FED UP

(…continued…)

                They went through the back. The back door was also locked from inside. Mabel and Cynthia were worried.

  “Why are the two doors locked from inside?” Mabel asked.

                Cynthia knocked and listened. They heard what sounded like movement inside the house.

  “Mummy,” Cynthia called, feeling tensed up.

  “I am coming,” they heard their mother say.

                They were relieved.

  “At least mummy is ok,” Mabel said and exhaled through her mouth.

                Their mother opened the door and they went in.

  “Welcome,” she told them after they greeted her.

  “Why did you lock everywhere?” Cynthia asked her.

  “Did you see that lunatic outside?” she asked, looking at Mabel.

  “Who?” Mabel asked, puzzled. “Which lunatic?”

  “Segun.”

                They burst into laughter.

  “It is not a laughing matter o,” their mother said.

  “He has left.”

  “Did you talk with him? What did he want?”

  “We did not talk with him. We hid somewhere until he left.”

  “You see, we were all hiding.”

                They came into the parlour and Cynthia sunk into the couch.

  “Is he the reason why you locked the door?” she asked.

  “My dear, he was acting strange.”

  “How do you mean?” Mabel asked.

  “He would come into the compound, get close and then go back and stand close to his car, looking. He did that severally.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. And he was talking to himself.”

  “So you locked the door.”

  “I had to. I don’t know what he had in mind.”

                Mabel hissed and dropped her bag and market bag.

  “And you didn’t call us on phone?”

  “My phone battery has been empty. I couldn’t call.”

  “Was anybody with him?”

  “No. He was alone.”

  “As far as I am concerned, he is not a threat,” Cynthia said and stretched her feet on a side-stool in front of the couch.

  “But what is he looking for na,” Mabel asked rhetorically. “He really acted strange.”

  “Call Coker and tell him,” Cynthia suggested.

  “Coker has his personal life to live na.”

  “True. But as long as Segun is still in the picture, you need to keep him in the loop.”      

                Mabel checked the time on the wall clock.

  “He should still be in his fiancée’s uncle’s place by now. I will call him later.”

  “Or you can send him an SMS, just so you don’t forget.”

  “No. He is having a time out with his fiancée. There is a limit to my encroachment.

  “Yea, you are right. She may start getting funny ideas too.”

  “Exactly. In fact I will not tell him unless he calls.”

  “What if he doesn’t call today?”

  “I will not tell him today then. Simple.”

  “Leave story of mad man,” their mother said. “Did you buy the things from the market?”

  “Yes ma,”

                Their mother took the market bag and went into the kitchen.

  “Mummy leave the soup,” Cynthia said. “We will cook it.”

  “I am actually seeing double o,” Mabel said. “Allow mummy to cook it as she willingly wants to, else you will cook it.”

  “Lazy girl,” Cynthia said, laughing. “My back is aching too.”

  “Even me too,” their mother said, coming out to the kitchen door. “My waist is aching. I have been washing since I came back from meeting.”

                They laughed. 

  “Where you thinking I will do everything alone?” their mother said, smiling.

  “Mummy,” Mabel said, looking at her babyishly.

  “I know you need rest,” their mother said. “Even if you don’t do anything, just keep me company.”

  “Don’t mind Mabel,” Cynthia said. “I am coming with you.”

  “Go ahead,” Mabel said, slightly nudging Cynthia. “Good daughter.”

                They laughed as Cynthia went into the kitchen after her mother.

                Mabel went into the room, changed into a simple gown. She took snacks and poured juice from the fridge. Then she went to the kitchen. She sat and talked with her mother and sister as they made the soup.

  “Hope your phone is not silent,” Cynthia asked Mabel after a while.

  “No, it is not,” Mabel said. “Any problem?”

  “Nothing. Just asking because you don’t always know when your phone is ringing. Coker could call anytime.”

  “I made sure of that.”

  “Ok.”

  “Ehe, that reminds me, have you spoken with Chuka again?”

                Their mother dropped the plate she was carrying and looked at Cynthia with a big smile on her face.

  “Mummy what is it?” Cynthia asked, smiling.

  “Answer your sister na,” their mother said.

  “I have not spoken with him.”

  “You need to call him to know how he is doing.”

  “Mummy, are you the one saying this?”

  “Yes o.”

  “You are already giving me away without my consent.”

  “Not at all. He suffered a lot because of you. You need to call him to find out how he is doing, especially what his family said about his injuries and then their plan for him.”

  “Ok. I will wait for his call. If he doesn’t call, then I will.”

  “No,” Mabel said. “Don’t wait for him to call you. Call him. It shows that you are concerned about his welfare.”

  “Ok I will, once we are done here.”

                When the soup was boiling on the stove, Mabel and Cynthia went to the parlour while their mother went towards the backyard.

  “Let me bring back the cloths I washed,” she said as she went.

  “Ok.”

  “Now to calling Chuka,” Cynthia said as she brought out her phone.

  “Immediately.”

                She dialed Chuka. It rang once and he picked. Cynthia was surprised at the speed of his answering.

  “Is like you are holding your phone, waiting for me to call you,” Cynthia teased him.

                He laughed and told her that he was meaning to call her when she called. He asked how she was doing and she told him, then she asked him how he was doing. He told her to hang up so he would call her back.

  “Why?” Cynthia asked him.

                He told her it was so she would save her airtime. She told him not to worry and they continued talking. He told her in summary what had happened and told her he would be coming back with his brother the next day. He said he would tell her everything in detail when they meet.

  “Did you tell them I was the cause of your injuries?”

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac