SHADOWS (2)

 Seun stirred and opened
her eyes slowly. She yawned and turned. The bed was empty. George was gone
again and she felt nothing but sadness.

To think he had not
remembered their wedding anniversary today, something he had never forgotten.
He was good with dates, even better than her. Now, I don’t just know.

She heard a noise
downstairs and rolled her eyes. I hope
that is not another cup this Dami
has broken again, she thought as she sat up, yawning.

Dami was her niece who
had insisted on remaining with her after spending a holiday with her. Her
mother, her elder sister, Iyanu, had
totally agreed.

Seun loved her but she
was just too careless. She had broken almost every plate in the house. She
heard music playing downstairs. Is
that….

Two
hearts

Two
hearts that beat as one

Our
lives have just begun……

“My ears cannot deceive
me. That’s Endless Love by Lionel Richie. What has entered Dami this morning?
Is she not supposed to be getting ready for church?”

She rushed out of the
room, ready to vent out on Dami. The smell of egusi soup wafted from the
kitchen, stopping her on her tracks. This
is not Dami cooking. Could it be…..

She turned the door
knob open.

“Ahhh….you’re awake,
darling,” George said, coming over to kiss her on the lips. “I thought I was
going to have to wake you up.”

Am
I dreaming?

“Darling,
are you okay?” George asked. Seun nodded. “Happy anniversary, babe.”

 He
remembered.

George came forward to
hug her and she stopped him. “What?”

“Of course, apologize
to her and it’ll just go away, right?” Seun asked, sarcastically. She walked
out of the kitchen to the sitting room and he rushed behind her. He stopped her
just as she was about going towards Dami’s room.

“I owe you an
explanation. Please, sit.”

“I don’t have time for
all these. Dami and I are going to church, today’s Sunday.”

“She’s on her way home
as we speak, he said.

“What are you talking
about?”

“Her parents’ house
naaa.”

Seun gasped. “You sent
a thirteen year old to her parents’ house on your own? Are you for real?”

“You make it sound like
we’re talking about a five-year-old. It’s not the first time she’s gone home
alone. Besides, it’s within the same state.

“So? My sister would
think I pursued her out of the house? Oh God! Where’s my phone?”

George stopped her.
“Darling, calm down. Your sister knows about this. It’s a public holiday so I
thought she should go home for the holidays. If you don’t believe me, should I
call your sister now?’

“Why didn’t you tell
me? Wasn’t it too early?”

“Relax. I took her to
the bus stop myself; made sure she entered the bus and left before I returned.”

She nodded. “How come I
didn’t hear any movement?”

George shrugged. “You
must have been tired, I guess. Now, come and sit beside me. I wanted us to have
and enjoy this privacy.” She took the seat beside him grudgingly, refusing to
look at him.

“Babe, I’m sorry. I had
so many things to deal with at work and it was really getting to me. The
Bathrow Contract I’ve been pursuing for a while now, I heard rumours of it
going to another company and I lost it.

I know how much time and
resources I had put into it, the stress my staff had to go through to create a
demo for them, everything. They said they loved it and all of a sudden, it was
slipping out of my hand.”

“That’s all?” Seun
asked.

“Yes. I just didn’t
know how to explain to you again. I didn’t want you to see me as a failure…..”

“I have never and will
never see you as a failure,” Seun said, holding his hand. “I didn’t know you
were going through all that, you should have told me. You told me how it all
began and suddenly, you didn’t say a word about it again despite me asking
severally.”

“I’m sorry. I guess I
just expected you to understand I was dealing with it my own way and you should
allow me to do so rather than taking you along. My bad!”

“Indeed! I am your
wife, George. Stop making me guess what is wrong with you. When I ask, tell me.
We are a team and together, we can achieve great things. Unless you don’t love
me….”

“Don’t say that,” he
cut in, “I love you and you know that.”

“Since you’ve
apologised and hopefully, this won’t happen again, I forgive you. Plus, your
soup is really convincing.”

He laughed. “ Really? I
must be a really good cook then.”

“You always were. Happy
anniversary to us, babe,” Seun said, finally smiling.

“More years together,
my love,” George said, kissing her.

She stopped and got up.
“As beautiful as all these are, we need to get ready for church. We are running
late. When we return, you had better get ready,” she said, pulling him up.

“Ohhh….I look forward
to that. I pray I pay attention in church,” he said, winking at her.

Seun laughed. Thank God, she thought as she went up
the stairs with her husband behind her.

(To Be Continued)