Growing Wings Episode 13

‘Please ensure you get Olamide to school in time. The school operates a point system; lateness will result in point deduction for Olamide and impact on his final results. Please, it’s very crucial to get him to school in time and make sure his uniform is very clean. I’ll make a list of the chores you need to complete before I get back home’

Wole watched Yeside reeling out instructions to the help like the ‘madam’. He wasn’t too sure if what he felt was pride or resentment. She was in charge. If he didn’t know her well, he would have fallen in love with her just watching her speak with the help. She seemed to be decisive; he only wished she was this assured when dealing with her family members.

His grandparents had kept a distance after his marriage. They grudgingly showed up at his wedding and quickly kept a distance once Yeside’s family members began to bare their fangs. Aunty Sholape, his aunt in Lagos, had tried to blend with his in-laws but after a few disastrous attempts, she also kept a distance. Justice Anjola thoroughly disgraced Aunty Sholape at the last function she came for. They had served everyone else on her table and somehow managed to skip her. When she complained to Justice Anjola, her response and demeanor thoroughly embarrassed Aunty Sholape.

‘Please help me find something for this woman’, Justice Anjola bellowed to one of the service boys.

At least, that was what Aunty Sholape told him about four months later when he paid her a visit. She had refused to pick his calls before then and after that, she avoided him. None of his family members wanted anything to do with him since he chose to rub shoulders with the Agunbiades. They essentially washed their hands off him. As much as he tried to brush it off, it hurt him deeply. He laid the blame for that where it rightly belonged – with Yeside and her family members. He made a mental note to visit Aunty Sholape pretty soon.

Wole was amused at how Yeside expected the help to complete so many tasks within the 8 hour period they would be away – clean the house, wash and iron clothes, get Olamide to school, make food, get to the market etc. Yeside couldn’t accomplish those tasks herself in 24 hours. She was definitely going to make his job easier. He would just wait for the right time to strike.

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Yeside felt Wole watching her intently. Only God knows what was going through his mind. He almost had a smile while she gave Martha instructions. He looked handsome, yet so unreachable. She should have felt relieved as Martha resumed but she had a nagging feeling that all was not well. She couldn’t place it so she kept going over her ‘To-do’ list. Something was amiss and she didn’t know it.

‘Are you okay, darling?’ Yeside asked Wole.

‘Do I look like I’m not?’ Wole barked back at her

He quickly caught himself and muttered a muffled apology. He couldn’t let her suspect that he was up to something.

Yeside waved goodbye and headed off to work.

Wole decided to wait a bit before going to work; he needed to study how Martha worked so he would plan his move. Thankfully, his boss was on a business trip and he had actually been suspended for two weeks as a result of the issue with the Igbaje residents. His boss told him that the suspension was the best he could negotiate for him, considering his past track record. If he was better connected, he would have got a transfer instead of the suspension. His boss suggested that he should speak with his in-laws to see if they knew anyone that could mediate for him. Wole thanked his boss and promised to check if there was anyone that could speak for him. He had no intention of asking for help from any of them; hell would have to freeze over before he would ask for help from any of the Agunbiades. If he tried it, he would keep paying for it for the rest of his life.

Yeside couldn’t stop talking about how her opportunity with Barrister Ikedia was a good thing for her as a ‘High Flyer’. Why could she not just keep quiet and let him eat in peace. He had to smile and appear to be happy for her. He learnt that Justice Anjola was already in the picture, as usual. They spent the weekend going over similar case files. He wondered what they would have done if he told them about his suspension. He could imagine their response – fake ‘It is well’ from Yeside and false attempts to help by Justice Anjola. He was so sure they would be so happy that their evil plans were succeeding. He was tempted to tell them just to dampen their moods but no, he won’t be stupid enough to deliver himself to his frenemies...

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