Palm lines - Episode 29

 

Erika's POV

Kechi laughed after I explained all that had happened to me and how I poured water on Feso and David. "Why didn't I just miss church service today to watch that fight?" She hissed and I laughed also. 
"I just had to pour the water on them for all the tears I've cried" I added. 
"Na two pail you for pour on top David. Hin own sin pass Feso" she answered and I laughed. 
"No offense to Dorcas but I'm disappointed in that hot grey man"
"Who isn't?"  I sniffled.
"I actually thought his feelings were genuine . The way I was making mouth (bragging) about him to Feso. The man fall my hands. Maybe you should just take a rest on this relationship matter for the time being.
"Maybe I should focus on being a single mom" I added and she agreed. 
"We'll help you raised your child. Dorcas the Minister in charge of pregnancy matters, will help, me I'll be in charge of ...." She paused in thought. 
"Wetin I fit do for these children oh" she said out loud and I laughed.
"Kechi you're hopeless, how would you cope when you meet a man who want to start life with you" 
"Well I haven't seen that man yet, all these guys are just nothing but heartbreakers, look at you now for example. I mean I'm still in my late twenties, what's the rush?"
"Until you become thirty four and desperate" I added, "God forbid! That's not my story, it's your story" she snapped and I rolled my eyes.
"Where's Dorcas when you need her positive spirit?" I asked and Kechi laughed.
"Mehn that girl they try for positivity" Kechi commented and I smiled.
"That's why I need her now" 
"Don't you have appetite to eat?" Kechi stared at the rice before me, "I don't think I'll" before I could complete my statement, she picked it up eating. 
"I no dey sabi beg person chop oh" she answered and I laughed too. 

****
Dorcas came back later holding a customer bag I was becoming familiar with

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

. "Someone brought Sharwama!" she yelled and I smiled. "Thank God there's finally a smile on her face" she said and I chuckled. 
"Nothing can come in between I and my Sharwama" I crossed my legs opening the bag, "Did you go out with Tolu today?" I asked,  "You took longer than usual"
"No" she paused, "I was with Uncle David and Lawrence" she answered and I hissed. "I know the last thing you want right now is to hear his name but I spoke to Uncle David and though what he did was unfair but i think you should really hear him out, I'm asking you to forgive him, just hear him out"
 "I can't" I answered almost crying. 
"Please don't cry, please don't cry" she begged and I sniffled.

The morning, I looked into the mirror just before I left for school. I tried to feed myself with positive quotes of encouragement.
 "Just try to get by through the day, forget about David, forget about Feso, just try to make yourself happy, they don't hold your happiness, you hold your own happiness" I cried. 
"Don't cry, don't cry Erika, you're stronger than this" I said to myself then I sat on the bed busting out in tears. 
"Why God, why? Why does it have to be me alone? All the bad things in the world will not happen to others, it will come my way" I paused  beating my legs on the floor then I laid in bed.
 After trying to convince myself that I could go to school and act so normal like nothing happened, I took a taxi over to the the school. 
Immediately I got down, I noticed David just opposite me. 
"What the..." I muttered, then I looked up at the heavens, "I can't believe this" I rolled my eyes
 "Good morning Miss Erika" a student greeted, "Good morning dear" I answered.
Instead of walking straight, I decided to pass another route in order to avoid him  but he followed me.
"Erika!" He called out and I kept on walking.
"Can we talk?" 
"We have nothing to talk about"
"Can you give me a minute?"
"A minute is too much"
"Twenty seconds will be more than enough" he added and I rolled my eye, "Don't you get it, i don't want to see you, I don't want to talk to you!"
 "Please" he begged, "Please, hear me out" I saw him go down on his knees in front of the students gathered there.
There were gasp from different corners. They probably thought he was going to propose to me.
"What are you doing?" I asked, I was already feeling embarrassed.
"Are you trying to embarrass me?"
"I'm not. Erika I'm sorry for what I did, just talk to me, give me a minute to talk to you"
 "Miss Erika he's begging nah" A student commented and I shook my head. I didn't know why he had to kneel in front of the students.
Was he looking for a quick means of acceptance? "You think just because you knelt down in public, I'll forgive you and pretend it didn't happen?" I scoffed, "No" I added walking away into the staff room. I had to comport myself from crying. I didn't want to anyone asking questions that would provoke tears.

****
"Make sure you submit those assignment on my table before break time tomorrow" I announced to my students then i heard the bell ring.
A student called me aside, she wanted me to clarify a definition for  her and I tried my best to. It was a hopeless attempt.
I didn't understand why a student could be so dumb.
"Forget it!" I said to her. "But ma, if it comes out in exam I might fail it"
"Ruth, come back later. I'm coming up with a headache and you're even increasing it. Now is not a good time"
I walked out of the classroom, then I bumped into Sharon, Ade and Tinu. I wasn't sure how to react, "Good afternoon Ma" Ade cleared his throat. 
"Good afternoon Ma" Tinu added and I saw her pinch Ade. "We'll leave you two alone" Tinu said pulling Ade away. 
"Good afternoon Miss Erika" she began and I nodded. 
"I should just do you the honors of pretending I don't know you. Maybe that would be better"
"No! Don't do that, that'll be really silly"
"You don't seem happy to see me" "It's not that I'm not happy to see you, I'm just"
"Angry at me because of Dad" she concluded andi hissed.
"I'm not angry at you Sharon" I held her hands pulling her into an empty class. "I'm not angry at you Sharon" I paused in tears.
"I can never be angry at you"
"Did you know about your father and I?" I asked and she shook her head. "I only found out after you left the house. I'm also disappointed in dad too, I only had to listen to him"
"Don't even tell me to listen to him, I don't know want to listen to him" "I heard he knelt down and you ignored him. The whole school is talking about it" she pointed out and I cleaned my tears with my fingers.
"Just hear him out!" 
"Your father took advantage of me being drunk, he... That's a mild way of saying he r*ped me" I reduce my voice. 
"Something grey, something embarrassing and gifts" 
"What does that have to do with anything right now?" I asked and she sighed. "I've been thinking of this since you told me the story. You said you were supposed to meet your soul mate, Feso wore grey, but what if your soul mate was the man with the grey hair, and not the man with the grey cloth" 
"Your dad?" I asked, 
"Yes, the father of your babies?" She answered and I scoffed then I paused in thought. 
"That's... Impossible"
"That's impossible but yet you've met coincidentally more time than usual. Maybe you were meant to be with Dad"
"Or I'm meant to be with Feso, he came back just in time after your father broke my heart, if I wanna give anyone a chance, it'll be him"
"Just hear what Dad has to say, at least do it for my brothers, please" she begged again. I watched her walk out of the class room, heart broken. 

David's POV

I walked Into the house with an half dried cloth and all eyes turned towards me. Sharon, Lawrence and Thelma. "What happened to you?" Lawrence asked, "Erika happened" I answered.
"Can you believe I found that Feso guy coming out of her house?"  I asked, "Did you guys fight with water?" He added and I laughed sarcastically. 
"You wish, Erika poured water on the both of us. I don't even know if it's left over bathe water or pant water"
"What happened to your face?" Sharon asked, "Feso happened?" I asked Lawrence rose up from the chair. "Seriously? Tell me you punched him back"
"I didn't cause I didn't want to stoop low to his level. I proved that I was more mature than him. is it that obvious?"  I asked referring to the punch on my face and Sharon nodded. 
"You might want to put some ice on that face" she advised. 
"I'll be inside the study room." Lawrence said to me, I guessed he had something to tell me, something he didn't want Sharon or Thelma to hear.
 He left almost immediately.
"Did she at least hear you out?" Thelma asked, "She didn't, she didn't want to speak to me, my consolation was that she didn't want to see Feso too." I smiled making my way into the study room.
"Why don't you just give  her time?" That was the first thing Lawrence asked." I mean wait a while for her to calm down"
"Thelma and Sharon think that i shouldn't give her time. With Feso back in the picture and probably trying to win her heart back, I don't think I can risk giving her a break."
"Someone sounds scared"
"Scared is an understatement, Erika is vulnerable whenever she's sad. I really don't like seeing her sad and I caused this upon her. What if she accepts Feso again?"
 I said in tears covering my face with both my palm.
 "David I'm really sorry about all that happened, but I need your head in the game; I hope you know we have a lot on our plate"
"I'm not in the mood for business"
"We still have Cynthia's wahala, we have make settlements, you know how these things go"
"If only I could just beg Erika to give me a minute"
Dorcas visited afterwards. She want to hear my side of the story. She claimed to be disappointed until I have her a load down/brief me.

The next morning, after I dropped Sharon off, I sighted Erika come out of a taxi, I was over joyed. She tried avoiding me but I followed her anyways.
 I thought i could convince her to listen to me but she didn't, even after I knelt before her. 
She refused to hear my pleas. I remembered what Sharon said so I decided to pay a visit to Mrs Reiner, I needed some sort of confirmation that we were meant to be. 

Mrs Reiner's POV
After dropping Tinu off, I drove back home. There has always been one crazy thing about being a palmist. I read people's future, but I've never been able to foresee my own happy ending. 
I heard a knock on the door so I rushed to get it, leaving my stew on the gas cooker. 
I found my husband at the door, "Seyi?" I called out and he smiled. "What are you doing here?" I asked, "I came to see you"
"If you're here to talk me into letting Tuni spend the next holiday with you, no."
"What are you scared of?"
"Why would I be scared of anything" 
"You're scared Tuni might pick sides and refuse coming back to you" he assumed and I rolled my eyes. He wasn't wrong about it though.
Seyi has always been more fun, besides he's the one with cash, I'm just feeding off his child support fees. 
"What do you want?" I asked, "Is Timi okay?" I asked and he nodded. "I came specifically to talk to you" 
"Go straight to the point Seyi"
"I just...." He sniffed. 
"Something's burning" he informed me and I rushed to the kitchen putting the pot down. "Thanks a lot Seyi!" I coughed and turned the gas off.
I heard him laugh. 
"You've never cooked" he said and I raised a brow at him. 
"Maybe you should stick with making tea, that's the only thing you can do" he joked and I laughed.
"I now boil and fry yam and potatoes these days. I cook ewedu too, and I cook rice, all sorts of rice. I don't know if they're sweet though; Tinu has no option but to eat"
"I really don't want to know how that tastes. You've always been a horrible cook" "Now I'll have to cook this stew all over again" 
"Let me help you"
"I don't need your help, can you please go."
"I'm not leaving, not until we have this talk Teni. I want you back, I want us back together" "What happened to your side chicks? Are they not enough for you?"
"They're not my wife, I didn't fall in love with them" he moves closed, "I didn't get married to them, it's you I got married to. You're the only one I love, the only one I want to kiss" he kissed me on the lips.
"The only one I want to make love to" he added and  we kissed. We made passionate love in the kitchen and then moved it to the room.
 It reminded me of the old times. We never cared where we made love, it was always good.
"What happened to us?" He asked and I stood up wearing my clothes. "Should I give you a recap? You cheated with the maid"
"She seduced me"
"How am I sure another woman won't seduce you again?"
"Because there hasn't been any other person since I cheated." "What about your side chicks?" 
"There are no dude chicks Temi, look into my palms and tell the truth" he paused, "I've been avoiding looking into him to avoid further heartaches.
"I need you to focus on my palms, look into our future"
"It doesn't work that way Seyi and you know it! I can't see my future with you." I answered then I heard something like a knock on the door. 
"Did you hear that?" I rose up going to the sitting room. The knock became louder and I opened it. I saw David's hands about to knock again, "Good morning" I smiled.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, "Can I come in?" He asked, "If you don't mind" he added and I hesitated,
"Who is it?" I heard Seyi say and I shut my eyes a bit embarrassed.
"Mr Savage?" He called out, "How far I haven't seen you around the neighborhood for a while. What happened?" he asked. 
"I traveled for a while but I'll be back" He lied. 
"Looks like you two were busy, I'll just come back later" 
"He was just leaving"
"Temi?" Seyi called out in surprise, "Please" I begged and he went back into the room perhaps to get his phone, "Bye" he kissed me on the cheek before leaving.
"Sharon told me you're separated" "That's my husband, I didn't just have s*x with a complete stranger, he's my husband" I invited him in and he entered.
"Why does that sound like a dig at me?" He asked and I chuckled. "I used to see him around the neighborhood, I never knew he was your husband"
"You didn't even know me too, remember the first time we met a s you were totally clueless about who I was" 
"True" he admitted and I smiled.
"You don't seem happy with him"
"We're separated for a reason, he cheated" I answered then I blinked my tears in.
"What do you want David?" I asked and he stretched his hands at me. "Why don't you see for yourself?" He asked and I smiled holding his hands looking at it.
"I want to find out if Erika was meant to be with me or Feso" 
"Too much information ruins suspense I already told you"
"Erika finally found out that I'm the stranger she had s*x with and she's angry at me and I'm angry at myself too. 
"It's only normal for her to be angry" "How long will the anger last?" He asked and I laughed. "It won't last the time it took for you to find out you were the stranger she had s*x with"
"In order words it won't take long" he analysed and I nodded. "Erika doesn't want to see me, what should I do?"
"Keep on trying, don't relent so easily"
"And Feso, he seems like he has a shot at winning Erika's heart? Erika loves him" He asked, he seemed hurt. "I don't know about that, I don't see much on his life on Erika's palm" I said and he smiled.
"I guess that I'm meant to be with Erika right?" He asked and I scoffed. "You've made me say too much" i answered and he gave a wide smile.
"Why is she being obstinate?" "Because she's hurt, she thinks she was taken advantage of" 
"Can you help me talk to her, she'll believe you." 
"It's your mess, take care of it yourself"
 "How?" 
"Figure it out yourself; but brace yourself; things are yet to happen" "What things? Test that would determine your true personality and your destiny with Erika. If you fail, you'll lose her, if you pass, you gain her trust and love more than ever" 

David's POV

After my visit to Mrs Reiner's house, I drove over to the office to work. Jude stopped by, he had called to let me know he had an information relating to late Alhaji Danladi's case.  
"Good afternoon Sir" he sat on a chair opposite me. 
"Good afternoon Jude, can you go straight to the point. I have a meeting in fifteen minutes. 
"I have an update on the case Sir, we had information that Alhaji had issues with... " He stalled, "Wait for it Odogwu construction" he revealed and I scoffed.
"About what?"
"Something about debts,"
"Alhaji is wealthy, he can't possibly be owing debts"
"Alhaji Danladi owed Chief Odogwu, that's the rumour, I haven't gotten the in-depth information yet."
"So you called my attention because of a rumour you heard?" I asked and Jude chuckled.

Read " The Picnic " by the same author ( Essien Eno )

. "Sorry Sir but it's part of my Investigation"
 "On September 13th, being in a Thursday, Alhaji Danladi was seen having lunch with guess who?"
"Chief"
"No... Feso Odogwu. They had a fallout. A very major argument broke out between them."
"On September 15 being a Saturday, my source told me Alhaji was seen in a club that evening with guess who again, Feso Odogwu. That was the last time my source saw Alhaji"
"Who's your source"
"She's one of Alhaji's consistent lovers. She claims that Alhaji got missing after the fifteenth, something happened and if you ask me, I think that Feso guy killed him" he blamed and I scoffed in unbelief.
Feso had anger issues no doubt, he obviously didn't have the look of a murderer. "The guy is an asshole, a major asshole. I have a black eyes thanks to him, but he's not a murderer. Look more into it, don't give me assumptions" 
"Okay Sir"
 "Can we keep this between us?" I requested and he nodded. "I won't want someone in your team spreading fake news. Don't let anyone else know about this, especially Mrs Danladi" I threw some bundled wads of naira notes to him. 
 "Sure Sir" he answered, "I'll definitely keep it a secret"