A HOUSEWIFE'S ANECDOTE. 04

   
   As I anticipated the first rustle of the sheets, I stared blankly, at the headboard of the bed.
wondering how long it was going to take them before they arouse from their slumber to my bewilderment, she woke up first, i saw her features change from sleepy to confused, and in one split second she let out a shrill scream,she had seen me in the corner and my all black ensemble must have freaked her out, I smiled. Adams awoke startled and she pointed at me screaming obscenities, I emerged out of the shadows, the look on Adam's face was priceless, for once, he was speechless and his charm couldn't help him out of this uncomfortable situation, I took one last disparaging look at the room and its occupants and I walked out of the house and Adams life for good. I heard him screaming and calling my name if I heard, I gave no indication. 
    As I got to the bus park, I had no doubt that this was where I was supposed to be, I needed the loving embrace of my mother, all of a sudden I felt like I had aged a hundred years overnight. So this was what heartbreak felt like? I was so hurt that I could have had my teeth yanked off without anaesthesia and still felt no pain, I berated myself for been so trusting and naive, the car took so long to fill up, I was getting claustrophobic from sitting in the confined space of the Toyota sienna, up until now, I had not yelled or expressed any form of anger, I was feeling so uncomfortable, I hated the way the guy sitting in front of me chewed on his bread, he looked like a rabid dog, the silly girl by my side decided to listen to some fuji song without earpiece I just wanted to slap her so hard and choke her with the loaf of bread the other guy was eating, i was so angry I could explode.I started imagining all the things I could have done last night, that I didn't do, as the last person sat in the car, I realized I hadn't been asked for my fare, this was unusual, I called the attention of the driver, in a casual tone he told me not to worry that I was a staff, in my confusion I asked what he meant, he said my fare, had already been paid by someone, I searched the faces of my co-passengers and there was no sign of recognition,so I asked him who paid my fare, he saucily said I should sit and stop asking him questions, all the anger I had kept bottled up boiled onto the surface and I screamed and banged at the roof of the bus, that got the drivers attention, he quickly said that a fair,tall man had paid my fare earlier and had pleaded with him not to call my attention, I knew it was no other person than Adamu katanko, I contemplated taking the next car, I remembered how long it took the current one to get filled up plus it was a far journey,taking any rash decision in anger now would be like cutting my nose to spite my face,I sulkily reclined back in my seat and waited for the first sign of sleep to ease me out of my misery.
   As I arrived in port Harcourt that night, The euphoria of seeing my family began to set in, I was thankful for the cover of the night,those gossips that sit at the beginning of my street would have retired for the night.
   My mum was grinning from ear to ear on my arrival, even my twin sisters couldn't keep still, they were jumping excitedly and tugging at my bags, damn Adams! in my grief, I forgot to buy them even a piece of candy, my brother, larry just stared from my father's old recliner, he recently clocked 16 and he was in that awkward teenage phase where display of emotions was considered as weakness, I stared at him fondly and hit him with a throw pillow, he chuckled and walked over to pick up my bags, I had not seen him for a year,he had grown taller, I had a feeling he was lifting weights with those miscreants at the back of the street's mosque, nevertheless I was excited to see them all, I learnt my dad had traveled on a business trip and won't be back till a fortnight.
    I settled down to life at home, Adams kept calling me and I never got tired of ignoring his calls, my inbox was daily filling up with messages from him pleading for my forgiveness,I still thought about him, they say, you never forget your first love, I thought about him every day and if there was one thing that constantly hurt me, it was my job with the advertising firm that I took for granted because of him, I have been home for six months, not even a job interview talk less of a job, in all fairness I wasn't even putting a lot of effort in my job search. my dad had made it clear that he was saving money for larry's education, I shouldn't expect a second degree from him, my mum had started throwing hints about marriage, maybe it was time to leave port Harcourt,there were no opportunities here, my parents were running out of patience with my lack of enthusiasm for life, my dad did not service four bank loans simultaneously so that I could sit at home and mourn a dead on arrival relationship, I had to go back to lagos, and like the prodigal son crawl back and beg my old boss at the advertising firm for a job. life at home wasn't easy, my dad was a salesman for a big multinational electronics company, my mum was a housewife, who had to ask her husband for the smallest amount of money, her job was to take care of the home, it seemed to work perfectly for my parents, larry was awaiting admission, lucy and laura, my twin sisters just entered senior secondary school, in between that and the rent,my family was only struggling to get by, my daddy wasn't as young and strong as he was once, the constant travelling up and down to meet clients had taken a toil on him. in one split second I had fallen in love and jeopardised my chances of providing a better life for my family. I was 24, a full-blown adult, it was time to act like one.
   That evening, I had a talk with my parents, two days later I was on my way back to lagos.











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