Last updated on March 4th, 2024 at 04:32 pm
Just like the typical Tochi, whenever he noticed me withdrawing, he intensified his efforts. Since the last call, he had been calling more often and sending me funny memes and skits. I remained cold though. I had been thinking a lot and was not totally sure, I might even regret it, but I was willing to try it and face the regret later. I didn’t want to continue my life with Tochi. It was easier when it was me and him, with Eliam now, I worried about him. I was not sure of how we were going to navigate Eliam’s issue.
I wanted to ask Zabby and mummy but both of them had made it clear that they trusted me to do what was right. I could also count on their support no matter how this swung. For my sake though, I had to do what was right. Eliam would definitely be fine, he had enough love around him.
***
“Hello,” Tochi said, grumpily.
“Hi.” Two can be grumpy.
“My leave starts the second week of February.”
“Ok.”
“I will only spend one week with you guys, then I will go and see my mum from there.”
“Ok.”
“Is it only ‘ok’ you want to say?”
“I am listening to you, what would you have me say?”
“You don’t even know what happened for me to want to go home.” I had sworn to myself to never ask Tochi about his family again. Eliam was over a year old, but Tochi’s family still did not know that he had a son. After asking him more than once and he flipped, I stopped asking him. It was not that I wanted his family to know me, though there was no way they were going to know Eliam without knowing me.
“I hope they are all fine,” I replied. I was not ready to bend in order to keep peace. I just didn’t care.
“Angela, you are really changing. We need to talk. I don’t think you are interested in us.” My heart skipped a beat, but I didn’t let my voice reflect how I felt. He had never mentioned this and I knew he only said it to get a reaction from me, so I gave him the opposite of what he expected.
“Maybe, I am not. Maybe I am.” The reply was not direct and he could have deduced any meaning, but I didn’t let him answer before I added, “I have to go. Later.” He was going to call my name when I ended the call. He called twice afterwards and I ignored it. I was playing a risky game here because I wanted a clean break from Tochi but if we ended up having a misunderstanding, then things would stall. Tochi’s forte was holding up during chaos, so he could easily swing things the way he wanted.
***
“Zabby, Tochi is coming on Saturday.”
“Oh,” She looked at me as if I was a lost cause, but quickly smiled and said, “That’s nice.” I didn’t want to tell her my plan because there was a little part of me that still didn’t trust me to go through with it. Tochi was my weakness and seeing him was even worse. All he had to do was pout or look into my eyes with his beautiful black eyes. I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders.
“Yes, it is nice. At least he can see Eliam.”
“Yeah,” She replied absent-mindedly. She looked at me as if she was going to say something and held back, chewing the inside of her lips. I wanted to laugh but until I really cleared Tochi from my life, I couldn’t gloat.
***
I took Friday off from work to go and get Eliam in Enugu. I had just gotten home, but there was no one at home. Eliam had also gone to school. I went into my room which was now Eliam’s nursery. Some of his freshly washed clothes were on the bed and I settled down to fold them. Tochi had called last night to remind me that he was coming. “This one that you are acting as if you don’t want to see me, at least I can see my son.” He had said. Responding with the same coldness as the weeks before, “Have a safe trip,” I said.
I heard the gate and peeped through the window, it was my dad. We still spoke this morning but my heart started beating faster. My mum knew why I was coming to take Eliam but I wasn’t sure of what she told my daddy and I had nothing planned. I folded the last pair of shorts and went to open the door for him. He broke into a smile as soon as he saw me.
“My baby.” He said pulling me into a hug. We saw each other every two weeks except for when he travelled but he always hugged me as if we had not seen each other in months. I loved that for me.
“Daddy! You are early.”
“Yes, I closed early so I could come home to see you.”
“That’s sweet of you, daddy.” He dropped his bag on one of the dining chairs and went into his room.
“Have you eaten?” he asked from his room.
“Not yet.” He didn’t reply. He probably went into the bathroom already. I went into my room.
***
I heard a knock at my door and got up to open it.
“Food is ready o.” My daddy said.
“Oh, you shouldn’t have bothered or at least you should have called me to help.”
“That’s fine,” he answered with a wave of hand as he left. I followed him to the kitchen.
“Ehnehn, your mum has called. She said she would be closing late. So we have to go and pick up my boy.”
“Okay, sir.” I was definitely not escaping my dad today. It suddenly struck me, knowing my parents, this was probably very planned. I dished my food and went to the sitting room to eat thinking of what to tell him if he asked.
…
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Keep up the fantastic work! Kalorifer Sobası odun, kömür, pelet gibi yakıtlarla çalışan ve ısıtma işlevi gören bir soba türüdür. Kalorifer Sobası içindeki yakıtın yanmasıyla oluşan ısıyı doğrudan çevresine yayar ve aynı zamanda suyun ısınmasını sağlar.