#TENDER_BEAUTY_2 (Life after the wedding)
EPISODE 6
The silence at home that evening was awkward. I could not un-derstand anything. Try as I may, I could not get the phone call out of my mind. I had cancelled church for that day when I could not pu-ll myself together. Richa-rd also seemed very distant; I could not un-derstand the reason for this or if I was just as-suming things.
“Richa-rd ? Are you alright?” I asked after a while.
He nodded, saying he was ok but I was not convinced in the least. Richa-rd is a quiet person but not that quiet, especially not when I am around. I swallowed and made for the be-droom. I can’t tell him. It would be unfair and unreasonable. He does not deserve that. I would not do anything until I have strong reasons for doing it – I am sure I would find none. I l@yon the be-d feeling more miserable than ever before. Richa-rd ‘s silence this evening was not ma-king things any easier. I felt burdened and even my physical weakness seemed to have doubled. My eyes suddenly bec@m£ blurry and I closed my eyes ti-ght.
I vibr@ted from shock when I felt someone t©uçh me. I hadn’t noticed Richa-rd ‘s entrance into the room. He looked at me with concern written all over him, placed his hand on my head and his frown de-epened. “You are running a temperature” he exclaimed.
“It is just stress, I am fine” I said, trying to dismiss his worry.
He shook his head. “You are not fine. Sit up” he ordered. I obliged and within the twi-nkling of an eye, he transformed from a caring husband to a doctor. His eyes did the job of inspecting every inch of my b©dy, feeling my temperature, checking my eyes and all other ceremonies doctors perform. I was getting tired of the scrutiny and I voiced my thoughts but he would have none of it. He finally concluded that I was being stressed up and I made the face of ‘I told you so’. He said I was to do a proper check-up at the hospital, and then asked me to relax while he went to fix me a cu-p of tea.
He arrived with a cu-p of steaming h0t beverage and a sachet of painkiller tablets, ranting my nee-d for a house help. The house we live is a big one and the maintenance could be tasking at times but I did not see the nee-d for a house help when my hands were functioning to capacity. Being at work every day of the week asides weekends and maintaining the house was his basis for argument but I was not overwhelmed because he always lent a helping hand whenever he was home. He pampered me, forcing the drugs down my throat with continuous encouragements. Looking at him as he did all these, I found it increasingly impossible to believe a word I heard from the anonymous girl. I found myself forgetting everything I heard and relaxing. I sle-pt soundly that night to my amazement and I woke up the next morning earlier than usual.
I saw Richa-rd slee-ping peacefully too and spared few seconds to gaze at him. He looked gorgeous in his sleep and even when he was slee-ping, I had to agree that his male arrogance and confidence was evident. I went to fix breakfast and c@m£ back to the room to prepare the bathtub for Richa-rd . I wanted to make up for the doubt I had in him by doing something, anything, even though he did not know anything about it. Immediately I finished what I was doing, Richa-rd ‘s phone beeped signaling the entrance of a new message. I was surprised because it was just 6 am. The message alert did not seem to awaken Richa-rd , so I picked up his phone. It might be MTN and their silly messages, I thought; the name I saw was far from it though.
The s£nder of the message was Oyinade. I could not believe my eyes. I checked the time again and it was as before. Everything I heard and every doubt I felt c@m£ rushing back in full f0rç£. I dropped the phone carefully and left the room in a hurry. My vision bec@m£ blurred as tears filled my eyes, clouding my sight. Perhaps it is an urgent message, I told myself. I tried to as-sume the message was a coincidence but the conviction did not hold water.
“Honey”
I rotated and looked at Richa-rd like I would a villain as he approached. I must pu-ll myself together, I thought, righting myself and putting up a pas-sive front. He did not seem to notice any of these though because he approached with a concerned face.
“Good morning sir” I said quietly.
“Morning honey, and what’s with the ‘sir'” he asked looking at me critically. “Why are you up baby? You should be resting. How are you feeling?” he said all at once and I shifted uncomfortably. He t©uçhed my face tenderly and my b©dy reacted to his t©uçh as usual.
“I am feeling better” I lied. “Since I couldn’t sleep back, I decided to fix us breakfast and prepare the bathroom for you”.
He looked into my eyes, searching the way he does when he knew something was wrong. “You look troubled”.
I wi-de-ned my eyes as if bewildered. “Why should I be?” I looked away. “Come and have your bath” I said, pu-lling him like a small kid into the room. He followed without question though I knew he must be curious.
He started undressing, still looking at me critically and I turned towards the wardrobe, not only because I felt he might find my doubt in my eyes but also because I still found his n-kedness alluring.
“You received a message. Have you seen it?” I asked feigning disinterest.
“Oh…” he said gr-abbing his phone. Something seemed to pas-s throu-gh his face which I couldn’t un-derstand. Is that surprise or anxiety? I shifted my weight from leg to leg, nervously.
“Who is it?” I asked.
He stared at me, knowing instantly that my attitude was linked with the message. Why am I so transparent to him, I asked within myself. He seemed to find it easier, re-ading my thoughts when I had the professional look on.
“It’s Oyin”. The name seemed more of an endearment than a name to me. Oyin; meaning honey. This kept repeating itself in my head repeatedly.
“Oh…” I breathed. “And what did she want at this time?” I asked, consoling myself with the fact that he hadn’t lied to me.
“Nothing important” he disappeared into the bathroom before I could turn back. I glared at the door, my anger spiraling over the edge. I marched out of the room with my legs pounding ha-rd on the tiles. I was so-rely tem-pted to go back to check the message myself but I could not bring myself to doing it. He never kept anything from me and never st©pped me from browsing throu-gh his phone but I just could not check this message. I don’t even want to know what is there, I thought, lying to myself. I killed the g@s, my appetite gone, even though I didn’t really have one before.
Richa-rd was alre-ady out of the bathroom when I returned. I went about setting out my clothes. I saw a faint smile pla-ying on his face but I didn’t even think of it. He saw what I was doing and started lamenting my nee-d to stay at home due to my health. He complained that I was putting up a br@ve front just to avoid staying at home but I told him I had an important patient to attend to. It was a lie but I could not sit back at home while the person I loved the most was being taken away from me. He asked me to come to the hospital for a checkup and I nodded. I would definitely go there. There is someone I nee-d to have a ‘boss’ wife to staff’ discussion with.
********************
Oyinade got to work earlier than her usual time. She had to visit BRP Hospital. She was sure their efforts the previous day were yielding enormous results. She had seen Richa-rd ‘s grim face when he left the hospital.
She arrived at the building looking for Tunde. He had been ma-king pas-ses at her but she never obliged or seemed to notice him. She had had enough, having to sleep with Kelvin, alongside Ronke once a week – a thr££s©me. She nee-ded a break since that was finally over.
“Hey Tunde” she said flir-ting with her eyes.
He looked surprised and plea-sed. “Hey beautiful, to what do I owe the plea-sure of your attention today?” he asked coyly.
“Aaahn, it is not like that now” she said.
“I guess you nee-d something then” he breathed, moving closer to her.
She nodded. “A little favour. I want to surprise my boss’ wife today but I don’t want to be caught unawares. You know the things you do to secure your position? Would you mind alerting me when she is coming over?” she asked, pla-ying with his tie.
“One d@t£ for one favour” he cooed and she hastily nodded, knowing she had to get to her office before Richa-rd arrived. They exchanged numbers and she was off.
********************
Richa-rd sat in his office expecting his as-sistant. He hadn’t sighted her throu-ghout the day and he bec@m£ worried. He had s£nt his secretary to call her since she was not responding to her intercom but he had seen none of them. Her bad dressing had instantly left his mind the moment he received that message about his wife. Thanks to Tony’s visit, he had been able to st©p himself from doing a stupid thing by confronting Belina. Despite that, he had been cold towards Belina when he got home, always suspecting her movements and stupidly forgetting her state of health. His doubt had been taken over by worry when he felt her temperature. The sms was out of his mind as he took care of her.
His as-sistant’s indecency never crossed his mind till he re-ad her text message this morning. The veiled jealousy he saw in Belina’s eyes and actions plea-sed him because it showed her love for him. He however knew that he could not tell her anything about Oyin’s innocent actions because it would reinf0rç£ her doubt in the poor girl. Oyin had felt so bad that she had s£nt a message, though too early; apologizing for her actions and claiming she might not be able to face him because of what she did. She was apparently trying to gain attention since her fiancé was not giving her enough. Richa-rd felt bad for condemning her the way he did.
“Sir” his secretary called from the entrance
“Where is she?”
Entering, she replied, “Sir, she might not be able to come. She seems to have an emotional breakdown. She was crying when I saw her sir” she said looking concerned.
Richa-rd ‘s guilt increa-sed as he stood up. “Thanks. You can go now”
********************
I got out of my chair with obvious frustration. My temper and emotions had been all over the place since morning. I just couldn’t get two people out of my mind. I concluded on confronting Richa-rd and having a long chat with that Oyin of a girl. I had the conviction that Richa-rd would not have extra-marital affairs even though that was the routine with men these days. He can’t betray our love like that, I thought as I left my office. I st©pped by to give my secretary instructions before leaving.
********************
Oyinade heard a knock on her door and smiled. She had anticipated this. She knew Richa-rd didn’t like feeling guilty for anything. She had learnt that within days of working with him. She deliberately went to the door without asking who it was, welling up crocodile tears. She gave Richa-rd enough time to see her tears before hurriedly mopping her face. Richa-rd bec@m£ angrier at himself for being so violent the previous day as he entered Oyin’s office for the first time since she bec@m£ his as-sistant.
Oyin deliberately opened the door slightly enough for anyone to see what was going on inside. She just hoped that someone who gossips would see them. Her phone beeped on the table but she was unaware of it. She was so preoccu-pied with the joy of finally having Richa-rd ‘s attention, though; she covered it with a dull emotion-stricken face.
She faced Richa-rd . “I am sorry sir; I am a bit indisposed right now. You were right to reprove my action yesterday sir. My fiancé is seeing someone behind my back and is treating me like trash. I felt I wasn’t woman enough and I wanted attention from whoever could give me. I…” she broke down in tears.
Richa-rd tried to console her with words but her tears just increa-sed in tenacity. If there was something he was always confused about, it would be how to manage a crying woman. He was so glad that his wife was not the crying type, yet, once she was moved to the point of tears, he was always shaken to his soul.
He held Oyin’s shoulder but instead, she coll@psed in his arms, crying all over his che-st. He held her awkwardly, not knowing what to do with each pas-sing second but he didn’t have to do that for long as the door creaked open. Standing before him was a familiar face, looking alarmed.
WATCH OUT FOR EPISODE 7