(Episode 4)
Christmas in November
The doctor took his seat and pointed at a chair, Felix sat down.
Doctor: “the test result shows your wife hit her head on an object and that is the reason for her concussion!”
Felix’s pulsating had increased, the mouth felt dried and the face looked quite pale. He would have killed her, he thought.
Stuttering,
Felix:” Sir, how’s she? Would she make it?” the doctor looked at him and smiled,
Doctor: “Relax, she is fine. We gave her some medications.”
Felix: “Thank you,sir!” he nodded the head like a gecko devouring its prey.
Doctor grunted,
Doctor: “But she was really lucky. If the hit was harder then I fear she would have passed out or lost touch with sanity…”
Felix: “Oh God!”
Doctor: “But thank God none of that happen!” Felix nodded again, “Please make sure she takes her medications!”
The door tweaked, Felix entered, and a nurse was in the room checking up on Jane. Their eyes met and she took her’s away. Shade, was her name, Felix had heard the Doctor call her,
Felix: “Good morning,” he shut the door with the back of his hand.
The ward was full, it had many patients. It was a female ward. It wasn’t overcrowded though nor was it quiet either; whining and groaning were heard from nook and cranny of the ward.
Shade moved to where Jane’s head was placed and touched her with the hand,
Shade: “Good morning, sir!” she said to Felix and to Jane, “how do you feel?” she hid her lips in the mouth and shook her head, Felix stood close to her,looking at the nurse she said,
Jane: “When am I going home?” the Shade smiled,
Shade: “Tomorrow in the morning,” she shook her head, “try and rest!” Shade left.
Felix sat on a chair and drew it closer to her, tears gathered in her eyes as she turned away,
Felix: “baby..i…”
Jane: “…where’s Jake?” she cut in with a shaky voice,
Felix: “I told Amarachi to help me pick him from school!”
Amarachi was the house help of their neighbour, Mr and Mrs Akpubi Jones, whose kids attend the same school. Jake was a friend to the kids. Silence fell upon them,Felix didn’t know how to apologize,
Jane: “the nurse said I’d have died from the fall,” turned with teary eyes and stared at him Felix like an erring child threw his head and eyes to the ground,
Felix: “I…i..”
===
Jake ran into the ward,
Jake: “Mummy!”
Mrs Jones and Amarachi followed holding a basket of food and fruits, Jane was up as Felix stood up to welcome them,
Felix: “Take it easy on your mum!” he whispered, “welcome,ma!”
Mrs. Jones: “ Eh,mummy Jake, how you feeling?”
Jane: “better now ma!”
Jake:” Mummy, Tochi and Emma were begging big mummy to bring them here too but she refused,” they all giggled,
Jane: “big mummy why na?” they laughed the more.
Emma and Tochi were the children of Mrs Akpubi Jones, Jake’s playmates at home.
The doctor came and discharged them. Mrs Akpubi drove them home and Jane was asked to be faithful to her medications,
Mrs. Akpubi: “She doesn’t have a choice,” she said to the doctor and they all laughed.
Felix entered the room with a cup of water,
Jane: “Thank you,” she said in an arctic manner; she took her medication with it, “Is Jake asleep?” He nodded.
She was still mad at him. He had almost killed her.
As he turned to drop the cup she hit him with the sledge,
Jane: “Jake and I are moving out of this house. I want a divorce!” she looked away.
The cup dropped shattered into pieces, he turned and knelt,
Felix: “Baby,please, I’m sorry. I cannot afford to live my life without you. I swear I cannot!” he started crying, “I’m sorry, baby!”
Tears gathered in her eyes.
….
Comfort, yawning, entered the cab as she left the office,
Comfort: “Your boss told you my location right?”
Driver: “Yes,ma’am!”
Comfort was so sleepy but her restless mind wouldn’t let her rest. The thought of Mr.Clem, her boss and Israel darted at her mind in quick succession. What was she going to tell her boss? That the deal didn’t click? “You’re so so fired!” she imagined that those would be the words of her madam and she had given her all to the growth of the company. She had an overbearing boss, yes, but she, also, did enjoy her job. And besides who wanted to be out a job in recession.
The bleeping of her phone jerked her back into reality; a text had entered, phone bleeped again, another text entered.
Comfort: “Oh sweet Jesus!”
One was from her boss and the other was from Israel, sighed and opened her madam, “I’m sure that the first thing I’d be greeted with tomorrow at the office is that we have clinched the deal!” it read. Comfort started sweating in the then clicked open Israel’s “I’ll be coming over to yourself just going through the script I am to shoot next week!”
What was she to do? The pressure was getting too much.
….
Doctor Sanusi,Audu’s family doctor had asked himself and his wife to follow him to the office; Iya Loja followed behind sobbing and whining,
Audu: “Woman,take it easy!” Doctor Sanusi smiled for he wasn’t oblivious of their drama,
Iya Loja shot an angry gaze at him,
Iya Loja: “Taking what h’easy?” she hissed, Doctor Sanusi had to jump in, he knew he had to.
Doctor: “It’s Okay.Iya. “
They all sat,
Audu: “Sanusi mai na damunshe?” Iya Loja turned and looked at him, he had received the message, “Sorry, what’s wrong with our son?” Audu whenever he wanted to discuss anything secret especially when Sanusi come visiting they would converse in Hausa and it annoyed her.
Doctor Sanusi smiled then sighed,
Doctor Sanusi: “The truth is, “he shook his head, Iya Loja started crying again, “the nicotine level in his body is very high!”
Iya Loja: “Hah! Oluwa ooo! My only boy shild ooo!”
Audu: “See, you’d better keep quiet after all you’ve been the one spoiling him all this while,” not minding Audu she continued her rant.
Doctor Sanusi: “I thought he had stopped taking drugs and alcohol.”
Audu: “That was the lies he had fed us all with but I knew it was just pure lies!”
One a fateful day, two weeks ago, Jerry entered his parents room looking very sober and he knelt down crying, if tears were measured his would have filled a tank that day. Apologized for being reckless and the pains he had caused them. For the first time in a long while Audu felt overwhelming warmth towards his son. Tears stood in the eyes. They hugged each other. Jerry didn’t stop there; he went as far as visiting Doctor Sanusi, who he fondly called Uncle Sanusi,
Jerry: “Uncle Sanusi, I have stopped smoking and doing drugs!”
Doctor Sanusi was very happy, for he had known Jerry as an infant who was growing up into a smart boy but into teenage age he went berserk doing drugs and all sorts. It was saddening.
Audu found it difficult to believe; someone who had been into drugs for years would just stop all of a sudden but he wanted to give his son the benefit of doubt. If Jerry had truly changed it would be his joy. No father wanted a wayward son.
And in less than a week Jerry was back to his old habits.
…
Comfort was pacing about in the room,
Comfort: “What an earth should I do?” she spoke aloud to herself.
Her job and her relationship; she wasn’t ready to let go of any for the other. An Oliver Twist, she wanted it all. She felt thirsty, dashed to the fridge, took out a pack of yoghurt an idea poured into her mind in the same manner the drink found its way to the giant glass cup,
Comfort: “Yes!” she screamed.
She would send a text to Israel that her best friend Lizzy was ill and she needed to spend the night at her place but before doing that she’d call Lizzy first.
Comfort: “Babes,owfa?”
Lizzy: “Good oo!” she made a crunchy noise.
Comfort: “Na wa ooo. Wetin you dey chop?”
She dug a spoon into her mouth before answering,
Lizzy: “Cornflakes!” but it sounded, “comflames!” for her mouth was full.
Comfort: “Foodie! Foodie!”
Swallowed,
Lizzy: “I go wound you o! owfa? I wan come crash for your place today oo!”
Comfort: “Eh? Blood of God!” Lizzy was giggling, “See I wan maik you cover up for me abeg. I wan use you lie!”
Comfort told her of the deal and how she was supposed to meet up with Mr. Clem,
Lizzy: “Na wa oo! You sure say di Clem no go demand for something else?”
Comfort: “eh? Like?”
Lizzy: “something for your body na?” she said in her thick Benin pidgin.
Comfort: “Wetin e loss for dia?” they laughed.
So that was the plan she was going with.
…..
Comfort looked at herself in the mirror, she turned sideways looking at her butt in the gown, and she smiled. The black velvet gown clung to her body bringing out her physique, her phone blared.
Mr. Clem: “I’m at your gate!”
Comfort: “gimme a minute!”
In about five minutes, she made for the car and they zoomed off.
Israel had received her text hours ago, he was bored to death. For hours he had been working on a movie project and was yet to get any rest. He was watching an old match on DSTV , Manchester City against Man united. It seemed boring to him, picked the phone and dialed John,
Israel: “Sup,man?”
Max: “Owfa,bro?”
Israel: “where you dey like this? Noise too much oo!”
Max: “we dey the normal downtown lounge na!”
Israel: “I dey come abeg!” jumped into his sneakers and ran out.
They got to the venue; Mr.Clem got down and opened the door for her,
Comfort: “Thank you!”
They sat on a table as he made orders for them. Mr. Clem was in either early or late forties he had a stern look with the lips like the slab of a chopped cow meat but he had a very nice accent and pronounced words obeying all laws of phonetics. It made up for his unattractive looks. Nauseous feeling pounced on Comfort. What was wrong with her? She thought,
Comfort: “lemme use the ladies,please” Mr. Clem who had been talking paused and nodded sipping his drink.
As she took few steps, Israel was opening the door and their eyes locked horns. They both stood in opposite directions with their feet’s seeded to the ground.
