Belina - S02 E16 (Story Episode)

4 years ago

Belina - S02 E16 (Story Episode)

Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 16

The silence at home that
evening was awkward. I
could not understand
anything. Try as I may, I
could not get the phone call
out of my mind. I had
cancelled church for that
day when I could not pull
myself together. Richard
also seemed very distant; I
could not understand the
reason for this or if I was
just assuming things.

“Richard? Are you alright?”
I asked after a while.

He nodded, saying he was
ok but I was not convinced
in the least. Richard is a
quiet person but not that
quiet, especially not when I
am around. I swallowed
and made for the bedroom.

I can’t tell him. It would be
unfair and unreasonable. He
does not deserve that. I
would not do anything until
I have strong reasons for
doing it – I am sure I would
find none. I lay on the bed
feeling more miserable than
ever before. Richard’s
silence this evening was not
making things any easier. I
felt burdened and even my
physical weakness seemed
to have doubled. My eyes
suddenly became blurry and
I closed my eyes tight.

I vibrated from shock when
I felt someone touch me. I
hadn’t noticed Richard’s
entrance into the room. He
looked at me with concern
written all over him, placed
his hand on my head and
his frown deepened.

“You
are running a temperature”
he exclaimed.

“It is just stress, I am fine” I
said, trying to dismiss his
worry.

He shook his head.

“You are
not fine. Sit up” he ordered.
I obliged and within the
twinkling of an eye, he
transformed from a caring
husband to a doctor. His
eyes did the job of
inspecting every inch of my
body, feeling my
temperature, checking my
eyes and all other
ceremonies doctors
perform. I was getting tired
of the scrutiny and I voiced
my thoughts but he would
have none of it. He finally
concluded that I was being
stressed up and I made the
face of ‘I told you so’. He
said I was to do a proper
check-up at the hospital,
then asked me to relax
while he went to fix me a
cup of tea.

He got back with a cup of
steaming hot beverage and
a sachet of painkiller tablets
ranting my need for a
house help. The house we
live is a big one and the
maintenance could be
tasking at times but I did
not see the need for a
house help when my hands
were functioning to
capacity. Being at work
everyday of the week asides
weekends and maintaining
the house was his basis for
argument but I was not
overwhelmed because he
always lent a helping hand
whenever he was home. He
pampered me, forcing the
drugs down my throat with
continuous
encouragements.Looking
at him as he did all these, I
found it increasingly
impossible to believe a
word I heard from the
anonymous girl. I found
myself forgetting everything
I heard and relaxing. I slept
soundly that night to my
amazement and I woke up
the next morning earlier
than usual.

I saw Richard sleeping
peacefully too and spared
few seconds to gaze at him.
He looked gorgeous in his
sleep and even when he
was sleeping, I had to agree
that his male arrogance and
confidence was evident. I
went to fix breakfast and
went to the room to
prepare the bathtub for
Richard. I wanted to make
up for the doubt I had in
him by doing something,
anything, even though he
did not know anything
about it. Immediately I
finished what I was doing,
Richard’s phone beeped
signaling the entrance of a
new message. I was
surprised because it was
just 6 am. The message
alert did not seem to
awaken Richard, so I picked
up his phone. It might be
MTN and their silly
messages, I thought; the
name I saw was far from it
though.

The sender of the message
was Oyinade. I could not
believe my eyes. I checked
the time again and it was as
before. Everything I heard
and every doubt I felt came
rushing back in full force. I
dropped the phone
carefully and left the room
in a hurry. My vision became
blurred as tears filled my
eyes, clouding my sight.
Perhaps it is an urgent
message, I told myself. I
tried to assume the
message was a coincidence
but the conviction did not
hold water.

“Honey”
I rotated and looked at
Richard like I would a villain
as he approached. I must
pull myself together, I
thought, righting myself
and putting up a passive
front. He did not seem to
notice any of these though
because he approached
with a concerned face.
“Good morning sir” I said
quietly.

“Morning honey, and what’s
with the ‘sir’” he asked
looking at me critically.
“Why are you up baby? You
should be resting. How are
you feeling?” he said all at
once and I shifted
uncomfortably. He touched
my face tenderly and my
body reacted to his touch
as usual.

“I am feeling better” I lied.
“Since I couldn’t sleep back,
I decided to fix us breakfast
and prepare the bathroom
for you”.

He looked into my eyes,
searching the way he does
when he knew something
was wrong.

“You look
troubled”.
I widened my eyes as if
bewildered.

“Why should I
be?” I looked away. “Come
and have your bath” I said,
pulling him like a small kid
into the room. He followed
without question though I
knew he must be curious.
He started undressing, still
looking at me critically and I
turned towards the
wardrobe, not only because
I felt he might find my
doubt in my eyes but also
because I still found his
nakedness alluring.

“You received a message.
Have you seen it?” I asked
feigning disinterest.

“Oh…” he said grabbing his
phone. Something seemed
to pass through his face
which I couldn’t
understand. Is that surprise
or anxiety? I shifted my
weight from leg to leg,
nervously.

“Who is it?” I asked.
He stared at me, knowing
instantly that my attitude
was linked with the
message. Why am I so
transparent to him, I asked
within myself. He seemed to
find it easier, reading my
thoughts when I had the
professional look on.

“It’s Oyin”. The name
seemed more of an
endearment than a name to
me. Oyin; meaning honey.
This kept repeating itself in
my head repeatedly.
“Oh…” I breathed. “And
what did she want at this
time?” I asked, consoling
myself with the fact that he
hadn’t lied to me.

“Nothing important” he
disappeared into the
bathroom before I could
turn back. I glared at the
door, my anger spiraling
over the edge. I marched
out of the room with my
legs pounding hard on the
tiles. I was sorely tempted
to go back to check the
message myself but I could
not bring myself to doing it.
He never kept anything
from me and never stopped
me from browsing through
his phone but I just could
not check this message. I
don’t even want to know
what is there, I thought,
lying to myself. I killed the
gas, my appetite gone, even
though I didn’t really have
one before.

Richard was already out of
the bathroom when I
returned. I went about
setting out my clothes. I
saw a faint smile playing on
his face but I didn’t even
think of it. He saw what I
was doing and started
lamenting my need to stay
at home due to my health.

He complained that I was
putting up a brave front
just to avoid staying at
home but I told him I had
an important patient to
attend to. It was a lie but I
could not sit back at home
while the person I loved the
most was being taken away
from me. He asked me to
come to the hospital for a
check up and I nodded. I
would definitely go there.

There is someone I need to
have a boss’ wife to staff
discussion with.