Withered Flower - Episode 7

Chief Mezu sat in the car waiting for his wife to come out. It had been a week since he saw his son go into Iyeke's house, the whole episode stunned him. Wasn’t this incest, he thought to himself. Abomination of the highest order.

Why is this woman wasting time? We ought to have been at that wedding about an hour ago, he thought. "Stephen, press that horn, then go and call that woman".

"Yes Sir". The driver replied and got out of the car to go get Chief's wife.

Didn’t Iyeke know who Kene was? Everyone, even the Monks in Tibet knew the son of Chief Mezu. How was he going to handle this situation?

“Nnanyi, sorry. I was giving the girls instructions for dinner” Chief barely heard his wife.

“Why does it take you women days to prepare for a programme that will last only an hour? Your daughters are even worse. I wonder how their husbands are coping”

“Nnanyi biko I’m sorry. You know how these things are” She stroked his beards just the way he liked it.

One thing that made him love his wife was the fact that she could turn an ugly situation into a good one with flattery. Had it been another time, he would have laughed with her and even give her a little tongue action. However, his mind was elsewhere and there was a situation that needed attending to. As the driver pulled out of the luxurious estate he lived, he stared straight ahead and a thought came to him.

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“Soooo”? Emem asked in an exciting voice. “Tell me, tell me and don’t leave anything out. How does it feel being Kenechukwu’s girl?”

Iyeke had no words for Emem. After Nkem broke off their relationship, she needed some comforting. She taught about calling Emem but what would she have told her was making her depressed? So she called the only other available person, Kene. He was like a hungry dog, waiting patiently for the owner to put the food in its plate. Within 30 minutes, Kene knocked on her door and they spent the whole night talking about everything and anything. By the morning, she had a boyfriend.

“I’m still not sure” She replied.

“What?!” Emem said with a raised voice. “Are you kidding me? Babe sit down and tell me what really the problem is. You say I am your best and I think it is high time you started treating me as such”

Could she really trust Emem? Iyeke thought. It was bad enough that they had both seen Nkem naked. Besides, Emem was very “anti-dating married men” and she didn’t know how she would react to her confession.

“Iyeke, please trust me”. Emem looked into her best friend’s eyes, hoping that maybe, just maybe, today will be the day.

“I can’t, you will be disappointed in me and probably hate me and I do cherish our friendship. Please don’t make me do this”. Iyeke started crying.

Emem walked towards the table and picked up the box of tissues and brought it to Iyeke. Maybe, she should let her know what she knew and put her out of this misery.

“Iyekoetin”. She usually called her by her full name, whenever she wanted to be serious. “If this is about Kene’s Father, I know”

Iyeke looked up at Emem. How did she know? She had been really careful with chief. She made sure that no one saw her with him and that was why she never travelled in the same cabin and she usually gets an adjoining room in hotels, so she could slip into his room.

“How?” Iyeke searched Emem’s face.

“That is not is not important my dear” She moved closer to hug a crying Iyeke. “All I want is for you to be rid of this burden. It is important to note that I love you and only want the best for you.

“I really wanted to let you know but I didn’t know how you will react?” Iyeke asked still sobbing.

“As you can see now, I understand and would not hold it against you” Emem replied.

“I really needed to take care of my Nana. She was very ill and I had nowhere to get money from…”

“Shhhh… you don’t have to explain anything to me. Like I said, I understand perfectly”.

The two friends hugged for a while and even Emem started sobbing as well. Iyeke felt this huge weight lift of her shoulders. She was relieved that she could finally confide in her best friend.

“I don’t know what to do, I really like Kene but I can’t because of this mess I have found myself in”.

“Oh nonsense, you are going to date Kene, marry him and have wonderful children”

“No Emem. I have a date with Kene tonight and I will use the opportunity to break things off”. Iyeke said, rising from the couch where she was sitting.

Iyeke didn’t expect the response she got from Emem. It was like a movie playing in slow-motion. Emem stood up and slapped her hard across the face.

“Oh yes you are, Slut”!

Iyeke was stunned. She held her face and looked at Emem.

“Oh yes, I called you slut. I know you are sleeping with my husband but that is not the point!”

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A woman in her late 40s was seen boarding a bus from Agu Land. She had left this too long and she needed to put things right and avert any impending doom. She found a seat at the back of the bus, close to the window and dozed off.