Too precious episode 8

TITLE: TOO PRECIOUS

WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI

CHAPTER 8

The next time PB went to visit PY, Allen was home. He was excited to see her as usual. He hadn’t called her after she left the last time she was around. She sat down with him and they got talking. They discussed the Nigerian leadersh¡p and the issues they were failing to address. Elvis joined in the conversation. It was very interesting and before long became heated as they were on opposing sides.

Adaobi walked in and was not noticed as she expected. She watched them discuss and saw when Allen pulled PB close to him and used his hand to cover her mouth with his hand around her wa-ist. It surprised PB slightly but since Allen didn’t touch her inappropriately, she was fine. Then he released her and went for his brother who stood up and ran.

“O, you are here. How are you? You didn’t tell me you were coming”

“I want to see you in the room now,” she said and walked away ignoring PB and Elvis’ greetings.

Elvis was irritated. He asked, “What’s wrong with her?”

PB shrugged her shoulders and went in search of PY. She was in her room getting dressed and it seemed to be taking ages.

“Where are we going?” PB asked her friend.

“I want to use you as a front to see Simon; he is going back tomorrow”

“What will I be doing when both of you are making out?”

“He could invite some friends over or you could watch a movie”

“Movie it is. I have to get back home before 7 pm. We must leave his house by 3 pm”

“Ah, isn’t that too early?”

“I will leave you there then. I must get back home in good time. I don’t want my mother to ground me. By the way, she has asked me to bring my boyfriend home. I told her I was a l-sbian and she cast and bound” they both laughed.

“But seriously PB, why no serious boyfriend?”

“I like older guys; at least five years older. Most of them want to just have s€× with me because of my physique. I want a guy who will love me for me and not my body”

“With all this load you are carrying, how would they ignore? You have to meet such people in the right places. What’s your plan?”

“My grandpa said he will introduce me to eligible bachelors. He asked me what I wanted in a man and I told him. He will arrange dinner dates. It will be interesting.”

“Your grandfather is the bomb. He will give you what you want to the later. I wish I was in your shoes. Your grandfather would understand my feelings for Simon”

“He would. Since he is not compelling me, I have agreed to go on those dates. He doesn’t impose and allows me to explain my stand. He wants me to be happy and he told me I need a companion to be happy not just friends”

“He is right.”

‘I told him what I told my mother and we had a good laugh. He then said if I was attracted to women, immediately after my education, he will relocate me to a country where I could find love and not be judged. I was surprised. My grandfather is liberal. I told him I was attracted to men”

“Did you tell him when you lost your V-rginity?”

“No, why?”

“Just asking. You tell him everything”

They met Simon in his house. He had a flat to himself. They sat down and he entertained them. Then he put a movie on for PB to watch while he and PY entered the bedroom. They were away for about an hour and then he came out to receive a food order he had made. PY came out of the room, they had lunch together, sat down and talked for a while. PB could see that Simon was truly in love with PY.

Simon put another movie on and he entered his bedroom with PY. They stayed there for hours until about 2:30 pm. PB called PY on the phone and told her she was leaving in thirty minutes. PY came out and appealed to her to wait a while longer. PB told her she had to get home early. PY didn’t come out until 3:30 pm which offended PB.

“My mother doesn’t want me driving in traffic and also at night. I am going to the mainland and I will be alone. You have to understand this. If I leave by 4 pm, I will enter rush hour traffic”

“I’m sorry dear. I’m ready now. Simon has agreed to drive with you to the mainland to keep you company and come back with a taxi”

“I can go by myself. Let me take you home first”

As they drove into PY’s compound, they saw PY’s father at the door. He was not expected. What was he doing home? PY wanted to panic but PB told her to be calm and stick to what they had agreed. She went running errands for her mother while PY kept her company.

“Where have you been?” Engineer Collins asked his daughter.

“I was out with my friend. We ran errands for her mother”

‘Which friend? Isn’t she the same girl I warned you not to see again?”

“No dad, you said I shouldn’t stay in her place again”

“This girl is on a mission to destroy my home. First, she introduced you to boys and now she wants to snatch your brother Allen away from his fiancé.”

“Who? Precious? How did she do that?” PY asked baffled.

“I don’t want her in this house ever again. I don’t want you to be friends with her or intEr×¢ting with her. She is as wayward as her parents. You don’t know anything about her family. I dug deep and I found out her mother is a pr-stitute and gold-digger and her father a drug addict who lives in drug dens. I’m sure she never told you. She wants to get into a good family by every means possible but she won’t succeed”

“Dad, why say such horrible things about Precious just because you are angry. I have known Precious since I was ten. Her mother is a good woman who struggled to give her a certain lifestyle. Her father was never in the picture. I knew that. Precious is a good person, highly intelligent and straightforward. She has never had her eyes on Allen, so how did this come about”

Their argument had attracted those in the house to come outside including Hope, PY’s mother. She asked what was happening and PY told her mother what her father accused PB of.

Hope replied, “Allen and PB have known each other for years. I see them discuss like friends and never like lovers or intended lovers. Allen, Elvis and PB were in the sitting room today discussing and having fun. I watched them from where I was. PB has never entered Allen room or have they had private conversations away from earshot. It is unfair to bring her family misfortunes to castigate her all because you believe PB wants your son. What made you believe that?”

Allen was shocked they were talking about him. “I don’t understand. Precious didn’t do anything to me or try to sed-ce me. We don’t even talk. The last time I took her number, it disappeared from my phone. She never called me. If she wanted me, she would have chatted me up. What brought about all this?” He thought for a few seconds and then turned to Adaobi, “You did this. You asked why I touched her this morning while we were playing. You told me she was interested in me and I laughed it off. You called my father and told him?’ he turned to his father and said, “You flew down here just to embarrass Precious. Are you serious? Adaobi, you must be kidding me”

Hope answered, “He didn’t fly down. He has been at Calvary gate hotel since we came back in the New year. He has been in Lagos. A friend of mine saw him there, took a picture and sent it to me. He didn’t have to fly down. PB isn’t interested in Allen as a lover or husband.”

PB didn’t wait to listen to the rest of the argument. She got into her car and drove off. It was when she hit the third mainland bridge that the tears flowed. She refused to pick any calls. She got home and went straight into her room without talking to anybody. There she cried some more. She had never been that humiliated in her entire. This was the height. She had harboured feelings for Allen when they were younger but immediately she was informed he had a fiancé, the feelings died and brotherly love replaced it.

Seun came into PB’s dark and room and switched on the light. She saw her daughter on the bed lying still. She was worried. She called out to her but she didn’t respond. When she came closer, she saw she was awake but didn’t want to talk.

“Your friend has been calling to check on you. She said you refused to pick your calls. Omo mi, what happened?”

There was no response. PB stared into space. She was tired of crying and was just looking. Seun tried talking to her daughter but couldn’t get her to talk. She knew something must have happened that was why PY had been calling and even her mother called. Since Precious was reluctant to speak, she decided to leave her alone and inform her grandfather. He was the only one that would get her out of this mood. He was her closest friend.

Chief asked them to make her favourite food when he left his office for home. He collected PY’s number from Seun and called her. She told him everything that happened in her home and confessed she was worried about PB because she left in anger.

When he got home, he asked them to serve their food in his room. He entered his granddaughter’s room and said, “I am back, my darling. Take your bath, let’s eat and talk about this issue. There are more battles ahead of you and I can promise you, you will conquer them all. The food is in my room, come let’s eat together and discuss it. By this time next week, it will be a thing of the past”

He left her and went to his room. Precious cried a bit more before she stood up, took a bath and went to eat with her grandfather. She was surprised he knew what had happened.

“My child, it is not your fault your father is an addict. I can bet you, your mother is no pr-stitute or gold digger. Let him say whatever he wants to say but you have been properly raised by your mother. She is a good woman. She has never been happy here. She is closely monitored so she doesn’t have any relationsh¡p. Do you know for how many years she has been ill-treated by your grandmother? She was just eighteen when your father forced himself on her and got her pregnant. Did she ever tell you that? Your grandmother called her a liar and said she sed-ced him. When she found out she was pregnant, she sent her away. I was the one who brought her back to this house to have the child as I knew his chances of having more children will be very slim. That was where the war began. She was angry with me for bringing your mother back. When she gave birth, your grandmother refused to see her in the hospital. I brought both of you home from the hospital, there was no denying you. She called you Precious. Your mother wasn’t with any other man or has she asked for her rights as a daughter-in-law. I am happy she has found her foot in her job and is now ass**tive. Collins is talking nonsense”

“He said I tried to sed-ce his son Allen. Grandpa, I never did…”

“I know you very well, you didn’t. PY, her mother and even Allen have all said the same thing. Allen said his fiancé is insecure. They all agree their father stepped out of line by talking to you in that manner. I told Allen to be careful with the lady he wants to marry. For her to cause this kind of altercation with no basis, would mean she would cause problems in his family. He said he understood. When you leave here, talk to them cheerfully. Don’t hold any grudge against them. But Collins, I will deal with him”

“No, grandpa. Leave him alone. The way I saw his wife’s face when she mentioned where he had been lodged all these whiles made me realise soon she will deal with him and hit him where it hurts”

“Smart. I will leave him to his destined fate. Be happy my daughter.”

After their conversation, PB felt a lot better. She went into her room and picked her phone. She called back Dr Hope Okoli. PY’s mother apologized for what happened and asked for her forgiveness. She also told her she was welcome to the house anytime she wanted to visit and so was PY. She appreciated her.

PB called Allen next. He also apologized on behalf of his father and fiancé. He said Adaobi will be punished for what she did and would apologise to PB when she finishes her punishment.

She then called PY. “Thank God. Why didn’t you pick your calls? My mother had your mother’s number and called, that was how we found out you arrived home safely. Don’t ever do that to me again. Why did you leave? You missed the drama. My mother had it hot with my father. She threw him out of the house, he was dazed. She told him to learn how to be respectful and handle issues maturely before he can come back home. “Go back to your girlfriend in the hotel, I permit you. Until you do the needful, you will not be welcome here. I have had enough of your nonsense”. All of us were shocked. I couldn’t believe it was my mother. She faced Adaobi, “You want to marry Allen and then cage him or what? He won’t be able to have friends because he married you? Allen is very strong-willed and requires a confident girl to be by his side. You are not that girl. What you did today shows how weak you are. You won’t be able to take a tenth of what this man has put me through. He carries different women in that same town I reside in; girls as young as his daughter. His breaks he spends in the arm of other women. Allen is his son. Decide now if you can cope with the women or not. If you can’t, it is best to call off the wedding. Go back home and think about it. Only come back here when you have made a decision and it will include an apology to the lady you accused. If anyone was to be blamed, it should have been Allen not her. You can go. Security, this man is leaving now. Collins, ngwa be going, your baby girl is waiting for you. She has been calling.” My father couldn’t utter a word. He left the house with his head bowed down. She asked us to come in and call you. Men, I didn’t know my mother had it in her. I’m so proud of her”

“That’s good to hear. At least something good came out of the confrontation”

‘You can say that again. I don’t believe your mother is a pr-stitute and gold digger. Your grandmother will never allow her to dig anything. But your father, I have never seen him before”

“Your father is right, he is a drug addict”

“I didn’t know. I can understand you’re not telling. Has he gotten help?”

PB shared with her the efforts she made personally and how they ended up. She had made up her mind she isn’t responsible for her father’s actions and accepted her fate. She was happy with the people that are playing his role in her life.

“Allen said he will teach Adaobi a big lesson if she doesn’t come to your house to apologise. He is also no longer speaking with our dad. He wants to go back in a few days from now as against the two more weeks he was supposed to stay. I asked him if he was calling off the wedding, he said it will be postponed until the deed is done. This is his opportunity to get out of this relationsh¡p, so why isn’t he?”

“What reason did he give?”

“He said he has already publicized her as his girlfriend and future partner and cannot now renege on it. It will not be good for the profile he has built. It sounded good. Then I asked him if he had feelings for you and he was shocked. He then said, if he hadn’t started anything with Adaobi and you guys had talked, he would have considered you. He enjoys your intellectual conversations. But now, he only has brotherly love for you. Elvis, on the other hand, is in love with you”

“Tell Elvis I am not a cradle snatcher. He should go for babes his age. Thanks, PY for standing up for me. I apologise for keeping my father’s condition a secret. He is in jail now by the way. Grandfather believes if he is there for a long period, he will sober up by force”

“I pray he gets better. My mum said I can come to see you. Simon is leaving tomorrow so we can both see him off at the airport”

“You will see him off not me. You can come over to my house before you go home.”

“You are a darling. Muah. I’ll see you tomorrow”

Adaobi came with Allen to apologise to PB. She seemed sincerely sorry. Dr Hope too came to apologise and assured PB that her relationsh¡p with them was not hindered. It took a while but eventually, Engineer Collins apologized too. He hadn’t come home in almost three months. He apologized so peace would reign in his home.