The Forbidden Fruit

Episode 28

Patricia Babalola had found herself nearing something like her former state of happiness for the first time in months.After the long talk with Jide about her condition and the difficulty it had added tosuccessful conception, they had sat down together and tried to deal with it. First on their itinerary was a visit to the gynaecologist. They already had an appointment for later on in the week, and they had resolved to research further on the condition and meet the family doctor armed with information.But more importantly, Patricia felt the wound that her secret had caused in her marriage was healing. There were no moreawkward silences between them.
Jide wasonce more loving and caring and with nothing holding her back, she had opened up to him and drawn closer again. She knew months of learned behavior would be difficult to just throw off in a few days, but she was determined to return her marriage to the healthy place where it had been. She realized honesty was a huge part of the success her marriage had been;she felt freer than she had ever felt with Jide.Of course, this feeling of freedom was one-sided, but Patricia was not aware of that fact. Jide had not confessed his infidelity and had psyched himself into believing there was no need to confess. Hehoped that with his decision to sever his romantic ties with Anita Bankole, his indiscretion would fade off into the place where bad decisions go. He still loved his wife fiercely and had vowed that no amount of coercion would take him back to Anita and her blatant sexuality.And Jide had hope of not being starved sexually anymore. Free of her mental burden, Patricia had returned to her husband’s arms, welcoming him back into their matrimonial bed with all the fervour of newlyweds. Their sexual reunion had been thrilling and Jide drove off to work, leaving a satiated woman at home, a wife innocently ignorant of her husband’s month-long sessions of weakness with another woman.Ignorant that is, until she received the e-mail.Patricia had just kissed her husband goodbye and lovingly watched him drive out before she returned to the room that served as her office, settled down to work and then noticed the notification of the new mail message.Expecting it was information related to herjob she clicked on the g-mail icon. Her eyes flew over the typed lines in the open message, growing wide with surprise and shock as she absorbed the full import of what she was reading. Then she gripped the mouse and moved the cursor to the ‘attachment’ icon. When the pictures opened, she forgot to breathe for almost thirty seconds.Gasping, Patricia Babalola bolted up from behind her computer, chest heaving with shock and anger. She thought of Jide’s new-found gentleness and loving behaviour and she felt like the most foolish woman who had ever existed. She gritted her teeth as she recognized the factthat Jide’s forgiveness of the fact that she kept a secret from him was fuelled by guilt. Her blood roared in her ears as she stared at the damning pictures again, and under the sound of her body reacting angrily was a smaller, unheard sound.It was the sound of Patricia Babalola’s heart breaking.

Jide Babalola’s wife had just found out about his adulterous escapades.** **But Patricia did not know about the latest incident happening in Jide Babalola’s office.When Florence’s lips touched Jide’s, he didnot pull away immediately.Foremost was the thought that pulling away or flinching hard would totally embarrass the pretty secretary. She was a nice young woman, who had given him many reasons to smile; she did not deserve to be made to feel that way, not after he had made such a romantic faux pas with her as well. He was responsible for whatever was going on in her head.But deeper down, somewhere in Jide’s mind, was curiousity. His first and only kiss with Florence had been oddly moving,s£nsu@l in a way he had never experiencedbefore. He realized he wanted to know if it had been a one-time thing or if kissing the pretty woman with the long hair would feelthe same as last time.And Jide felt it again. Florence’s lips moved over his own, boldly and yet, shyly. The strangeness of the conflict in her method stirred him; it was so different from the comfortable familiarity of Patricia’s kiss or the bold s£nsu@lity of Anita Bankole trying to mine for sexual gold in his mouth. Jide found his arms moving to Florence’s waist and settling on her hips. Her cotton dress crinkled, rustlingsoftly, the sound intoxicating him even as a voice was shouting in his head.What are you doing?! Is this how you plan to fix your crippled marriage?Florence was in cloud nine. She had almost faltered after she initiated the kiss and Jide did not respond at once, but when his arms clutched her hips, she knewshe had his assent. She m0aned and moved closer to his body, feeling his hard length press against her softness.

Her breath caught as she felt the telling stiffness at the junction of his thighs and her g—n ground against his, seeking for satisfaction instinctively.Both of them were so engrossed in the emotions surging through them that they failed to hear the office door open. The only realized they had company when the door slammed shut loudly and an acrid voice cut their embrace short.“Well, isn’t this just so sweet and romantic? Mr Married Man, is this how you‘use to do’?!”