I walked home looking so stunned. I had been admiring my employer 4 d past one week
even though it was done secretly.
No matter how hard I tried to last week, his profile kept appearing in my subconscious & now I had seen him today & had found it terribly
disturbing. Now, even though I had been trying hard to dislike
him, I found him more likeable & fascinating & just when I was hoping I would keep his
friendship but leave things as friends, I discover that he is my
boss. My boss! How possible is that? Thinking about it, I had
been secretly searching 4 d owner of d hospital & I had imagined him to be an elderly man of lets say fourty or fifty but I never imagined someone as young as Richard.
Everyone in d hospital was young & I
liked that but having that young handsome guy as my boss is
something I never imagined.
I finally got home & did not meet anyone at home. Mum was
obviously having a filled day cos she always arrived b4 me.
Thank God I had a spare key which prisca had given me in case of something like this. After changing my clothes & having
a little shower, I went into d kitchen to cook some noodles cos I was famished & could
not wait for anyother thing.
Unlike me, I
had a great urge to listen to d news; I don’t know if it is cos of my dad’s trial which was in 2days time but I
switched on d TV nonetheless.
Immediately I turned on d TV, I took it to d normal Tv stations & d first thing I heard was,
“Mr uche Badmus has just been released from police custody. The
real murderer of Olatunji James have been found & identified
as Tolu Adeniji”
“What?” I said shocked. The picture of d real murderer was
displayed on tv but I was not interested. I could not imagine
how that could happen. Nigerian police always makes silly mistakes. How could they convict
a man who was not proven guilty, I thought. I wondered about what my dad was going
through & even though I had convinced myself that I did not care if he hanged, I still could not
erase d fact that he is my father.
My phone rang out just then & I noticed that it was an unknown
number.
“Hello…”
“Hello Belina”,came d voice I knew very well
“Dad? Is that u” I asked already standing
“yes, it is me, belina”, he replied faintly.
What do you want from me? I heard u were set free, good
4u but what do u want
from me ehn? Oh… u have another guy u would like to sale me to since d former buyer
is dead uhn?”
“No, it is not that. I… I am sorry for all I did to u, pls, I only want ur forgiveness”, he said.
I laughed, “oh, what a nice ploy.
So u think u would say sorry,I would come home & u would carry out ur plans abi?”
I asked amazed
“no, it is not that. I realized that I have been unfair to u & I am
so sorry”, he said & sounded like he had been crying.
“sorry? Sorry for what? For everything u have been doing to me ever since I was a little
girl? Sorry 4d way u
maltreated my mother? Sorry 4 d s--t u brought home just days after her death? Sorry for
what?
“Pls, I can explain everything,I have reasons but it is not a
good one. Pls, I need to see u”, he said.
“well, I don’t want to see u & I never want to see u 4 d rest of my life” I said & hung
up. I felt like smashing d phone on d floor but I did not, but it slipped out of my grasp anyway.
I fell to a heap on d floor &cried my eyes out. Richard had
been right; I could present a bold & strong front in d presence
of people in order to keep them
encouraged but deep down, I wanted someone to love me &
love me deeply. I wanted d love of a father& a mother. Prisca’s parents had given me that & my days with them had been d best part of my life. After crying
for some time, I felt better & started thinking straight again
but I knew that I needed something to lift my spirit so I
picked up my phone, scrolled through my music album looking
for that one song I knew always did d trick & found that song. I started relaxing as I
listened to
‘Everywhere u go’ by Kim Burrell
***
Everyone seemed to have had a very long day cos everyone
got home late. I had prepared white rice & beans b4 they arrived. They were all happy
that I had made dinner & they told me that. Everyone felt tired
one way or another & I did not have d heart to bring my own
problems to bug them again,besides,they had already done enough for me & I did not want to overstep my bounds.
“Belina”, Mr Jegas called
I turned round
“sir?” I answered.
“u have been quiet for quite a while now,is anything d problem?” he asked looking
worried. Mum was busy in d room & Prisca had gone to take her bath,so there had been nobody to keep
my mouth running.
“No sir, I… I am fyn” I answered.
He stared at me for some seconds & finally said, “I don’t buy that, come”
I stood reluctantly, went to meet him & sat beside him on d
couch.
“Now tell me, did anything happen at work? Talk to me”, he
said giving me audience.
I sighed remembering my day at work but said, “nothing bad
happened at work sir”
“so what is d problem?”
it is my… my dad. He has been
released and-…
TO BE CONTINUED IN THE EVENING.
Did you miss the previous episodes?
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