Hotel Palava - Episode 38

 

Adesuwa's POV
Mrs. Babalola brought me breakfast in bed, bread and tea. I was shocked.
 "Seriously?" I asked and she scoffed. 
"Don't be too excited, I did it cause Henry asked that I do it and give you your drugs" she brought the drugs from the dresser table then handed it to me.
 "Things I do for my son"
I tore the bread then i threw it into my mouth. "Henry seems like your favourite" I said and she laughed. 
"What gave that away?"
"You treat him specially, you don't treat Tosin that way"
"I love my kids equally"
"No mother can love her children equally . They don't have that grace. I'm sure God doesn't even love is equally" I added and she chuckled.
"I gave birth to Tosin through operation. I had complications during birth so.... I had an operation after spending a day fruitlessly pushing.
"So you hate her because of it"
"No... I don't hate her, she's my daughter buy she's just stubborn, very stubborn"
 "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree does it?" I asked and she scoffed.
"I'm not stubborn, their stubbornness is so annoying"
"You're the most stubborn person I've ever come across with"  I snapped and she raised her brow in surprise.
"You're the worst! Six million naira can change your status." "You can shove your six million into your ass Mam, I don't need it. I love Henry more than I love money"
"And you call me stubborn" she argued and I chuckled leaning on the pillow. 
"Are you okay?" 
"I don't have the appetite" i complained, "You have to take your drugs and you can't do that on an empty stomach."
"If I can have chicken pepper soup, I'll be more than please to take the drugs"
"You're a thief!" She snapped and I laughed. 
"The last time I checked, you don't have a maid here, you guys haven't even employed a gate man

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/hotel-palava

. I can't be filling the position of a gate man and a cook"
She raised the mug up to my lips. "You have to drink it to have strength, I have to be somewhere and you're wasting my time" she begged and I drank the tea and then she gave me the drugs.
"Thank you" I muttered and she covered my body with the bed sheets. "Don't thank me again, you're making me look like a nice person" she complained and I chuckled.

Mrs Babalola's POV

Adebimpe Falana called me up in the morning, she said she had a solution to my problem. As much as I didn't want to go, I had to.
After taking care of Adesuwa's needs I left the house over to the Falana's. Adebimpe was already in the sitting room waiting for me.
I sat down and she had a smirk glued on her face. "Whenever you have that look, I'm always scared. What's going on?"
"I have a solution to your problem" she brought out strange looking leaves from her hand bag. "Why does this look diabolic?"
"I got it for you. I took your case up and from the message you dropped yesterday about her being sick, all you have to do, is put this in her tea, she'll die slowly and you won't even realize it. It would look like a bad sickness."
"Are you serious?"
"I'm serious, she'll get dry as these leaves are. It will be painless, you don't have to worry about her feeling pains. She will barely feel it. She'll last about maybe two days and the next she'll be history"
"I can't"
"Don't dull yourself Doyin, or will you fold your hands and watch your own son get married to a maid. Doyin I swear I won't attend the wedding"
"I'm worried about getting my hands stained with blood"
"See it this way Doyin, see it as though you're trying to help the universe get rid of one problem. See yourself as an hero and this obstacle as one of those enemies you must kill"
"Was that how you convinced yourself about killing Cecelia?" I asked and she hissed. "Don't call that name within the corners of my house"
"Why?" I asked, "You're scared your juju on Falana might stop" I added and she hissed.
"I'm not using juju to hold my husband. What's wrong with you now? I'm trying to help you, why are you being defensive" "Do you know why I try not to visit you?" I asked, "Cause it reminds of what you did"
"What we did"
"Bimpe I didn't do anything"
"I told you I was going to deal with her and warn her to stay clear from my husband and you followed"
"As a good friend but you shouldn't have burnt them, she was pregnant. Sure, there were other punishments"
"Why are you all soft about it after all these years? I'm trying to help you get rid of a threat Doyin. Are you interested or not?"

****
I gave it a thought then I went back home. I made lunch, rice and chicken pepper soup as she wanted, I poured the leaves in it. Then I removed it after it boiled.
I didn't know whether to take the step or not. I dished the rice and peppersoup in two different plates.
I called her into the dinning room and I saw her sniff. "Why do I smell chicken pepper soup?" She asked looking at me and I pointed to the two plates on the dining. 
She gave me a wide smile. "Someone cares after all" she said giving me a big hug. I felt disturbed by it.
 "Don't hug me abeg" I pushed her away. 
"Thank you" she added walking to the dinning and I followed her. I sat  close to her. "Why do you have to play the role of a hardened heart woman it doesn't fit you,"
"What fits me? The role of a sweet mother-in-law who cooks rice and chicken pepper soup for her daughter-in-law"
"You stole the words right from my mouth" she answered pouring the pepper soup all over the rice and I laughed unconsciously. "You just called me daughter-in-law we're making progress then"
"That was a mistake due to the sarcastical analogy i was making. Stop making me look like a nice person."
"I'm glad you came to live here" she added raising the spoon up. "Why do you say so?"
"Cause...I got to realize you're not entirely a bad person. At least you have a soul"
"I... I.." I stammered.
"Thanks for doing this for me. Mom was my go-to person to play maid when I get sick. When she died, I just.... Stopped falling sick cause I knew no one would be able to take care of me the way she did. My aunt is a lazy bag" she laughed, "Besides I became the bread winner of the house so I couldn't afford to get sick. I had to grow and form strong antibodies. Thanks for the motherly treatment" she scooped the rice then raised the spoon up to her mouth and I pushed it away.
"Don't eat it!" I yelled and she gave me that shocked look.
"Please don't eat it" I added and she stood up shaking her head, she finally understood. "There's poison in it?"
"She said it's supposed to make you look sick and then get you out of the way. I can't do it, I'm not a murderer"
"Jeez I can't believe you would think of...." she looked at me so repulsively. 
"You..." She nodded.

Read " Palm lines 2 " by the same author ( Essien Eno )

. "Give me one reason I shouldn't tell Henry?" She asked, and I clasped my hands together.
"Henry would hate me for life. Please don't let him know"
 "Gosh you don't deserve love, you don't deserve anything from your children. How could you?"
"I wanted to get you out of the way!"  "I've tried to condone you Ma, yet you try take my life." "I stopped you didn't I?"
"Because I said those things I did. If I didn't tell you those things, you would have killed me" 
"I wouldn't have had the guts.. I was just" I paused in tears and she walked away.
I became scared I knew she would definitely tell Henry. My days of living here would be over, my days bof having a son would be over.
 I cried my eyes out. I needed to be strong.
I locked myself in until in the evening when I heard a knock on the door. I opened and I found out it was Henry. "I know you she must have told you already"
"Yes she ..did" I noticed he was stammering.
"I didn't mean to poison her, maybe I did mean to but I had a change of mind"
"What?" He asked in shock. Then it dawned on me that he had no idea and I just managed to confess the whole thing to him.

I'm sorry it's short... I promise to leave one more in the evening.
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