Featherlight Heart

Episode 11

Tayo is seated across from him and laughing his heart out ”You don’t say Emeka, tell me again, how did she take it, what was her expression?”
”Oh Diana’s face was one mask with horror, I have never seen my mother this angry for a long time, never seen her like this. I mean one minute we were seated at the dining table, the next Diana is on the floor and I had to stop myself from laughing and deciding to help her from it, I wanted to go hug my mother and give her a kiss for been the meanest mother in-law in the planet for this particular purpose sha, I know my mother would be the most loving mother in-law but like a chicken who sees her chicks in danger from someone, she swings into action..I mean Diana was there saying that ”You cannot ask me to stand up from here Mama, I cannot sleep in a room and get up and you expect me to clean the place up, do I look like a maid, isn’t this..what’s her name” She was referring to Mama Tito ” ..here for a reason? don’t you people pay her to clean and cook, so because I slept in the room I should dress the bed, and what, sweep and clean too?”
And my mother’s face was sheer shock ”So you mean to say that your mother didn’t fulfill her duties to train you or you decided to miss classes, because I believe any mother would teach their daughters that regardless whether they live in a hut or in a palace, that domestic know-how is not a crime and that when they say charity begins at home it does, and that doing things like making your bed and picking up after you isn’t so bad..I wonder how you slept because the room is scattered, the white sheets stained with your makeup, and the floor has your pantry liners on the it, and what else, while you made up..you didn’t think to spread something on the bed so you don’t soil it..the room is a mess and the toilet too, you are guest yes but it still doesn’t mean that the maid would clean up trash from the room you used, and Mama Tito is not your maid..so I would ask you again to get up and clean up the room you slept in, at least a bit so she wouldn’t feel disgusted to deal with the rest”

”I will do no such thing” Diana had stood her ground, Emeka says to Tayo

”And what did you say during all these?”
”Me? Have you never been told that when two women are fighting that you never put your head…? me I stood there and said nothing, trying to say something when Diana looks at me and when my mother’s eyes stares at me, I gats shut up but I was enjoying the show, I just didn’t expect my mother to go transformer on her… like whoa!! I held my chest..mama” Emeka laughs

”She gave her fatality?”’
“‘Hmm fatality is small! She told Diana to get up, Diana was like I won’t and you can’t make me, my mother got tired of ordering and I forgot to tell her that my mother was one not to suffer the child…bro, before we could say jack Robinson, mother had moved from where she was standing to where we were., with a force I haven’t ever seen her with, she yanked the chair from under her and had Diana tumbling to the ground like humpty-dumpty had a great fall” they both busted out laughing
”Then what happened next?”
”Well, I had to hold myself, then I went to her to help her up, she was feigning tears saying that my mother hates her, doesn’t want us together and bla bla bla, my mother was just there calling her tears crocodile tears and that she is lucky she didn’t even touch her in her anger that if she wouldn’t do what she says they would have a big problem and that she should just take her bag and go home, she isn’t welcomed”
”Did she leave?”

”Hell yeah she did” Emeka laughs loudly,
Tayo looks at him ”then she wouldn’t come back, such humiliation”

”Diana? She will be back, maybe tonight. Do you believe that she wanted to s£duce me, right before my mother kicked her out of the room?”
”For real? So tell me… you would have taken advantage of the opportunity right?”

Emeka smiles ”If she thinks sex would make her have her way with me? Sadly she is mistaken; I can have sex with her and show no emotion”‘

”You think so?”
”I know so”‘
”Never say something you haven’t tried. You forget that you loved this lady, heart, body and soul..your life changed when she left you, because of her you couldn’t be with another, didn’t allow anyone come close, you think that if you lay with her you will be the same, that you wouldn’t end up falling in love with her again?”

”Don’t say nonsense Tayo, I stopped loving her when I found myself, I stopped loving her when I was almost drowning… Diana has no more hold on me, and sex with her so many times would never bring that love back… all I want is revenge Tayo, so she can flaunt herself as much as she wants, s£duce me as much, even have sex with me… I will never love her again, never!!”

”Never say never Emeka”‘
Emeka turns to him ”Whose side are you on anyways?”

”Yours Emeka, but there is something fleeting about love that even the strongest man cannot control”

”So what are you saying?”
”I am saying you should forget the girl”‘
”I am sure you want me to forget taking revenge on my father too?”

”Yes”
”if I tell you that you are stupid what will you say?”

”I will say thank you, only friends tell you the truth when others won’t and right now Emeka, I know they hurt you so much and I swear I wouldn’t know what to do if I see the people who hurt me again, I really don’t want to be in your shoes, but what I can say is that I know you Emeka, you are hurting, and you do not need the channels of those hurt to hover over your life constantly, you need to let it go, let them, go, you want your father to feel pain, your success is the best revenge for him, tell him who you are, okay tell him you bought his company, that would give him an attack of realization and make him realize his mistake, you don’t have to forgive him if you don’t want to but at least you will see the shame and pain in his eyes, and for Diana, for that girl Diana? it’s to tell her to her face you don’t love her anymore, never will and you don’t intend to give her no chances and that she ain’t getting a dime out of you and do you know her worse pain, is if you eventually fall in love with a good girl and get married to her… She will die in shame and regret. Doesn’t it work that way brother? Why do you want to play the devil?.. I know it has this excited thrill to it but come on..”

”So you are concerned about them Tayo, is that it?” Emeka frowns getting up and walking to the window of his office

Tayo walks to him, standing beside him as both of them stand side by side ”No Emeka, I am not. In fact I do not care what happens to both of them, whether they disappear into oblivion I don’t care, but I care about you Emeka, you are my brother, not by blood, but by circumstances and bond.. and I care about you because I believe in the quest for revenge, you might lose yourself, and when you do, there is no coming back from it. I don’t want you to fall into the pit you dragged yourself from , I don’t want you to be bruised with guilt, it’s not your nature Emeka, don’t lose yourself in the quest for revenge”‘

”I won’t!! I know what I am doing” Emeka turns to him

”Do you? Will you promise me that, you won’t lose yourself because when you do, I won’t be able to help you, your mother wouldn’t be able to help you, only you would be able to help you but how can you do that when you are already lost to it yourself?..”‘

Emeka sighs ”Sometimes when you speak like this you sound like an old man, a guru infact with a mass of wisdom, but I know you are nothing but my stupid brother who likes to stop me from making mistakes”

”Aha!! That’s what brothers are for right. We protect each other”‘ he puts his hands on Emeka’s shoulders

”Yes, they do, but I am not making any mistake now Tayo, not on this one, I need to do this for me, for closure, for peace, for my mama, for my heart. This is no mistake and I won’t lose myself, but they would lose their peace”‘
Tayo sighs shaking his head ”I can’t convince you otherwise?”

”Nope!! ”
”Okay, I will support you in everything you want me to support in, but don’t say I never told you so”‘

”I won’t’
”Great!! So, I met this chick yesterday, and she asked about you..” Tayo moves away from the window
”Oh, really who?” Emeka turns
”Pretty grey eyes, amazing shape, drop dead gorgeous body..model?”’

Emeka laughs shaking his head ” Olive Daniels?”

”Yes, she still got it bad for you bro, why didn’t you ever like her?”
”I was a broken man Tayo, no place for love”‘
”oh, she said to tell you that if you ever want to see her, you only have to do is call”‘
”I won’t want to see her, I won’t call” he says taking a seat

”Oh well.. ” Tayo takes a seat, then the look on Emeka’s face had him frowning “‘okay why, what’s that look on your face Emeka?”
Emeka is smiling ”Oh, I just had the most brilliant idea”

”EMEKA ODINAKA UCHENDU!!!” Tayo calls his name having a strange feeling he knew what his friend is up to ”you wouldn’t! Dude, that’s just low bro, you can’t”‘
”Oh I will brother, I will.” Emeka is smiling

---

The banging on the door had Grace jumping, her heart leaping, Junior was asleep, she sighs getting up, it would only be the Diana knocking like a mad woman at her door and she wasn’t mistaken
”Can you explain to me what the hell is your problem, I have a son, are you trying to scare us both to death?”
Diana doesn’t answer as she brushes past her and goes to seat down, flinging her bag to the corner, she is fuming
Grace rolls her eyes ”What is it, I have a feeling that you planned sex mind blowing night with the Emeka didn’t go as planned”
”No it didn’t, ask me why?”’
”Why?” Grace yawns and comes to seat beside her

”That witch called his mother has made it her duty to keep us apart”

Grace looks at her for a full minute before she bursts out laughing ”His mother saw right through you right? I like her already… she is the number one mother on the planet—” Diana’s angry face causes her to swallow her words.
”Oh for real, what happened, what did she do and it’s not right to call her a witch, she is woman like you”

”She is a witch, witch, witch!! Can you believe that last night, just when I was about to make my move, she barges in to disrupt us and orders me out to the guest room, in the estate not inside the big mansion oh, and what’s more, the next day..she dares to come and rain insults on me just because I left the room messy, she dared to ask me to go clean it and when I refused she pulled the chair from under me, threatening me with brimstone and fire from heaven and I refused and told her that… I was just respecting her because of her son, I stormed out of the house in my anger and came here”
Grace looks at her ”you left the room you slept in … in a mess? Since when are you a pig, its courtesy that they gave you a room to sleep, if you say the mother doesn’t like you she would have made you sleep outside the gate last night, but she gave you a room to sleep and you did not even try to keep it as neat as you saw it. What the hell did you do in that room? I know you aren’t the tidiest of persons but you can do that at home not in someone’s house and you are angry that the mother was angry, Aba Diana!!”
”So from everything I told you, you don’t think there is something wrong with the woman who is harassing me but you want to tell me she is right, really Grace?”
”If you are looking for a sobbing party for you, you won’t find it here. She is right, least you should have done is even apologize and gone to clean up, I am sure the maid would have helped out”
”Even the d–n maid seemed to be laughing when I fell, they, the maid and his mother is against me, they don’t want me to marry her son”
”Now who is talking about marriage now?” Grace raises her eyebrow at her
Diana cleans her eyes, her eyes shining ”He asked me to marry him yesterday, well sort off, not with the bended knee or anything, he said he wanted his mother to bless our union and he told her that he is going to marry me, and he said I can go pick my diamond ring, whatever I want… oh he spoke about the future and the tons of money I would have at my disposal… oh Grace my dreams are coming true, my only problem and obstacle is his mother and I have to find away to get her out of my way”

Grace has her face screwed up ”Marriage, now.. now .. now? You don’t think there is something fishy about his hurriedness?”
”No!! He says he loves me, never stopped Grace, and now that he found me,he wants to seal the deal”

It did feel strange to her, did Emeka mean it or,..this was a ploy, Grace wonders ”Well, I think you shouldn’t rush into this-” Grace tells her
”If the devil is speaking through you now you better tell him to hush, my man is getting married to me you should be happy for me and help me think of a way to get rid of his mother”
”Don’t be stupid, you can’t get rid of a mother especially when the son loves her and listens to her”
”So what do you suggest I do’?”
”Don’t ask me, I don’t know”
”Come on Grace, please, help me, I love him I do..”‘
”You love his money, don’t tarnish the word love”

”Whatever! Just help me”‘
Grace sighs “You want his mother to not stop you? Win her over”
”That is what Emeka says”
”Well there you have it”
”How do I do that? She hates me and I think the feeling is mutual”
”well you are the genius, you figure it out, besides you thought of the master plan of winning Emeka back, you can do it” Grace gets up to her room, Diana follows her
”I have to pretend to like her and love her, get her nice things with my baby’s money, take her out, do things old women does, act like the good daughter in-law?”‘
”Bingo!!”

”Oh you are a life saver Grace, mwah!!”‘ she hugs her and kisses her ”Let me go home and change, I need to go win that hateful, spiteful woman over and then get my man into bed and seal this deal, I am getting married to Emeka, over her dead body or not” she walks away “‘Say hello to my godson for me”‘
Graces shakes her head ”May God help you Emeka, may he help you”!!

---

”I didn’t think you will ever call me?”
”I didn’t think I would but… hey we are here”‘ he says ushering her into the five star restaurant , it was his lunch time..
”So how have you been Odinaka?”
”Perfect, you?”
”Missing you!” she says, he smiles ”why didn’t we ever take it further you and I? I always wondered”‘
”I was broken, I was hurting..that’s why?”
”You told me once that someone hurt you, you never forgot her?””
”I have, I have now”‘
”So, does that leave your heart open for another… or this was just a friendly date”‘
”What do you think?” he stares at her, she was a very beautiful woman, she would make any guy’s heart stop, why didn’t it stop his?. She is the envy of most girls, a super model, a woman who was strong and confident, knew what she wanted… she made her money, she didn’t need any man to care for her, she needed a man to love her and he never could, he was a broken man nursing a heart wound.
”I think Odinaka, that you are ready for something more than friendly dates, a few hanging out and catching up” she moves closer to him as they sat in the lounge, they were in the VIP, she leans into him
”I make no promises, I am still a broken man”‘

”As long as you want to let someone in, that is okay… I want to be the one to open your heart to love again and if I be the lady that have the key… it would make me happy” she leans in closer
”What if I told you… I wanted you to do something for me?”
”What?”
He leans into her, caressing her back as he tells her
”It would be my pleasure”‘ she says leaning away
”Shall we order then?”
”Of course” she smiles placing her hands on his thighs, then on a second’s thoughts she leans in and captures his lips in a kiss ”I have missed you Odinaka, even if you didn’t think of me, my thoughts was enough for both of us”
He smiles not replying, one thing he liked about her, was that she never asked too much questions, she was understanding… she had a good heart, why the hell didn’t he fall in love with her?..
Maybe he would remedy his mistake, at the same time he can use the opportunity to kill a bird, a very cunning bird.

---

Emeka was in the parlour with his mother as she watches her favourite programme when Mama Tito answers the telecom and then goes to the door, she comes back to meet them ”Sir, she is back!! Should I let her in?”
”If it is who V think it is, do not open!!”‘ Mercy says frowning, “who let her pass the securities?”
Emeka hides a smile, maybe it isn’t a good idea to tell his mother he told them to let her anytime she came for now, he remains quiet forming innocence.
”Open the door Mama Tito, Mama be nice, you can’t send her away”‘
“‘You can’t but I can!”
Emeka tries not to laugh and when he sees her, he removes the almost-smile from his face
She walks in with all smiles, she comes to Emeka and places a kiss to his cheeks and then goes to his mother
”Mama, good evening” she greets with a big bag rolled into the house
”There is nothing nice about the evening with you in it, and what is that in your hands you are rolling like that?”
”Oh, my bag”
”I know it’s a bag but what is it doing here with you?”
”Emeka says I can stay the week or two or more. Oh, I got you something mama, a wrapper, you will love it” she places the bag down, opens it and pulls it out and brings it out to give to her, Mercy pushes it away
”You can’t buy me, neither can you deceive my son”‘
Mama Tito rushes to the door after she answers the telecom again.
”Are we expecting anymore guests?” Mercy looks at her son
”No, just me!! Diana says
”I wasn’t speaking to you”
Emeka frowns ”Not that I know off ” he gets up as Mama Tito comes back ushering in a very beautiful lady into the house, Diana blinks looking at her from up to down, his mother stands up surprised
”Emeka, who is this beautiful lady?” she pushes past Diana and goes to her son, who is smiling
”Emeka!! Who the hell is that?” Diana storms to them folding her arms ”Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my fiancé’s house?”

The lady doesn’t spare her a glance; she is smiling at Emeka and his mother
”Oh I forgot all about it, this is my very special friend Olive Daniels, she just returned from the states and she would be staying with us for a bit before she goes back..”‘
Diana’s mouth drops open,
”Good evening Mama”‘ the girl bends her knee in form of greeting a elder despite being on high heels,
“oh, you told me your mother likes this… so I got her a cashmere and a bracelet” she gives it to his mother ”I hope you like it mama?”

Mercy takes it smiling “Oh this is wonderful, thank you my daughter, you are welcome, hope your trip was smooth, come Mama Tito, prepare something for her to eat, a warm bath… take her bag… come seat down my dear, don’t mind my son who didn’t tell me on time so I give you a grand welcome” Mercy says taking the girl’s hand..

The lady side hugs Emeka and gives him a kiss to his jaw, he is smiling..

”Who is that, I am, sorry I didn’t say hello to her” Olive says staring at Diana
”Oh, she is nobody, ignore her while you are here” Mercy tells Olive

Diana’s mouth drops further to the ground, Emeka goes to join them and Mercy..was smiling broadly..

Diana looks at the wrapper in her hands, back at the three of them…then she walks to them..
”Emeka, can I talk to you?”’
”Can we do this later, my friend-“‘
”Now, please!!”

Emeka made to get up, his mother and Olive puts their hands on his legs at the same time
”Odinaka..”
”Emeka”

Mercy and olive began, then they look at each other and laugh.. ”I am sorry Mama, I wanted to tell him something”

”Me too my daughter” they laugh again
”Emeka?” Diana says impatiently
”Odinaka, can you please help me with my necklace, it is stuck” Olive turns her neck to him
”Help her Emeka, it must be disturbing her” Mercy says

Emeka looks apologetically at Diana and helps Olive, Diana follows Olive hands, sees the way she touches Emeka’s hands and thighs as she laughs and talks and she felt like slapping her..
”Do you mind not touching my man’s like that!!” she says to Olive who had been smiling, Olive turns to her
”And who says he is your man, ?” Olive looks at her as she asks her a direct question
Diana folds her arms ”WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?”
”Who says he is your man?”‘ Olive repeats