Dedicated to The_kiddler

Chapter 26

EYARE

"This is crazy! This is so fucking crazy. Can you please get a doctor to attend to my wife." I shouted at the nurses behind the desk. Two of them had taken the brunt of my tongue for the last ten minutes and sincerely, I felt sorry for them, but I just couldn't help myself.

We had been in the hospital for a total of thirty minutes and were told the doctor --- all the doctors, if I might add, were in a surgery, attending to a burst appendix.

It was life threatening, they said.

Yes! But my wife's unconscious state was also life - threatening.

Osagiede was put in a private hospital room with a neck - collar to stabilise her head to prevent minimal movement. There was an ugly bruise on her right cheek where she had fallen down. The nurses had cleaned it out, though it hadn't changed much in appearance. She was put on an antibacterial drip and had also been given series of injections.

I was quite worried at the fact that she still hadn't woken up yet. She looked really lifeless and it scared the shit out of me. My parents - in - law were sitting on a couch in the hospital room, holding Esoesa. She was fast asleep, thankfully oblivious to what was going on. Good thing she hadn't witnessed her mother's fall.

I was going to kill Onari. That desperate god-forsaken harpy!

I walked away from the nurses and from the corner of my eye, I suddenly saw a horde of nurses and doctors coming from the opposite end, walking towards me. I stopped my pacing and gingerly moved aside for them to pass. They all walked past me to the direction of the wards, where Osagiede was being kept.

I followed them determinedly. I had kicked up a storm when we got here, so I was sure the nurses must have wrenched some of the doctors from the operating room. They entered the room Osagiede was assigned to and got to work checking her vital statistics. They checked her eye lids for signs of life, her pulse and heart beat. They talked quietly amongst themselves, casting occasional glances at her.

My feet took me to the side of one of the doctor's, where I gripped his hand. It was the same doctor who had delivered Eseosa and also worked on her when she had leukemia, so he understood my family health history and the situation on ground. He turned round to look at me, recognition, understanding and compassion simultaneously flooding into his eyes. He touched the hand of the other doctor who was still talking and then motioned for me to follow him outside.

"Hello, Mr. Osazuwa." We shook hands. Your wife seems to be doing fine. The nurses have done all that needs to be done. They have given her an antibiotic drip and also injections to reduce pain and swelling in the brain. I understand she had a nasty fall." He looked at me to corroborate what he had just said. I nodded and he continued talking. "We will undergo a couple of tests on her, and do some x - rays in the case of any broken bones, once we are through with our discussion here, but I don't think anything seems to be wrong."

He trailed off just then, looking lost in thought. I gripped his arm and was immediately flooded with a sense of dejavu. My eyes pooled with tears and my voice broke as I held on tightly to him. This was a very different circumstance. Ironically though, they involved the same person --- my wife.

And it was all my fault.

"Please take it easy." The doctor's hands gripped me just as tightly as I was gripping him. She will be fine. It's probably just a concussion."

I paused, as thoughts swirled around inside my head.

He gently removed my fingers from where I was still clutching his arm tightly. I dropped them to my side and he patted me on the shoulder, before walking away to join his peers. I watched as they all filed out of the room. First the doctors, then the nurses. They had already begun discussing other patient's cases.

I just couldn't imagine how much they faced at the hospital --- sickness staring them in the face all the time, sometimes death too. All that negative energy was enough to drive anyone round the bend. I had seen enough hospitals to last me a life time.

I shuddered, just thinking about it. I couldn't deal with this. I had to get out of here, otherwise I'd loose it. I wiped my face with my handkerchief and walked off in the opposite direction. I found a cafe opposite the hospital. There I sat and called mother. Her number kept ringing, but she never picked. I became worried because she always made sure her phone was beside her.

She concluded a lot of businesses on the phone, especially father's. She was always kept abreast of his investments by getting information from his workers. I felt guilty because I hadn't spoken to her since we'd travelled back to the city.

I called Gboyega next and told him exactly what had happened. He had not been able to come to my daughter's birthday celebration because of some prior engagement. When he heard what Onari said, he laughed and laughed. I was a bit taken aback because this was a serious situation, one that shouldn't elicit laughter. "You of all people, cheat on your wife? NEVER! She's just a desperate, loose woman. Don't worry, things will sort themselves out."

That had softened the blow of his laughter considerably. He was very livid at Onari's actions and the consequences. He said he'd have beaten the shit out of her.

I took up the opportunity of telling him about the discussion I had with Red and he said it was strange the way he had acted.
He said he would have a word with him. He said he'd come over to the hospital, but I told him not to bother, I'd keep him abreast of issues.

I wasn't ashamed to feel this way, wanting comfort in my time of need. As I rounded up the call, an incoming call from an unknown number appeared on my phone. I picked it up without hesitation.

"Hello!"

Silence.... Static... And heavy breathing.

"Anyone there?"

More static and heavy breathing..

I was about to cut the call when I heard muffled crying in the background.

"Who is this?" Goose pimples broke out on my skin and I became suddenly scared.

"Oga, abeg dem don kidnap madam, make you try come save am. Them go kill am, make you hurry." (Sir, your mother has been kidnapped. They want to kill her, hurry). And the line went dead.

Wait, what? Did I just hear correctly?

I called the number again, but it was switched off.

Is this some kind of sick joke?

Who the hell would want to play a prank on me this way?

I called mother's number again with shaky hands --- over and over again, but this time, I kept getting the same response; switched off!

No! Not mother, definitely not her.

I had to travel immediately.

I got up and made my way back to the hospital room where I saw my parents - in - law hovering around the bed Osagiede lay on. I was greatly relieved to see her finally awake. She was staring blankly in front of her, but immediately she saw me, she began to scream. "Get him out of here, I don't want to see him. He's a liar and a cheat. Just get him out of here."

I was shocked. Rooted to the spot.

Did she actually think I had something to do with her best friend?

I was in the door way, but slowly moved into the room. She lifted red, tear - rimmed eyes to me briefly, before averting her face. My mother - in - law had her hands around her shoulder, cradling her. I was upset she was acting this way towards me. Maybe she had the right to, but if she could just let me explain.

I moved forward with the intention of talking and pleading with her to see reason, but her dad blocked any further move of mine. He took a firm grip of my hand and gently herded me outside.

"She doesn't want to see me?" I whispered in a voice I didn't even recognise as mine.

He looked at me, at a loss for what to say, but finally found his voice. "Listen! I understand what you're going through right now, but please respect her wishes. She just came out of a terrible accident and we wouldn't want to complicate things. Please just go, we'll take it up from here."

He nudged me. I nodded, but still stood rooted to the spot, pain making it's way into my heart.

"Eyare." Her voice came out weakly. I paused then and walked into the room, hope flaring inside me. "Look for another place to stay. I don't want you home when I get back." She didn't even accord the decency of looking at me as she said those damning words.

I had done nothing wrong except lie to save my marriage.

Just one night of binge - drinking, because of her and this is what I get?

You know what, fine, she doesn't want me in our home, I'll go.

I walked over to Eseosa who had been woken up as a result of all the commotion. She was sitting up on the couch rubbing her eyes and looking around confused. I took her in my arms and kissed her forehead. "Dada loves you always." And I reluctantly let go of her.

She held out her hands for me to carry her, but I was already moving away. I heard her calling out to me, her subsequent sobbing, and then the voice of her grand mum soothing her. I turned round once to look at Osagiede, but she was staring at the ceiling.

As I walked out of the hospital, I heard her soft cries.

Well you asked for it. You better live with it.

I didn't even bother going back to the house. I went straight to the airport. Luckily, there was a flight leaving for Edo state in the next ten minutes. I was in luck, so I paid, got booked and seated, minutes later. I had some clothes back in the palace, so I hadn't needed to take any luggage.

On the plane, I transferred some substantial amount of money to the joint account I had with Osagiede. Enough for her to pay for the hospital bills and other stuff she might need for Eseosa and her parents. I would never abandon my family that way. We were having issues, yes, but that didn't mean I would turn my back on them. The issue we were going through was just a passing phase.

I settled myself in the plane seat and closed my eyes to get a bit of rest. I needed to save my energy, because I didn't know what I was going to face at home. Mother needed all my attention now. I needed to make sure she was okay for me. I needed her, Eseosa needed her, even the whole town needed her and I would burn it down --- every last damn building if I had to, in search of her.

I drifted off into a fitful sleep, with thoughts of my mother on my mind.

I woke up in a daze when someone nudged me.

"Excuse me! The plane has just landed and we are all getting down." A face peered at me with concern.

I took in the features of the person hovering above me. She was dark - skinned with piercing eyes. I continued to look at her, my brain still trying to understand what was going on, until she spoke again.

"Excuse me?"

I shook my head to clear it of its daze and stuttered a thank you. People were already making their way out as I looked around. I unbuckled my seat belt and got up sluggishly. The emotional day had taken its toll on my body. I was aching all over. Little wonder I had through the ride. The lady who woke me up had already gotten her stuff from the luggage area overhead and moved to join people on the aisle. I saw her pause and turn around to check if I was following. Satisfied that I was, albeit at a slow pace, she gave me a smile and a nod and turned back around.

My bladder was full, but there wasn't time to use the toilet on the plane, so I just tapped my feet impatiently and waited for the throng of people to shuffle forward. Once inside the airport, I made a bee line for the toilet.

It was quite humid in there. I guess the air conditioners were not functioning at their peak today, so I rolled up the sleeves of my light cotton shirt as I walked into the male toilet.

I caught a peek of a figure entering the female toilet opposite it, and I recognized the lady who had woken me up on the plane. I handled my business, washed my hands and came out.

As I walked out of the airport, the humidity hit me like a slap in the face. I took out my hankie and wiped the perspiration off my face and neck. I was suddenly swarmed with hagglers peddling their wares, ranging from food to clothing accessories. You could buy a car on the side walk of the airport if you wanted to. I shook my head at the chaos around me.

There were honks from different taxis and some drivers rushed out from their cars towards me.

There were so many of them that it was difficult for me to choose which one to take me on the thirty minutes drive to my home town.

"Hey!" Someone shouted. I wasn't quite sure if it was directed at me but the voice sounded familiar.

I moved away from the drivers that were jostling and arguing amongst themselves about who was going to give me a ride.

"Hello! Over here!" That familiar voice again. So I looked to the left, but saw only hawkers peddling their wares.

I turned to the right, but saw only more taxis. Then one drove off with a passenger inside and then I saw her. It was the same lady from the airplane.

She was behind the wheel of a small car. She smiled and wove me over. I side stepped all the taxi drivers and walked over to her, a smile on my face.

"Hi!" Can I give you a lift somewhere?" A blast of cool air escaped the wound down window, and I welcomed it as I bent to the level of the car.

"Well. . ." I scratched an itch on my jaw, a reminder that I needed to shave. "It depends on where you are going." I looked at her, expecting her to proffer where she was going to, but she said nothing, only looked at me expectantly.

I sighed.

"I'm going to Ozala town." Did she even know where that was, I wondered.

A wide smile broke out on her face. "I knew you looked familiar. Hop in then, I'm going to the same town, too."

She stopped the engine of the car and came down, but I had already gotten into the passenger side. She went to the back and stood with one hand on the boot.

I watched her keenly through the side mirror. "Um. . . where's your luggage?" She wove her hand around expansively, looking around for my luggage.

"None!" I poked my head out the window. "Except me." I smiled at her.

"Okay." She shrugged and walked around to the driver's side and got into the car. There was a companionable silence as she drove and I honestly didn't feel the need to break it. I actually needed time to think, or not to think, as the case may be.

The only thing on my mind was seeing my mother and knowing she was okay, then jet back to the city to make peace with Osagiede.

I didn't even know what I was going to meet at the palace, neither did I know how long I would be, but it was time to man up, and fast too.

I sensed a turn of events were about to take place, kind of like the calm before the storm.