The Blue House S03 E06

“Mummy please I need your help. I’ve tried talking to Banke but she won’t listen to me. She insists on leaving me!”
“Kunle there’s nothing I can do. I’ve tried talking to her myself but she doesn’t want to be married to you anymore and it’s sad because regardless of your faults I think you are the right man for her but she says she knows what she’s doing. I can’t force her to be married to you.” Banke’s mother said sadly.
Kunle sighed. “Thank you ma.”

“You’re welcome. I wish I could be of more help.”
Next, Kunle called his mother and cringed while she said: “I told you so.” As far as she was concerned it was good riddance to bad rubbish, she had never thought Banke would make a suitable wife for her son.
Kunle leaned back on the headrest tapping the steering wheel. With no one willing to help, he couldn’t think of anything else to do but hope that his wife would change her mind and come back to him.
**********
“Is Sister Peace coming back?” Posi asked Joke as they had their lunch of stewed beans and fried plantains. This was the first time he was mentioning Peace’s name after she left, he still had told no one but Banke what he had seen happen between his brother Ayodele and the maid Peace. His nightmares had stopped and it was probably because his brother had changed, gone was the menacing look he had often tormented him with. In its place was a somber almost morose look his brother carried around, he didn’t speak unless he was spoken to and kept to himself.
“No, Mummy won’t let her come back.” And Joke was glad about it, she had never liked Peace and after the whole episode with her brother she hated her even more.
“Brother Ayo doesn’t talk anymore…” Posi pushed the beans around in his plate. “Did Daddy say he shouldn’t talk anymore?”
Joke thought about this, Posi was only a child and there was a limit to what he could be told. If only she knew what he had seen! “No, I don’t think Daddy said that, I think he’s just… sad”
“Sad? Does he miss Sister Peace?”
Joke gave this some serious thought, was it possible that Ayodele was missing Peace? “I don’t know… maybe.” Why was Posi suddenly asking these questions, he had never talked about what had happened? “Why are you asking these questions? Do you miss Peace?”
Posi shrugged, as far as his little mind was concerned Ayodele was punishing Peace the day he caught them having sex, he had a soft spot for Peace. She was the victim of his older brother’s meanness. Besides, Peace had always been good to him and treated him like a younger brother, she listened to him better than anyone in his family. “I was just thinking about her.” he finally said.
“Well she’s not coming back so finish your food quickly so I can help you with your assignment.” Joke snapped at him. She knew Posi had always preferred Peace to her, it was part of the reasons why she didn’t like the girl.
**********
Joy missed Peace. Even though she had meant for her crush over Ayodele to be found out, she had never really wanted her to leave. She was after all the only she could really talk to. After she left, Ayodele avoided her and refused to speak with her even when they met at school. She had not only lost Peace but she had lost the attention of her crush. To make matters worse, her boss had been put out of the house leaving her with Teniola and all the house chores and school work. She was lonely and perpetually tired and often thought of returning home.
Uncle (as she called Kunle) was depressed, he barely ate his meals and stared blankly most of the time. So she took Teniola to Helen’s house as often as she could so that the girl would at least enjoy someone else’s attention. Helen was good to her too and regularly asked how she was faring. Whenever she was home in the evenings or on weekends, she invited her along with Teniola (with Kunle’s permission) to spend some time in her house. Presently she sat in her house watching SpongeBob SquarePants  laughing along with Chijioke, Onyebuchi, Max, Sharon, and of course Teniola who laughed when the others laughed. Helen and Olayinka were in the kitchen frying prawn crackers, eating half of it and talking.
“You look so excited!”
“I am! I can’t remember being this excited in a long time.”
“Even Effiong sounds excited.”
“Oh he is, even though he’s trying hard not to show it. I really think he still loves me Helen!” Olayinka said with a twinkle in her eyes.
“I’ve always known that he does. If he didn’t love you any more he would have sent you packing that night he smashed your phone.”
“I still can’t believe I did what I did. I was so blinded by unforgiveness. Effiong has always been the only man I love and the truth is even if he tells me to leave I can’t imagine being with any other man.”
“Well I’m glad he’s not asking you to leave. God knows we all need our men.” Helen said rolling her eyes.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What?”
“Don’t even think of evading the question, I saw you roll your eyes. Something is going on, tell me.”
Helen exhaled, she’d been so burdened by the thought of Obiora leaving she felt compelled to speak. “Obiora is thinking of taking up a job in Port Harcourt.”
“Wow! So does that mean you’re relocating?”
“Relocating? I can’t possibly leave my job to go and start all over again in another city. What for? Why can’t he look for a good job here in Lagos?”
“Stay here and be speaking grammar! Look you better pack up your things and follow him before some tart in miniskirt steals your husband!”
“You’re funny, so I should disrupt my career, my life, my kids because Obiora wants more money? I have no intention of doing such a thing. If he wants to destroy what we’ve built for the last eight years that’s up to him, I can’t leave everything behind because of some “tart in a miniskirt”” she made air quotes and dipped another prawn cracker into her mouth.
Olayinka shook her head and decided to move on. “Any word from Banke?”
“None at all” Helen shook her head. “I warned Banke about her approach to her marriage, all these young girls that get married without considering everything just make a mess of things eventually. Look at that poor girl playing in my sitting room, she has no idea how much her life has changed. And Kunle is just a wreck, do you know she’s moved to her own place?”
“She has? I’m beginning to suspect that she’s been having an affair.”
“No!” Helen shook her head vigorously. “She won’t do that.”
“No woman leaves her family, her child without looking back except there’s another man involved.”
Helen wanted to say “Banke is not that kind of person” but Olayinka would never understand that so she kept quiet and exhaled again.
**********
Ayodele lay on his bed staring at the ceiling as was his habit thinking again about what his mother had said. Did he rape Peace? Did he ever force himself on her? Sure, there had been times when she wasn’t willing to have sex but he convinced her otherwise. Why would she think she was raped? The condoms his father found in his pocket had been a gift from Brother Tunji the barber who had been very proud of his accomplishment. He and Peace had planned another rendezvous for that day after everyone had gone out, that was not the action of someone who felt raped. For crying out loud, she had been the one who came on to him, spreading her legs to show him her yellow panties! 
Joke barged into his room and handed the phone to him. Their mother had bought a mobile phone after she opened a new shop to keep in touch with them. More like give them instructions to carry out before she came back, Peace had spoken to her a lot through this medium, confirming the prices of goods and reporting the state of things in the home.
“Who is it?” Ayodele was curious, no one called him. His mother barely had any instructions for him to carry out, could it be his father?
“I don’t know, a man.”
“And you couldn’t ask what his name was?”
“Take the phone now! I’m watching TV!” Ayodele couldn’t stand his younger sister’s audacity sometimes but he had no choice. He had drawn enough attention to himself already, punishing her would only make his life worse. He took the phone as Joke bounced out of the room.
“Hello?”
There was silence on the other end, even though he could hear the person breathing.
“Hello?” he said again, concerned this time.
“Hello Ayo, it’s Peace.”