"Can't wait!" she said aloud to the empty room. She decided to call him...
"Hello Baby?" Tony's voice said from the other end.
"Good morning to you."
"morning how do you do? Hope you slept well?" Tony asked.
"Not that well, and you?" she made a face as she spoke.
"same here, missing ya loads." he laughed.
"So you're coming back this weekend?"
"Nooo, the doctor said I should for two weeks more." Tony explained.
"Oooh" she groaned.
"hey hey hey! Two weeks is just like two days, no need for that okay? I'll be back soon. There are many thing I'd like to show you!" he said soothingly.
"Many things? Like?" she laughed
and on and on, their conversation went till the door bell rang.
"Hey hold on! I'll call ya later." Lara said before ending the call.
Deji was at the door.
"ah! Ore mi atata, my friend, welcome!" she hugged Deji.
"This one you are looking fresh ehn?" Deji teased.
"You can say that again." Lara giggled as she served her friend.
"When is the hubby coming back now?" Deji asked gently.
Lara was taken aback, Deji never referred to Tony as 'the hubby' before,
"Errrm, i just called him on phone, he said next two weeks.." she explained.
"Next two weeks!" Deji echoed after her, she looked pleased by the information.
"Yea!" lara felt a strange feeling, she knew Deji very well, that look on her face isn't for nothing.
"Excuse me!" deji said as she made a call.
"Hello, Lady?" she said.
"The client should be in town in the next fourteen days, yea, business should be cool!" she smiled mischievously.
"Okay, bye, get all arrangements ready please." she ended the call.
"The client? Next fourteen days?" Lara asked quitely.
"Yea, just some sort of business." Deji avoided her eyes.
"Business? What type?"
"Oooh, Lara please! I didn't come here for an interview na!" she laughed.
"Okay" Lara sighed. Deji has been acting strangely for some time now. She hope there won't be troubles.
"So tell me girlie! How's Tony? His health?" Deji shoved her playfully.
Lara laughed, some how she felt more relaxed.
Lara was at the breakfast Table, when the gateman came in to tell her, that a letter was delivered for her.
She opened the envelope gingerly, she read it aloud.
' peace of the most high God be upon you.
How's your husbands health? I hope all is well.
I saw a revelation last night about you, I don't know if its a mere dream, or its a warning.
You just have to be careful about the way you do things, you are surrounded by unfriendly friends.
There is danger lurking ahead.
May the good Lord see you through. Amen.
Pastor Wilson'
she read and re-read it again, what message is he trying to pass across.
Danger? Unfriendly friends?
She felt shivers run down her spine.
"God see me through o." she clasped her hands in prayers.
Unfriendly friends? She thought. She've got a few friends, just Deji.
Could it be Deji? No it can't be!
"But Deji had been acting strangely now!" she argued aloud.
She've been asking suspicious questions about Tony!
"Hmm!" she sighed aloud.
Just then her phone beeped. A text from Deji.
' hy bestie,
I'll be travelling out of town, sorry I won't be around for the dinner with Tony as planned.
I'm really sorry.
My regards to Tony when he comes back."
"Talk of the devil!" Lara eclaimed as she read the text.
She shook her head in suspicion.
Truly Deji is up to something, why would she travel when she knew Tony is coming back that evening.
::::::::******::::::;
Lara dressed and redressed her dress for the twentieth time as she leaned aaginst the car that brought them.
She wore make up for that occasion, courtesy of her mother-in-law.
She glanced her saphire wrist-watch, and shook her head.
She wondered what's keeping Tony, their plane landed twenty minutes ago.
"Why is it taking Tony so long to come na!" Amara complained as she shuffled from one foot to another.
"Maybe something important." Lara quipped.
"Hmm" came the grunt
"or maybe he's shy!" she suggested again with a playful smile
"Shy? Tony lacks that characteristic o!" Amara laughed.
They both feel silent, as their eyes surveyed the airport environment.
Just then....
"Holly Majolly!" Amara exclaimed.
"What?" Lara asked.
"Don't look back!" Amara tried to hold her.
But it was too late, Lara's eyes swung left and right,then she spun round, everything around her froze...
Tony was at a far end, locked in Sophia's arm as they kissed 'passionately'
Lara shut her eyes momentarily, then re-opened them, what she saw was real!
Her vision began to get blurred, she was inhaling and exhaling sharply.
Tony saw them, pushed Sophia away and ran hapilly towards them.
Lara saw him coming, on his own legs, no longer on the wheel chair.
She wished, she wished he never got well.
She wished... She began to slump slowly.
"Lara..." Amara said nervously as she tried to hold her.
But she passed out.
Lara lay, curled up on the darduma in the parlour. She hugged her pillow tightly as she wept. She had been like this for days now. Tony as usual was kneeling beside her, he wondered if her tear bank would ever get exhausted.
"I should have listened to my mother." Lara muttered.
Tony sighed...back to square one he thought inwardly.
"Because of you!" Lara sat up.
"Just because of you! I ruined the relationship between I and my mother" she wagged a finger at him.
Tony backed away, she was becoming violent.
"What haven't I done for you? Tony? This is the best way to pay back?" she tasted the saltiness of her tears.
"I'm sorry baby..."
"Thunder fire you if you call me baby again!" her eyes glinted in anger.
"I'm very sorry, its not what you think..." he felt sorry for her.
"Its not what I think right? Oh please, explain!"
"Seriously, I won't lie to you Lara...she was the one kissing me, I didn't kiss her..." Tony tried to explain.
"No difference! The real thing is that you kissed! And you enjoyed it!" she grabbed her pillow.
"Lara..." tony held her arm.
She pushed him away violently.
"If you touch me again, I'l murder you!"
Tony stared at her, he'd never seen her this violent before.
"I wish I have spiritual powers!" she whispered.
"I'd have made sure you get back on a wheel chair with your manhood cut off" she spat out, before sauntering to her room.
Tony watched her: frightened.
The thought of been crippled again scared him. He had heard stories of yoruba girls been witches...
He wondered what kind of bad breeze blew Sophia to the airport.
She said she came to congratulate him, it started from a hug, then she kissed him.
"Rubbish!" he muttered lying down on a settee.
He must have dozed off.
He opened his eyes lazily as he felt something on his head,
his eyes widened as he saw the noozzle of a gun.
He tried to get up, but a firm leg pressed his chest down.
"where's your wife?" a voice growled.
He didn't reply.
"you deaf abi?" another voice asked.
He looked around, he was surrounded by five armed men.
" una never bring the meat commot?" another voice asked walking into the room..
"no boss, the guy no wan show us where she dey." one of the robbers responded.
"Search the house jor!" the boss commanded
the five robbers dispersed in various directions, while the boss sat beside Tony.
Tony jerked as he heard Lara scream from her room.
"Tony!" she yelled again.
He tried to get up but the boss pulled him back.
"Don't move" he placed a sharp knife on Tony's neck.
The robberes emerged pulling Lara with them, they threw her at their boss's feet, she shrieked as she fell.
"Wow, this babe set die!" the boss exclaimed.
"Please don't hurt her, I'd give you anything you want." Tony pleaded.
"Noo, mr man, we didn't come for you, we are paid to work on her." The boss said pulling Lara towards himself.
She shivered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
He tilted her chin up, and his eyes met her frightened ones.
His eyes widened in recognition.
"Lara the class monitor!" he exclaimed in suprise.
"Bayo?" she gasped.
"What are you doing here?" he couldn't help asking.
She felt weak, the suprise she got made her whole body numb.
Bayo was her classmate/best friend during her secondary school days.
"I'm sorry for...errm..the...erm" Bayo whispered wiping her tears.
"Boys make we waka!" he told his boys who were grumbling.
"Make we dey go jor!" he added firmly, sauntering towards the door.
"Just like that?" one of the boys queried.
"Wetin again? We no fit touch her na! Make we just go!" Bayo replied.
"we no fit trust her, she know you, she fit call police.." they grumbled again.
"She won't!" Bayo chuckled.
He left with his boys following suit.
Tony held the trembling Lara as she wept. She rested her head on his shoulders holding him tightly.
He led her towards his bedroom.
He kissed her tears dry, the salty taste made him want to suck some more tears out of her eyes.
She clutched him tightly as he searched for the zip fastener of her night robe..
Surely, something must happen tonight.
TBC.........
