"Which guy are you talking about na? I tell you say nobody dey here before na", Kunle insisted.
Wole was going to press further but the lawyer chose to walk in at that very moment.
"I'm sorry for the delay guys; the traffic jam was hectic."
"No problem; thank God you're here", Wole responded.
Kunle introduced them. "Wole, meet Barrister Adebayo Adebajo. Bayo, meet Engineer Oluwole Akingbade"
They exchanged pleasantries and shook hands.
"So, what exactly do you need?" Bayo asked Wole
"Actually I'm married to a witch with a witch mother. Her dad is cool but I have not made any meaningful progress since I met her. The only bright spot in the marriage is our darling 3 year old son. I want to take my son and let the witch mother and daughter have their privacy. Her mother is an influential judge. I'll appreciate ideas from you. Thanks"
Wole felt proud that he was able to summarize his 7 year old misery in a few words.
"Ideally, I should charge you for consultation but because of my relationship with Gbenro, erm erm Kunle, I'll ..."
Wole didn't hear much of what else Bayo had to say. He quickly looked at Kunle and he could have sworn that all the blood in Kunle's face was drained. It couldn't be a coincidence that Kunle had vehemently denied the presence of someone who looked like Gbenro and Bayo here had accidentally mentioned Gbenro. This was too weird for comfort.
************************************************
Kunle's head was working overtime. He needed to divert attention from the sticky Gbenro coincidences. They were really close to achieving their aim; Wole's suspicion would not help the cause at all. He decided to give it his best shot.
"So what are the options available? Olamide is Wole's closest living relative. Typically, the mother gets custody of the child. Is there anything we can do to turn the tides in our favour?"
Bayo sensed that the fact that he mentioned Gbenro's name was making Kunle uncomfortable. He didn't know why but he didn't want to lose the good money Kunle was talking about paying him. The sum Kunle was offering was hefty but he definitely wasn't turning it down. He needed the money to offset some debts. His salary at the Law firm could no longer take him to the Bus Stop. Nkem's bombshell also needed to be attended to...
"Frankly, the mother is more likely to get custody of the child or children in the event of a divorce because the factors used in determining a child's best interests are usually favour the woman. The judge will be looking at factors such as who the primary care giver has been/who has been caring for the child, the parent-child bond, your relationship with your wife"
"Please can you explain the last one?" Wole interrupted
"Erm, the court will try to decide which of you will try to foster a healthy relationship with the other parent. A parent who has tried to poison the child(ren) against the other parent or refused to allow contact with the other parent will have issues gaining custody, except there has been child abuse or domestic violence", Bayo explained patiently.
"Oh okay. Please continue"
Bayo was pleased to see that the skepticism on Wole's face and changed to rapt attention. Wow!
"Your chances of gaining custody will be greatly enhanced if you can stay civil and respectful to your wife. Getting a good lawyer also improves your chances."
"Thanks"
"Is it possible to explore the child abuse angle?" Kunle asked. "I've seen Yeside spank Olamide hard the few times I've visited them. I could be a witness?"
"Erm, Kunle, I don't think we need to get to that level yet. Let's keep that as a joker for now. Guys, I need to leave now. I have a 7pm appointment on the Island"
"Thanks a lot, Bayo. It was so nice that you could come with such short notice"
"How much do I owe you?" Wole asked
"Anytime, Kunle. Wole, let's just say I'm paying it forward. See you around, guys", Bayo winked.
****************************************************
"Whew, that was close", Gbenro soliloquized.
He couldn't let Wole and Yeside live in peace. They had made a fool of him. He had had to grovel before the Anti-Christ he called his father. The price for all his father handed over to him was destroying his soul. He couldn't look Motunrayo in the face.
Wole and Yeside could not live happily ever after while he was wasting away. They had to pay for the deep wound in his soul. He couldn't just 'forgive and forget'.
Motunrayo looked up to him as her protector. He had shielded her up until that first time when the monster had made his evil request...
Please leave comments with suggestions on how you believe the story should unfold. Please credit ‘The Women Stories’ if you choose to share. Thank you.
Tuesday 24 March 2015
Sunday 8 March 2015
Growing Wings Episode 17
Just as Yeside began to search the house for traces of Martha, her phone rang. It was Mum, who wanted to find out if she had seen Martha and Wole. She already began to make weird speculations.
"Hey Mum, I just got home. I'll call you when I'm settled, okay?", Yeside snapped at her.
"Yeside!"
"Sorry Mum, I'll let you know when I'm settled ma. I'm sorry for snapping"
Wole felt his stomach churn as he listened to Yeside's side of the conversation with Justice Anjola. His "High Flyer" was a timid lapdog whenever The Witch Mother was discussing with her. She was tied to her mother's apron strings and it appeared nothing could snap those strings...Well, Mrs "High-Flyer" and The Witch Mother would have many days, months and years together in inseparable bliss...He'll have to see Kunle later about the lawyer they discussed. The plot was surely thickening and he had to ensure that there were no loose ends.
"Martha, Martha" Yeside yelled.
"Aunty Martha", Olamide echoed.
Yeside thought she heard a mousy response from Olamide's room (partly occupied by Martha).
Yeside went close and knocked on the door. She heard the shuffling of feet and waited for Martha to let her in.
Martha wondered what story she would tell Yeside. She had to tell her why she didn't pick Olamide from school. The truth was that she was too scared to venture out of that room. She had tortured herself with thoughts of how to escape if he had managed to get into the room where she was hiding. Thankfully, she didn't have to deal with that. She couldn't afford to tell the truth because she knew that somehow, somebody somewhere would blame her and she would eventually be sent packing. The wives always blamed the maid for their husbands' indiscretions. Sending the maid away was usually considered the best way to save their marriages...until another maid was harassed. No, she couldn't tell Mummy Olamide what happened this afternoon.
"Martha, what's taking you so long to open the door? I don't have all day, Miss"
"Sorry ma. I'm not feeling too well ma"
Martha quickly asked God for forgiveness for that white lie as she opened the door.
"What's the matter? Have you taken any drugs?"
Yeside must have asked a dozen questions in less than a minute.
"I just started feeling feverish, ma"
"But why did you lock the door? Did you tell Daddy Olamide about it?"
Martha pretended not to hear the question and quickly countered with an apology.
"Sorry about leaving Olamide in school ma. I was cleaning the room when I started feeling feverish ma"
Yeside wanted to press but she decided to watch Martha a little more closely. She sure was hiding something and Yeside planned to wait patiently till the cat was let out of the bag. She handed over Olamide to Martha and went to the room to change into more comfortable clothes.
Though Mum had told her about Wole not going to work, she decided not to say anything about it. She had learnt earlier from a post she read on a Facebook page that if she kept her cool, the truth would reveal itself and she would be calm to face issues squarely.
Wole was ready for Yeside's angry outbursts. He was shocked to see her so calm and collected. He finally had to break the silence.
"Did you speak with Martha?"
"Yes I did"
"What did she say?"
"Not much", Yeside shrugged.
Both of their phones chose to ring at the same time. Kunle was calling Wole while Justice Anjola was calling Yeside. They both stepped away to receive the calls.
"Mum, this is not a good time", Yeside told her mother.
"Guy, can I call you back in about an hour?" Wole said to Kunle.
Kunle and Justice Anjola both insisted that the calls were too urgent to ignore. Kunle had the lawyer with him; Justice Anjola would be hosting guests in 30 minutes.
Wole stepped out of the room to receive his call while Yeside stayed back in the room. Both calls went past 30 minutes and by the time they were done, the moment had passed.
"I'll try to be back before 10pm, okay?" Wole told Yeside.
"I guess it'll give you enough time to prepare for a day of going nowhere tomorrow, right?"
The words flew out of Yeside's mouth before she could bite them back. Mum kept going on and on about Wole's absence from the office all through the call and she, surprisingly, allowed the words to fly out without restraint.
"Sorry, what did you just say?", Wole asked feeling really excited that the plan was actualizing itself without his help. He needed to egg her on and get her to explode; the cool and calm Yeside would destroy the plan.
"Nothing important. Just pretend you didn't hear me"
"But I did hear you. I know you and your mother have been gossiping about me"
Everything in Yeside wanted to respond but she remembered the 1-10 exercise. She started counting 1 to 10 and she could practically feel the anger going away.
Wole stormed out of the house. He was actually beginning to get angry and he needed a clear head to follow through with the plan.
***************************************************
Wole squinted. He thought the guy with Kunle looked like Bro Gbenro. He couldn't see well, though. Just as He was about to open the outer door of the bar, the guy got up and headed towards the other bar exit.
"It would have been nice to see Bro Gbenro." Wole thought to himself. Maybe he could hook him up with a job somewhere, who knows?
"Guy, na who be the guy wey just stand up from here? He resemble somebody wey I sabi from wayback"
"Which guy?"
Kunle was acting so surprised and weird.
"Nobody sit down here na. E be like say you don dey see things ooo. Me wey being dey sit, dey wait? The lawyer said I should buzz him when you come; he had some unfinished business to attend".
"Kunle, who was that guy? I demand to know now"
Please leave comments with suggestions on how you believe the story should unfold. Please credit ‘The Women Stories’ if you choose to share. Thank you.
"Hey Mum, I just got home. I'll call you when I'm settled, okay?", Yeside snapped at her.
"Yeside!"
"Sorry Mum, I'll let you know when I'm settled ma. I'm sorry for snapping"
Wole felt his stomach churn as he listened to Yeside's side of the conversation with Justice Anjola. His "High Flyer" was a timid lapdog whenever The Witch Mother was discussing with her. She was tied to her mother's apron strings and it appeared nothing could snap those strings...Well, Mrs "High-Flyer" and The Witch Mother would have many days, months and years together in inseparable bliss...He'll have to see Kunle later about the lawyer they discussed. The plot was surely thickening and he had to ensure that there were no loose ends.
"Martha, Martha" Yeside yelled.
"Aunty Martha", Olamide echoed.
Yeside thought she heard a mousy response from Olamide's room (partly occupied by Martha).
Yeside went close and knocked on the door. She heard the shuffling of feet and waited for Martha to let her in.
Martha wondered what story she would tell Yeside. She had to tell her why she didn't pick Olamide from school. The truth was that she was too scared to venture out of that room. She had tortured herself with thoughts of how to escape if he had managed to get into the room where she was hiding. Thankfully, she didn't have to deal with that. She couldn't afford to tell the truth because she knew that somehow, somebody somewhere would blame her and she would eventually be sent packing. The wives always blamed the maid for their husbands' indiscretions. Sending the maid away was usually considered the best way to save their marriages...until another maid was harassed. No, she couldn't tell Mummy Olamide what happened this afternoon.
"Martha, what's taking you so long to open the door? I don't have all day, Miss"
"Sorry ma. I'm not feeling too well ma"
Martha quickly asked God for forgiveness for that white lie as she opened the door.
"What's the matter? Have you taken any drugs?"
Yeside must have asked a dozen questions in less than a minute.
"I just started feeling feverish, ma"
"But why did you lock the door? Did you tell Daddy Olamide about it?"
Martha pretended not to hear the question and quickly countered with an apology.
"Sorry about leaving Olamide in school ma. I was cleaning the room when I started feeling feverish ma"
Yeside wanted to press but she decided to watch Martha a little more closely. She sure was hiding something and Yeside planned to wait patiently till the cat was let out of the bag. She handed over Olamide to Martha and went to the room to change into more comfortable clothes.
Though Mum had told her about Wole not going to work, she decided not to say anything about it. She had learnt earlier from a post she read on a Facebook page that if she kept her cool, the truth would reveal itself and she would be calm to face issues squarely.
Wole was ready for Yeside's angry outbursts. He was shocked to see her so calm and collected. He finally had to break the silence.
"Did you speak with Martha?"
"Yes I did"
"What did she say?"
"Not much", Yeside shrugged.
Both of their phones chose to ring at the same time. Kunle was calling Wole while Justice Anjola was calling Yeside. They both stepped away to receive the calls.
"Mum, this is not a good time", Yeside told her mother.
"Guy, can I call you back in about an hour?" Wole said to Kunle.
Kunle and Justice Anjola both insisted that the calls were too urgent to ignore. Kunle had the lawyer with him; Justice Anjola would be hosting guests in 30 minutes.
Wole stepped out of the room to receive his call while Yeside stayed back in the room. Both calls went past 30 minutes and by the time they were done, the moment had passed.
"I'll try to be back before 10pm, okay?" Wole told Yeside.
"I guess it'll give you enough time to prepare for a day of going nowhere tomorrow, right?"
The words flew out of Yeside's mouth before she could bite them back. Mum kept going on and on about Wole's absence from the office all through the call and she, surprisingly, allowed the words to fly out without restraint.
"Sorry, what did you just say?", Wole asked feeling really excited that the plan was actualizing itself without his help. He needed to egg her on and get her to explode; the cool and calm Yeside would destroy the plan.
"Nothing important. Just pretend you didn't hear me"
"But I did hear you. I know you and your mother have been gossiping about me"
Everything in Yeside wanted to respond but she remembered the 1-10 exercise. She started counting 1 to 10 and she could practically feel the anger going away.
Wole stormed out of the house. He was actually beginning to get angry and he needed a clear head to follow through with the plan.
***************************************************
Wole squinted. He thought the guy with Kunle looked like Bro Gbenro. He couldn't see well, though. Just as He was about to open the outer door of the bar, the guy got up and headed towards the other bar exit.
"It would have been nice to see Bro Gbenro." Wole thought to himself. Maybe he could hook him up with a job somewhere, who knows?
"Guy, na who be the guy wey just stand up from here? He resemble somebody wey I sabi from wayback"
"Which guy?"
Kunle was acting so surprised and weird.
"Nobody sit down here na. E be like say you don dey see things ooo. Me wey being dey sit, dey wait? The lawyer said I should buzz him when you come; he had some unfinished business to attend".
"Kunle, who was that guy? I demand to know now"
Please leave comments with suggestions on how you believe the story should unfold. Please credit ‘The Women Stories’ if you choose to share. Thank you.
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