As the plane touched down, Rael
felt something at the pit of her stomach that she could not explain. She
started to pray not to get a panic attack. Her sister had made her take Xanax
after dropping her at the airport to help her calm down. She had also called
Sandra and asked to keep checking on her and if possible, accompany her to the
morgue. She thought Steve as very unreliable and even gave her money for Uber
from the airport just in case he did not
turn up. Rael was skeptical too. She did not understand why this man was still
after her despite all that had happened. She was curious to hear what he had to
say and hoped he would not try any nonsense because she was honestly not in the
mood. She called Steve and managed to locate where he was parked and as soon as
she got into the car, he hugged her and passionately kissed her.
“Well, I was not expecting that.”
“I have missed you too should be
the appropriate response but I take that as you did not mind it”
“Hahahaha! This is an extreme
change. The last time we saw each other, you wanted to skin me alive.”
“I thought we agreed that we are
not going to talk about that babe. That is water under the bridge. I like you
and I am back to ensure that you are rightfully mine.”
“We will see about that. Thank
you for coming to pick me up by the way. It means a lot.”
“Any time. I am really sorry
about your colleague. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not now because I am confused as
hell. Can we talk about something else? Something that will distract me for a
while?”
“I am getting a divorce”
“I asked for a distraction. Not a
heart attack. I even don’t know what to say Steve. What happened?”
“She has always been very
insecure and jealous but it got worse in the last couple of months. She took
advantage of the fact that she works for the DCI and she had me tracked and
followed everywhere. I have been thrown out of my own house randomly in the middle
of the night then she started getting very abusive verbally and physically. She
would call and abuse any female contact on my phone, you included, and I lost a
lot of business. I tried to make her feel secure by allowing her to control my
bank accounts and gave her all my passwords but nothing changed. I got tired. I
am tired Rael.”
Steve parked his car by the
roadside and started to cry uncontrollably. Rael did not know what to do so she
just hugged him and let him cry. She in no way saw this coming but it now made
sense as to why he had suddenly changed his attitude towards her. She knew he
was hurting and was looking for anyone who would listen to him so she did not
want to judge him as selfish.
“I am so sorry Steve. Is your
wife aware of your intention to divorce her?”
“Yes she is aware. I walked out
of that house with just my clothes and looked for a one bedroom house to stay
in as I figure things out. She has been threatening me since then claiming to
ensure that she gets every single cent of mine and honestly at this point, I do
not give a fuck. All I want is peace”
“I hear you. I am here for you.
It must be hard. Can we go and sit somewhere we talk and probably get something
to eat? Let me first call my sister and tell her I am home or she will not stop
calling me”
“Let us go to that place near
your house, Bob’s right? You can call her when you get there. Right now she
will be very suspicious at how fast you got home. You are such a terrible
liar.”
“Hehehe! Lying is terrible. Ni
sawa, let us go.”
She called her sister and Sandra
and once she assured them that she was home and okay and in safe hands, she
went to join Steve in the bar. She promised herself not to take more than two
beers because of the early morning meeting she had the following day. They
ended up staying at Bob’s way past midnight as Steve had so much to rant about.
The poor man had so much bottled up that Rael just let him talk. As she
listened to him, she for the umpteenth time, reminded herself that marriage was
hard and hence not her cup of coffee. Just thinking that one day, her husband
will be sitting down with someone talking about her shortcomings, petrified
her. She had never seen Steve so vulnerable like today. In fact she had never
had to console a crying man. He got drunk and could now barely speak. She had
to ask for help to take him to the car and had to drive him to her place. She
had no option but let him spend the night at her place. The night watchman
helped take him up the stairs and to her room at a fee. She took a shower and
it hit her that taking care of Steve had made her not think about Collins for a
few hours and she was really glad for that distraction.
She was shocked when she did not
find Steve in bed the following morning when her alarm went off. She thought he
was in the toilet, only to find him deep in thought in the living room.
“What time did you get up?”
“I don’t know. It has been like
this for me for the last few days. I cannot sleep.”
“Have you thought about therapy?
Insomnia is not a good sign. I have been there. You cannot function. If you are
not going to work, I can give you my sleeping pills to help you get some sleep
until when I get back.”
“I have things to do today plus I
have to drop you at work and ensure you are okay. You can give me those pills
in the evening. Right now, get ready for work.”
It took a lot of convincing by
Steve for Rael to get out of the car once they got to the office premises.
Steve had to convince her that he would take her up the lifts and would not
leave the premises until when she asked him to. She did not know how the rest
of the colleagues would receive her if they all thought she pushed Collins to
his death. The office was in a sombre mood and everyone barely nodded when she
said hi. Elizabeth did not even bother to look up. Thankfully, the meeting was
all about work and the mention of Collins only came in when his accounts were
being reassigned to new people. Two clients made personal requests that she
takes over their accounts and she could swear she saw Elizabeth sneering. She
actually ended up getting most of his very important clients and it made her a
little uncomfortable. Another meeting was scheduled for in the afternoon to
plan for the funeral plans. After the meeting, she noticed that most of her
colleagues were actually okay with her and she even got to ask if any of them
knew what really pushed him to suicide.
“His suicide note said that he
was tired of taking care of many people who did not appreciate him. Apparently
he was the sole bread winner at home and all his siblings looked up to him for
help. He also had a crazy baby mama and half of his salary went to child
support. Who would ever have known Collins was going through all that? Poor
man. He looks so peaceful dead. You should see him.”
It is then that she remembered
she had not asked Steve to leave after she got comfortable. She rushed to the
parking lot only to find him deeply asleep in the car. Knowing that he had not
slept that much during the night, she decided to let him be and texted him
asking him to call her once he wakes up. He called after two hours complaining
of a stiff neck.
“I am glad you got some sleep
though.”
“Yeah, I am feeling better. So,
what is the plan?
“I want to go to the morgue and
view the body. Will you take me?”
“Sure, I will have to cancel a
few errands but I would not want you to go there alone”
“Sawasawa, I am coming down right
away. I have to be back for another meeting.”
There is a certain vibe that a
morgue gives that cannot be explained. Everything and everyone looked like a
blur. Seeing so many people sad and crying broke her heart. She does not
understand why but the moment Collins body was brought for viewing, she started
to feel very cold and could not stop shivering despite Steve holding her and
covering her with his coat. Linda was right, he looked so peaceful. She found
herself holding his cheeks and wanted to ask him loudly why he had to leave the
way he did but she was shivering to the point she couldn’t talk. After a few
minutes, she let him go and asked Steve that they leave.
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