Chapter 14, Episode 1

Last updated on March 6th, 2024 at 03:12 pm

He smiled. His smile that once melted my heart now appeared sinister to me.

“Angel,” He reached out with his right hand. I quickly removed my hand from the table before he could hold me. This threw him off balance. He raised a questioning brow. “You are joking, right?” I had prepared for him to be angry, so against Eliam’s protest, I had kept him and my bag close. I had also insisted on paying for what Eliam and I ordered. I also chose a space that was close to the entrance so I could easily slide out without drawing too much attention should he get mad.

“Tochi, thanks for everything. But I am no longer interested.” 

“Is it because of what I did? Are you mad at me?”

“No, and no. I came here to discuss because I respect your place as Eliam’s father, so I wanted to know how we would handle him.” Frankly, Eliam did not even know Tochi at all, and thinking of my son going to spend some time alone with Tochi rubbed me off the wrong way but I had to do was what right.

“I came all the way to Abuja to hear this?”

“Not really. It’s more to discuss Eliam.”

“And you think Eliam deserves this?” Angela, calm down. He wants a fight. Be calm. 

“That’s why we are discussing now.”

“We are not discussing. Where is this coming from?” I kept quiet. “Angela,” He pulled his chair closer, eventually dropping his fork. I resisted the urge to pull mine away. “Angel, baby, where is this coming from? Years of effort and commitment about to be thrown away just like that.” He ran his hand through his hair and when he raised his face, his eyes were filled with tears. Maybe I was dumb but the only scenario I prepared for was angry Tochi. I expected him to blame me, to even think that I was joking, but this? I wasn’t prepared for it. I shifted in my chair.

“Angela, talk to me. We can talk about this. We can’t throw away something good just like that. What we have is good, it’s strong, it’s peace…” With every word, his voice broke and I thought he was going to fully tear up at some point, but he seemed to pull himself together. I allowed myself to look at him and I knew that if I stayed any longer, I would hug him and tell him I was only mad at him. I started packing my things. I cleaned Eliam’s mouth and his hands and shifted my chair back. I was about to get up when he held my hand.

“This,” He waved between us. “This thing we have is beautiful. Let no one tell you otherwise.” It didn’t escape me that he referred to us as ‘this.’ 

I thought I was going to have to forcefully retrieve my hand from his hold, but he gently released me. I bent down to carry Eliam and stood up to Tochi’s kiss on my forehead. I was still recovering from the shock as he dropped a kiss on Eliam’s forehead as well. “I’ll escort you out,” he said and opened the door. I was frozen. I couldn’t even say how I made it home.

***

Thankfully, Eliam had slept before we got home. I didn’t bother checking up on Zabby, I just went into my room as soon as I got home. After I took care of Eliam as quietly as possible, I sat on the floor and replayed the whole conversation in my head. I fell asleep at some point, I didn’t know the time but I didn’t get up until I heard Eliam call my name “Anda” in his baby voice.

I got up and stretched my hands out to him. I tried to talk but my voice came out like a croak. I cleared my throat and tried again, it was better this time, “Come, baby.” He came to me rubbing his eyes with the back of his chubby hands. I placed him on my thighs and patted his back as he rested his head on my chest. I sighed.

After a while, I got up to check the time. I tried dropping Eliam, but he clung to me. “Okay okay,” I said, not wanting to upset him. It was some minutes past seven in the morning. I wouldn’t have thought that it was that late. Eliam was going to need food soon. With my baby in one arm, I went into the bathroom to rinse my face and brush my teeth. I was about to open the door when the aroma of plantain hit my nostrils.

As expected, Zabby was in the kitchen. As soon as she saw Eliam, her face brightened up.

“Who is this cute boy?” We moved toward her and she started to tickle Eliam as I snuck some fried plantain in my mouth. I was about to take another when she hit my hand. 

“Ouch!”

“Taa.”

“Na wa o.” 

“I figured you didn’t want to be disturbed last night.”

“Yeah.”

“No work today?”

“I already sent my boss a message asking for one more day.”

“So how did it go?”

“Hmm, I told him I was no longer interested.” Zabby turned to look at me so fast, that I worried that she must have felt dizzy. She was fine though or it didn’t matter at this point.

“Is it a threat or are you for real?” I was going to ask her why she asked but then I remembered that I had once broken up with him and couldn’t go through with it.

“It’s for real,” I said. My voice was so soft, it betrayed the confidence I had in my decision and Zabby voiced it out.

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“I don’t have to be. I can be scared and go through with it. I might be worried and still go through with it.” It sounded like I was trying to talk to myself. Zabby turned to the pan just in time to flip the plantain.

“I trust you, Angela.” And that was what I needed to hear. Those words. I dropped Eliam, who, thankfully, didn’t protest this time around, and hugged Zabby. After a while, she turned and hugged me too.

“Thanks. Means a lot to me.”

“Just try to be strong.”

I nodded and left. I deserved better for sure. I would be strong.

…

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