Chapter 33: Chapter 33

Abuja

"Bwari."

The taxi driver brought out his head to look at the man very well.

"You are not carrying a bag. Won't you take three drops to the place? " he asked.

Joseph pushed in his glasses, and used his other hand to shield himself from the sun as he bent to converse with the driver.

"You no dey go? "

"Hian. I don't want when I tell you price you come dey fight me. "

"Do I look like someone who is dressed up to fight? " Joseph asked entering the passenger seat.

"No be like say en dey show for face."

"You no go like balance for back? It's not after you will say I no treat you well, now reduce my money," the driver said, keying into the ignition.

"Don't worry, " Joseph replied, placing his dark shades on his lap.

"No be 'don't worry ' matter " the driver said, already driving out from the gate of the hotel where Joseph had met him.

******************************

"Daddy, " Ella called, tugging at Joseph's polo.

"Mmm," he hummed without looking at her. He was arranging his newspapers on a shelf in the sitting room upstairs.

"Daddy, look at me, " She said.

"I'm coming, honey. "

"Daddy look at me. I will cry now and break your heart, " Ella threatened because he always told her that her tears broke his heart.

Joseph smiled and finally looked down to behold a riot of colors on his daughter's face.

"I used mummy's lipstick, " she said proudly, doing a little dance.

He laughed then quickly composed himself and stared at her face without a word. Her eyebrows were decorated with a red lipstick, her cheeks with dots of the same red lipstick and her small lips down to her chin were painted luxuriously with a red lipstick.

"Has mummy seen you? "

"Yes! " She answered happily, taking his hand and pulling the fingers. "She snapped me with her phone and said I look beautiful."

Joseph's tummy rumbled with laughter.

"Tell me your own," Ella urged him.

"You look beautiful," He said, holding himself back from laughing. Ella's arm immediately went round his leg and he knew even before she pulled away from hugging his legs, that his grey shorts had been tainted with colors from her face.

" Mummy said I should hug you if you say I'm beautiful, " the little girl confessed innocently.

"It's a trap," he murmured. "Thank you, both of you."

He picked her up from the floor. He was almost headed towards the room where his wife could be when the doorbell rang and he redirected his footsteps to the stairs with Ella still in his arms.

"We have a kest! " Ella announced happily as they descended the stairs. That brought Joseph's attention back to her face.

"Go and clean your makeup, " He said, dropping her on the stairs.

"but I want to stay with you, " she cried, holding tightly to his neck and her legs immediately flying to encircle his waist.

He sighed in defeat and progressed to the door just before the doorbell rang again.

"Joe, good morning. I can see the shock on your face, " Mark laughed stepping inside as Joseph opened the door.

"I'm not wrong to be shocked naa. I even wanted to call you and ask you if you have forgotten the address of my place so I can give it to you again. " Joseph replied, bolting back the door

Mark laughed and threw himself into a cushion.

"Uncle, good morning," Ella greeted shyly with her fingers in her mouth.

" What's going on with your daughter ?" Mark asked Joseph, laughing.

"Please don't lower her confidence. She's beautiful," Joseph said, sitting down with Ella on his lap.

"Did you even eat before coming out this morning? " He asked.

"I did o," Mark replied without enthusiasm as his eyes travelled round the whole room. "What of Michelle? "

"She should be busy with junior," he said. "Go and call your mom, " he told Ella who hopped down from his lap and ran out of the parlour immediately.

"How is the family and work? " Joseph asked.

"Work is fine," he replied with his legs clapping together.

The shrill cry of junior announced Michelle's presence before she came into the parlour.

"Why does our visitor look like Mark? " She asked on seeing Mark as she came in.

Ella rushed and returned to her former seat.

Mark laughed, "How are you doing? "

"I'm very well o. It's been ages you came here naa. My husband and I were even planning to give you guys a surprise visit tomorrow, " She replied, settling into the sofa close to her husband.

"Ah, really! " he exclaimed.

"I called Kamsi's number yesterday to wish you guys well on your anniversary but her line wasn't going through, " She complained.

"Yes," Joseph said, " that's very true. Happy anniversary to you both. "

"Well, thank you, " Mark replied.

Michelle dropped Junior to sit on the floor. "I would get drinks, " She said, about standing.

"No, there's no need. I'm not staying long, " Mark said.

"It doesn't matter, " Joseph said.

"I'm not staying long," Mark still protested. "I actually came to tell you people that Kamsi did not come home last night, " he started, not wanting to beat around the bush longer.

Pleased with the confusion on their faces he continued , "The gate man said she left the house with boxes. uptil now as I speak with you, she has not returned home."

"That's not like Kamsi. Did something happen? " Joseph was the one to ask while Michelle nodded and waited for a reply.

"There's nothing that happened that could not be resolved in our home if not that she's now meeting men and feels like she no longer has a husband, " Mark said.

"Mark, how can you say that? " Michelle responded already getting defensive.

Mark ignored her question and turned to Joseph. "I'm here, having this talk calmly because I respect you."

" I appreciate that, " Joseph nodded.

"With all due respect, I want to state in very clear words that your wife is a bad influence on my own wife."

Never in the history of, "with all due respect " has the accompanying statement been respectful. Joseph was shocked at the utterance but he quickly masked it, reaching out to pat Michelle's hand to stop her from talking.

"How is that Mark? " Joseph questioned, unable to stop annoyance from spicing his words.

"Ask your wife. I'm sure she can tell you more about Kamsi and Okechukwu. "

Michelle flared up. "Mark, you can not talk to me that way. You should never! "

Joseph patted her hand again to calm her.

"Joe, tell your wife to tell her brother to leave my wife alone. I'm not always this patient, " Mark said, ignoring Michelle's shout.

"I see. I think you are done. You should be leaving, " Joseph said calmly.

"I am done and about to leave, " Mark said, standing up with his shoulders high to show his ego and pride which were still intact.

"Hasten your steps and leave my house !" Michelle said, unable to stand the sight of him any longer.

******************************

"Na this place you wan go." The taxi driver said.

Joseph nodded and waited for him to say the price.

"Two thousand. "

"For what na?" Joseph asked, trying to annoy him.

"No be wetin I talk? " the driver asked, raising his hands in frustration.

"Take joor," Joseph said, amused , handing him four five hundred notes.

He laughed. "Oga, you too dey play."

Joseph stepped out of the car and called Kamsi's line before he knocked on the gate and waited patiently.

"Na who you dey find? " That was the first question the gateman asked, blocking the entrance with his body.

"Tell them it's Joseph Nwoko, " he replied, dreading standing outside the gate under the sun and waiting.

"Idem, let him in! " Kamsi shouted from inside.

"Ah, na your husband?  En fine o," Idem said, moving back so Joseph could enter.

"Onyinbo! " He hailed as Joseph walked in.

"Dede!" Kamsi screamed excitedly from the balcony but did not run out.

He walked to where she was and they engaged in a brief side hug.

"Nwanyi, Ha si na igbara oso," he said.

Kamsi bowed her head. "It's not like that," she replied.

Maka came out from the house and hugged Joseph also.

"Maka, it's been such a long time. We should not allow only bad circumstances bring us together. It's very bad." Joseph said.

"What's the bad circumstance here kwanu? " Maka asked.

"No matter the reason, it's very bad for a woman to run away from her husband's home,"  he replied.

"I did not run away, " Kamsi countered quietly.

"Joe please come and sit down inside, " Maka offered, leading the way.

Joseph sat down with Kamsi while Maka served the wine Reverend Nwachukwu had brought out to be given to Joseph when he came.

"Kamsi, your husband came to my place and reported you missing," He began once Maka left the parlor after serving the wine.   He looked at Kamsi where she was intertwining and disengaging her fingers.

"What happened? Honesty please. I did not leave other engagements I have today to be lied to. "

Kamsi was silent, her eyes ran round the room and fixed on the framed wedding picture of her stepmother and the Vicar. She had been in her second year, Chisom and Onyedikachi were little boys then.

" I'm going to be asking you questions and you would be answering me," Joseph said calmly. He crossed his legs and relaxed on the sofa. Kamsi nodded and stared at him waiting for his question. He obviously did not come to play.

" When I got you a job, what happened to your appointment letter?"

The reply was silence which was beginning to annoy Joseph.

"Mark tore it," Maka said, coming into the parlor. "What's wrong with you women sef and cover ups. You want to die in silence ?" She finished off looking at Kamsi standing akimbo.

Joseph nodded knowingly. "Kamsi, I want you to be answering me. Now, when you told me your phone was spoiled, what happened? "

"It was not spoiled, " She replied, finding strength in Maka's deadly glare.

He played with the handles of his dark sun shades for a while then uncrossed his legs.

"Kamsi, you have been having problems in your marriage and you kept silent, " he stated, "Or do you tell Maka? "

"She doesn't o. This one wants to die in that house, " Maka quickly exonerated herself.

He sighed and held her gaze before he asked the next question. "What's your business with Okechukwu? "

In disbelief and shock, Kamsi searched his face. "Did you believe him? " she asked.

"Give me what to believe then."

"I go to his hospital for check ups. Who doesn't know that? "

" I'm your husband's elder brother. You should have tried talking to me so I can put him in his place." Joseph said, hoping desperately that his words will make her have some confidence in him or his wife.

"If you can't talk to me, talk to Michelle. "

"Dede, he's seeing other women."

" Yes, but you have to be strong. "

Silence followed. Joseph realized that he should have acted a little shocked to hear that news and Kamsi stared at him, her eyes already watery.

"You knew, " She accused, her voice low, more like a whisper. "Did Michelle also know? "

Maka moved to the cushion she sat and held her shoulders.

" Let it go. They're not the ones that cheated," She said.

"But Dede, you people knew what I was going through and you kept silent also waiting for me to speak up," Kamsi said, looking for who to share blames with at that point.

Joseph looked at the woman whom he was trying to gain her trust and saw how depreciated her sense of reasoning was becoming.

"Kamsi, we did not know honestly but for you to leave the house it meant that something like that happened, " he lied.

Kamsi nodded. She was like a child ready to believe anything because she needed more people on her side together with their support.

"Don't tell Michelle. I don't want her to hate Mark," She said.

"We can't control that anymore. Your husband knows how to ruin relationships, " Joseph sighed.

Kamsi nodded again imagining possible things he could have said to Joseph and Michelle, they were all very bad scenarios.

"What did he do? " she asked finally.

"Nothing out of his character, " Joseph replied, taking his first sip of wine.

Kamsi nodded and looked at Maka. She could not miss the undisguised pity on her friend's face. She accepted it and held her hand that was on her shoulder.

"You should turn on your phone. I called Mark. I told him where you are so he should be coming here soon. " Joseph said.

He quietly watched Kamsi as she said nothing . He did not fail to notice the tears that still gathered in her eyes. He did not fail to notice how thin she looked for a pregnant woman. He did not also fail to notice she was like a woman whose will was dead.