Unfulfilled promise 2 episode 19 – 21

UNFULFILED PROMISE
SEASON 2

Episode 19&20
“Yes, sweetheart, come to aunty Yes,
come,” Aunt Vien called to eight months
old Erica as she took faltering steps
towards her.
Oleng came to the living room then and
Erica quickly sat down and started crying
“Oooh, look what you’ve done, Oleng
She’d started taking her first steps,” her
aunt admonished jocularly.
“Is that true, sweetheart?” Oleng
questioned her crying daughter and k-ssed her. She made gurgling noises with her mouth and the baby stopped crying and laughed. She continued making funny
noises and Erica giggled some more.
“Aunty Vien, I…” She cut short what she
was about to say when she glanced at her aunt and saw tears rolling down her eyes.
She was alarmed. “Aunty Vien! What’s the
problem?”
Her aunt shook her head vigorously and
took time to compose herself before
saying, “It shouldn’t be like this You’re
supposed to be with your husband and I
don’t mean Dave, I mean Eric You’re
supposed to be with Eric, the other Eric
and Erica You’re not supposed to be a
single mother Why is life so unfair to
you?”

Oleng put Erica in her baby pen in order to
handle her aunt’s paroxysm of weeping
She put her arm around her.
“It’s okay, Aunty Vien. I’ve accepted life
the way it is I don’t know what more to
do I’m glad I have Erica to take my pains
away.” She smiled at the baby playing
with her toys.
“When are you going to tell Eric about
her?”
Oleng dropped her hand, stood up and
walked away folding her hands around
herself, looking lost.
“I don’t know I haven’t seen or heard
from Eric since he came here and that
was three months ago Zinny told me he
had to go back to America due to an
emergency but he’d be back soon I’ll wait
till he comes back I’ve decided to tell
him I can’t deny him his child, knowing
he has no child. I’ve also decided to tell
him I’m no longer with Dave I believe he’s
staying away from me because he thinks
Dave and I are still together.”
“What about Dave?”
She shrugged “I don’t know Ever since
he threw me out of his house two months
ago, I haven’t heard from him or his
lawyer The lawyer I hired tried contacting
him but was unable to If he still can’t
reach him by month end, I’ll go and look
for him in PH.” She shrugged again. “I
don’t have a choice. It will have to be a
bitter and bloody divorce God knows I
tried saving my marriage but for his lies
and devious scheming.”

“Oh, Oleng!” Her aunt went to hug her.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t want you to be
alone.”
“But I’m not alone, I’ve got you.” Oleng
held herself from crying. She had
promised herself she wouldn’t cry again.
Her aunt looked at her uneasily.
“What is it?” Fear gripped her niece.
“I’ve decided to go back to my husband,”
she announced faintly
Oleng held her aunt tightly and the both
wept with joy “I’m happy for you Really I
am, it’s just that it came as a shock.”
Aunt Vien sniffed. “I’m sorry.”
“For what? For doing what I’ve been
begging you to do for months? Aunty, I’m
really happy for you Your place is with
your husband Thank God.” She smiled
through her tears.
“But I don’t want to leave you.”
“How old am I, Aunty?” she chuckled. “If it
wasn’t for bad luck, wouldn’t I have been
in my husband’s house by now?

Moreover, I left you when I married Dave
and even moved to another state just
because I wanted to be happy Now, it’s
your turn You let me go because you
wanted me to be happy I want you to be
happy, so you just have to go.” Tears of
joy still rolled down her eyes as she
spoke.
“I’m unsure of everything I don’t know
what kind of reception I’d get from there
but my daughters are all happy that I
want to go back Even his people; my in-
laws have been here begging me to come
back. Everyone wants me back but I
don’t know what to do. I’m scared.”
“Don’t be. This is the man you’ve always
loved. Someone just came to snatch him
away from you, but now that she’s out of
the way, this is your chance at happiness
again. Please don’t blow it. You told me
yourself that even while your co-wife was
alive, he begged you to come back to him.

So don’t allow your dream die now that
it’s about to come true.”
“Oh, Oleng!” She was short of words as
she hugged her niece again. “I’m going to
miss you. I’m going to miss Erica too.”
Oleng missed her aunt terribly when she
went to spend a week with her husband
to see how it would be if she finally
decided to go back there.
It made Oleng remember her pain and
loneliness. The only thing that brought her
joy was her daughter. Erica was so
beautiful. Erica was her life. She reveled in
the day she would tell Eric he had a
daughter. She prayed he wouldn’t be
angry with her. She was tired of people
being angry with her. She prayed he
would take the news in his stride.

She finished washing the dishes one
morning and was trying to rock Erica to
sleep when her phone rang. She grumbled
because it made Erica fully awake again.
She however smiled when she saw the
caller id; it was her mother-in-law.
“Good morning, ma,” she gleefully greeted.
Mrs. Sokari sniffed. “Oleng, is that you?”
“Yes ma. What’s wrong, ma?” she
questioned anxiously.

“Oleng please come. Dave wants to see
you…he…he’s dying,” she wailed.
“What?” Oleng gripped the phone tautly.
“What do you mean?”
“Dave has leukemia. He hid it from us all
until now. He collapsed in my presence
and the doctor told me everything,” she
cried.
Oleng’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe
what she had just heard.

“Oleng…Oleng, are you there?”
There was silence at the other end of the
line.
“Oleng…Oleng.”
“Yes…yes…I’m still here,” she feebly said.
“Please come. He wants to see you. He
has been begging to see you. Please
come. Please…will you come?” she
fearfully asked, knowing the pains her son
had put her through.

“Yes…yes,” Oleng answered like a robot.
“I’ll come…let me call my aunt to tell her,
and then, I’ll pack a few things and
come.”
“Thank you. Thank you very much my
dear…are you going to take a flight or
public transport?”
“If I can’t get a flight, I’ll take a bus. I’ll let
you know.”
“Thank you I’ll be expecting you. I’ll tell
the driver to pick you up at the airport or
the bus terminal…God bless you,” she said
with relief and ended the call.
Oleng sat numbly on the chair. She
couldn’t move. Dave had leukemia! No
wonder he was always sick. No wonder
the many drugs he took and he was
always going on admission.

She shook her head sadly as she realized
that that was another lie from Dave. He
had been dying yet he had told her he
was asthmatic and his illness was due to
stress in the office. Dave was a stranger
to her right now. She had never really
known the man she married. First, sterility;
now this, she rued the day she married
him.

UNFULFILLED PROMISES
SEASON 2
Episode 21

She called Aunt Vien and told her the situation of things Aunt Vien was also shocked She told her she would come over but Oleng told her not to bother because she was about leaving Oleng packed a few things and went to the ABC Park because she knew she wouldn’t get a flight to Port Harcourt at that time of the day.Her mind raced throughout the journey She had to hold her tears back because of the other passengers Dave’s betrayal kept going on and on in her mind Who had she really married? Dave was a total stranger to her She had never kept a secret from him apart from when she slept with Eric She had told him the truth about Eric yet he had been close mouthed about so many things How could a wonderful and loving man suddenly turn a villain? She averted her mind from thinking of the dying part Surely, the doctors could do something to save his life She recalled with trepidation that Dave’s dad had also died of leukemia It seemed Dave had taken everything from his dad
She didn’t know much about leukemia but she was beginning to remember the symptoms which Dave had always shrugged off as nothing Night sweats, joint pain, headaches, nose bleeds, weakness and poor appetite She shook her head sadly She should have known
Oleng couldn’t help lamenting on her way to the hospital when the driver came to pick her up She really should have known it was more than asthma She quickly rushed out when the driver stopped the car in front of the hospital, and inquired from the receptionist about his room, and brushed past people, even as they were admiring Erica
She gave her baby to Michelle who was weeping outside with her younger brother and rushed into the room She hugged her mother-in-law and was stunned to see Eric of all people there. He was seated on a chair beside the bed, holding Dave’s hand The gorgeous sight of him took her breath away for some minutes.
“Thank God you’re here.” Her mother-in-law wiped her tears away Eric gaped at her as if he was trying to see into her soul.
“My God!” Oleng exclaimed and placed her hand on her mouth when she saw the figure on the bed This surely couldn’t be Dave This couldn’t be her husband She walked slowly into the room like someone in a trance.

She stared at the deadly thin person on the bed in shock His eyes were sunken, his cheeks were hollow, in short,he was more or less a breathing skeleton.
“Oleng,” Dave called to her and raised a weak hand for her to hold
“Dave,” she replied and held his hand as she stumbled to sit beside him on the chair his mother had vacated His hand was cold.
“I’ll leave both of you alone,” his mother sniffed and left.
As Eric was about leaving too, Dave stopped him.
“Please stay…this concerns you too,” he weakly said.
Eric sat down and held his friend’s hand again, trying to hold himself from crying

“Dave,” was all Oleng could say
“Oleng,” he called and slowly raised her hands to his l-ips and k-ssed them. “I’m…sorry. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”
“Please don’t talk like that. Please.”
“No please,” he countered. “You…have to hear me out. I’ve been…bad. Very bad and I’m sorry…jealousy…envy and obsession caused everything…from the onset, I’d always been jealous of you and Eric…I had a crush on you the very first day Eric introduced you to me but you had eyes only for him…I was glad I hid it well then but…but when we met again, I found it hærd to do so…I didn’t tell you Eric came back to Nigeria to look for you because I wanted you to go on hating him so you could love me…I lied too when I told you he didn’t ask after you even though he personally told me to talk to you on his behalf and wanted to even come to Calabar with me…” he paused and gasped.

It was obvious he was talking through pains going on all over his body Oleng wanted him to stop but he continued
“I told…him a lot of fibs against you just to put him off…I felt I had gone too far with you to lose you just like that…I was obsessed with you…I’m sorry I did that because I failed to…realize that your heart would forever be with him…I’m sorry for the cruel way I treated you when I found out you were pregnant….It made me look like a fool because I felt after all my efforts, Eric was still the winner…I hated both of you for that…I’m also sorry I deceived you about my…fertility.

Remember I told you the day I met you again…was the day I planned on committing suicide I found out I was sterile from the medicals I did for the company when I was informed that…they wanted to retain me…through my uncle’s help…which made me falsify my medical records…It was my ex-girlfriend I contacted STDs from but didn’t realize until it was too late…then to worsen issues I was diagnosed with leukemia also It was a double blow…I wanted to die because there…was nothing to live for…anymore…but then you came into my life.” Tears rolled down his eyes and he k-ssed her hand again before continuing
“You gave me a reason to live I loved you…more then. I didn’t want to tell you about the leukemia and my fertility problem because I thought…you would see me as a failure and leave me I loved you…so much that I felt I would attempt suicide again if you did that. That’s not an excuse to justify what I did…I felt like a loser…a failure…I feel terrible that I did that to you and worsened it by locking you out of the house and throwing you out also…please find it in your heart to…forgive me. I have asked Eric for forgiveness. He…has forgiven me…I want you to forgive me too,” he finally finished
Oleng took his hand and k-ssed it too. “I forgive you. I forgive you for everything. Please forgive me too.”
“I forgive you. I love…you so much.”
Even though she didn’t feel anything for him anymore except pity, she had to concur. “I love you too.”
“I know but…not as much…as you love him.” He smiled feebly.

“Please don’t,” was all she could say
“I have to. I…ruined your relationsh¡p. All I can do now is make amends,” Dave told her still smiling. “Eric…Oleng…”
“No! Not like this!” Oleng protested vehemently and shook her head vigorously but Dave continued unheeded.
“Eric,” Dave said again and turned to look at the bemused Eric who had been trying to decipher Dave’s confession. “I apologize…again for coming between both of you but when I go…”

“Please don’t talk like that.” Both Oleng and Eric said spontaneously They glanced at each other and at Dave again.
“When I go,” he continued as if they hadn’t spoken, “I want…both of you to come back together again. Eric…I know you still love Oleng very much and believe it or not, she still loves you very much too.” He turned to Oleng.
“Part of the…reason why I hated you and treated you…badly was when I was pushed one night to go and…look at you while you slept because of how much I still loved you…you murmured in your dream, ‘Oh, Eric, I…love you. I will forever love you’. That killed me then…but I’m over it now.”
Oleng bent her head in shame but Dave squeezed her hand tightly, making her look at him.

“I want both of you…together again. It’d make me happy…in the world behold. It will give me a happy death. Please. This is my last wish…a dying man’s wish. You both must promise me that you…will come back together again. After the time for mourning is over, you must get married to give your…child a legitimate name. You can’t have Eric visiting his child without intEr×¢ting with you. He…”
“What?” Eric asked in shock. “What are you talking about? What child?” He looked from one to the other.
“You mean you…haven’t told him?” Dave was stunned.
Oleng looked at the floor and slowly shook her head. “I wanted to settle things between us before doing that but you threw me out again.”

Dave closed his eyes and shook his head slowly before opening them again as tears rolled down his eyes. “I’m so sorry. So sorry…envy and obsession ruined my life.” He turned to Eric. “I’m sterile. I…deceived her for so long, she thought she was…barren. When…when she slept with you that day, she got pregnant…I found out and threw her out of the house…when she told me you were responsible. I rejected her and the baby. I told her to choose between the baby and I but she refused…I thought you had won her back but I never…knew she was a still loyal to me even though she slept with you…you have a… daughter.”
Eric dashed accusing eyes at her and she lowered hers She could see he was trying to come to terms with what he had just been told
“Where’s she?” Dave asked.
“She is outside with Michelle,” Oleng said shortly.
“Please go and bring her to…meet her dad,” Dave pleaded gently.

Oleng slowly stood up and went outside to carry the fretting Erica from her mother-in-law She k-ssed her baby and took her in,side
Eric quickly stood up when the love of his life brought his daughter into the room Oleng carefully placed the whimpering baby in his eagerly outstretched hands Instant love came to his eyes as he looked at the feminine replica of himself
“She’s beautiful,” he acknowledged with a mixture of awe.
Oleng nodded and sat back again to hold Dave’s hand.
“She’s beautiful indeed…what’s her name?” Dave asked smiling at the baby.
Oleng lowered her head and murmured something.

“Hmm?” Both men asked.
“Erica I named her after her late brother,” she finally said Eric looked as if he had been struck on the face.
“See? I told you…she still loves you. She named your daughter….after you and your late son,” Dave put in, albeit with pain. “Please can I…hold her?”
“Sure,” Eric quickly said and placed the baby gently in Dave’s hands who had managed to sit up with the drip and monitor cables surrounding him.
“She is beautiful indeed,” he said again. “Just like her…mother and father,” he declared, looking lovingly at the baby. “I’ve particularly…been indifferent…about having kids because of my predicament…but seeing this one makes me wish…things had been different.”
Oleng sighed deeply at that.

“Erica, please forgive me for…the abominable names I called you even when you were in the womb…you’re going to be a wonderful child because you’re going to bring…your parents together The three of…you are going to be surrounded with…so much love,” he prophesied and k-ssed the baby on her forehead before handing her back to the eager Eric.

Eric couldn’t believe he had a daughter, a very beautiful one at that. He hugged and k-ssed her. He recalled then that Oleng had hesitated to go to her baby the day he had visited her because she had been scared he would find out. He wanted to feel angry at her for keeping his child from him, but he only felt gratitude that he wouldn’t die childless because he had felt if he couldn’t have Oleng, he couldn’t have anyone else which had been outrageous then but plausible now.
“Thank you’ Eric said to Oleng and looked at Dave also. “Thank you too. Thank you very much,” he said with heartfelt emotion and cuddled his daughter closer.

“Forgive me,” Dave repeated as he turned to look at his wife again.
Oleng nodded and got up to k-ss him. Eric looked away quickly as pain seized him at the intimate gesture.
Oleng called her aunt and told her the situation of things. Her aunt insisted on leaving her husband and coming over to give her support despite how she tried to persuade her to remain in Uyo. Dave’s relatives came to visit him and they all left in tears. Zinny and Eddy came also and stayed for a long time. Marvy and Kelly called from America. They were all there for Dave and prayed fervently for him despite their years of antagonism.

Zinny and Eddy were surprised to see Erica in Eric’s hands but didn’t say a word. They carried her and made gurgling noises at her. They later left but Oleng and Eric stayed till in the evening. Aunt Vien came when it was late evening and she wept also when she saw her in-law. Dave also asked her to forgive him and she nodded slowly, still in tears.
After she finished br-astfeeding Erica in another room, which she didn’t really have to considering the fact that both men had seen her uncladness before, she handed her to Aunt Vien who went home with Eric. Oleng stayed all night with her husband and prayed ceaselessly for him. She refused to believe what the doctors had said about him not having a chance of surviving because the leukemia was all over his system; eaten deep.
Dave had Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. It had moved from the chronic stage to the accelerated stage and it was finally in the blast stage because he had stopped taking his drugs a long time ago and bone marrow transplant was out of the question It had already affected his internal org-ns; his spleen and liver.

To be continued