Ike stood outside his neighbour’s compound, back leaned against the green painted gate, face turned upwards. The moon light made his complexion brighter, but his mind was in turmoil and he could hardly think straight.
“Ikechukwu?”
The familiar voice brought him out of his reverie.
“I was told you didn’t want to come side…” Mr. Kola approached the younger man.
Ike cleared his throat twice, “Yeah…” he adjusted his posture and stood straight.
“What’s up man?” he noticed the strained look on his friend’s face. He hoped Lianater and the baby were fine.
Somewhere at the back of Ike’s head began to itch. “Erm… I need to see you.”
He raised an eybrow. “I am here,” hands in his pockets, face crowded with anticipation.
The younger man nodded. “I need your help,” his brown gaze met his neighbour’s dark concerened ones. “I am at my wits end. But, I know what I must do, but, I need a kind of support system, so that I can forge ahead.”
Mr. Kola blinked several times. “Ike abeg, speak plainly. My brain is not in the right frame to decipher your idioms.”
Ike’s forced laughter didn’t reach his eyes. “Sorry…”
His friend folded his arms across his broad chest. “I am all ears. What’s the problem?”
He ran a tired hand through his rough curls. “It’s the maid,” his eyes grew bigger with disdain.
“The maid,” Mr. Kola repeated. He had seen the girl a couple of times in the last few months.
“Yes, she is… she is a She-devil from the pit of hell,” his voice was filled with venom.
Mr. Kola’s heart missed a beat. “What did she do?” he had heard stories about how some maids frustrated their employers. He has had a few experiences of his own in the past too.
Ike started to pace. “She… she is being after me since day one. I wanted to kick her out, then Lianater found out that she was pregnant, then one night she drugged me and I woke up with her on top of me…”
“Wait!” Mr. Kola wasn’t sure he heard the man correctly.
He halted and stared back his confused friend.
“Wait… wait, she did what?!”
Ike placed both hands on his head. “It’s messed up man.”
Mr. Kola tried to process everything the younger man was saying.
“Tonight, tonight broke the camel’s back. I was in the bathroom bathing and she came in and I thought she was Lianater…”
“Wait… wait! You thought what? How did that even happen?”
Ike looked away. “I had soap in my eyes, I…”
The older man felt like slapping his neighbour. “And you couldn’t wash your soapy eyes?”
Ike breathed out loudly. “I want her gone, tonight.”
“Obviously,” Mr. Kola eyed him. “Are you going to tell your wife?”
“Yes,” he looked his friend in the eye, “I will tell her everything.”
Mr. Kola whistled. One thing was clear. No woman would be able to digest whatever explanations Ike had concorted. “I wish luck man.”
“Thanks. I need you to come with me.”
Both men exchanged glances.
Xxxxxx
Lianater yawned loudly and stretched her arms. It had taken about an hour and half for the baby to sleep after being breast-fed. If she was lucky, Ify would sleep for the next three hours.
Where was her husband? He wasn’t in the master bedroom when she checked earlier. Neither was he in the children’s room. Thank God those ones were fast asleep.
She remembered she promised to make it up to him, but she felt so tired. How was she supposed to fulfill her wifely duties, take care of a baby and three toddlers at the same time? Thank God for the maid who was handling all the house chores. If not, she would have been hospitalized.
She heard voices coming from the sitting room. Was that Ike? Who was he with? When did he leave the house?
Lianater strolled out of the kitchen and made her way into the sitting room. She found Ike and Mr. Kola seated. They both looked like they had heard a very bad news.
“Good evening, Mr. Kola,” she joined her husband on the sofa.
“Evening, Lianater. Quite an age,” he tried to smile.
“This is a pleasant surprise. We barely see you in this estate.”
Mr. Kola chuckled. “Well, business has been good.”
“I can tell. How is madam?”
He nodded. “She sends her greetings.”
Lianater smiled back at him, then glanced at her husband. Why was he looking saddened?
“Are the children in bed?” he avoided looking directly at her.
“Yes. The baby too.”
He nodded, “Good.”
An awkward silence filled the room. Lianater looked from Ike to Mr. Kola, the back at her husband.
“Are you okay?”
He met her gaze this time around. He could see the concern in her dark brown eyes. “We need to call the Agency.”
She blinked several times. Why did he want them to call the agency? They didn’t need a maid. They already had one. A hardworking help.
“Mmesoma needs to leave this house tonight.”
Her puzzled stare held his expressionless ones. “Why?”
Ike threw a glance at his friend. Mr. Kola gave him an encouraging nod. “Lily…” he looked deep into her eyes. “She had been throwing herself at me since she got here.”
She dropped her jaw. The girl had been with them for a while. If she wasn’t mistaken, Mmesoma had been chasing her husband for over a year. And he was just telling her?! Her brows came together in a frown.
“Maybe, maybe she is infatuated with you or something,” she glanced at Mr. Kola for support.
Their neighbour cleared his throat thrice.
“Darling, this is beyond infatuation. She is obssessed with me.”
She eyed her husband. “And you are just telling me now?”
He pressed his lips together and willed himself to speak.
“What’s being going on, Ike?” her voice rose a notch. So many thoughts were flying through her mind.
He took a deep breath and exhaled. “She… she drugged me.”
Lianater blinked. “What?” her heart beat accelerated. The dread and pain in her husband’s eyes consumed her.
“She… she… The night before the baby came, I woke up right here,” he held the chair they were both sitting on. “And, she was on top of me. I couldn’t move.”
The woman jumped up before she could stop herself. “On top of you? Doing what?!” her murderous stare sliced through him.
He dropped his head. Why did he keep quiet for so long?
“What sort of nonsense is this? Mr. Kola, can you hear your friend?” she stood beside the chair their neighbour was seated.
The man kept quiet.
“Why didn’t you tell me?!” she faced her husband.
He looked up at her. The pain in her eyes was unbearable. “You went into labour the next morning.”
“What sort of nasty excuse is that?!”
Ike remained quiet.
“And all this while, you kept silent. You didn’t say a single word. What’s wrong with you?” Slowly, images began to build up in her mind. She could vividly imagine Mmesoma riding her husband on the sofa. She cried out in anger. “This is insane!”
“Lianater...” Mr. Kola reached out for her hand. “Come and sit down.”
She settled beside their neighbour unwillingly. She could barely look at her beloveth husband.
“Two hours ago, I was taking my bath and I… I had soap in my eyes…”
The room fell quiet again. She held her breath, fully knowing that whatever he was going to say next would break her into a million pieces.
“I didn’t know she was the one. I thought it was you,” Ike glanced at his wife.
Lianater placed both hands on her head and began to shake with sobs.
“I didn’t know, Lily, I didn’t know,” tears gathered in his eyes.
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