A SMALL WORLD - SEASON THREE

EPISODE ONE

It started as a dull ringing. Samuel tossed in his bed, as the ringtone pierced through his dream to his consciousness. He hovered a lazy hand over his bedside table to retrieve his phone from where he’d kept it, silently cursing the cause of the disruption to his sleep. The next thing he heard was the sound of his phone crashing to the floor.

“Urgh!” he groaned, stirring and rising from his bed. The ringing had stopped. He looked down the side of his bed and saw his phone face down on the floor. Turning it over, he saw that the cracked screen had gotten some new fine lines, and he grunted.

It was 00:20. Samson wasn’t back from his night out, and Samuel was sure he would be the only one calling at such an ungodly hour. He should call him back to find out what it is. Just then, the phone began to ring again.

“Hey…” Samuel answered lazily.

“I’ve been arrested! I swear, I didn’t do it!” Samson started.

Samuel sat up straight, sleep vanished from his eyes. “What?!”

“Please come down to the station, and I’ll tell you all about it. Please come now…”

“Okay, I’m coming… Should I call…?” The phone went dead. Samuel swallowed. He’d wanted to know if he should call his brother-in-law, too, but decided he might as well wait to find out what it was all about. Hopefully, it was nothing too serious, and Ifeanyi needn’t know nor be bothered about it.

Samuel arose from bed and quickly pulled his clothes on. He said a quick prayer for God’s protection and intervention in the matter, whatever it was. He grabbed his keys and locked the apartment before entering the dark night.

***

“She’s a bloody liar!” Samson yelled as Samuel spoke with the police officer. “I didn’t rape anyone!”

“He can’t be bailed out until he’s been to court,” the officer said firmly. “And that won’t be until Monday…”

“I’m sorry, man… What happened?” Samuel turned to Samson.

“It’s Antonia, mehn… She’s accusing me of raping her. We had sex like two months ago! And all of a sudden, she’s saying I forced her! You know that babe has been giving me the green light since forever. You know she’s lying!”

“Hmmm…” Samuel didn’t know what to say. He really wanted to believe Samson, but he was starting to get out of control with his partying and womanising. “We’ll sort it out on Monday. I’m going to have to call Brother Ifeanyi, though…”

Samson just hung his head in shame. It wasn’t Ifeanyi he was worried about finding out about where he’d spent the weekend and why. It was his sister, Mary. She was still upset with the loss of their baby brother, and he just didn’t want to add to her pain. He shook his head, thinking of Antonia. What was she thinking?!

***

“Enough!!!” she shouted. The room fell silent. “Enough. For eight years, I gave you the best of me. I never once allowed myself to doubt you. Even when you beat me, I thought it was because you loved me and were going through some things. But no more… I’m done! I’m done being afraid of you… Of disappointing you… This time, it’s about me.”

A round of applause rang in the small room, housing two tables, four directors, and a cameraman. Amaka slowly smiled at her audience, bowing her head humbly. She took a deep breath, hoping she’d done enough.

“Wow! That was incredible! Such emotion you put into that scene. Almost felt like you were talking to me,” the executive producer chuckled.

“Thank you,” Amaka muttered, as she picked up her slip. The other directors nodded, clapped, and smiled at her, which made her feel like she had already gotten the part.

“We’ll be in touch,” the executive producer said, as Amaka made her exit from the room.

She let out a deep breath outside the door. The part was perfect for her. She really hoped she’d get it. She uttered a quick prayer.

It’d been more than a year since she’d been divorced from Jamie Solomon, and she was still without employment. Not that she had been seriously searching. She’d finally considered the option of acting, after months of being turned down by modelling agencies. She was too old, they said. One even called her fat! How rude! She hadn’t been maintaining a strict diet, like when she was in full-time employment, but she certainly hadn’t let herself go!

Anyway, one day, an agent asked if she’d ever considered acting and told her about an audition happening the following week. She’d been for that and three auditions since, but this was the part she connected with the most. She had been able to draw on her feelings from her broken marriage, and she thought she’d done a good job of it.

Amaka left the building feeling optimistic. It was a cloudy day in September, and the air was misty. Amaka hastened to her car as she felt the first few drops of rain. She hoped it wouldn’t be a heavy one, as she hated to drive in the rain in Lagos. There were too many puddles and reckless drivers to contend with. Fortunately, it was just a little light drizzle that soon cleared the way for the sun to shine through.

***

Through the sound of the rushing water in his steam shower room, Michael heard his phone ringing. He finished rinsing off the lather from his body wash and stepped out to grab the towel hanging on the railing, just outside the unit. He wrapped himself and stepped out, then dried his feet on the bath mat before heading to his bedside table to answer the call. It stopped ringing.

Michael finished drying himself off, thinking he would call the person back when he was ready. As he slipped on his designer t-shirt over slim-fitting, blue jeans, his phone began to ring again. He went to it and picked up the call, straightening out the shirt.

“Hey… What’s up?”

“It’s Linda. We’re at the hospital,” Lisa replied.

“What…what happened?!” Michael felt himself go cold. Was his baby girl alright?

“I thought it was just a cold, but nothing I’ve been doing to treat it has been working. And last night, her temperature was so high! I brought her in this morning, and they are doing tests.”

“Okay. She’ll be fine. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. Just keep me posted, okay?”

“Yeah… I will. They’ve admitted her, so I’m going to be here with her. I hope it’s nothing serious.”

“No… But all the same, let’s pray. And let me know when the results come out.”

“Okay. Thanks. Bye.”

“Bye.” Michael dropped the call. He closed his eyes and said a quick prayer for his daughter. They’d last spoken last weekend, which wasn’t good. He normally tried to call every other night, but lately, he had been distracted with his other passion - his first love, Temi.

He sighed as he thought of her. He wondered how she was doing now and if she was also thinking of him. Since she returned to his life, he had become a little teenager again, just a bundle of nerves and passion. He wished they didn’t have to sneak around. He wished he’d never let her go in the first place. Then they wouldn’t be in this situation where she belonged to someone else who made her so miserable. But there was still time to change how their story ended. And if it were up to him, it would never end.

***

“Please, you cannot take him from me… Please!”

Adania closed her eyes as she remembered the day she’d returned to Jamie’s house to take her son home with her. Since they were not legally married, he had no legal right to her child until his paternity was proven and the court had granted him that right. But she was ready to fight all the way to keep Timothy from Jamie. She couldn’t believe he’d decided to name the boy “Tommy.” She’d chosen to call him Timothy just to spite Jamie.

How had she ever loved a man so cruel?! She could never forget the last things she saw before her life almost ended. And it could have been the end of everything. She would have died a miserable death for a man who never loved her and treated her and her child like trash.

Adania had looked mockingly at Jamie as he’d broken down in tears, begging her not to take his son away. When did he start caring for this boy, who he had used as a pawn to control her and get back at her sister? In fact, when did he start caring about anyone but himself?!

“Save your act, Jamie. I’m not buying it. You will never have anything to do with my son, as long as I still have a breath!” she’d spat back at him.

At the door, she’d remembered the piece of jewellery she’d found on her person the day she’d woken up from coma. Alone. She was alone, and all she had were her memories and his bondage, in the form of a ring. When her memory had fully been revived, she’d been so traumatised, she’d pulled off the damn thing and flung it across the room, crying like it had burnt her finger.

She’d taken out the ring from the bag the nurse had put it in, before putting it in her handbag, and placed it on the landing table. Timothy’s loud cries had competed with his father’s, but Adania wouldn’t be deterred from her mission.

“I don’t want anything of yours… You can take your ring, and your money, and go to hell for all I care! Just leave us alone!” had been her closing words as she’d exited the house, slamming the door to an emotionally distraught Jamie.

She looked at Timothy now and felt nothing for him. Why had she even taken him? All the love she could give another soul had been wasted on his father, and now, all she had running through her veins was hatred. Hatred for him and for his spawn. She should just have left them alone and gone back to America to start again. But even the chance at a new beginning was frightful. She was afraid that if she was alone, she would take her life for sure.

Hot tears rolled down Adania’s cheeks as she sobbed over her life. She was so miserable, angry, and afraid. God help me, she cried.

***

Daniel Akunne smiled as he read the last pages of the manuscript for his second book – ‘Faith Grows.’ He was finally done with it, and he couldn’t be happier. After he finished proofreading, he attached it to an email and sent it to his editor, for him to run his critical eye through before he would submit it for publishing.

After he’d sent it, he went to look for his wife. He was sure she would be working on one of her designs in her studio. And she was.

“Hey, babe…” Tolu beamed up at him when she saw him at the door.

“I’ve finished,” he said simply.

She rose up as she rejoiced. “Praise God! Well done, honey,” she said, entering his embrace and giving him a sweet kiss. Tolu looked into his eyes. They were so deep, and she always got lost in them. Today, they sparkled as he looked back into hers. “I’m so proud of you, baby…”

Danny lowered his head and stole her mouth into his as he appreciated her for the love she gave to him. He felt her gasp and moan as she began to respond to him. Oh, he never knew love could be like this. Unending joy. He released her eventually, knowing he had been cruel to arouse her when he wasn’t ready to finish what he’d started. “Thank you,” he muttered.

She pulled him back for more kisses, groaning, “Why do you always do that…? Start a fire and then leave me wanting…?”

“I’m sorry, babe. It’s not intentional. Not always,” he grinned. He knew, for a fact, that it was sweeter when they eventually gave themselves to it if they had been teased and stimulated earlier. When he was ready to take her later, she would be more than ready for him. He smiled at the thought. “Oyinda needs me. I’ll be home early…and we can celebrate.”

“Okay, babe,” Tolu pouted, running her hand possessively over his chest. This handsome, virile man was hers. All hers! She encouraged herself with that thought. “Can’t wait for you to come back…”

Danny grinned before leaving Tolu’s studio to return to his study. He grabbed his phone, which had already been vibrating on his desk, and his car keys and headed for the door. He picked the call.

“Hey, Oyinda. On my way.”

***

“I think Temi’s cheating on me…” Oyinda said when they’d settled in their seats outside the Oxy Bar & Restaurant, under the canopies and away from the earshot of other diners.

Danny stilled himself as he looked at his cousin. Oyinda was not one to encourage suspicions. He was overconfident and always sure of himself. This couldn’t have been a flippant thought. He must have been brewing on this for a while. Danny swallowed. “What makes you think so?”

Oyinda shook his head, trying to recall the facts. “She’s just different, mehn… She’s always making excuses to go out these days. If it’s not someone’s birthday, it’s a work-do. And she has this faraway look when we are at home together. I mean, she won’t even let me touch her… I don’t know, mehn, she’s just different.”

“Have you thought maybe she knows about what you’re doing?” Danny thought he might as well come right out with it. He had known of Oyinda’s philandering ways, having been one himself, but since his conversion, he’d only challenged Oyinda on it once, and it hadn’t ended well. So, he’d dropped it, not wanting to do the work of the Holy Spirit in convicting Oyinda. He knew Oyinda would eventually have to face the truth about himself.

“Do you think that’s it? That she’s acting out of suspicion?” Oyinda arched his brow. “But she’s never said anything, never asked… Well, apart from on Valentine’s Day when she found that gift I bought for… Wait…” He sat back. “Nah, I covered my bases on that. I haven’t given her reason to suspect me since.”

Danny was feeling himself getting irritated. “Oyinda, she’s not stupid. You have to give her more credit than that. And I do find it a bit ludicrous that we’re here talking about the possibility of Temi cheating on you when you’ve been busy romancing so many other women.”

“You’re talking like you don’t know how it is. I know you’re a saint now, but I can’t help that all the ladies find me so irresistible,” Oyinda tried to joke.

“Grow up, will you?!” Oyinda swallowed. “Look, if Temi is really having an affair, you need to be thinking about if you love her enough to fight for her. And you certainly need to stop thinking it’s okay for you to do it and not her! ‘Cos if that’s your mind on this, I can’t help you.”

“Hmmm…” Oyinda muttered. “How do I fix this…? Please, I need help.”

To be continued...

Photo credit: www.canva.com

Did you enjoy this episode? Please drop your comments! Thanks for reading 🙂

READ NEXT EPISODE

GET THE BOOK NOW | VISIT A SMALL WORLD UNIVERSE