The Blue House S04 E06

This is my 100th post(yaay!) I dedicate this to you my man, for being there from the beginning.

“You’ve insisted on leaving this hair on abi?”
“Dapo please let’s move on to other matters, this is what I’ll be doing from now on. I intend to look good for myself.”
“Ronke who is influencing you? Who are the friends that are putting strange ideas in your head?”
“No one is doing anything, I made this decision myself.”
“I don’t believe you!”
“Dapo let’s talk about Ayodele and the baby that girl is carrying, what will happen when it is born?”
“What’s there to talk about? The pastor has said we should get a paternity test done when it is born.”
“It doesn’t matter what the test says, those people will insist that Ayodele got her pregnant. What are we going to tell people, especially our church members?”

“Oh so now you’re thinking about them? You didn’t consider that when you went to get this hair done…?” Dapo pointed at her hair.
“Dapo you’re…”
“Daddy? Daddy?” Joke called from the outside.
“Yes, what is it?” Dapo snapped.
“I think Peace’s parents are here.”
“What?” Dapo said dashing to the door and flinging it open. “Where are they?”
“In the sitting room.” Dapo pushed past her and headed towards the sitting room with Ronke just behind him.
“Good afternoon sir.” Peace’s father said rising when he saw Dapo walk in to the sitting room.
“Afternoon.” Dapo responded guardedly. He didn’t like the look on this man’s face. Iya Ibeji sat still folding her arms, she offered no greeting. “What can I do for you?” he asked sitting down with Ronke by his side.
“We wouldn’t have come to you if it wasn’t necessary but it is. Our daughter needs to start the antenatal care at the clinic close to our house and we need money to register her. Like I said we wouldn’t have come here but things are hard. The nurse in our compound says she needs to start seeing a doctor soon because she’s a teenager.
Dapo laughed. “You need money? How much is this money?”
“Twenty thousand naira.”
“We don’t have twenty thousand naira.”
“This is your grandchild…”
“That baby is not ours!” Ronke said angrily. “This is why I didn’t want us to accept that baby.” She said to Dapo. “Do you hear what they are saying now?”
“We don’t have the money.” Dapo said with finality.
“Alright.” Peace’s father said rising.
“You’re leaving just like that?” Iya Ibeji asked angrily, her husband was too gentle for her liking. These people definitely had the money, they just didn’t want to give it.
“What do you want me to do? Do you expect me to enter their house and take the money?”
“This is why I wanted Segun and Folarin to come with us. They would have shown these people.”
“Get out of my house!” Ronke shouted at them rising up. “You didn’t raise your daughter well and now you’re looking for someone who is gullible enough to pay for your mistakes…”
“How dare you…?”
“Out! Get out now!”
“Let’s go.” Baba Ibeji said to his wife, pulling her hand. “We’ve not come here to fight. You’re treating us shabbily because we have not taken this matter to the police right? We give you three days to come up with the money otherwise we are going to the police and the whole world will know what is going on in this house.” He half-dragged Iya Ibeji to the door.
Dapo and Ronke turned towards each other when the door was closed.
“They dare not.” Ronke said shaking her head unbelievingly.
Dapo leaned forward with his hands in his head. “It is better for us to pay the money and avoid any trouble with the police. I don’t want my name in the newspaper because of that girl.”
**********
“I need a lesson teacher for the boys, I‘m too tired and cranky to handle teaching them after a long day.”
“But you’ve been doing it all these years…”
“Yes, when you were around and I didn’t have as much responsibility as I do now.”
Obiora sighed. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
Obiora didn’t like the way things were between them, he missed their friendship which seemed to have deteriorated when he took the new job. Was he wrong to take a job that would ensure that his family was doing well financially? Was he wrong for being responsible enough to do the right thing in spite of how inconvenient it was? Helen had said she felt betrayed because they had never discussed living outside Lagos but their situation had changed, neither of them had envisaged that they would be duped and left bankrupt. What did he have to do to make her understand?
“I miss you…”
Helen turned to face him from the book she was reading. “I…”
“Mummy!” Chijioke called running into the room.
“Yes dear.”
“Your phone is ringing.”
“Thank you.” He handed her the phone. “Hello... Oh good afternoon… my what?... can you hold on, I have to go and check it in the kitchen.”
Helen walked to the kitchen where Ada was dishing out some rice. “Yes… I’m in the kitchen now…” she opened a cupboard, searching for a box. “Okay I’ve seen it… yes it has an orange squeezer… it’s been about two years since I bought it but I think I got it for fifteen thousand…okay… you’re welcome…bye”
Helen hung up. “I thought you’d eaten.”
“No, I was marking some scripts.”
“Oh how’s that going?”
“Not bad… Kunle brought some oranges.”
“Oh thank God, I was just going to buy some.”
“The guy is really nice. Why did his wife leave him?” Ada asked frowning.
“It’s a long story. Why are you asking?”
“Nothing, I was just curious.”
“I thought you said you didn’t like the guy.”
“I didn’t say I hated him. Besides he seems like a nice guy, I’m just wondering what happened.”
“He seems like a nice guy? What’s going on?” Helen asked suddenly very curious. “Have you been seeing each other?”
“Nothing, and no we’ve not been seeing each other! I was just curious.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Well that’s too bad.” Ada said putting a spoonful of rice into her mouth and walking away.
“Are you running away?”
“Of course not, I’m going to sit down and eat my food.”
“Yeah right!” Helen said laughingly then thought of Obiora.
**********
Kunle knocked loudly on the door and a terrified Joy opened it.
“Welc…”
“Where is Teni?”

“In her room sir, she’s sleeping.”
“Pack a few of her things quickly!” he ran straight to her bedroom and carried her. “Quickly! Pack a few of your things too!”
Joy ran around panicked. What was going on? Where were they going to in such a haste?
She was taking too long for Kunle “You know what? Leave everything and just follow me.”
“Sir?”
“I said follow me!” Kunle yelled, eyes bloodshot.
He ran for the door followed by a panicked Peace who was on the verge of calling out to Helen for help. Just as they reached the door there was a knock on the door. Kunle stilled. The knocking began again.
“Kunle open this door! I know you’re in there!” Banke called from outside.
“Madam please let’s do our job.” Someone else said firmly to her. “Mr Kunle this is the police, please open the door. We know you’re in, we can see your car out here.”
Kunle shook his head as his eyes filled with tears. “No… no…”
“The maid is there!” Banke said to the policeman. “Her name is Joy.”
“Joy! Open the door!” the policeman ordered.
Kunle nodded to her and Joy opened the door as three policemen and Banke burst in.
“My baby!” Banke rushed to Kunle and reached for Teniola, Kunle pulled away. “Give me my child! The court has granted me custody.”
“Never!” Kunle said.
“Mr Kunle please give the child to her mother, we are here to ensure that you comply with the court order. If you refuse to cooperate we will arrest you.”
Kunle’s shoulders sagged and he cried, his shoulders shaking with his tears. Teniola woke up in the raucous and started to cry as soon as he saw her father crying.
“Teni? Teniola? Baby?” Banke called out to her, crying too. Teniola inched away from her clinging tightly to her father and crying. “She doesn’t know me anymore!” Banke lamented and began to wail. “Give me my child!” she yelled at Kunle pulling Teniola’s arms. The girl started screaming.
“Sir please cooperate with us!”
Kunle reluctantly let Teniola go, kissing her cheeks. “I’ll get you back okay?” he promised as Teniola kicked and screamed.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
Kunle put his hands in his face and wept as Banke stormed out of the house with the policemen. Outside she met Helen and Olayinka who had come downstairs with their husbands. She suddenly remembered something and turned back.
“Joy! You’re coming with me. I brought you into this house to help me take care of my daughter so you work for me now.” The girl obeyed with mixed feelings, she was happy to be with Teni but she would also miss Kunle, Ada, Helen and her boys.
“You’re such a fool!” Olayinka said to her wiping her own tears.
“How dare you judge me?”
“Banke don’t do this…” Helen pleaded.
“So you’re the one who wants to take my place abi?” she said to Ada who was also crying.
“You’re making a mistake!” Helen said trying to reason with her.
“No, the mistake I made was not taking her in the first place.” Banke got in her car with the screaming child and drove off with the policemen.
Ada ran into the house and found Kunle seated on the floor crying with his head in his arms. She sat by him and they cried together, a broken man and a very sympathetic woman.