Mrs. Olivia Bestman stood under the spiral staircase with poise and watched as the workers carried in the new pieces of furniture that were ordered from A****n.
She was so excited about her husband's return from Switzerland where he was at a private political meeting. It had been their lifelong prayer to stay near home.
Olivia was half Swiss and half Nigerian, her mum was Nigerian once miss Africa and lived a reckless life then ended up marrying an old Swiss banker. Both died in a plane crash while on holiday to Bali leaving behind their only child Olivia.
Luckily Olivia had helpful relatives who took her and brought her up.
She worked in the American embassy in Nigeria after her studies there she met her husband now Ernest Bestman.
He was still running for the house of the assembly and still struggling when they fell in love, technically they both built their empire together.
She sighed once she recalled how they got to this status, she never wanted her child to suffer a bit of how she did and that was why her son Jason was provided with whatever he needed.
Though Ernest her husband was strict on Jason saying he needed to work for his money and learn the difficulties that came with being responsible.
The new pieces of furniture were for the welcome home party for her husband who just rounded up everything yesterday and was expected at least in the next five days or more.
Olivia gave directions to the workers on where to position the pieces of furniture with the help of an interior decorator, a lot of guests were expected.
Sabina one of the maids rushed with a phone buzzing in her left hand.
"Mam, you have a call" she handed the phone to Olivia and slightly bowed in uttermost reverence before leaving to which Olivia ignored as quotidian routine.
"Hello? Conan, yes did you find out what I asked you to?."
She paused to hear what the person on the other line had to say. After a while, she sighed and rubbed her right temple. "Right, thanks, and please keep an eye on him next time."
She sighed again and cut the call trying hard to forget the sole reason for her reoccurring headache.
Incontinently Jason hurried down the spiral stairs adjusting his Gucci watch."Mum" He came closer and pecked the angry Olivia.
"How was your night?" He smiled showing off his white teeth. He looked dashing in his navy blue tight polo, black chinos jeans, and Ash white sneakers. Jason got the best of genes from his parents.
when he was little he looked very small that people thought he'd grow up becoming a short man but surprisingly he grew even taller than his father who was arduous.
With his jet dark curly Swiss-Nigerian hair texture and color, not to talk of his fair skin. not that he was very fair but Jason has been living in luxury all his life and his skin never had to tell a tale of hardship, it was so smooth like an eggshell and he had everything to his beck and call whatever he demanded.
Olivia couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Where are you off to so soon it's the weekend and we need to spend some family time" She frowned harder yet not a single wrinkle was found on her smooth face.
"Mum told you Sean and I need to be at a gathering today his Artist friend patoranking wants to throw a bash for us all and I can't miss it for the world" he emphasized nonchalantly while moving towards the dining room in search of food.
He found an apple and took a bite from it.
Olivia followed behind. "You opened a new account, again Jason," she said out of the blues.
Jason stopped eating and looked at his mum for the second time since he came down.
"Mum... Are you stalking me again? I thought you promised not to anymore!.""Yes I did and I also thought you promised not to open a secret account and siphon money from the other one?!" She asked bitterly.
"How can a guy as old as I have an account where all my transactions will be monitored by my parents?!!.. it's absurd mum I'm old enough to know what I want and get it without my parents asking what such amount is for!!."
"Do you know?... You lied to me and made me believe that you were attending lectures frequently and needed nine hundred thousand nairas for your project then you went behind to put them all In Your new account!... Is that how a responsible man behaves? Mmhm? No, tell me because I Know if your father was here Jason, he'd never give you such amount even if you cried blood."
"Exactly what I meant, you guys treat me like a kid and am sick and tired of it, I need independence from both of you, I need my own house, money, and cars so you can stop treating me like a child. Mum for heaven's sake is clocking twenty-four very soon" He barked and grabbed his car keys from where he kept them.
"Really? So you can carry on with your stupid charade alongside some silly girls who hover around you for your money?...." Olivia scolded sternly maintaining her hard look while Jason clenched his keys in fury.
"Look we'll talk about this when you return. be back early, I need you to come with me to buy a good cake for the homecoming and remember the weather is moody it might rain today."
"Yes, mum excuse me " He strode off without looking at her again.
Olivia shook her head and retired to her room for a brief rest, her son has always been very irresponsible, getting into trouble and then expecting his parents to bail him out. He needed to know life wasn't smooth as he thought.
***
"What kept you so long?" Sean shut the door to his BMW X7 and moved towards Jason who just drove in with his Mustang at the same time.
"Don't mind my mum she found out again about the secret account and confronted me."
"Why are you just coming? thought you'd be here earlier?" Jason queried discarding his keys to the butler just as Sean did.
"Yeah I did, but I forgot my credit card at the hotel last night so I rushed back for it you know all these poor hungry hotel cleaners might run it for me before I get there."
"So how's Charlotte? Did you guys speak last night?" Sean asked while they both moved towards the entrance.
"I dropped lots and lots of voicemail for her and texts too but all she did was send me an emoji saying I should fuck off."
"I don't know man she's still angry with me, I mean she set me up with her friend who is as hot as hell! what did she expect from me? I'm no saint."
Sean laughed hard. "Man!! I swear me too, I'd dive at such an opportunity I don't blame you though."
"Don't stress on it so much she'll come around soon, I mean Charlotte loves you so much so no need, am just bothered that patoranking might not have the time to sit with us and talk you know, all these people who think because they're famous then others are nothing."
"Well I hope not but I'd love to have a chat with him he's so cool and the reggae bursts my mind" Jason added while they both exited the lift heading towards a well-illuminated exotic passage leading to Mason's annex.
Sean checked his time as they walked through the passage, they made a stop at a strong deep-brown polished door and Jason typed in a code giving them access to the interior which was too outlandish and would have left a poor man gaping without caution, only that they were already used to such glamour.
The duo strode in effortlessly and generously into the condo owned by their friend Mason Sean's cousin.
"Sure Mason will make it in time? that guy inclines late arrival" he sighed.
Jason put out his phone and kept dialing Charlotte's line which by the way went straight to voicemail.
He sent her a text, not the first time, this might be the twenty-something text he'd sent since last night after he and Charlotte had a fallout.
She set him up with one of her friends who was so irresistible,Jason wasn't shy when it came to women. though he loved Charlotte a lot as he claimed but even before Charlotte came by he had already had his fair share of alluring women. He hardly dated any of them not what he wanted from them though.
Charlotte bragged about Jason and how he wouldn't leave her for someone else no matter who.
It brought about doubt and contention between her and her girls.
Intending to prove her theory, she knowingly set her friend up with Jason.
Flabbergasted and with sheer repudiation Charlotte didn't look back the day she found them in a hotel room wasted and in a conflicting position.
She smashed his phone on the floor and rained foreign curses at him the next day he visited her.
After a few minutes the guy whom they were waiting for stepped in looking breathless.
"Finally Mason!" Sean cried and stood from his Position.
"Sorry man traffic was bad I had to take a longer route and my battery was flat so I plugged it in my car while I drove home."
"So how's it going to be? Are we going there first or do we drop at school first then go there next?" Sean asked.
"Oh I think we should drop at school first, I need to see someone there too" Mason smiled coyly.
Sean glared at him. "And who could that be?."
"Surely not someone you know but don't you want to see that girl?... I mean what's her name again?" Mason said.
"Miriam, that's her name" Mason called out in remembrance not minding the glare Sean gave him.
"Enough can we all just go and Jason we are going in your car period!" Jason sighed in surrender after effortlessly trying to reach his girlfriend.
The trio walked out of the house and took the lift down to the patio.
It didn't take long for it to start drizzling...
"Tonight" by Nonso Amadi boomed in the club and people danced to the rhythm. Everyone was having a good time except the ones who didn't wish to or the ones who were denied access to the top floor where the reggae singer patoranking was with few friends. Sean, Jason, and Mason were lucky enough to have made it inside the cubicle without much stress. Mason was a high school classmate with the singer, which made it easier for the trio to enter. In the meantime they were being entertained by patoranking, he was doing a freestyle reggae for them while they listened with rapt attention. While he was on it, Jason kept texting Charlotte and her. Once she found out where he was, she was madder than before blaming him for not telling her beforehand about the club thing with Pato. Jason tried apologizing but she went offline. "Man would you stop texting Charlotte and listen to what we're discuss
Jason turned and twisted weary, he couldn't sleep. Even with the cold weather outside, he was still sweating profusely on his king-sized bed. With firm resolve, he got off the bed,illuminating his room, he entered his bathroom thinking how much he needed the cold shower. Fighting so hard to forget that his psyche has been ruined because of the late-night incident as he preferred to call it in his head. His greatest fear was if the victim was dead. He'd be a murderer, a heartless one. Jason knew he couldn't stomach such truth,Sean, too. But Sean had done well to relinquish the blame on both of them promising Jason that the victim was collapsed and their impulsive decision to flee the scene was the best. Jason knew keenly a part of his mind didn't believe that sorry excuse but he needed pacifying at the moment and Sean did. Once he was done he wrapped his
The office was small for a consultant like Dr. Simon or was it so because of many properties like the bookshelf by the window side containing medical books of different sizes and colors. Maureen looked around her, files were packed on the floor away from trespassing while some on his desk were scattered and rumpled. By her left where the trashcan sat filled with wastepaper and disposed of pieces of equipment, a rickety standing fan rotating at an angle one-eighty constantly blowing hot air. Maureen sighed, wondering why an office would be so disorganized. "Weren't doctors supposed to be well organized and neat?" She imagined it was the problem federal hospitals in Nigeria suffered. Low maintenance.And the doctors and nurses were underpaid. Thereby taking out their bitter frustrations on the patients. She wondered what exactly was taking the old man his time, she'd been sitting around for minute
Maureen came back!! She returned to the hospital a week after Sophia was discharged. She came to see Dr. Simon. "I... I was kidnapped!" She cried wiping her crocodile tears."Once I went back home after coming to see you and Sophia I was kidnapped the next day" she paused for a breather. "Some people around still think my late husband has more money like before, they called for ransom and my younger sister who was around then couldn't raise any money... She had to sell the only home and property we owned Yet it wasn't enough for my kidnappers.I was taken hostage for one good week with no food or water Doctor, I prayed for death to take me... but I remembered my dear Sophia... I started praying to get out and for God to keep her safe for me and... And he did hear my prayers" She burst into fresh hot tears.Slowly she took out a dirty handkerchief from her old purse and dabbed her fake tears.Maureen
Everyone, family, and friends were celebrating his return. Ernest Bestman thought quietly as he watched his wife with her co-worker's chat at a corner. He recalled how he met Olivia, he was still struggling as a young politician, and she was a single lady with no family, working at the embassy. They weren't the best of collabo as friends advised but they tried hard to keep the relationship alive with so much hard work and sacrifices which brought them here today. He smiled. But whenever the thoughts of his son Jason filtered in, Ernest would feel weary.Jason was given everything his parents could afford and as the saying applied, much was expected of him. Ernest was disappointed, his wife wasn't helpful too, she overindulged Jason who cared about nothing and no one except himself. He understood his wife Olivia grew up an orphan and wanted her child to have the life she didn't. Ernest didn't sha
Sophia was awake staring at the intricate carvings on the ceiling above her.The constant noise of the crickets from outside her window was the only sound heard at such a dead hour while her mind traipsed. She painstakingly sat up on her bed and sighed dejectedly. One look at her stiff legs the depression would seem to come back in full force. Nobody would ever imagine waking up to discover their limbs had become numb, docile, and forever lose the privilege to walk. Freda her help wasn't around anymore to help her to her wheelchair, So she decided to do it herself. Sophia struggled to get on her chair and fetch a glass of water from the kitchen since the one kept on her bedside was finished. She drank a lot of water whenever she was nervous and she was nervous because today Stanley and Maureen had insisted on seeing the investigation to its end. After all, the police found the culp
They were visiting!... That was all Sophia heard for her mind to go berserk. She was sat in her wheelchair in the kitchen, while Maureen went about making lunch for them. Stanley was at work. He had earlier left saying he was called in to be part of a major operation at the hospital. And Sophia cleaned up to return downstairs surprisingly she found Maureen busy in the kitchen ordering the house helps. While she was wondering what the occasion was, Maureen hollered at her to join her and in full spirit narrated how the previous day at the station went. Every bit became clear as she watched her stepmother bustled about cheerfully placing varieties of side dishes on the counter. Maureen wasn't one to cook on a daily but today was different and Sophia just realized why. The realization brought chills all over her. She wasn't ready to meet anyone in her depressed stat
"It can't be!..." Jason thought. He watched her from where he sat. She looked so pretty and delicate in her wheelchair to have been lifeless on the road that night. He watched silently, his curious eyes drifted to every part of her body he could see, noticing how shiny and curly her hair was and the fact that it was braided into two parallel lines and some tendrils left to give her an innocent look. But most importantly, he loved her skin color. Like a mixture of black coffee and milk, her caramel skin shone under her thick dark curls bringing her beauty to life. Sophia nervously wheeled herself inside the living room where everyone sat waiting for her. Refusing to make eye contact with the guests for fear of how real the situation was. she glanced at Stanley who gave her a warm smile encouraging her further into the room. "Dear, how are you doing this morni