THE JAILBIRD EPISODE 86
© Aaron A. A
RUPERT’S RESIDENCE
Rupert’s be-droom door slams open.
He is lying in be-d, wearing only his bo-xers.
It had been a h0t night, and he had been in pain throu-ghout the night.
He has two more weeks left to leave Ghana, and he knows Eyram will not come with him.
It has been giving him a lot of pain because he loves her so much.
It is only in the mornings that his tired heart allows him to sleep, and so he has rescheduled most of his appointments to late afternoons.
He looks up sleepily and sees Eyram in the doorway.
She is weeping, and she looks absolutely shattered.
His love for her soars, and he gets up in a flash.
RUPERT
(tenderly)
Eyram! What’s wrong?
She does not answer.
She is choked with pain and bitterness.
She reaches behind her and pu-lls down her Zi-pper.
She pu-lls down her dress, and now she stands there in a lacy white stra-pless bras-siere and white hvgging un-derp@n-ts.
Slowly she re-moves the br@ and pu-lls down her p@n-ties.
She stands looking at him, a crushed rose, an angel with cli-pped wings.
She is as beautiful as paradise.
She is more than his wildest dreams, and he feels himself rising at the sight of her breath-taking nudity.
She walks slowly up to him and stares at him as tears course down her cheeks.
EYRAM
(tremulously)
Effe is pregnant. Three months. For Chris.
Rupert nods gently.
RUPERT
And?
EYRAM
There’s a bond between them. Again. I can’t fight that. Make love to me, Rupert. Let me get over him. Let me go with you to South Africa. I won’t see him. And I’ll be your wife.
She puts her arms around his n£¢k and tries to k!sshim.
He moves his head back, and slowly but firmly he pu-lls her arms down.
She stares at him with incomprehension.
He picks up a cloth from the be-d and dr@p£s it around her, covering up her nudity.
RUPERT
(gently)
Eyram, I love you. You’re the only woman for me. I really want to make love to you. But right now, you don’t nee-d a lover. You nee-d a friend. You have made me a very happy man. I’m going to be your friend. I’ll be with you. We’ll take a break and go to South Africa. I want to help you get over Chris first, because when we make love I want to know you want to, and not because you’re using it as a remedy. Do you un-derstand?
Eyram nods, and her face shatters.
EYRAM
(forlornly)
Oh, Rupe!
She sits down slowly on the edge of the be-d, and then she begins to cry pitifully.
Rupert stays with her.
He holds her, holds her hands, and runs his hand throu-gh her hair.
He has a broad smile on his face.
He is a patient man.
Yes, he can wait.
He will help her heal, and then he will spend the rest of his life ma-king her the happiest woman in the world.
JON FII’S RESIDENCE
Eyram opens the door slowly.
She steps into the dark room.
She can hear the sound of a man crying.
The living-room is neat but empty. She moves to the be-droom door which is slightly ajar.
She sees Wailer Vroom sitting on the be-d holding an ice pack to a contusion on his right cheek.
The room is all messed up.
Chris Bawa is sitting on the floor in one corner.
He is wearing only jeans shorts. He is heavily-bearded, and there is a heavy growth of hair un-der his armpits.
His arms are around his knees, and he is looking at Wailer with wild eyes.
The crying Eyram had heard is from Wailer Vroom.
Eyram smiles sadly at Wailer.
Tears again fills Eyram’s eyes, but she strongly fights it back.
EYRAM
Good evening, Wailer. What happened to your cheek?
WAILER
When I c@m£ he just jumped and kicked my cheek. I don’t know what’s wrong with him today. He almost broke my n£¢k. We’re losing him, Eyram, and it is breaking may heart. The GojuFist Board are considering taking his title. They gave an ultimatum…if he’s not well in a month’s time they will str!p him of the Grand Master Title.
EYRAM
I see. Want me to have a look at it?
WAILER
Oh, it’s nothing. Just a bu-mp. I was just crying because it breaks my heart to see him like that. Is he ever going to be alright, Doc?
Eyram nods as she sits on the floor next to Chris, and puts a hand on his shoulder.
He has not spoken a word to anyone close to two weeks now, and as he looks at her there is no recognition on his face.
EYRAM
He’s going to be just fine.
Hello Chris, how’re you doing today, my love?
Wailer gets up to leave.
WAILER
I’ll leave you two alone.
EYRAM
Oh, no. I won’t keep long. I’m on my way to the airport. I’m going to South Africa for a while, you know, to get all this craziness out of my system.
Wailer sighs and nods.
WAILER
I’ll wait in the hall then.
He goes out and closes the door.
The br@ve smile disappears from Eyram’s face immediately.
She gets up and pu-lls Chris’ legs down, and then she pries his arms open, and then she sits on his l@ps and puts her arms around him.
He is prickly, dirty and stinky, but she does not care.
Tears fall down her cheeks silently.
EYRAM
(pas-sionately)
I don’t know how this happened, Chris. I don’t know why it should happen. Maybe it’s because we are twins, and we share the same emotional packages. Hell, I’ve heard of twins marrying the same man elsewhere, you know. Maybe it is the fact that I’ve always felt my parents loved Effe more. Maybe it is because I was a little jealous of Effe. Maybe it is because I’m an envious little witch. I don’t know, Chris, my love, but I really love you. They say we can’t be together, and now Effe is pregnant for you. For that child’s sake, and for Junior’s sake, I have to step aside. I’m trying to get over this, and over you, but know that I’ll always have a soft sp©t for you, Chris. Thinking de-eply about it, I’ve come to realize that Effe is right after all. If you had been my husband, I wouldn’t have been happy if other women always c@m£ between us, and I would’ve been shattered if one of the women turned out to be my own sister. That would’ve been the ultimate betrayal.
She st©ps and runs a hand across his che-st, revelling in the soft feel of the hairs on his che-st.
He remains still, and he does not speak.
EYRAM
(weeping silently)
I didn’t put myself in Effe’s shoes, but yesterday I did, and I realized Effe is right. No woman has any right to take her own sister’s husband. There’s absolutely no justification for it. So, no matter how bad Effe treated you, and no matter how good I was to you, there’s morally no justification for using that as an excuse for taking you. So, I’m going to sacrifice my love, and give the two of you another chance to be happy. Goodbye now, my love. I’ll see you soon. I’m sure by the time I return you would be alright again. I want so much to stay with you and help you throu-gh this dark period, but I must sort out this twisted heart and learn to accept Rupe, and get over you.
Eyram gets up quic-kly because her heart is breaking.
She picks up her bag and heads for the door. She reaches for the handle, and then she st©ps and looks back.
His eyes are on her, and although hisl-ips are shut she sees a lonely tear slowly coursing down his right cheek.
She does not know whether her words had pene-trated that darkness that surrounds his br@in, or whether her imminent dep@rture has sunk into his heart.
But she tells herself it is because he un-derstands she is leaving, and he is not happy about it.
With a little cry she goes to him, gets on her knees, puts her arms around his n£¢k, and k!sses him full and long and with a pas-sion she has never felt for any man.
Hisl-ips open, and he receives her probing urgent ton-gue.
She tastes the salty bitterness in hisl-ips, and then she feels his arms going around her, and then he holds her ti-ght.
It is the sweetest embr@ce she ever has been in, and then her heart breaks as he puts his face against her che-st and she feels his tears trick-ling down her cleavage.
It is a savage moment, a powerful blast of pas-sion and emotion that she will carry in her heart forever.
Finally, she stands up and flees from the room without looking back at him.
Wailer watches her slamming out of the room in tears, and he shakes his head regretfully.
He walks towards the door, and that is when he hears Chris snarling inside like a wild lion, growling out a terrible warning.
s-en-sibly, Wailer does not go into the room again.
He goes out, and leaves the dark, lost and hurting man inside.
To be continued
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