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EPISODE
3
After
two days and Andy continued to go to work, Jessica became fed up with the
pretense. She felt bored and useless in the beach house so she decided to go
and see her friends. If Andy wanted to be unreasonable, she would show him that
two can play his game.
She
sat at the owner’s corner at the back while the driver which Andy had assigned
to her drove the car. She had argued that she needed no driver but he won when
he found out that she hadn’t perfected her driving skills. After their little
drama at the beach, she and Andy had barely talked. The house had almost been
as silent as a grave yard and for the umpteenth time, she regretted the
decision she made.
She
sighted the small shop a few feet away and smiled. Lizzy was a fashion designer
who rented the shop in front of her rented apartment for her enterprise. She
was a graduate who had no interest in working for anyone. Jessica always envied
her independent lifestyle. She had wanted to visit Sonia but she knew that she
would be at work. Sonia worked in a bank and was almost always unavailable.
Paulina, just like her motherly nature, teaches in a big primary school and she
seems to find fulfillment in the work. Only Jessica seemed to be lost in this
equation. After her entire family perished in one day, leaving her all alone in
a crazy and meaningless world, she had changed her mind from being a lawyer to
being a doctor. She studied medicine in the university, thanks to her uncle and
his supportive wife but after working for five years in a hospital, she finally
decided that she hated the job. Initially, she felt that if she could be a
doctor, she could save a family from dying but later she discovered that
hospitals reminded her of what she had lost.
18
YEARS AGO…
Jessica
bounced up and down the sitting room, expecting her family to return. It was
the beginning of a long vacation and her parents had gone to pick up her
brother from the boarding school which he attended. She had missed her brother
immensely and she longed to play the computer games with him so she could show
him how much she had improved. She smiled at the thought of beating him at the
games. Even though she knew the sound of her dad’s car horn, she checked the
gate every time she heard a horn.
“Settle
down Jessie, when they come, you would see them” Miss Boluke said. Miss Boluke
was their house help. She was more or less like a family and like a big sister.
She turned and frowned at her.
“I
have no home work since I am on holiday and the TV is so boring. I have nothing
to lose by checking the gate a million times”. At 11, Jessica was a very bright
and sharp kid. She was so mature.
“Yes
you do. You are too small to develop high blood pressure. Come and help me in
the kitchen”. Jessie groaned and Miss Bolu raised her eye brows. “I am baking
some snacks; you know how much your brother loves them…”
Miss
Bolu did not need any other words; Jessie bounced into the kitchen. The both of
them talked and laughed together like two adults and Miss Bolu marveled at the
questions the small girl asked. She had successfully diverted Jessie’s mind
from the tense state it was in but when silence reigned some minutes later,
Jessica asked. “They would be here soon right? They are taking too long”
Jessica looked worried.
Miss
Bolu was also slightly worried but she hid it well. Mr and Mrs Adams never
stayed so long whenever they went to pick up Mark. She assumed that they got
stuck in traffic and told Jessica the same thing. Lagos’ traffic was always
unpredictable.
They
removed the brown snacks from the oven and Jessica stared longingly at it. Miss
Bolu took one look at her face and laughed, extracted one, placed it in a plate
and gave it to her. Just as she was savoring the taste, the residential intercom
rang and she flew there.
“Don’t
touch that phone Jessica Adams” Miss Bolu roared. She had her mind set to
disobey that order but Miss Bolu smacked her hand which was already on the
phone.
“Hello”
Miss Bolu said, knowing that the person speaking was at the gate. “Yes, this is
the Adams’ residence… ok” she dropped the intercom and turned glaring eyes at
Jessica. “I don’t want to see you outside, do you hear me?”
Jessica
nodded with a meek smile, only she should have known that the ever stubborn
Jessica does not listen to anyone.
Miss
Bolu stepped out and opened the main gate. “Good afternoon” she greeted the man
in front of her, who was looking like someone who just left the battle front.
“Please, how may I help you?”
“My
name is Tony; I came to deliver information.” He became silent. Miss Bolu urged
him on, feeling dread creep into her system. “Actually, there was an accident
along the express and after checking the valuables found on the victims, we
noticed that they are the Adams Family”
Miss
Bolu had frozen as her pale face stared at the equally pale face of the
reporter. She did not hear the gasp behind her as she grabbed the pedestrian
gate for support before she fell from the blow. An image caught her eye and she
spun with alarm as she stared at Jessica who stood rooted to the ground.
“Jessica…”
she gasped.
The
words Jessica had heard continued to echo as she stared ahead, seeing nothing.
It was until tears had slipped out of her eyes that she again saw the bad news
bringer and Miss Bolu. She wiped the tears instantly and marched forward,
standing in front of the man before Miss Bolu could even think of what to do or
say.
“Where
is my Mummy?” she demanded. The man looked totally at a loss. “Where is my dad
and my brother? Their snacks are inside. Where are they?” she yelled.
The
man bent down to her level, the way her dad usually did, holding her hands. As
Miss Bolu placed her hand on her shoulder, she lost it. She snatched her hands
from the man and grabbed his shirt with her small fists. She was shivering.
“Where is my mummy?” she yelled, shaking the man with all her strength. “I want
to see her. I want to see my daddy.” She gasped. “Where is Mark? Where is my
brother? I still have not beat him at the computer game, where is he.” She
wiped her tears furiously because it was hindering her from seeing the man
clearly. Miss Bolu tried all she could to detach her from the man who just
stayed with sorrow written all over him, without touching the child but she did
not succeed. When Jessica discovered that shaking the man was not working, she
started pounding her fists on his chest until he held her firmly with his
strong hands.
“Ok,
let me take you to them.” He said, smiling faintly but tightly. “Go and put on
your shoes.” He said gently.
“No.
I can go like this. Lets go” she wiped her eyes again. Miss Bolu could not even
get a grip on herself, not to mention, console the child. Mr and Mrs Adams had
been like parents to her. The man insisted until Miss Bolu went in to get Jessica’s shoes, and
locked the door.
When
they got to the car that the man brought, Jessica’s hand was shivering so
terribly that she could not hold the handle of the car, not to talk of opening
it. Tony opened the door for the ladies and went being the wheel. He could not
even think of any word of consolation to use. He hadn’t exactly told them the
worst part of the news but he knew that they had already drawn up their own
conclusions. He would have been able to handle it if the little girl hadn’t
been involved but seeing the girl tearing apart had almost driven him crazy.
When
they got to the hospital, he hesitated but when Jessica opened her door, he
hurriedly went out. Before he left the hospital minutes ago, the little boy had
been alive, though in grave danger. He hoped and prayed that the boy was still
alive but immediately they got into the hospital he knew that the prayer hadn’t
been answered. There, Jessica’s life became altered. Without being told
anything by anyone, due to her age, she was still able to fathom what the news
was. A trailer had collided with the car; she heard someone say. Suddenly, the
smell of blood and drugs hit her like a slap. She imagined that the blood of
her parents and her brother was what she was inhaling. She grabbed her
expanding head and screamed…..
**Present**
She
clutched her purse tight as the scene of over 18 years replayed over and over
again. She had cried and cried secretly but never in the presence of others.
She quickly wiped her brimming eyes and blinked. The driver was watching her
now and she realized that they had stopped moving.
“Are
you alright ma’am?” he asked softly with worry.
She
smiled. “I am fine. Thanks.” She stepped out of the car and walked towards the
shop, hoping that her friend would be able to lift her spirit. It was like life
always threw her battled.
“Who
am I seeing?” Lizzy yelled immediately she saw Jessie. “Jessie baby” she
hailed. “The sexiest SU bride in town”
Jessica
frowned at the endearment but internally, she was glad. If there was someone
who could make her feel extremely happy with words, it was Lizzy. “Na who be
SU”
“Who
else my dear” Lizzy hugged her fiercely. “Hold it. What are you doing here? You
should be on honeymoon. Don’t tell me you guys got fed up of each other’s
company this fast. You both seemed so much in love that you got married barely
two months after meeting.” They sat down on the chair. No one was in the shop
except clothes.
“He
had to quickly fix some things at the office so I decided to visit you”
“Wait”
Lizzy raised her hand in surprise. “You are trying to say that your honeymoon was
put on halt because of work? That Andy is really something”
“No,
he had something very important to sort out at work today and I advised him to
go. Besides, we still have the rest of our lives together” she lied.
Lizzy
tried to think about it then shrugged it off, as her face brought on a ladylike
smile. “Tell me babe, give me the gist. How was your honeymoon, most
importantly, the wedding night?”
Jessica
doubled up and almost threw up at the question. She looked pale. Jessica
realized that it had been a very terrible idea to come to Lizzy. Lizzy was
always direct and it was increasingly difficult to lie to her.
“OH…
I had forgotten that my SU friend can’t divulge that information. In fact,
pardon me, it was inappropriate. It was not like I actually wanted you to tell
me, just wanted to see your reaction, and I got it” Lizzy said, misinterpreting
Jessica’s reactions.
That
was the lifesaver that Jessica needed. “I won’t tell you. But you can follow me
to the beach. I guess Andy won’t be back until it is almost dark. You have been
to the beach, you can teach me how to play in it and possibly swim”
Lizzy’s
eyes widened and she stood up instantly. “You don’t have to ask me twice”
“What
about the shop?” Jessica asked, laughing.
“It
can do without me today” she closed the shop and they both went into her
apartment where she fished out some beach-fitting clothes.
Jessica has been through a lot.. Hmm
ReplyDeleteThe past... Hmmmm....
ReplyDeleteI hope this contract turns out better than they expect. I do feel she'll run into Jack again at the beach.