Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Halal didn't have the strength to drive all the way home after the issue at Daria's. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she'd run into Darrell at Daria's home.

"I should have anticipated it, I mean he's her brother. Oh God what was I thinking?" she asked herself pressing a palm to her forehead.

She checked the google map app on her phone for locations of seafood restaurants around Daria's hood. It was Sunday evening and she didn't want to go home and be alone as usual.

She'd used Valentino as an excuse to get out of Daria's place but in reality, Valentino still hadn't called and he wasn't waiting for her at home. After getting the address of a five star cuisine that was just a few minutes away, she headed in that direction.

Her heart ached when she remembered the way Darrell had looked at her. It was true that they hadn't parted on good terms but she didn't think he'd still hold a grudge against her. It was so bad that he didn't want her being friends with Daria.

And the way he called her 'Mrs' with such disgust, it was as if her marital status was a curse. Well it wasn't far from it, she was cursed. What's a married woman without a child? Her life would probably have been worse if Valentino had family on her neck requesting for children. She was a little grateful he was an orphan.

Imagine being scorned by both husband and relatives, Halal thought depressingly as she approached the restaurant.

After a fine dinner at the seafood cuisine, Halal stopped by a bar and got two bottles of liquor. She wasn't an alcoholic and she could never hold her liquor, but didn't that phrase say 'Drink away your sorrows?' she was feeling very sorrowful this lonely night , so tonight alcohol would be her comfort.

"What I really don't understand is why Valentino just left the house that way, why he hasn't bothered to call me, is that normal?" Halal asked herself as she walked into her apartment.

She pulled off her sandals and dropped the liquor bottles and her clutch on the couch before walking to the kitchen to get herself a glass.

As she gulped down the first glass of the bitter sweet amber colored liquor, a thought hit her. "What if he has someone else in Port Harcourt?" Halal asked herself. "Another woman, maybe a mistress, another wife?" her voice broke as she saw a vivid picture of Valentino, a faceless woman and a faceless child.

"No, Valentino loves me, he wouldn't cheat on me right?" Halal asked the bottle of alcohol. She closed her eyes briefly trying to regain a semblance of sanity. She scoffed "So this is what my life has become, taking comfort in alcohol and talking to some damned bottle, a common inanimate object!" she spat.

She was drowning in loneliness while her husband was already in Port Harcourt doing God knows what. "He didn't even tell me he was leaving, if I hadn't seen his stupid posts on instagram I wouldn't have known he was back in Port Harcourt again. What kind of husband does that?" she asked herself pouring herself another glass of alcohol.

The night ended when the last drop in the second bottle of liquor went down her throat. Nothing made sense to her anymore, her curtains grew horns, the television was talking to the satellite decoder while the air conditioner developed hands.

As her vision blurred, she tried hold on to the thin line of reality but the arms of Morpheus pulled deeper and deeper till she sank into the depths of blissful sleep.

It was the dingdongs of the door bell that woke Halal up from her alcohol induced sleep the next day. She groaned muttering unintelligible things and burying her face in the nearest pillow.

"Hallie!" she heard Daria's loud voice from behind the door. She groaned again before shooting out of the chair. That was a rather unplanned move on her part and clearly a bad one , because headache hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Argh!" she groaned wrapping her head with both hands as she walked to the door. She threw it open and was greeted by Daria and her son Christiano.

"Daria" she said in a croaky voice wondering why Daria was at her house this morning. "Christ, Hallie. I've been knocking for hours, that's by the way. You look like crap and you're still dressed in yesterday's clothes" Daria stated the obvious.

Halal rolled her eyes before walking back into the house. Daria followed but at a slower pace, her eyes widened when she saw the liquor bottles. Halal wasn't a fan of alcohol, so she assumed Halal's husband was the alcoholic.

"Auntie Halal" Christiano skipped excitedly to Halal who picked him up with ease. "Honey bear, how are you?" Halal pecked his cheek. "I'm fine!" Christiano replied cheerily.

"Good boy, How about you wait with mummy first while I get some pills for my headache" Halal murmured before dropping him carefully on the sofa.

"You mean you consumed these bottles of liquor?" Daria asked in disbelief immediately assuming that Halal needed the pills for a hangover.

"Is there any other person in this house?" Halal asked a little amused.

"Well you're not a fan of alcohol, I assumed it was your husband. Is he around?" Daria asked wondering if it was normal for a husband to allow his wife consume such amount of alcohol.

"He's not here, he's not back. I just lied so I could get away, help yourself to some refreshments while I go get my pills" Halal said before leaving the sitting room.

She came out minutes later and met Daria handing a bar of snickers to Christiano. "You're here so early this morning, what's the matter?" Halal asked sitting beside Christiano. "It's hardly morning Halal, it's twelve thirty. You must have been out for a while" Daria chuckled.

"Twelve thirty!" Halal exclaimed in disbelief, she wasn't a late sleeper so it had to be the excess alcohol she'd consumed last night.

"Yes, twelve thirty one now actually" Daria said. Halal's mouth shaped into a silent O.

"You know you didn't have to leave yesterday, I could have kicked Darrell out. And don't mind a word he says, you know how he is" Daria said.

"It's okay, I'm a big girl, I can handle it. He's your brother, I had to leave because I don't want you two fighting because of me. So don't mention it" Halal waved a hand over her face.

"I hate that you two are like this, I love you two. Why can't you two get along? Halal tell me what happened between you two" Daria said curiously.

"It's nothing serious, I'd rather not talk about it" Halal said not wanting to deal with the past.

"Well, if you say so" Daria sighed. It was obviously very serious if after many years they still weren't talking.

She decided to move on to a more profitable discussion since Halal and her brother were so close mouthed. "I thought of something yesterday, so I decided I'll share it with you" Daria smiled.

"Okay" Halal said stressing the 'Kay' before asking the next question. "What's that?" Halal asked.

"I was thinking that since you said Doctor Femi detected a problem before he died, you should see another gynaecologist who might know something. You're just twenty eight Halal, your menopause is still far away. There is still hope" Daria began.

"And what if they can't help, then what, my standing hope is destroyed again? I don't want to go through that process again Daria. I've been thinking about adopting or better still getting someone else to carry my baby, a surrogate" Halal said painfully.

Daria shook her head "Not many men will agree to that, are you sure your husband will consent?" Daria asked meeting Halal's eyes.

"He will, I'll make him. It's our only hope" Halal said.

Daria shook her head "It's not your only hope. You can still carry your own babies, I believe it. And I want you to believe it too" Daria said earnestly.

"I appreciate your support Daria, truth is even if I want to see another doctor, I need someone I can trust. I don't know anyone who I can trust, Valentino has to come back. We need to talk as a couple before I make the next decision, as you can see. He's not here, and I don't know when he's returning" Halal said.

"What if I recommended someone who I trust , would you see him?" Daria asked.

Halal looked at Daria thoughtfully before it dawned on her that Darrell was a gynaecologist. "If you're talking about Darrell it's a no. I want a child but I'll be damned if I go to your brother for help. He hates me and I doubt he'd want to help me" Halal said getting up from her chair.

"I'll talk to him" Daria persisted. Halal turned to her angrily. "I said no Daria, as a matter of fact, I don't want him to know that I don't have children. I don't want him gloating at my misery" Halal hissed.

"My brother is not cruel, you were with Darrell for more than seven years. Do you really think he'd do that?" Daria asked.

"I don't know him anymore!" Halal shouted frustrated. "Look, I appreciate you wanting to help but I want nothing to do with Darrell" Halal said.

"Well if you change your mind, you know how to reach me. Just know that Darrell got a job at Havana care. He'll be replacing the late doctor Femi, I think it's fate. I think God has brought Darrell to help you, I don't care if you think otherwise. If you change your mind, let me know" Daria said.

Halal stared at Daria in disbelief "I don't believe that, I don't believe in fate and I don't know if I believe in God anymore." Halal said stiffly.

"Alright, I'll be leaving now. I'm taking Christiano to the dentist, call me" Daria smiled faintly before picking up her son.

Halal nodded and walked Daria out of the house. Going to Darrell was a big no-no, no level of desperation would make her go to him.

All through the week, Daria texted Halal asking if she'd changed her mind and considered her offer. Rather than texting her, Halal ignored every message.

She felt a little guilty, after all Daria had done no wrong, she only wanted her happiness. She had Halal's best interest at heart but Halal preferred to handle her affairs by herself.

She tried calling Valentino for the umpteenth time but she couldn't reach him, she was definitely sure now that he'd blocked her.

Logging in to her whatsapp, she clicked on his icon and saw that he was online. 'Are you mad at me?' she finally sent to him after much contemplation. She waited for a response but nothing came, she saw the blue ticks that signified that he'd read her message but he never replied.

Frustration hit her hard, she took off her wedding band and flung it against her wardrobe. "What have I done to you Valentino?!" she sobbed burying her face in her hand.

After a few minutes she got up from the bed and wiped her tears off her face. She walked to her wardrobe and picked up both the wedding band and the engagement ring. She took a picture of the both of them with her phone and posted the picture online. 'For sale, affordable price' she captioned.

She logged back onto her whatsapp and sent another message to Valentino, telling him that he could go to hell, that she didn't need him, and she was selling his freaking rings and the wedding dress she didn't need anymore. She hoped to get a response from him but she only got more blue ticks and no reply.

Even more frustrated, she stormed out of the room and into the kitchen. She clutched the kitchen counter and sobbed. "He hates me now because I don't have a child, that's why he keeps ignoring me, that's why he keeps leaving me!" she sobbed.

Was she cursed, or was Valentino right? Maybe her mother had passed on the seed of infertility to her. But her mother only conceived when she was forty, she'd conceived thrice within eight years but nothing fruitful had come out of it.

Her condition had nothing to do with her mother, she was convinced she was being punished for something, but she couldn't think of who she had offended. The only person that had been very angry at her was Darrell.

Maybe this was karma, she pressed her palm to her stomach. Karma for what exactly?

Halal was mentally, physically and emotionally drained when she walked out of the kitchen. She didn't even have the appetite for anything, neither drink nor food had passed down her face throat since Friday evening.

She went back into her bedroom and picked up her phone hoping to get a message from Valentino but she only got two messages, one from Daria. 'Can I come over? let's talk' and another from someone else who was interested in buying the wedding dress and both rings.

She texted the person back the price. The rings and the dress were expensive and worth over a million but she was willing to sell it for something lesser. After negotiating with the buyer, she forwarded her account number and waited for payments.

True to her word, the buyer transferred the money to Halal's account before sending her location to Halal. The buyer lived at Ikota and agreed to meet up at Mega Chicken to get her goods.

Halal eventually texted Daria asking if she'd accompany her for a delivery. 'Sure, when should I come?' Daria texted back. 'I'll be leaving in an hour, come to the house' Halal responded.

She went into her bathroom for a shower right after texting Daria. In a few minutes, she was out. She threw on her light blue jeans and paired it with a white cotton long sleeves top. She used a signature blue scarf for her hair and threw on a pair of white Nike shoes.

Daria arrived forty five minutes later, dressed in a red and yellow Ankara dress. She enveloped Halal in a big cozy hug the minute Halal opened the door. The act caught Halal a little surprised, so she was a little slow to hug Daria back.

"I'm sorry" Daria said when she pulled away finally. Her eyes were a little wet with tears. "Sorry for what exactly?" Halal asked confused.

Daria sighed "I shouldn't have meddled in your issue, you and your husband can handle it. That's why you haven't been replying my messages right?" Daria said looking too sad that Halal felt guilt weighing her down.

"I appreciate you trying to help, but I don't think taking the matter to my ex is a good idea. You're right, my husband and I can handle it" Halal said. Daria nodded before coming into the house.

"Wait a minute, let me go get the package. Make yourself at home Dar" Halal said before going into her room.

Daria felt really cold and turned off the air conditioner, seriously how did Halal enjoy the frigid temperature? She asked herself while she waited patiently for Halal to come out of the bedroom.

Halal came out of the room after a few minutes that felt like hours to Daria, she was holding a huge shopping bag. "What's that?" Daria asked curiously.

"Oh this..." Halal looked at the bag and contemplated lying. "It's my wedding dress, along with my rings" Halal said truthfully before sitting on the chair. Daria immediately looked at Halal's fingers and noticed they were bare.

"Oh my God" she moved closer to her friend. "Is everything okay between you and Valentino?" Daria asked concerned. Halal nodded "I just feel burdened, I think I'll feel a lot better if I hand these to someone else. I don't have anyone to pass this on to, I doubt Eva would be interested. You remember Eva my cousin don't you?" Halal asked.

"Yes, that crazy cousin of yours" Daria remembered her all too well. "What about Valentino, is he okay with this?" Daria asked.

Halal nodded and laughed bitterly "Yes I informed him, he had no complaints at all" Halal said with bitter humor.

What did that mean? Daria wondered briefly. Halal got up from the chair "Let's not keep the client waiting, come on. We'll take my car" Halal said. Daria nodded meekly and got up to go out with Halal.

The client was not quite what Halal and Daria had been expecting. For starters, they expected a younger woman but this woman was clearly over forty. She must be in her fifties if not sixties.

"Hello, you must be Halal" The woman smiled. Halal felt a spark of recognition but brushed it off. She'd never met this woman anywhere but the woman looked really familiar.

"Yes, and this is my friend Daria. Nice to meet you" Halal shook the woman's outstretched hand before sitting.

"You look extremely beautiful, and you know you remind me of someone. I can't remember who though, how are you?" The woman who asked them to call her Miss Tina asked.

"Excellent, I must say. You don't look like you need a wedding dress, I noticed the ring on your finger and while you're still in excellent shape, I doubt the dress will size you. I sent you my measurements" Halal said.

"Yes, the dress is extremely lovely. Unfortunately it's not I who will be wearing it. My daughter will be getting married soon, I want to surprise her with this dress" Miss Tina smiled.

Daria felt a little uncomfortable, the woman's smile looked predatory but Halal was completely oblivious to that.

"Awwn, that's so sweet of you. How many mothers are so thoughtful? Your daughter is indeed a lucky woman" Halal smiled brightly.

"Thank you, I'm lucky too , I mean I didn't think I'll get such a dress for such an amount. Can I see the rings?" Miss Tina smiled. Daria felt a chill again, something was not right with this woman.

"Of course" Halal said and handed her the bag. The woman took the bag from Halal and went through it's content. "Wow, this is so beautiful. You have excellent taste" Miss Tina said.

"My husband actually" Halal beamed. She suddenly felt deep loss, she'd had those rings for years now. It didn't feel right giving it away, suddenly she didn't want to.

She thought of how happier the woman's daughter would be with the ring and let it go.

"And your husband won't mind?" miss Tina asked cautiously. "No, we're in the middle of a divorce" Halal lied. Daria turned to look at Halal surprised, even Miss Tina looked a little surprised.

"I wish you good luck, thanks for your time. I hope you get what you're looking for" Miss Tina said and got up from her seat.

"You're welcome, good bye Miss Tina" Halal smiled politely.

"Good bye" Miss Tina said and walked away.

Daria turned to Halal sharply. "In the middle of a divorce Halal?!" she asked alarmed.

"It seemed like an easier lie to tell, Daria relax" Halal said.

"Okay, okay" Daria threw her hands up in the air.

Halal sighed before turning to Daria "You know.... I deserve to be happy" she began.

Daria nodded wondering where this discussion was heading. "maybe consulting Darrell won't be so bad after all, that's if he'll help me" Halal said.

Daria smiled now "Yes! Yes! I'll make him help you. I'll talk to him. Just... Yes!" Daria hugged Halal.

Halal smiled faintly. 'Oh lord please tell me I'm not making a big mistake' she said to herself.