#TENDER_BEAUTY_2 (Life after the wedding)
EPISODE 11
That Wednesday seemed to be the longest day of my life. Everything had happened all at once. I hadn’t spent one minute with Richa-rd when he left. I knew he wouldn’t let a man die, no matter what the person had done. I hadn’t said anything significant when he picked up his stethoscope and headed out. I had said the only thing that c@m£ to my mouth: ‘I love you Richa-rd , no one else but you’. He had nodded and left without turning back.
I placed my hand on my belly, feeling the life growing in me. I smiled and maybe the baby wanted to confirm its pres£nce because I had an instant urge to throw up. I ran to Richa-rd ‘s office toilet and emptied my tummy. I started feeling dizziness and nausea.
I l@yon the couch, feeling slightly light-headed. It didn’t take long before I sli-pped into the wonderful comfort of sleep, forgetting all the troubles around me.
********************
Prisca watched closely as Oyinade shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. She knew that the lady before her hadn’t seen her in the h0tel when she was dressed like a who-re. She also hadn’t looked at her face when they bu-mped into each other. She had been too furious to even spare her a glance. Prisca wondered what the who-re’s function was in the hospital as she sat down comfortably, intimid@t!ngthe young lady with her pres£nce.
“How can I help you ma’am?” Oyinade asked, gathering her shattered confidence. She had heard many things about the woman who sat on the chair, facing her. Her beauty has been a subject of public debate, just like Belina; and having her sit in her office should be a plea-sure. One other thing had been publicly acknowledged though: the fact that Prisca ought to be a detective. She could draw out the truth from you with only a glance. She shared almost the same personality with Belina. One thing is different though: Belina could pretend that she possessed no emotions at all but you can pl@yon her emotions easily. You only nee-d to t©uçh a vulnerable p@rt of her; Richa-rd to be precise, and you have her in your grasp. Prisca, on the other hand, knows how to keep emotions at bay and see beyond the facial façade of her opponent. She can be very dangerous if she sets out to be.
“Why don’t you sit down, you look like you might fall over anytime now” Prisca said with a plea-sant smile pla-ying on her face. Oyinade wanted to pursue that statement but decided against it. She sat down on her chair with charisma which made Prisca laugh out, leaving Oyinade confused. Prisca saw the tag on Oyinade’s suit.
“Oyinade right?” she asked and Oyin nodded. “Great. I am sure you know who I am but if not, I am Prisca Williams. I would go straight to the point and I hope you would not waste my time. What is your mission in the hospital?”
Oyinade was taken aback. “I don’t know what you are talking about” she said feigning innocence.
Prisca smiled, stood up and paced slowly. “Nice try dear. You know? It is not often that I get to see harlots occu-pying the position of a doctor in a hospital as big and highly organized as BRH; care to tell me what you are really doing here?”
Oyinade surged to her feet. “Are you insulting me ma’am?” she asked angrily, her veins coming to view.
Prisca grinned. “For once, I thought you were totally incapable of anger. To answer your question, no. I was merely asking a question, but it seems I struck a nerve, so tell me: are you a harlot?” Prisca sat down back.
Oyinade was practically foaming. “I am afraid I would have to ask you to leave ma’am. I would not have you insult me in my office” she growled.
Prisca got up again and made for the door. “Thanks for cooperating with me dear. The conversation you had on the phone is so inspiring. I am sure you would like to explain to your boss, why you hate his wife so much” she said, holding the doorknob.
Oyinade g@sped. “I… I d… don’t un-derstand”
“Oh… don’t stammer my dear; it is not good for your vocal cords. And don’t worry, I am sure you would un-derstand when I pl@ythe recording I have with me to the hearing of your boss. I have your voice recorded dear, so it is not your word against mine” Prisca said in one breath, not for once, taking away the plea-sant infuriating smile she had on.
Oyinade was lost. She couldn’t believe everything was falling ap@rt in one day. She hadn’t even got one day of complete victory.
“plea-se ma, I mean her no harm. plea-se believe me”. She said in a hurry, st©pping Prisca from leaving.
“You want me to believe you? Ok” she said, going back to sit. She checked her wristwatch. “I have just ten minutes. Spill it now and think twice about lying to me. Trust me; I have got a mind’s eye”
*******************
I woke up in the car, on our way home. I thought I had had a dream of Richa-rd carrying me in his arms but it obviously isn’t. Richa-rd looked at me, taking his eyes away from the steering. He looked worried and concerned about me. He put one hand on my l@ps, controlling the wheels with the other.
“How are you feeling princess?” he asked, squee-zing my th!gh softly.
I nodded, too weak to open my mouth; I still felt sleepy. He smiled faintly and moved his f!ngersthrou-gh my hair.
“Go back to sleep baby. C’mon” he whispered and I went back to sleep.
I woke up fully in be-d. I was in my un-derwear, with no clothes on. I was covered with a blanket. Richa-rd c@m£ into the be-droom and smiled when he saw me awake. My heart melted as I stared at his handsome profile.
He climbe-d in be-d beside me and k!$$£d me gently on thel-ips. “How are you, my love?”
I smiled. “I feel better than before, thanks. Why am I n-ked”?
Richa-rd grinned. “Your temperature was so high; it could boil a cu-p of water so I took your clothes out of the way. Little Richa-rd nee-ds a very comfortable environment to grow” he said, placing his hand on my stomach.
My heartbeat skipped. Today had been a very long day but I would demand to have this day and none other, if only to feel the way I did when I heard the news of my pregnancy. I looked at Richa-rd critically. “Are you sure you did not take off my clothes for your own personal advantage?” I asked, c0cking my head at an awkward angle, looking at him suspiciously.
“Oh sweet, what are you insinuating?” He asked, looking as innocent as possible. I laughed ha-rd , looking at him. Oh… I am so much in love with this guy. Even though I saw the de-sire in his eyes and written all over him, his concern for my health and condition was more evident. He st©pped my laughter with his mouth, covering mine in a fierce, demanding manner. We shared similar de-sire as I held on to him, k!ss!nghim de-eply. I felt him drag the blanket from my b©dy and I giggled against his mouth. Something flashed throu-gh my mind and I instantly bec@m£ still. Richa-rd noticed this and st©pped abruptly, bringing his ragged breathing un-der control.
“What is wrong?” he breathed.
“Nothing. I… I remembered that I hadn’t asked you how Kelvin is doing” I said slowly. Something seemed to pas-s throu-gh his face within seconds.
“He is in a comma now; all we can do is pray that he comes out alive”. I nodded and stared at nothing in p@rticular. He was silent; so was I.
“You told me to trust you. How can I do that if you also don’t trust me?” I asked. He was silent; he just stared into space. “What is between you and your as-sistant?”
“We share only one relationsh!p: working relationsh!p. There is nothing going on between us. I know she s£nt a message at an ungodly hour but she was just apologizing for her misconduct the previous day” he as-sured.
“Which misconduct are you talking about?” I asked intent on finding any loop holes.
Richa-rd sighed. “She was dressed inappropriately. Her b©dy was on public displ@yand I rebuked her indecency. She felt guilty and decided to s£nd a message. She felt she couldn’t face me after what she did”.
“Oh…” I breathed. The pregnancy sickness took over before I could think of anything. I ran into the toilet to throw up. Richa-rd followed me instantly, rinsed my face and led me back to be-d. He was able to shove some food down my throat before I used some drugs. It can be upsetting to have a doctor as a husband especially when you have to use drugs every now and then. I lamented the irrelevance of drugs but he did not rest until I had it down my throat. I cu-mddled next to him and he had his arms around me till I dozed off.
WATCH OUT FOR EPISODE 12