Unfulfilled Promise 2 episode 33

Unfulfilled Promises
Season 2

Episode 33
Eric shook his head.”This isn’t happening.
The son we’ve been looking for can’t hate
us. He can’t!”
Oleng just continued sobbing He held her
and tried to comfort her.
“We’re going to go over to her place right
now to confront her. I’m tired of her
meddling in our lives!” he said angrily and
turned the key in the ignition.
Oleng shook her head and had to swallow
before she could talk. “I don’t think she’s
around.”

“Never mind, let’s just make sure,” he
responded tightly as he drove out of the
hospital compound.
They got to the house and met the
gateman who confirmed Oleng’s
suspicions. Her mother wasn’t back from
her trip abroad. Downcast, Oleng walked
out of the compound with Eric. The
gateman came after them in a nervous
manner.
“Oga, abeg no vex o! Abeg, you don see
one small boy wey resemble you. Na since
yesterday naim I dey look for am E comot
for house since yesterday evening and e
never come back. I don look for am
everywhere but I no see am. My madam
go kill me when she come back,” The
gateman said in distress.
“Don’t worry. He’s with us. I accidentally
hit him with my car yesterday but he’s in
the hospital. He’s okay. As soon as he
gets better, we’ll bring him back,” Eric
assured him but the gateman wasn’t
placated.

“Abeg, I fit follow una. Make I go see am
for myself. Make I just lock gate.”
“Don’t worry. Eric won’t come to any
harm. We’re his parents. Your madam is
aware of that,” Eric informed him.
“Ehn. Your wife don come here before.
Madam say na her pikin. But I for still like
see the boy.”
Oleng spoke up then. “It’s okay. We’ll
bring him back tomorrow. He’ll be
discharged tomorrow.”
“Okay madam,” he said and bade them
goodbye and brought out his phone to
call his madam.
Oleng and Eric sat in the car and just
stared into space.

“What are we going to do, sweetheart? I
feel so much dread in,side of me,” she
softly broke the silence.
He held her hand. “I understand, my love.
I feel it too but we have to be positive.
Let’s capitalize on the situation. Since
your mother isn’t around, let’s use this
opportunity of her absence to make the
truth known to him. Let’s show him the
love we have to give him. That’s my best
bet in turning this ugly situation around.”
“Oh, sweetheart, do you think it will
work?” she anxiously asked.
Eric shrugged. “It’s worth a try.”
Oleng smiled then and hugged him. “Can
you please take me back to the hospital? I sure feel better now and in the right frame
of mind to talk to him.”
Eric smiled too. “Sure sunshine. I’ll stay
away till you bring him home. Do the
convincing for both of us for now since
he’s at least talking to you.”
She brightened up at that. “I’ll do just
that. What about Erica?”
“She’s with my mum. I haven’t told her
what happened yet but she knows
something is wrong.”
“Please let her know so she can offer
advice too.”
“I will,” he said as he started the car and
drove to the hospital. He k-ssed her
goodbye and left with a heavy heart.
Oleng went to the bathroom to freshen up
before she went to her son’s room. She
met him sleeping and the love she felt for
him burst forth again. He looked so
peaceful asleep.
She sat beside him again and watched
him while he slept, lost in thought. When
he finally woke up, she helped him to the
rest room and a drink of water She was
grateful when his lunch tray was brought
because she hadn’t bothered going home
to cook, afraid he would reject her food
She watched him as he ate, wondering
how best to broach the topic. He finished
eating and the tray was taken away.
“Eric, I went to your grandmother’s house
but she isn’t back. I spoke to the
gateman,” she tentatively told him and he
nodded, looking disappointed.

“Eric,” she continued. “I want to tell you
some things that will counter what your
grandmother told you but I want you to
know that I speak nothing but the truth. I
hope you will listen to me and believe
me.”
He shrugged and said, “I’ll try.”
“Fair enough,” she said, smiling and
began her story. “I was fifteen years old
when I got pregnant for your dad. It’s true,
he impregnated me before he went to
school abroad. I thought he didn’t want
you because I received a message from
him saying so I hated him for so many
years because of that, but recently found
out he had nothing to do with it. He didn’t
even know about you He never received
the messages I sent to him telling him
about you. He ,in turn, got a message
from me, breaking up with him which I
never did Someone set us up but we
don’t know who, though my mother, your
grandmother is our prime suspect.” She
paused a little in reminiscence. “I was so
scared and heartbroken when you were in
my womb,” she smiled through the tears
that gathered in her eyes. “You must have
heard me talking to you countess times in
deep sadness. But when I gave birth to
you, I was overjoyed. You were so little
but cute. I even br-astfed you before I
slept but when I woke up, they told me
you had died. I was devastated. It was
difficult for me to believe but I had to It
was difficult for me to go on in life but I
had to. Over the years, the thought of your
death still hurt me until I got a note six
months back saying you were alive. Your
dad and I were joyous. We looked for you
everywhere. Your dad went as far as
hiring a private investigator but you were
nowhere to be found until yesterday.”
She wiped away her tears and smiled
brightly. “Joy cannot begin to describe
what we felt yesterday at finding you So,
imagine our pain at finding out that you
hate us.”

Eric lowered his eyes at that He slowly
shook his head. “Who do I believe now?
Who? My so-called parents who I just met
or my grandma who took me out of that
hell-h0le I was living in and gave me a
life, a future?”
“I was trying to spare your feelings but
your grandmother lied to you,” Oleng
bitterly said.
“What?” He was astonished.

“She never wanted you. She wanted me
to have an abortion but I refused That
was why she took me to go and live with
her sister My mother never cared for me
nor loved me She was the one who gave
you up for adoption, not me I could never
have given you up for adoption even if it
meant not going back to school I didn’t
know about it until I got that note from her
sister. I asked her sister and she
confirmed everything.Your grandmother
made her an accomplice and swore her to secrecy.”
“No, no, no, no, no!” Eric shook his head
vigorously. “I refuse to believe that She
has shown me nothing but love since she
came to that house that fateful day. If as
you say she didn’t want me, she wanted
me aborted and she gave me up for
adoption, then why did she come and
rescue me from that house of
wickedness?”

Oleng was back in tears now. “I don’t
know Probably to spite me because she
knew how much you meant to me. All I
know is that I didn’t give you up for
adoption I love you.”
Eric closed his eyes and tried to stop
himself from crying and to remain immune to his mother’s tears.
They stayed like that for some time before
he finally said, “I can understand why you
gave me up for adoption. Like you said,
you were scared and heartbroken and I
probably reminded you of my father since
I look so much like him You didn’t want
to be with an unwanted baby since you
were so young and had your life ahead of
you.

The same thing happened to my best
friend over there in Chicago. Scott’s
mother gave him up for adoption because
of those same reasons but she came
back. She found him and took him back
from his foster parents after she made a
lot of money. After so much anger from
him, they’re now very close. So I
understand.”
Oleng flared up. “Haven’t you been
listening to me? I didn’t give you up for
adoption I thought you were dead until
six months ago. I’ve got proof to show
you I’m not lying. I really don’t know how
to get through to you…how can I undo the
harm your grandmother has done to you
for the past six years?”
Eric looked at her blankly. “If you’re trying
to turn me against my grandmother, you
won’t succeed I love her with a passion
and nothing and no one can ever come in
between us,” he firmly told her.
Oleng just stared at him in amazement.
Who had her son inherited this
stubbornness and disrespectful streak
from? His grandmother?His friends in
Chicago? She knew that kids over there
could be pretty disrespectful to adults She felt so downcast she sat there sniffing and
wiping away her tears. She ought to be
shedding tears of joy not tears of sorrow
at finding her son. What a life!
They sat in silence before she calmly said,
“So, what you’re saying is that you don’t
want anything to do with your dad and I
because of your grandmother?”

He kept quiet for a long time staring at his hands He so wanted to accept his
mother but his grandmother had warned
him never to listen to his parents
peradventure he met them But he
couldn’t help the feelings he felt towards
this woman He wanted to hug her badly
and call her ‘Mom’ but his grandma had
given him a rule of never trusting anyone,
most of all his parents.

To be continued