My Baby My Girl

Episode 13

“Mr Sean O’Conner, Miss Deborah Teneka would see you now”’ A pretty brunet who was the secretary to the building he just entered
addressed him.

“Thank you… Miss?’’ Sean raises an eyebrow, she was fine, too fine in fact and she was smiling at him and he knew those smiles well.

“It’s Lisa”’ She says
“Lisa, nice name” He says smiling back and
following her through the door she ushered him
to.. before she lets him pass she lips a card into
his suit pocket

“I get off by 6pm, call me anytime” she breaths into his ears, Sean smiles
Yes, women loved him and he kinda loved them
back. But there was Tasha Williams, his
girlfriend and soon to be fiance, soon to be wife,
that’s if she stops being childish, expensive and
unreasonable.

He sighs “Sure, I will” he taps her hands and
then turns away from her as she knocks on the
door and tells him to go in

“Mr Sean, I am Deborah Tenaka, how may I help
you?” A woman wearing glasses stood up and
stretches out her hands towards Sean as he
walks into the room going towards her desk and
taking her hands in his for a brief shake.

“Hello Deborah, glad for you to see me”
“Sit Mr Sean, over the phone you spoke about a
child you believe is in a abusive home, please
explain what it is you mean and if you can give
me any more information?”

Sean scratches his head,“Actually, I met the
child, her name is Kikina, I think she should be
three or four years old, I started talking to her
and then her mother showed up and she was
mad, like really mad”

“That would because you are a stranger talking
to her kid, any mother would be on a defensive”
“Especially when I introduced myself as the
school’s supplier and that I had almost ran
down her daughter who was playing in the
driveway? I mean the kid admitted to me that
she didn’t have any friends and she was sad,
that could either mean that whatever that is
going on with that kid is affecting her
psychologically to have her withdraw into herself
and she also said that children bullied her “

“why?”
“I didn’t get her to tell me, her mother showed
up”

“Okay, was that all?’’
“’No, she came up aggressively, she was angry and told me no one will take her daughter from her and the kid looked so scared that got me
worried, I had to calm the situation but she kept
saying you… you won’t take my kid from me and pushing the kid behind her and the poor girl was staring at me I don’t know with sadness or fear, but there was something totally off and it irked me” Sean finishes, Deborah sighs

“There is not enough information for us Sir to
investigate, was there bruises, did she
manhandle the kid in front of you?”’

“No but, look, I have never being within the walls of social services and for me to come here it’s because I think that kid is in an abusive home either from her mother or father and it didn’t sit well seeing her sad, withdrawn and the way her mother acted with me. I mean she didn’t know me but I felt she hated me… I could feel it and I didn’t know why. Look, I know it’s a long short but if you would pay them a visit just to make sure, it would put my mind at ease and like you said, it may be nothing but it is better to be safe than sorry and hear on the news about a kid beaten or worse… who knows”

“Fine, we would pay them a visit, do you have
an address, theirs not yours?” she smiles
“Oh no, but I can give you the school’s and I
don’t know the mother’s name just the
daughter’s, Kikina… please when can this be
done?”

“Tomorrow, I would keep you updated”
“Actually, I would like to be there would that be
okay?”’

“Erm sure, why not”’
That was about two days ago, when he had
gotten the call from Deborah that she was
heading to the school today he had put his
supervisor in charge and driven down , they met
at the parking lot and walked in together, they
asked him to wait.

“I would like to have a few words with the
mother and child first, I like to get a feeling of
things to know how they react to questions
posed at them, it helps me better decipher
without distractions on their parts”
“Sure why not” he waited.
It took less than thirty minutes when some lady
had come to call him

“Miss Deborah says you can come in now”’ she had said beckoning him to follow her, when they reached the door, he noticed it was a library.

As soon as he was ushered in, he saw her,
Kikina’s mother and when he heard her last
outburst Sean couldn’t hold back..

“Me! I was the one who reported to child
services” he says going completely into the
room

“You B—–d!!” she had said
“’Wow, such language in front of a what? three or a four year old, is that even appropriate?”

Sean turns to Deborah
“Look ma’ám, for the sake of the kid would you
refrain from using strong languages?” Deborah
turns to Megan, but Megan’s eyes were
bloodshot

“How dare you? How dare you?’’ she says
pointing at him, Kikina hands is clasped in hers
“You have no right, no bloody right to get into
my life and want to take my child away from me”
she spat Sean scoffs, for a pretty woman she was too angry, she has terrible tempter

“Take? No ma’ám I don’t intend to but please
kindly explain to me, to us, why your daughter is
shaking like a fig leaF beside you?”’

“Ït’s because you all are scaring her”
“No because she is afraid of you” Sean says “I know it would be the most wicked thing to take a child away from her parents but it would be more evil to leave a child with parents who make her feel threatened with living”’

“You have no idea how we have been living, or
surviving, all of a sudden you care?” Megan
flares Sean is confused, why does it seem as though she is saying one thing and meaning another?

“Look madam i obviously don’t know how you
have been living nor do I care”’

“”Exactly!” Megan throws her hands up cutting him off, Sean frowns

“But I care enough for that little girl who seems
she deserves better”

“’You don’t care, you never did, you don’t care for Kikina, you never did, if not you wouldn’t have-‘’

“’Madam, this is inappropriate please” Deborah cuts her off, they were raising their voices, was it just her or she felt that there was some bad blood between them, have they met before?

“Madam, calm down please, take a sit and let us
talk like adults, I am the Child services worker
and I have to be convinced that what Mr Sean
here has reported is not what it is… and you
have to convince me that what he is saying is
untrue and I have to talk to Kikina too. I am just
doing my job and all this shouts and banter
would lead us to nowhere . Please calm down
and let us talk. So I will ask you some questions
and I need you to answer me honestly and if I
detect any dishonesty I would probe further”
“You have no d–n right over her, you never
will”’Megan points to Sean, her eyes in slits
“Are you kidding me! I am not after your
daughter. See Miss Deborah, she is unstable, I
don’t understand half of what she is even
saying…” he says shaking his head, Debeorah
shakes her head too

“Mr Sean I would please ask that you don’t
incite her more or indulge her or I would have to
ask that you wait outside“
“Fine” he says sitting down. He stares at Megan and her gaze is all daggers

He felt uncomfortable…. he has never met her
before in his entire life and yet she seemed to
have this certain hate for him. Why does she feel
threatened by him, or is her husband the abuser,
did he abuse her and their child, is that why she
felt he was a threat to her kid, but he wasn’t
doing anything but her reaction despite his
apology threw him off guard and what with her
constant.. ‘You won’t take her from me’ talk?”

It didn’t make sense. His gaze rests on the girl,
Kiki as she holds tight to her mother, was it out
of fear or what? But whatever the case was, he
was making sure that the girl was safe before he
leaves if not, he would have to let child services
handle the case. It’s things like this that aren’t
paid attention to that you later regret to find a
child has been brutally abused, physically,
emotional and otherwise.

He wouldn’t let that happen. He might not know
the kid but she seemed too innocent, too sad,
too withdrawn for a child for him to let it go.
Better for her to be in a peaceful loving
environment than to be home with parents who
would cause her to turn to a messed up kid,
something worse if she survives their abuse.
He would know. He lost a friend like that. He
didn’t listen enough, he didn’t care enough.. the boy was fifteen, he died of overdose. He later
learned that his father was raping him and
beating his mother. He couldn’t handle it and no
one knew until they found his suicide note. So if
he could help one child avoid that fate, He would
gladly.

“I asked a question ma’ám, have you ever raised your hands on your daughter?” Deborah’s voice
cuts into Sean’s thoughts

“What sort of ridiculous question is that? I love
my daughter wholeheartedly I will never hurt her.
No I have never and I will never “’

“Have you ever shouted on her?’’

“I scold her when she does something wrong”’
“Scold how??’’

“I believe you are an educated woman, if you
don’t know what scold is, google is your friend”’
Kikina laughs

“Mummy scolds me when I eat a lot of
chocolates after dinner after I have brushed my
teeth. I am not supposed to take sweet things
after dinner, mummy says it makes me super-
active..I run around screaming and sometimes I
fall asleep with my head hanging down my bed
and sometimes while mummy is asleep”’
She giggles covering her mouth “I use her
makeup and draw clown on her face”’ she
laughs, Sean smiling, so does Deborah

“kikina is it?”’ Deborah turns to her, Kiki nods
“what happens at home on a normal day, don’t look at mummy, just at me, don’t be sacred okay, I won’t hurt you”’
Kiki looks up at her mother
“Kiki, me, look at me, tell me how mummy is
with you at home “’

“’Mummy loves me”
“’Do you know that or mummy makes you tell
people that?”’

Kiki frowns, Sean is attentive “Tell the truth Kiki” he encourages

“’You don’t talk to my daughter! You stay away from my daughter or I swear -”’
“Please, please” Deborah says “Kiki, go on”’

“Mummy loves me, and I love her and no she
doesn’t tell me to tell people, she tells me not to
talk to strangers. Mummmy-mummy reads me
bed time stories every night, mummy prays to
God with me and takes me to the pool every
Saturday, I love my Aunty Tonia too. Mummy
and her are best friend, . erm…mummy gives me
by favourite food and -and”