Unfulfilled promise episode 49 – 50

Unfulfilled Promises
Season 1
Episode 49

Dave became a regular visitor in her Aunt’s place which made her Aunt very happy He had been given one month break by the oil company before coming to work for them,When Oleng finished defending and submitting her project work, she decided to pay a short visit to Port Harcourt to seek her old friends out Dave decided to go down there also; so they traveled together Aunt Vien was sorry to see her leave but she promised to come back soon Aunt Vien had become a mother to her and vice versa.
When they got to their estate, she and Dave parted ways Oleng marveled at the changes in the estate, after all it had been six wh0le years since she last saw the place She almost didn’t remember her house The taxi had passed the house before she told the driver to stop She couldn’t help the smile that came to her face when she alighted It felt good to be home She tried real hærd to forget the circ-mstances in which she had left the place, It was a new beginning for her so she really didn’t want to start thinking of the past.
She was surprised to see a new gate man when the gate was opened after she had knocked She introduced herself and rolled her box into the compound, The gate man didn’t even offer to help her with it She wondered what happened to Mr. Andrew. He would have rushed to help her had he been the one She shrugged and rolled her box towards the house and noticed that her mum’s car, a peuguot 406 was in the garage and two other cars, a lexus jeep and a Honda civic She hoped her mum didn’t have visitors ’cause she wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries.
On impulse, Oleng opened the door She didn’t even think of knocking first What she saw when she went in,side rocked her to her bones The living room door was ajar so from the lobby, she could see in,side There, she saw her mum and a man smooching on the sofa Oleng slowly walked into the living room as if in a trance She wanted to make sure it was her mum she was seeing.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” She finally said when she found her voice.

Her mum and the man sprang apart Guilt was written all over their faces They both spontaneously stood up and righted their clothes while she just crossed her arms at her chest, watching them in disgust.
“Oleng! I wasn’t expecting you.” Her mum finally said smiling sheepishly.
“Obviously.” she replied coldly.
“Vivien told me you would be coming either today or tomorrow. I assumed tomorrow.”
“Well, you assumed wrong.” she said in concealed anger and fixed her stare on the man.
“Yes.” Her mum quietly said and when she saw her looking at the man who was standing beside her, she turned towards him. “This is a friend of mine, Mr. Akinyele. Wale, meet my daughter.”
The man sprang forward. “How are you? I’ve heard so much about you. What’s your name?”
Oleng sized him up, hissed and left the room She went to get her box and rolled it to her room She was glad the door was opened She went into the room and noticed everything was just as she had left it It would require a lot of cleaning though O well, she didn’t have anything doing at present so she was equal to the task She walked around the room like a stranger.
“What was the meaning of that?” Her mum angrily asked her as she came into the room.
“Where are my phone and laptop? I need them.” she informed her, not even sparing her a glance.
“I’ll not take any form of insolence while you are here!” Mrs. Akpan fumed.
“Then I better leave. Don’t you think so?” she threw at her.
Air seemed to leave her mother at that instant like a deflated balloon. She was silent for a while.
“How was your trip?” she enquired.
“Fine, thank you.” she answered albeit coldly.
“Congratulations. I wasn’t in the country that very day else I would have sent you congratulatory messages.”
“Thank you. Where’re my phone and laptop?” she inquired again.
“Have you forgotten you spoilt your laptop when you smashed it against the wall? I threw it away. What about the one I sent to you? You have a phone now so what do you want with the old one? Moreover, your sim would be blocked by now.”
“I need the phone numbers in,side it.”
“To call Eric? Don’t tell me you still haven’t forgotten him?” her mum sneered.
Oleng counted to ten because she felt like slapping her mother for the question she just asked.

“I need to get in touch with my friends who I left behind.”

“It’s been what…six years and you still want to contact them? I would have thought you would have moved on by now Why don’t you forget about them and start a new life? Who knows, they’ve probably forgotten about you.”
She looked at her mum in bewilderment.

“Forget about the people who stood by me through thick and thin? The people who knew about my condition six years ago yet accepted me as their friend? True friends who have never stopped asking of me?…when I need your advice about friends, I’ll inform you but for now, please just get me my phone. Please.” she told her mum with barely controlled anger.
Mrs. Akpan wanted to say something but thought against it and quietly walked out of the room. She returned with the phone.
“Here you are.”
“Thanks.” she replied and continued sorting through the contents of her box so her mum had to drop the phone on the bed.
“I didn’t know you were going to come today I intended hiring someone to clean up your room tomorrow because I’ve been so busy Just tidy up a few things. I’ll call the person tomorrow.”
“No need for that. I’ll clean it myself. I don’t have anything doing so I might as well do it myself.” She continued checking out the contents of her box.
“I’ll be in the living room if you need me for anything.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
Mrs. Akpan looked amazed then She walked to the door and came back.
“Oleng?”
“Yes?” She still didn’t look up.
“Believe it or not, I’m happy you’ve come home. I’m happy to see you.” With that, she walked away.
Oleng sat on the floor and burst into tears She cried profusely yet she didn’t know why She wished things had been different between her and her mum She wept for the lack of a mother’s love She wept for the two Erics she had lost She couldn’t bring herself to stop weeping.

Unfulfilled Promises
Season 1
Episode 50

When she was spent, she laid on the bed and slept off It was her mum who woke her up to tell her dinner was ready She thanked her but told her she wasn’t hungry She got up and tried the numbers of Zinny and Marvy she found in her former phone after changing the battery but they were no longer in use She decided to go over to their houses the following day.
She wondered if her mum’s lover boy was still around She didn’t give a hoot It just shocked her No wonder she hadn’t seen her mum in more than a year She hadn’t spent the previous Christmas holiday with them She hadn’t known she was frollicking with her lover boy or man rather.She had wondered all these years if her mum had a male friend and now that she knew, the shock of it was overwhelming.She wondered if they would get married She doubted it, They were probably just having an affai She chuckled So her mum was getting down with a man Her always cold looking mum finally attracted a man Very funny What about her motto that all men were bastards? Maybe loneliness finally caught up with her.
Oleng continued her musings while she cleaned up her room When she got hungry, she brought out the snacks Dave had bought for her on their sojourn to Port Harcourt, She ate them with relish thinking how eating them was better than eating her mum’s food.
She got up early the following morning and continued her cleaning When she was through, she had her bath and decided it was time to go and look for her long lost friends,As she was about leaving the house, she saw her mum entering the compound in her new car or was it that of her man friend, she wondered.
“Where are you off to?” Mrs. Akpan asked as she got down from the jeep.
“To look for my friends.” she said nonchalantly.
“So you’re bent on looking for them.” she replied.
“Yes.” Oleng shortly replied and began walking away.
“Have you eaten?”
“No.” She didn’t bother turning around.
“Are you watching your weight or something?” her mum quizzed.
She turned around then. “No. I usually don’t have an appetite in the morning.”
“Are you all right? Hope you’re not sick.” her mum asked with concern.
Oleng looked at her strangely. What was the caring mother act for? “If you had really known me then, you’d know now that I’ve never been much of an eater Even while I was pregnant.” she threw at the woman who claimed to be her mother.
She quietly walked away leaving her mother to stare after her She didn’t care a d–n about her feelings. If her mum had been half this caring six years ago, she would have loved her more than life itself but right now, she felt nothing for the woman called Mrs. Linda Akpan. Only avoid
She prayed she would be able to remember Zinny’s house She went the wrong way at first before finally finding the house,When she saw the gateman, she knew she had gotten the exact place The man didn’t even recognize her,She didn’t blame him though after all, it’s been six years and she hadn’t visited here much before she left. She was glad when he told her that Zinny was at home because she didn’t know much about private universities academic calendar.
She walked up to the house and discovered there were changes here also Everyone seemed to have moved on She knocked on the oak door and waited She knocked again before she heard Zinny’s voice saying she was coming Excitement filled her.
“Yes?” Zinny said as she opened the door. Oleng just stood there smiling.
Zinny scre-med when she recognized the person standing there. “It’s a lie! It’s a lie!” she yelled.
Oleng stepped forward and hugged her. They hugged each other fiercely. “It’s a lie. It’s a lie.” Zinny continued ranting.
“It’s true. I’m here with you.” Oleng informed her friend still smiling.
“I can’t believe this!” she scre-med and hugged her again. “Oleng! Is this really you?” she cried.
“Yes!”
“Where have you been?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Where’re my manners? Please come in.” she held her friend’s hand and led her in.
“Where’s everyone?”

“They’ve all gone out. I’m alone at home. I was preparing breakfast. Would you like some?”
“Should I call my doctor first?” Oleng asked chuckling She remembered that Zinny had been a bad cook.
“You’re not serious. I’ll have you know that I’m now the one in charge of the kitchen. My dad even told my mum to relinquish her kitchen duties to me.” she bragged.
“Really?Like washing of plates and pots kind of duties?” Oleng teased.
Zinny eyed her and they both laughed.
Oleng followed her to the kitchen.
“I intend preparing fried eggs and toast. Just sit and tell me every thing that happened…no wait. Let me call Marvy to come over first.” She rushed to pick up her phone.
“Is she around?” Oleng enquired sitting down and facing her friend.
“Yes. We’ll both be resuming by October…hello Come over to my house immediately…don’t question me. Just come…propose indeed! I want you to come and see the person who decided to grace my house this morning…not him now! Oooh…come jor! Wetin dey worry you sef? Please come and make it snappy. Okay…bye. I never knew Marvy was so inquisitive.” she grinned as she flipped her phone shut.
She went to hug her friend again “I really can’t believe you are here,There was a time I thought you were dead I thought your mother took you for an abortion and you died in the process,I wept myself silly The gateman wasn’t cooperative either. He kept telling us that you no longer lived there We even tried to bribe him to tell us if you were dead but he chased us out We had to give up and told your soul to rest in peace Any time I dreamt of you, I would cry woefully I can’t believe you’re here, alive, hale and hearty.” she narrated slowly

To be continued