He stood a few metres away from her, observing her- she didn't look up, the satin veil covering her head made it difficult for him to see her face.
Thank God she agreed to stay back, he sighed. Life would have been terrible if she had left with the kids. He had called Ashley and her husband for help, when he overheard her telling the children about her decision to quit the marriage. Even Kemi had flown in from Lagos against Medical grounds alongside her husband.
He was lucky to have them plead with his wife- everyone seems to be on the 'forgiving side' except Sasha who had vowed never to forgive him. His saviour Kemi was around to take Sasha away.
His mind wandered to Joyce, who'd stay with the family till whenever she gives birth...
"You missed your way?" Barbra's voice cut into his thoughts.
"I...errm...no.." He stuttered smoothening his pyjamas.
"Need anything?" Barbra asked looking up at him, her eyes red and swollen.
"You're not crying again..are you?" Williams asked looking concerned.
He sat beside her only to rise up when Barbra edged away from him.
"What do you want here Williams? Its past twelve midnight!" Barbra noted bluntly.
"I just wanted thank you for...for staying...I mean..for..for not leaving...afterall I've put you through..I'm still very sorry." He spoke nervously.
"I thought you said that this afternoon..."
"Yea.."
"So?" Barbra eyed him.
"I want you to move your things back to our room." He pleaded.
"I'm comfortable here..."
"Please...you can't quit our matrimonial bed just like that..." He sat down again.
"I've heard you!" She bent her head.
"You're coming with me to our room-now?" Williams asked tilting her chin.
"I..." Barbra pushed his hand away ;moving away from him.
He caught her by the shoulder
"Please..." He pleaded looking deep into her eyes.
Barbra lowered her eyes, she began feel those butterflies fluttering inside her- a feeling she'd tried to keep away for so many years. She knew she couldn't hate him, not even the intruder can make her hate her first love. She wished Joyce never came along...she wish...
She shut her eyes when she felt his lips rub hers...she wished...
**********
Joyce pranced up and down the room she occupied, she trembled like a leaf blown by the harmattan wind.
"What am I going to do?" She muttered in fear.
Her phone rang and rushed to pick it up, million of shivers ran down her spine as she saw the caller ID.
She quickly rehearsed what to say, she definitely won't let him steal her joy. John was a past tense...
"Hello? Her lips quivered.
"look..I said I don't have anything to do with you again! Leave me alone!" She spoke fiercely.
"I've since aborted the pregnancy!" she shrieked after listening for a while.
"listen John, I'm married..you're now my ex, so stop calling me!" She threw her phone on the bed, still trembling.
She had gotten pregnant for him thinking he would marry her, but the opposite was the case-He ran away only to come back when he heard she's gotten a 'rich husband'.
"You can't soil my future Mr John! I don't deal with pauper' anylonger." she said nervously.
She needed a future- a bright future at that. Her unborn child deserves a rich father not a poor one.
Rubbing her forehead gently, Sasha slumped into a settee.
"What kinda headache is this?" she mused closing her eyes.
The sound of video game emanating from Kola's room was tempting, but she was too tired. The rest of the family had gone visiting Kenny's family immediately after church service, she declined when she was invited. She'd declined the offer on purpose- she's still very angry with Kenny; although He'd made efforts to please her.
Dapo had asked Kola to stay home with her , perhaps to prevent her from making trouble with Joyce.
Joyce? She blinked rapidly. They hardly saw each other, as the older woman avoided her like a plague. Good for her and her unborn bastard...
"Sassy?"
Sasha groaned inwardly, she hates disturbance.
"You promised to help do my assignment." Kola stated.
"So?" Sasha snapped.
"Let's do it now."
"not now, later." She replied with a note of finality.
"But..."
"I said not now!" She snapped.
"Okay." the boy sighed, sitting on the rugged floor.
"Sassy?" he cooed again.
"What?" Sasha almost screamed.
She wanted to be left alone.
"I'm hungry." Kola frowned.
"so? Do I look like food? You know your way to kitchen young man!" she eyed him.
"There isn't food in there!" Kola complained.
"you've got hands I suppose? Go cook yourself something." She was getting irritated.
"Dunno how to cook." he pouted.
"I guess your Pregnant-step-mother is in there? Go tell her to cook you something!" Sasha replied pointing at Joyce's room.
"Step-mother ko, Grandma ni." Kola hissed and they both laughed.
"There's bread, spread some butter on it and help yourself." Sasha adviced recovering from her laughter.
She shook her head as the boy ran off the kitchen. Joyce's saga had brought her and her siblings close, even Cassandra her enemy became her best friend, no more quarells
"Sassy- sassy-sasssyyy..." Kola sang from the kitchen.
"See what I found in the fridge." He gave her a polythene bag.
"Wow." Sasha licked her lips
"Meat pie and Icecream...belongs to who?"
"Dunno...nobody eats such junk in this house except you and I." Kola shrugged.
"I meant who kept it there? Its definitely not mum." Sasha said still salivating.
"Lets share it equally, so when the trouble comes we'll share it." Kola suggested.
"Good boy.." sasha sang as they started munching away.
The door to Joyce's room creaked open, and she rolled out of the room.Cat- Walking past them towards the kitchen, her hands carressed her slightly bulging tummy.
"G'afternoon." Kola greeted.
"How are you?" Joyce asked with a smile.
"Fine." He replied wincing as Sasha gave him a sound pinch.
"Are you outta your mind?" she glared at him.
"But mummy said we should be greeting her." Kola retorted.
"Mumu like you! You're forming good-holy boy who doesn't keep malice!" she pulled his ears.
"did you take any snack from the fridge?" Joyce asked coming out of the kitchen, ignoring Sasha.
"Yes, didn't know it belongs to you." Kola replied rubbing his ears.
"Okay." Joyce walked back to the kitchen.
Sasha drew a long hiss, loud enough to make Joyce stop in her track.
"What was that for?"
"I hiss whenever I'm irritated!" Sasha replied.
"Listen, young lady, I mind my business, And you'd do yourself a great favor by minding yours." Joyce warned.
"Tell that to the b.itches!" Sasha grimaced.
"You shouldn't have gotten pregnant for a married man; if you truly mind your business."
"I didn't beg your father to get me pregnant..."
"Neither did my father beg you to get pregnant for him." Sasha cut in.
"Besides that baby is not his."
"what your tongue! What the heck are you insinuating?" Joyce squealed.
"Save it missy! You and I know, that baby is not a Williams, better get that bastard out of this house." Sasha clapped as she spoke.
"If my child is a bastard, then you're a one too." Joyce cursed.
"You see..." Sasha laughed.
"When you see a Williams' you'd know, I don't need to argue." she pulled the band holding her locks together off it, making her locks she gets violent, a situation which he feared.
"I'm carrying the heir of this house in my womb, so you better live with it" Joyce stamped to her room
"Ode buruku! Aje one in town! Tell your fellow witches that my parents marriage is still as strong Zuma rock o!" Sasha called after her, pushing Kola away from herself.
Joyce bolted the door, her body trembling. How did Sasha know about her baby's paternity? Could it be that the girl overheard her when she was making calls?
Kemi offered her mother a hanky as she wiped her tears with her palms. She really felt sorry for her, she prayed she won't get carried away too.
"I got lost Kemi, I left my tracks, I wanted to belong..." Barbra lamented amidst sobs.
"Its okay mum.." Kemi consoled her.
"I can't blame your father, the blame is on me...I'm such a f.ool..." Barbra wailed.
"Mum you can't go on blaming yourself...dad is at fault too! What matters now is your happiness mum." Kemi chided.
"Look, Kemi- I became pregnant in a few weeks after our wedding, I won't let your father come near me...you came,I had Dapo, then Cassie...althrough I can count the number of time we were intimate...I believed that if a man loves you , he won't care much about s.ex..." Barbra sniffed, flicking away some tears.
"Sasha came along, then Kola...since then we don't do it anymore...its like your father got used to it, he got used to me turning him down..." she blew her nose into some tissue..
"Kemi...I had feelings too, but...but...I just let my foolishness take over me....I bottled up my feelings making the both of us suffer..." Barbra let out a heart-rending sob.
"mum c'mon...its okay...stop crying huh?" Kemi continued to rock her.
"My daughter, please..don't make the mistake I made...please,"
"Mum you should stop all this...atleast you still have your marriage intact, everything would be fine once more." Kemi continued.
The door creaked, then a shuffling sound like someone was behind the door.
Barbra quickly wiped her tears while Kemi walked towards the door.
"Who's there?" she asked snatching the door open.
Nobody was at the door, she heard some soft thumping sound dowm the hallway- the person was running away.
Hissing angrily she walked back into the room.
"Nobody is there." she informed her mother who was still trying to put herself together.
Sasha ran into her room-panting.
That was close, she whistled, Kemi would have sliced off her ears if she was caught.
She sat on a chair, analysing all she heard, she couldn't help but imagine the scenes her mother talked about . What she could digest was that 'her father got another woman pregnant because her mother refused to sleep with him'.
She never knew that was a crime- she shrugged indifferently.
The lyrics of a song by a Nigerian Musician flashed across her minds eye.
'.....agro na bastard...'
how comes she never knew intimacy was a priority in marriage? Who would blame her? She shrugged again.
No wonder the whole family went crazy when they discovered she had a male friend-Micheal.
A smile spread across her face as she remembered Kemi's first question as soon as they arrived Lagos.
"Are still a virgin?" Kemi had asked with a stern look.
"Virgin? Yeeessss!" She had laughed in reply.
She wasn't a virgin at heart atleast not after all the 'mills and boons' she had read. She knew everything just that she never knew being intimate was a necessity.
She decided to ask Cassandra who might know 'much', but changed her mind- that girl would sell her off with her loud mouth. Maybe she should ask Kenny or Mike or her new friends in Lagos? She considered that foolish too.
"Sasha?" Kenny walked into the room
she jumped.
"Hey Sassy...I've missed you." Kenny tried to hug her.
"Leave me!" Sasha snapped regaining her composure,
"Haven't forgiven a brother yet?" Kenny frowned.
"Whatever! Get outta my room!"
"Noo! Maybe you should throw me out yourself." Kenny replied folding his arms across his chest.
"You didn't even bother to..."
"Chillax...girlie, we can settle the scores later, huh?" he tried to hug her again.
"I'm not a girl jor!" she pushed him away.
"Okay woman...errrm..sorry Lady can I get a hug now?" Kenny laughed.
"That's my girl...no sorry...that my lady.." he teased.
"go jor!" Sasha laughed.
"not until I see our new family member." he winked.
Sasha laughed.
"That one? You'd never see her till whenever Dad comes back in the evening...always hiding in her room."
"Is it Peace or Joy that's her name...I can't wait to introduce myself to her." Kenny hissed.
"Before you can say anything, She'll start forming 'I too know'"
Imitates Joyce.
"...young man, I mind my business, and you'd do yourself a great favour by minding yours..."
"Nonsense! Is it not akproko that brought her into this house? She shouldn't just provoke me o!" Kenny hissed.
"You'll get to see her in the evening, when dad is eatin with us- you'll be here now?"
"I'm spending some days here...my bag is in Kola's room." Kenny informed.
"Kenny noni! I love you jare." she hailed.
"Sassy lockie-lockie, na you try pass, I love you diieee!" He sang as they hugged each other.
TBC AT 10PM.
