Unfulfilled promise 2 episode 24 – 25

Unfulfilled Promises
Season 2
Episode 24

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Oleng came back from church weary It
was exactly a year Dave died She had
booked mass on his behalf When his
name was mentioned in the mass
intentions, she sighed She was glad it
was a Saturday, so she wouldn’t go to
work She had gotten a better job in a
small firm close to her house.
She moved around the house in a daze,
everything reminding her of her late
husband In the afternoon, she went to
see her mother-in-law with Erica and they
both recalled Dave’s life (the good times)
with smiles She stayed there till in the
evening She had barely closed her door
when she heard a knock on the doorShe
opened it and found Eric there He was
looking drop dead gorgeous as usual in
his work clothes.

“Hi,” he simply said
“Hi. Come in.” She opened the door w¡der
for him but waited for him to remove his
sandy work boots before he entered the
living room.
“Dada… Dada…” Erica chirped when she
saw her father.
“Hello sugar. How are you?” He grinned
and carried her from Oleng. He held her at a distance because of his dusty work
clothes He had rushed down there from
his site; he hadn’t bothered to shower and
change his clothes at home.
“Dada.” Erica grinned and showed her two
front teeth.

Eric laughed and gave her a peck.“How
are you?” he asked Oleng.
“Fine,” she simply said and moved further
into the living room.
Eric followed her and sat down facing her.
“Are you alright?”
“Why wouldn’t I be alright?” she asked as
if he had just asked her if she were a
woman.
He looked at the rug “Today, if I recall
correctly is Dave’s one year memorial.”
“Yes, it is,” she concurred.
“I would have left the site earlier had I
been able to I tried calling but your phone
was switched off. Why did you do that?”
“Because I don’t want anyone’s
sympathy”
“What do you mean? I’m anyone?” he
asked in a hurt tone.
She refused to look at him
Eric felt as if he had been given a blow in
the gut He had worried about her all day
especially when he couldn’t get through toher on the phone and couldn’t get away
from the site. He knew she had a problem
with crying and he hadn’t wanted her to
cry her eyes out Now that he was here to
be with her; to comfort her in her grief, she was ignoring him He tried to understand how she felt but fell short He wondered what the hell he was doing there. Because you love her, his mind told him. Because you will forever love her no matter
what.

“I…I’ll take her for a drive,” he finally
offered and stood up abruptly
He was already at the door when he heard
his name. He turned around and saw that
she was on her feet, looking forlorn.
She took tentative steps towards him.
“I’m sorry. Please don’t go Please don’t
leave me Don’t ever leave me again I
didn’t want calls or messages that would
make me cry because I’m tired of crying
at everything I never want to cry again
because I have you You’re everything to
me.”
For an answer, he put his daughter down
on the rug and rushed to her mother
Without a second thought, he took her in
his arms, dusty clothes and all.
“I’m sorry. Help me please Please help
me get over my flaws Please don’t ever
leave me again My life has been
incomplete without you,” she begged
desperately with her head against his
chest.

“It’s okay, sunshine. It’s okay. I’m not
going anywhere. I’ll always be here for
you,” he crooned and k-ssed the top of her head.
Being in his arms felt so good He led her
to the sofa and made her sit Then he
went to get her a glass of water She
drank greedily He cuddled her to himself
and they both watched their daughter as
she played on the rug with her toys.
“Erica, don’t touch the television cables,”
Eric admonished as his daughter went
towards the stabilizer and extension wire
where the television, decoder and home
theater cables were connected to
When she didn’t listen but instead gave
him a toothy grin, he reluctantly got up to
carry her. She squealed in protest Oleng
found herself smiling From squealing,
Erica started crying.
“I’m sorry, angel Don’t cry,” he soothed
her and gave her a peck as he sat down
but she refused to be placated and
stretched her hands to her mother
“Oh, so you want your mother now
because I got you upset.” He chuckled
and gave her to her mother.
“It’s okay, sweetheart Daddy was only
trying to correct you.” She cleaned her
baby’s tears and gave her a peck.
Erica stopped crying and yawned Both
her parents chuckled.
“What’s for dinner?” Eric questioned
smiling.

“I really don’t know. Why do you ask?”
“I want to make dinner for the three of us.”
“You?”
He rolled his eyes. “Duh! Yes me. Is that
so terrible?”
“Not really. But can you cook? I mean
really cook and not just boil water for tea
or fry an egg.”
“Yes, I can.”
She was skeptical “With those numerous
cousins and maids in your house?”
He chuckled“I learnt how to cook in the
states Damian taught me and I took
lessons from a chef.”
“Really?” she said in disbelief.
“A trial will convince you Now quit
stalling and tell me what you want.”
“Simple rice and stew will do.”
“And for dess**t?”
She rolled her eyes. “We’re in Nigeria.”
“Fruits then I’ll just get down to the car to
get the soup and stew stuff and fruits I
sent one of our maids to get for me. She
brought them to the site.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Damn serious.’
“Damn…damn,” Erica repeated after him.l
Eric gro-ned and Oleng laughed.
“That was what she could pick from the
wh0le conversation?”
“Next time, mind your language now that
you know you have a very intelligent
daughter.”

“Probably got it from her mum,” he
grumbled as he made his way to the door
“Definitely from her father,” she teased
also.
“You know the saying; a good child
belongs to the father and a bad child to
the mother.”
“Definitely not in this case,” she threw at
him lightheartedly.

They continued their light banter until
dinner was ready They had already fed
Erica because she couldn’t wait for dinner but Eric still carried her on his laps at the
dining table and fed her bits of rice.
“This is delicious. You really do know how
to cook,” she said after her first spoonful
of the jollof rice and salad he had made.
“Thanks for the compliment, ma’am”. He
grinned and fed his daughter again.
When they had finished bathing Erica and
putting her to bed, Eric felt it was time for
him to leave Oleng wanted him to stay
longer but she couldn’t trust herself
around him.She had enjoyed his
company immensely He had even made
her forget to think of Dave which she
didn’t want to go back to when he left
She however shrugged and walked him to
the door.

“I’ll be leaving for Bayelsa tomorrow to
work on the bridge we’ve been building
The government has disbursed money for
its completion,” he informed her at the
door.
“How long will you be gone?”
“Roughly two weeks.”
“I’ll miss you,” she told him, looking at the
rug.
“I’ll miss you too,” he said and gave her a
bright smile. “Now promise me; no more
sadness, okay?”
She nodded with a bright smile “I
promise No more sadness.”
He smiled and opened the door He turned around all of a sudden and gave her a k-ss; a very passionate k-ss.
“Good night.”
“Good night,” she replied and closed the
door.

She touched a hand to her l-ips and smiled
as she lean against the door. She knew it
was going to be alright between them
now It was time to put her mourning
clothes away and face her life with Eric
and Erica.

Unfulfilled promises
SEASON 2
Episode 25

Oleng smiled as she moved slowly in
Eric’s arms to the rhythm of the music
They were dancing to, ‘Hero’ by Erique
Iglesias Erica was asleep so they had the
living room to themselves She smiled in
reminiscence over the past month Eric
had started to woo her meticulously He
sent her gifts of flowers, chocolate,
jewelries, poems, rom-ntic texts; to name
a few. He took her out to dinner every
weekend Sometimes they would drop
Erica off at his parents’ and go out to fun
places alone They were drawing closer by
the day. The part Oleng loved most in
everything was whenever he k-ssed her
goodbye It was always a passionate
k-ss. She always had to end it because
she really didn’t want them to make love
there; her late husband’s house
Considering the fact that she had been
celibate for almost two years, she so
desperately wanted to be made love to
but she knew she had to wait for the right time.

Eric still had that rom-ntic streak in him
She felt like a teenager again despite the
fact that she was approaching thirty She
was more than head over heels in love
with him What she felt as a teenager for
him couldn’t be compared with what she
felt now It was as if the fourteen or so
years that they had been estranged never
happened She felt as if Eric just came
back to Nigeria and they had been
communicating all these years They had
talked a lot about their lives apart She’d
been sorry to hear that he’d come to
Nigeria to look for her every year and had
even been an alcoholic because of her.
She felt very sad and foolish for her hatred
and bitterness all these years. There were
times when she felt she didn’t deserve his
love but he always refuted that.
She tightened her hold on him and smiled.
This was the life she was meant to live;
Dave had only come to interfere.
Sometimes she felt guilty at being so
happy that she forgot about him She
lifted her head from Eric’s chest when the
music changed to, ‘How do I live without
you?’ She didn’t need to say anything He
obviously saw the love in her eyes which
was also reflected in his.

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“Sweetheart, standstill while I put on your
dress; you want to look good for daddy,
don’t you?” Oleng told her squirming
daughter
“Daddy,” her daughter said and smiled
happily.
“That’s right I know you love your daddy
very much He loves you very much too,”
she told the beautiful little girl, smiling.
And I love him too, she said to herself.
Oleng was putting finishing touches to her
makeup when she heard a knock on the
door. She looked at the time. He was
early. She smiled. He probably was eager
to see her. Well, the feeling was
reciprocated. She was eager to see him
too and be in his arms. She squelched her
errant thought and went to open the door.

She was surprised to see a FedEx post
man instead.
“Good morning,” he greeted.
“Good morning. Can I help you?”
“Are you Mrs. Oleng Sokari?” he
questioned.
“Yes,” she affirmed.
“I have a parcel for you,” he said, bringing
out a flat envelope.
She smiled Eric had probably sent her a
gift again.

“Please sign here,” he said and handed
her a book.
She gladly signed it and took the flat
envelope, wondering what was in,side
“Good day,” The post man said.
“Good day,” she replied and shut the door
She took the flat envelope to the leaving
room and sat down She hoped it wasn’t
a cheque She opened it and saw a piece
of paper It was typed. It read thus;
Oleng,

Your first child, Eric didn’t die at birth.
He’s very much alive Ask your Aunt Vien
for details She knows the truth Don’t
take this information lightly.
Oleng couldn’t believe her eyes. Who was
playing games with her life? Eric wasn’t
dead? She scanned the letter again Ask
Aunt Vien? What did that mean? She
began recalling how she had woken up
after Eric’s birth and had found her aunt
weeping only to be told by her that Eric
was dead. The doctor and nurses had
confirmed it yet this note said otherwise.
She couldn’t handle this She shook her
head vigorously Someone was playing a
dirty game with her. No!
But then she recalled how she had refused to believe that her child was dead. She
remembered how that period she had kept on believing that Eric was alive but over the years, she had forgotten all about it.

But now, call it mother’s intuition or what;
she felt her baby was still alive
She quickly picked up her phone and
dialed Eric’s number.
“Hello sunshine. I’m almost there Sorry,
I’m running late. There’s a bit of traffic in
Trans Amadi,” he informed her with
enthusiasm without waiting for her to talk.
“Ricky, please come quickly,” she said in a
troubled voice.
“Sunshine, what’s wrong?”
“I’ll tell you when you get here Please
hurry.”
“I will,” he said and she heard him blasting
his horn and yelling at a fellow driver.
Eric got to her place in less than ten
minutes. He knocked on the door and
opened it without waiting to be beckoned
in. The door was no longer closed to him.

“Sunshine,” he called impatiently and
found her in the living room.
Immediately she saw him, she got up from
her seat and rushed into his arms,
shaking profusely. He soothed her and led
her to the chair she had vacated.
“Did you send me a parcel this morning?”
she queried after she had calmed down.
“No, I saved it for tomorrow.” He smiled.
“Someone sent me a parcel. I found this
letter in it.” She handed him the letter.

“What?” He stood up on impulse after
digesting the contents of the letter. “Who
sent it?”
“I don’t know. There was no address.”
“Is it true? Is our son alive?”
“I don’t know.”
“It says here that your aunt should know.”
“Yes, but she told me he died The doctor
and nurses told me so too Why would
they lie?”
He kept quiet for a while before saying,
“Your mother. She was probably behind
it.”
“That would have been very cruel of her.
After all these years,” she lamented.
He sat down again and took her in his
arms.

“We have to approach Aunt Vien but
whatever she says, I’ll believe her She
has been everything to me these past
years, so she can’t lie to me now,” Oleng
firmly declared.
“Okay,” he said and k-ssed her on her
forehead. “Where’s Erica?”
“Sleeping.”
“My God!” he exclaimed suddenly.“It’s
hærd to grasp I can just imagine if he’s
truly alive. He’d be thirteen years old now.
Erica will have an elder brother.”
She smiled at that. “Oh, Eric, I’m so
scared What if we can’t find him?”
“We’ll find him. Your aunt should know
where he is or your mum if it’s true he’s alive.”

“I don’t know where she is.”
“We’ll find her. We’ll find them. Don’t
worry.”
That weekend, Oleng and Eric traveled to
Uyo Oleng initially wanted to go alone but
Eric would hear nothing of it Oleng called
her aunt to inform her they were coming
to visit her Oleng was evasive in her
reason for coming She had only said it
had to do with her dead son and she
missed her She wanted to see her aunt’s
reaction to the news, else she would have
just called her and asked.

To be continued