Unfulfilled promise 2 episode 22 – 23

Unfulfilled Promises
Season 2
Episode 22
Dave begged Oleng to let him go He was
tired of fighting the illness and wanted to
die peacefully and quietly He didn’t want
to go through the rigors of having to find a donor and all that She begged him
continuously to fight the illness but he
shook his head sadly
“I’m tired. I’m tired of…fighting it I
stopped fighting it when I…realized how
desperately you wanted your own baby
and not an…adopted one I wanted to die
so you would be free to marry someone
else and have children of your own.
Sincerely, I was tired of watching…your
pain over our childlessness That was
why I stopped taking…my drugs I’m
happy now that you…not only have a
baby but Eric as well,” he softly told her
before falling into a deep sleep
Oleng slept by his side on the chair with
her head on the bed and his hand still in
hers until morning She felt a hand gently
car-ss her head She gradually became
awake and turned to see Eric standing
beside her, looking handsome as usual.
He grinned at her.
“Morning,” he greeted. “Why don’t you go
home? I’ll stay with him Go home and
take a rest,” he gently suggested.
She stretched her body and looked at
Dave who was sleeping peacefullyShe
moved her neck left and right and winced
at the crick in it. “I’m fine. I’ll stay here till
he wakes up before leaving. How’s Erica?”
she questioned.
Eric grinned which him more handsome
and she had to look away for him not to
notice how he took her breath away.
“She slept like an angel. She makes funny
noises when she’s sleeping.” He smiled in
reminiscence.
“How did you know? Did you watch her
sleep?” She was amazed.
His grin w¡dened. “Yes, throughout the
night. I hærdly slept. I enjoyed watching
her. My mum and I had to flip a coin to
decide who she would sleep with It was
hilarious but I won She slept beside me
My mum won bathing and feeding her this morning Aunt Vien will bring her over later on,” he relayed.
She was even more amazed at his
revelations. “What…what did your mum
say about her?” She lowered her eyes.
Eric chuckled. “The moment she set eyes
on her, she knew she was mine She fell in
love with her instantly She actually wept
because she had thought I would die
childless I thought so too until I saw Erica
yesterday She has brought so much joy
into my life.”
Oleng knew Dave had done the right thing
by telling Eric about his daughterThere
was unabashed joy on his face.
“What did your mum say about me?” She
couldn’t help asking.
Eric shrugged nonchalantly. “Nothing As
you know, I’m very close to my mum. She
knew about us all along.”
“What about your dad?”
“He’s presently in Lagos for something
official,” he informed her “Why don’t you
go home…I mean to the house. You look
exhausted.”
“I’m perfectly okay here.”
He was silent before saying “If going to
my house makes you uncomfortable, why
don’t you go to your own home…I mean
Dave’s house to freshen up.”
Oleng was silent at that. She hadn’t
thought of that She only wanted to be
with Dave as if being with him would stop
him from dieng
She shook her head. “I’ll go but I want
him to wake up first.” She looked down at
her hands and began, “Eric…”
“Don’t.” Eric lifted up a hand to stop her
“This is neither the time nor place for us
to discuss how you contrived to deny me
of my child.”
“I meant to tell you I just…”
“I said shut up!” he stopped her in anger
She kept quiet at the highly charged
moment.
“How’s he?” he asked after some minutes
as he settled himself on the opposite
chair. She sadly shook her head. “Same. The doctors came earlier on and shook their
heads. They insist nothing can be done to
save him.”
“I spoke to one of them before coming
here. He said the same thing I even
offered to fly him abroad if it would help
but he told me not to bother; not to waste
my time, money and energy because it
was a lost cause.” He shook his head
ruefully.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked
at him She was touched by his gesture to
save his life despite what he had robbed
him of She looked at Dave and her tears
dropped Just then his eyes fluttered
open.
“Angel, tears so early in…the morning?” he
teased and smiled
She wiped her tears away and smiled at
him. “Good morning. How are you today?”
He shrugged and tried to sit up She and
Eric helped him up, careful not to upset
his drip.
“I feel today is the day I’ll meet my
maker.”
“No!” she whispered harshly. “Don’t talk
like that.”
“Oleng, angel…you have to accept…it. I
can’t fight it anymore. I’m tired. Moreover,
it’s a hopeless…case. I’m far gone. I…
know.”
She burst into tears then and hugged him
Dave looked at Eric for help Eric could
only shrug helplessly Dave allowed Oleng
to stop crying before he led her with his
hand to sit back as she sniffed
continuously.
Guilt was killing her She felt she should
have agreed to come back to him the last
time they had met; at least to make his
dying days happy.
“Where’s my…mother? I want to see her…
before I go,” he said calmly as if it was a
normal thing to talk like that It was clear
he had accepted his fate.
“Let me call her.” His wife sniffed and
picked up her phone.
“Where’s Erica?” he asked.
Eric answered. “She’s with her grandma
and grandaunt.”
He smiled. “I bet…they’re both making a…
fuss over her,” he joked and Eric shrugged
and smiled.
From then on, their discussion became a
happy one They discussed the past and
laughed about things from their secondary school days. They recalled their past friends and talked about where they were and what they were all doing now, who married who and who was working here and there. Eric told him about his stay in
America all these years at his request
while Oleng sniffed throughout the jovial
discussion, after she had gone to freshen
up. It was apparent to both of them that Dave got weaker and weaker He was almost speaking in whispers when his mother
finally came He sighed in relief.
“Ah! Mum, I thought…I would go…without
you. Thank God…you’re here.” He smiled
through his grave words.
His mum frowned at the words and held
his outstretched hand He seemed to be
making an effort to breathe.
“Mum…I forgive you…” he said between
gasps. “I forgive you for what you…told
me you…did to dad…please forgive me
for…leaving like this…I didn’t mean to…
please watch over my…my siblings…
especially…Michelle….don’t miss me too
much…I…” He took his time before looking
at Eric after removing his hands from his
sobbing mother’s and taking his.
“Eric…I know you…have forgiven me…
please take care of Oleng…don’t let…her…
mourn me …too much…you know…she
cries a lot…please don’t…allow her do
that…marry her and …be happy with…her…
but please…don’t forget me…promise?”
“I promise,” Eric said in misery
Dave turned to Oleng who couldn’t stop
weeping He raised his hand and held her
face. “Angel…angel…I…I love you so
much…please don’t…don’t forget me…
don’t mourn me… too much…you have a…
a daughter to…take care of…and…Eric
too.”
They were all sobbing loudly now, save
Eric who knew he had to be strong for
both women.
“I feel…I feel so peaceful…for the first time
in my life…a peace I can’t…
understand….please always put…God
first…in everything you do…if I had…I
wouldn’t…be here now…but I thank God
for everything,” he told them, smiling and
catching his breath between words.
Suddenly his breath started coming in
sharply; it was obvious he was making an
effort to breathe They all scre-med his
name His mother ran to call the doctor
but it was too late because Dave
suddenly stopped breathing His eyes
fluttered to a close.
The monitor signified that he was gone.
“Dave! No! God please! No!” Oleng
scre-med and shook him violently
Eric who had been standing numb, looking at his friend’s lifeless body galvanized into action to catch her before she fell to the floor.
“Eric! Dave! Please tell Dave he can’t die
now I have to make reparations Please!”
she scre-med but Eric could only shake
his head as he held his ex-girlfriend firmly
to stop her from injuring herself
The doctor came in just then with Dave’s
weeping mother After checking for vital
signs, he shook his head and instructed
the nurse who had followed shortly to
cover him up Dave’s mum started rolling
on the floor at that.
Oleng scre-med when the nurse covered
him up and it was only Eric’s strong
embrace that stopped her from rolling on
the floor like her mother-in-law.
She felt cold.
Dave was gone!

May your soul rest in peace,
David TimipreSokari*

Unfulfilled Promises
Season 2

Episode 23
##########
It was six months after Dave’s death and
funeral It still seemed like yesterday to
Oleng His death was particularly painful
to her because they hadn’t been in good
terms until the point of his death She also
felt she had failed him as a wife for not
knowing he was dying earlier She
couldn’t shake off her guilt She had been
advised not to stay there; her matrimonial
home so she wouldn’t miss him the more
since they had lived together there but
she had wanted to remain with his
memory forever She owed him that at
least.
She heard Eric come in with Erica and
smiled Erica was now a year and two
months old Eric had celebrated her first
year birthday in grand style He had
spared no expense in making that day
special for his daughter He came every
weekend to take her out and she knew her daughter always looked forward to it
because she loved her dad to pieces.
They were times she would wake up
crying for him and it would take her time
to placate her There were times she had
to call Eric to talk to his daughter to shut
her up which worked all the time
She owed him a lot because he had been
a pillar of strength to her ever since Dave
died He had pushed his own feelings
aside and given her the comfort she
needed He had even single handedly
org-nized Dave’s burial She was grateful
to him.
He walked gracefully into the living room
as usual He was carrying the sleeping
Erica in his arms.
“She fell asleep? After having so much
fun?” she said, laughing happily
He wanted to reply but he stopped
abruptly, taking in the framed wedding
photograph still in her hands He stood
rigid for a moment.
“Don’t tell me you’re still depressed,” he
said more like an accusation and she
looked down at the photograph in her
hands and shook her head.
“No, I’m not,” she replied steadily
“I’ll put her to bed,” he said abruptly and
left the living room to the guest room
He walked back slowly into the room and
sat on a chair facing her He seemed as if
he was trying to coordinate what he was
about to say.
“Oleng,” he called gently. “It’s been six
months.”
“I know but I feel so much guilt,” she
admitted.
He stood up to go over to her but thought
against it and sat back again “I know
how you feel but you’ve got to let it go
You’ll make yourself sick Have you
looked at the mirror lately? You’ve lost
weight You’re still beautiful of course, but
your mourning is telling on you greatly
Remember Dave’s last wishes He didn’t
want you to mourn him like this You’ll
make him unhappy wherever he is.”
She shook her head vigorously “I can’t
help it, I feel so guilty I feel if I had been a
better wife, I would have realized he was
very sick Do you know he wanted me to
come back to him after everything? But I
refused That’s the guilt I feel I should
have at least made his last days happy.”
“Oh, come off it,” he admonished gently.
“You and I know that Dave was a very
reticent person You couldn’t have known
Please stop blaming yourself Moreover,
he absolved you of every blame before he
died And you made his last hours happy.”
She nodded and smiled
“Believe it or not, I miss him. He was my
second closest friend.” Eric smiled in
reminiscence.
Oleng realized what she was doing then
Dave had been a close of his too and she
knew she was killing him inwardly by her
admissions because he too had
ostracized Dave until the point of his
death.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so silly,”
she said, smiling and putting away the
photograph.
“It’s okay. I understand After all, you were
married to him for almost six years,” he
sadly said.
They were both silent then; each lost in
his or her thoughts
Eric stood up abruptly. “I’ve got to get
going.”
Oleng stood up also and glanced at him
uneasily. “I…I prepared lunch I couldn’t
eat alone I find it hærd to eat these days.
Erica is the one bearing the brunt of
everything because I haven’t really
weaned her properly yet.”
His gaze flickered on her br-ast before
saying, “I’ll stay for lunch if it’d help you.”
She beamed“I’ll set the table.”
They talked about this and that on the
dining table during the lunch of boiled
yam and vegetable stew.
“I feel if you’d come out a bit maybe it
would help you forget You don’t go
anywhere beside your office, church and
the market,” he suggested for the
umpteenth time.
“I know I also know I have to get a better
job I can’t depend on Dave’s money
forever Moreover, I have a daughter to
cater for.” She agreed and sipped from
her glass of water.
“You know you don’t have a problem with
Erica I want to open a trust fund for her
Half of my salary will go in there every
month.” He heaped the vegetable stew
garnished with snails, shrimps and
prawns on a piece of yam and put it in his
mouth delicately.
“How much do you earn?” she teased but
raised her eyebrows when he told her.
“Surely that’s too much That will last a
life time for her if you’re to give her half of that every month,” she protested.
He held his fork in the air before
answering. “Oleng, I have no one else to
spend my money on Damian is wealthy
on his own My parents have enough
money to last them a life time Erica, apart from charity and investments, is the only one I can think of spending my money on
right now. She’s the center of my world
right now.”
Oleng stared at her food So, Erica was the center of her world not her? Surely she
couldn’t be jealous of her own daughter?
She didn’t blame him for saying that. Ever
since Dave died, they hadn’t had a
rom-ntic moment together, so Erica
became his all in all.
Just then his cell phone rang He left the
dining table to go and get it from the chair he had left it.
“Hi Damian…I’m at Oleng’s place…the kids
are back? Great…I’ll be there soon…no…I
can’t bring my sunshine She’s sleeping…
no…I meant my little princess not Oleng…I
know I used to call her that….will you give
it rest?…It was a slip….ciao…okay. I’ll do
that. Bye.”
Oleng was amused to see Eric looking
embarrassed when he came back to the
table.
“That was Damian His kids are back in
Nigeria for the hols He wants me to come
along with Erica. I heard my mum saying
at the background to bring her also.” He
chuckled. “My mum behaves as if Erica is
her only grandchild even though she has
three by Damian,” he informed her,
smiling.
“Damian is now based in Nigeria?”
“Yeah, sorta. He comes and goes
because his kids school over there.”
“Really? What about his wife?”
“His wife is here with him.”
“Is it Rachael or someone else he
married?”
He looked at her with surprise. “I’m
surprised you still remember her name.
Yeah, he married Rachael They had ups
and downs but they eventually got
married,” he informed her, smiling, then
added as an afterthought, “We Conrads
seem to love only once in a life time My
mum was my dad’s childhood sweetheart
too,” he commented, smiling but later
frowned when he realized what he just
said.
Oleng glanced away to hide a smile She
knew they were both behaving like kids by
not acknowledging their growing love for
each other.
Eric looked at the love of his life and
smiled inwardly It was fun watching the
cat and mouse game they had both been
playing for the past six months Their
feelings for each other was glaring for all
to see but he knew he had to play his
cards right.
He was surprised to see that Oleng was
still so much into pleasing everyone He
had noticed it when they were kids and
tried his best to correct it but it seemed
she had gotten worse Dave really did a
number on her.
He couldn’t dare express his feelings for
her because she felt people would talk He didn’t want her to know that of course,
people had already started talking He
came there everyday with the excuse of
seeing his daughter and spent hours with
her even after they had both bathed and
put Erica to bed.
His plan was to wait for the stipulated one year of mourning to be over but before then, he’d make her fall more in love with
him than ever. He was prepared to wait;
after all, he had been waiting for her like
forever.
He surveyed her steadily while she fished
for what to say to break the silence.
“Damian has three boys?” she finally
asked.
“No, he has two boys and a girl. Why do
you ask?”
“Well, you said your mum treats Erica as if she’s her only grandchild, so naturally I
assumed that the others she has are
probably boys. Maybe that’s why she
loves Erica so much,” she explained
rationally.
He shook his head smiling. “My mum
loves her grandchildren but she loves
Erica most; partly because I’m her favorite and so naturally, she would love my children more too, and because Erica is like a miracle child to her. She thought I’d never have one.” She nodded quietly and thought of what
to say again but he stood up.
“I really have to get going now Thanks so
much for the meal I thoroughly enjoyed
it.”
She stood up beaming She walked him to
the door.
“I’ll be back next weekend Give my angel
a k-ss for me, will you?”
“I will,” she nodded, smiling.
He held her by the chin and placed a soft
k-ss on her l-ips.
When he left, she sat down feeling lost,
thinking about him She was so much in
love with him but knew the timing wasn’t
right Six months was too soon to her
Some of her fellow teachers in the school
she now taught in, in order to afford her
enough time to take of Erica, were already
whispering about her Someone had said
she had killed Dave just so she could be
with Eric That had hurt her a lot
She shook her head sadly If only
circ-mstances had been different If she
had married Eric, she wouldn’t have been
a widow now She wasn’t even thirty yet
She sighed She heard Erica crying and
rushed to go and carry her daughter.

To be continued