Tomi
I was furiously typing my resignation letter on my laptop when an unknown number popped up on the screen of my phone.
” Your leave has been cut short. Send the proposal and other documents I asked you to draft now. We have a meeting in Abuja tomorrow, the driver will pick you up by 8.30 am. By the way don’t wear one of those your tacky suit.” Linda said and hung up.
I fumed and cursed under my breath. My phone rang out again and i reached for the phone, prepared to give Linda a piece of my mind but my dad was the caller. I took a deep breath and answered it.
” Hello Daddy!” i said in the most cheerful voice i could muster.
” Hello Omo dada ( good child) how are you? Woman lower the volume of the Tv!”
I could hear mom bickering in the background as she tune down the volume of the old Tv Set,Their playful banter brought a smile to my lips.
” Hello Eyitomi are you there? your…your mother is going deaf o. If she persist in this way i will go look for a young girl to marry”
I could hear mummy telling him to go look for the young girl.
” No woman can hold a candle to my mother” i said.
” Oh oooo, i know you will take sides with her. Ehen i have priced the mini bus, it is six hundred and fifty thousand naira”.
How could i have forgotten about that? My dad was retired now and waiting for his pension money to come through is like waiting for the second coming of Christ. I asked him to purchase a bus which will be given to a driver who will work and deliver.
” OK sir”
” When will you send the money you promised me?”
How do i tell him that i was typing my resignation letter at that very moment? i mentally calculated how much will be left in my account if i give him half of the money. I will definitely go broke, i stared at the screen of my laptop as tears filled my eyes. I wiped it away with the back of my palm.
” I will transfer three hundred and fifty thousand naira to you tonight ” i heard myself reply.
I heard him sigh happily and it gladdened my heart.
” Okare Omo Ekun, ose, your children will also do same for you ”
” Amen”
He handed the phone to mummy who rained more prayers into my life. God knows i need those prayers. I deleted the resignation letter I was typing, i sent the proposal and documents to Linda’ s mail before i could change my mind. I had no choice anyway, where will i get another job that will pay me as much as my current job?
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Twenty year old Victoria Joseph walked down the stairs. She was a beautiful, slim young lady with an ebony glowing skin. Her eyes were perhaps a bit big for her face but they accentuated her beauty rather than mar it. She pinched her full love shaped lips between her teeth, she could never tell the best feature about her face, her aunt said she was as beautiful as a morning rose and her dad once likened her beauty to that of Michelle Obama but they were her family and they would say anything just to please her.
She wished she favored their mother like her sister, Linda had a flawless glowing skin, she was tall, her long legs went all the way up. She was so beautiful, her list of suitors were as long as, from here to Antarctica. She smiled, maybe she exaggerated a bit but Linda was classy, she had poise and she never had a hair out of place. She was a lady through and through even if she makes no effort to be one. Victoria wished she could flutter her lashes too and have men drop at her feet, she wished she could even flirt properly, flirting was a talent her sister was born with. But she was content to be herself, a comely shy and quiet introvert.
She met auntie Maggie setting breakfast, she gave her a big smile.
” Good morning Auntie, how was your night?”
Maggie beamed back at her, a dimple reflected on her left cheek.” Morning dearie, my night was pleasant, how was yours?” She lied smoothly.
She had tossed all night, unable to sleep. The hurtful words Linda hurled at her the previous night had gotten to her and she realized they had an atomb of truth in it.
” My night was fine. I’ m going to check on Mrs Adams”
Mrs Adams was a widowed old woman who had no children. Victoria takes a basket of fruit to her every morning.
” OK dear. Please hurry back, you know your flight is at 10.am”
” I will hurry back Auntie”
” Alright. Please take some cookies along for her too, she sure loves cookies”
” I will ” Victoria replied.
She packed a basket of fruit and other things she knew the old woman likes and went out of the house. She could have driven the short distance to her place but she choose to walk. Early morning walks soothes her, she loved humming to herself and there’s a certain kind of bliss in listening to the cheerful chirping of the morning birds. This morning the streets were almost deserted, which was the way she liked it. It was like the whole world belongs to only her.
” Aunty! Aunty!”
She looked around. A large muscled man was trying to catch up with her. The poor man, he must have been trying to get her attention for a while, she was so deep in thought that she didn’t hear him.
” I seem to have lost my way” he said drawing close to her. He gave her a cold calculated smile as he lifted up the hem of his polo to reveal the gun tucked into his jean pocket.
Victoria gasped and trembled in fear, her big eyeballs widening in fright. ” Please sir, please don’t hurt me”
” I won’t hurt you if you cooperate with me but if you pull any funny stunt i won’t hesitate to splash the content of your skull all over this place. ”
He collected the basket from her, he took hold of her arm like they were lovers going for a morning stroll.
” Move and act like nothing is amiss.”
She nooded her head vigorously. ” Where are…..you….. taking me? ”
Two elderly women jogged towards them, she wanted to cry for help but she knew she would only be endangering their lives and hers too. The man tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her forward.
” Shut up and keep moving”
A black Suv pulled up next to them and he shoved her into it. The elderly joggers were gisting about their grand kids, they didn’t notice anything strange about the couple ahead of them.
Linda came down for breakfast in a navy colored Italian suit. She glanced at her wrist watch, the time was 8.45am. Her aunt was spreading syrup on her pancake. She pulled out a chair and sat down.
” Good morning Linda” Maggie said cheerfully.
” Where is Victoria? ”
Maggie looked worried.” She took a basket of fruit to Mrs Adams. I have been trying to reach her but her number is not available. ”
” Why didn’t you go look for her? why are we paying you so much money if all you do is to sit on your rump and eat us out of home. Anyway, that stu.pid girl knew we had an important meeting today yet she choose to go play charity”
” Please don’t talk about your sister like that. I will go get her” she stood up.
” You should. It is your job”
Maggie hurried out of the house. Immediately she left Linda called the driver and left for the airport.
To be continued..
