted from you was love even if it was just the size of a mustard seed. She’s in Calabar weeping for the loss of her dad who we both know would have treated her like a princess. She calls herself an orphan. You’re a big disgrace to motherhood. I regret having you for a sister.” she yelled.

“Go ahead. Blame me like everyone does. I’ve been lonely for years but no one ever took notice. I would have been married to my first and only love but for her and her father.” she recalled bitterly.

“Must you blame her for the rest of her life and yours? She’s just a victim of circumstance. She came into this world innocently. Blame fate, not her.”

“She’s a big disappointment to me. She’s still gullible to men.”

“You’re one bitter cynical old woman.”

“Thank you very much for the compliment. Now leave my house. Like you said, I don’t want to see you again also. I’m sick and tired of you all.” she pointed at the door.

“You’re sending me out of your house?” Vien was stunned.

“Yes and never come back. So she has poisoned your mind against me, ehn? Your one and only sister.”

“Is she not your one and only child also?” Vien lashed out.

“Not anymore. I‘ve disowned her.”

“You’re so foolish.”

“Thank you but leave and never come back and quit behaving like a saint. You have your own dark secret.”

Vien froze.

Linda smiled. “You haven’t told her your little secret, have you?”

Vien shook her head slowly in sorrow.

“You can’t tell her, can you? You can’t face the risk of her hating you, can you? You know she’s very passionate. She does things to the extreme. She loves passionately and hates passionately. Are you willing to risk her finding out your dirty little secret, Saint Vivien?” she jeered.

Tears rolled down her sister’s eyes. “One day, I’ll summon courage to tell her and I pray she forgives me.”

“Very unlikely.” Linda laughed. “Now leave my house.”

Vien cleaned her tears. “I’ll leave but know that you will regret this as long as you live. You’ve just disowned your only family, your daughter and I because of a stranger. Well, good luck but don’t expect to hear from me again.” she firmly told her sister and left the room abruptly.

Linda Akpan just sat there smiling. Perfect! Things were going as planned. Her fight with her sister would make the latter not come begging when she saw they needed her help. She would see how they’d survive without her. She believed they would regret their actions but pride wouldn’t bring them begging. Afterall, she had been their sustenance all these years.

She shook her head in disappointment. Oleng was still a fool. She was still gullible to men. Instead of avoiding hurt by being like her; swearing off men after what that half-caste did to her. She shook her head in disappointment. She however smiled. If Oleng thought this was the end of her controlling her life, she was dreaming.

To be continued