by Boadi, Lilly
“You’ll be at the wedding won’t you?” asked Osborn when he reached his car.
“No! Err…yes, I will. But I probably might be late you know,” stammered Haida.
“Why don’t you want me to take you home? That could save you lots of time wasted in traffic jams and you could be at the wedding on time.”
Osborn persisted more to something she had earlier on refused. For goodness sake how could she be sitting next to him in his car the time he was supposed to be at church for his wedding – what would those who knew them think if they saw them? So, Osborn sped off and she sighed very deeply with relief, thankful that she had been able to convince him to make it to the wedding. Her relief, however, could fully be realized if she heard the wedding commenced successfully and that it was now Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Osborn.
When Haida saw the gateman, she knew she was in trouble – her parents were definitely at home. On Sundays, Mr. Morgan made sure the driver drove off all the workers to the cathedral, even before he left the house with his family. Haida had been praying they had attended the second service – before they had returned home, she could have taken care of herself and probably thought of a perfect lie to explain herself. Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind. As expected, the vicar, the first to see her, blew an alarm with his worrisome speeches, and then he asked the obvious. Her mom and sister came to the hall when they heard the vicar ask where she had been,
“I’m sorry dad, but I spent the night at Kiara’s. I felt very tired after the party and she offered to drive me home but we passed by her end first. I…I fell on her bed to relax and before I knew, I was fast asleep,” explained Haida, giggling sheepishly. Was that good enough? She wondered.
“But why didn’t Kiara wake you up to come home?” asked the vicar skeptically.
Haida was too weak in lying. She stood, dumbfounded, and her mom came in to her rescue.
“Was she fast asleep too?” she asked.
“Oh, yes. We were all very tired,” said Haida gratefully. “I wanted to call home early morn but thought you’d be at church.”
Mrs. Morgan saw her husband look Haida over critically. “You wanted to be home as soon as possible that you couldn’t even clean yourself up properly before coming?” she asked.
Of course, if she was really at Kiara’s she couldn’t come home messed up like this – her hair was tousled, her skirt crumpled and her face didn’t look like it had been properly washed up as traces of sleep was in her slightly bulgy eyes. Saved by the bell, she walked round the hall, far away from where the vicar sat, into her room – she feared he might smell brandy all over her.
After cleaning herself up, Haida lay in bed to waste away time.While wasting time she would have to come downstairs later, after the vicar would have left the house for his hangout. But it was only quarter past eleven, and the vicar went to the Tennis Club normally after lunch, some two and half hours away. Could she lock herself up in her room for that long? Already, she was famished and needed to get downstairs and help herself with some continental breakfast. But since that could make her spend considerably lots of time in the kitchen, she would opt for few slices of bread and glass of juice for the meantime before her mom made her feel uneasy with her obvious questioning. So, she lay in bed for a while and focused her thoughts on Osborn. By now, he must be exchanging vows with Meg. Osborn’s courage for going through the ceremony was found in the knowledge that Haida would be closer to him now more than ever. But as he exchanged vows with Meg, he couldn’t help wishing Haida was the one standing in front of him – “Miss Magdalena Dapaah…I take thee to be my wedded wife…to love thee…cherish thee….” As Osborn repeated these after the minister, all he saw was Haida. From time to time, he glanced through the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.
The sudden churn of her stomach made Haida scramble up from bed immediately. Making sure no one was in the hall, and hoping her mom especially wasn’t in the kitchen, she walked briskly downstairs and got back to her room in less than five minutes, when Jolly came knocking on her door. Oh, that talkative and inquisitive lad! For Jolly, she could comfortably handle.
“How was the party?” asked Jolly
‘Oh, there she goes,’ thought Haida.
“Cool… pretty exciting,” she said, gulping down the drink.
“Why didn’t you eat downstairs?”
“Oh, I wanted to relax here.”
“Was Mellis at the party? Did you see him?”
“Of course,” said Haida contentedly.
“Did you swim together? Was he a good swimmer?” asked Jolly, lying comfortably on her sister’s large bed.
“Are you trying to write a poem or what? Why all these questions!?” asked Haida, getting quite irritated by Jolly’s questions.
“Oh yes! I want to write a romantic story. Yours with Mellis at a beach party, spending all the night together and coming home the next morning would sell a lot! I’d make lots of money from that you know,” teased Jolly.
‘Then I guess you’d make a lot more if you knew what really happened – a romantic fairy tale!’ thought Haida. Of course, Jolly was smart enough to notice her big sister lied – Haida saw the suspicious glances she was giving her when the vicar was questioning her.
“So, tell me, what really happened?” asked Jolly, sitting up and giving Haida her ears. “Are we ready for chapter one?”
“Will you stop?! Get out of here!” said Haida, chasing her sister away with a pillow.
Jolly ran out of the room, crackling with laughter. It was a quarter to twelve. Haida stretched her full self on her king size bed and imagined once more; by now, Osborn and Meg have already exchanged vows. He must have been thinking she was among the congregation. Or the ceremony must have been over and he was looking around for her. He must be feeling disappointed not to have seen her. But thinking of what to say to explain herself later on to him was no problem. Then she shifted her thoughts to Mellis. By now, he must have known she had left intentionally without his notice. Though she was still angry with him, she couldn’t deny having felt pleased to see that charming sleeping face again since a while. She took her diary and scribbled some few words on the 23rd and lots more on the 24th of September.
Then she heard her mom shouting her name and she opened her eyes all of a sudden. “Come down for lunch Phoebe!” she said.
Lunch? She looked at the clock and it was five past one. She must have fallen asleep whiles writing in her diary, because she still had the pen stuck in between her fingers. Thank God her mom didn’t enter to wake her up; all her escapades the previous day and today would have come to light.
“I’m not hungry mom!” she shouted back.
“What?!” asked her mom and entered her room.
Haida hid her diary quickly under the pillow.
“What do you mean by you are not hungry?” asked Mrs. Morgan, sensing that something was wrong with her daughter.
“Oh, I took something at Kiara’s. Besides, I just took some bread and juice. I’ll take lunch later”
“Oh…really?” said Mrs. Morgan doubtfully. She watched Haida closely, “Are you ok, Phoebe?”
‘Oh God, she shouldn’t start!’ thought Haida. “Of course mom.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sure. Just that I still feel quite tired and slight pains in my body; guess it is as a result of the swimming!” said Haida, hoping her mom would leave her alone to sleep.
“I think you really enjoyed yourself at the party,” said Mrs. Morgan gaining interest.
“Very much mom; the dancing, the swimming, the variety of edibles, the chats and laughter with all those amusing people…” and of course, the beautiful moments with Osborn, but she daren’t mention “…I made lots of friends you know mom…I had fun, yes I enjoyed myself,” she ought to end it there before her mom got too interested and dwelt deeper into her queries.
But interestingly, Mrs. Morgan asked out of the blue, “And Mellis, how is he? Was he there too?” she was begi
nning to sound like Jolly.
“Yes he was there and he’s fine.”
“It far explains why you had that much fun, yet I didn’t hear you talk about him. We’d talk more about the party after lunch,” and she turned to depart.
‘Definitely not!’ thought Haida in dismay. She’d have to find a way to leave the house before that.
“Anyway, your father got your car fixed” said Mrs. Morgan and was gone.
Perfect! Kelly! She’d drive straight to Kelly’s. It was too bad that for quite a while she hadn’t visited Kiara at home. She must be at Osborn’s wedding anyway and would meet her absence if she went to her end. She called Kelly to give her prior notice of her visit.
“Haida, I’m in town at the moment,” said Kelly. “I’ll be on my way to Carlos very soon. Why don’t we meet at his end?”
“That’s fine. But I’m not so conversant with his place,” said Haida.
“Oh, it isn’t a losing sight…”
“Aha…yes…ok…. Sure, I’ve gotten it! See you then, bye,” said Haida and cut Kelly off and the latter called back immediately.
“I want you to surprise Carlos with your visit, so he shouldn’t know you are coming. What do you think?” she asked.
“That sounds nice. I agree!” said Haida ecstatically.
Initially, she knew without Kelly, she would hardly go to Carlos’ all alone. She was well aware of his interest in her and she’d better avoid giving him any chances to harass her sexually. She wasn’t ready for anything more than a friend with him and so she shouldn’t lead him on. However, now, she was ready and willing to flirt with him as she kind of quite liked him – he treated her with respect and made her feel good, he was funny too – and really wouldn’t mind if Kelly didn’t show up. She prepared immediately and waited for any wind about the vicar’s absence from the house. How cautious of the vicar and great a liar she had become of late. Yes, it all started when she met Mellis. That Mellis! He turned her life around – more for the worse. She wasn’t a liar and pretender, but his presence in her life has made her these against her loved ones – her father, mother, sister and Kiara. The very people she trusted and would hardly lie to or pretend with.
Half an hour later, Haida got downstairs looking all dressed up, and met her mom beside the Tele, seeing a movie.
“Are you going out?” asked Mrs. Morgan.
“Oh yes.”
“Where to?”
“To Kiara’s,” said Haida immediately. “We couldn’t finish up what we were doing at her house yesterday.”
“Alright, but eat something first.”
“I’m still not hungry mom. I’ll eat something at Kiara’s when I get there. See you mom, bye,” and she was gone.
Mrs. Morgan sighed deeply ‘Hoping it’s really Kiara’s you are going!’ she thought. Had she really started mistrusting her daughter or it was Haida who had started being a liar?
***
“You mean Haida’s not yet at your place?” Kelly was asking. “No. But why do you want her to get here before you?” asked Carlos. “Carlos! I want you to have enough time alone with her to seduce her to get interested in you! You must make her fall for you and forget all about Mellis!” said Kelly quite sternly. “I would have changed my mind about coming to you so that you could be alone with her, but I’ve already given her my word and she might become suspicious if I don’t show up. You know, I don’t think it would work with Osborn because he’s married, and more so, to Meg who has become a good friend. I can’t let her down, you understand? You are my only hope now….”
“Kelly…” Carlos cut into her, “Kelly I can’t go on with this anymore,” he said blatantly.
“Huh?! You can’t back off now Carlos! For Christ’s sake not when she has started liking you too!” she said dejectedly.
“I’m not backing off…” said Carlos, reaching the fridge and spreading mayonnaise on his cucumber sandwich. He took a fat bite of the sandwich and then placed the bottle of mayonnaise at its place.
Just at that moment, Haida quietly entered the hall and saw Carlos on the phone with his back to her. She smiled, as she imagined the surprise look he would wear when she calls his name.
“I’m not backing off from Haida…” his mouth was full “…I mean I’m backing off from the deceit that I’m supposedly interested in her! Because, you know what, what was supposed to be a pretense is now real. Think I’m truly interested in her…” he said relaxingly
The smile on Haida’s lips died down and she hid behind the curtains and listened. What could he possibly be talking about?
“No Carlos, no! It wasn’t our plan to get her into your life forever! You are breaching!” shouted Kelly.
He giggled. “I’m sorry Kelly, but I’ve fallen in love with Haida and neither you nor I can change that…” and he laughed mockingly. “See, that’s how love goes. Sometimes you can’t help it who you fall in love with. It could even be someone you hated not long ago…I could fall in love with you, you know…” he said derisively. Pouring himself a glass of grape juice, he gulped down mid glass.
“Damn you Carlos! You dare not pull a fast one on me! No! It won’t work, you hear me?! It won’t! Stupid fool!” Kelly was angry.
“Watch your tongue, woman!” he retorted, hitting the glass on the center table in the kitchen. “What’s your problem anyway, huh?! All you have wanted is to separate her and Mellis and have him all for yourself, so what’s the big deal if I have fallen in love with her and I get to win her love?! You don’t stand the chance to lose, do you?!”
“Now, you listen to me!”said Kelly through gritted teeth, feeling more irate. Then lowering her voice, “It wasn’t only my plan to separate her from Mellis, but to see her lonely and suffering in the hands of jerks like you! I want to see her have a miserable life! So you can’t love her and make her happy ever after. Am I clear with you?!” she shouted.
He chuckled. “You lose, Kelly. You lose so badly!”
“I guess you are thinking you’ve won, huh?! Not so fast Carlos, because I’m going to tell Haida all about your pretense and deceit and what a jerk you really are! I’m going to make her believe me and hate you forever! You know I can do that Carlos! You know how I can go about it! You know me Carlos!” Kelly was shouting contemptibly.
“I’ll reveal the truth to her before you do and you can bet your life on that!” he said, pouring more grape juice into the glass.
“What…what do you mean?!”
“Yes Kelly, I’m gonna tell the whole truth to Haida myself. Who you really are and how you made her believe you’re such a good friend when you’re only her rival and hate her so much!” he said, swaying his body in ridicule. “That Mellis is your fiancé and how it is that you hired me to make sure I separate them, and all the lies you made up to see to the reality of this…!” retorted Carlos. “Everything Kelly. Everything about you that she doesn’t know about!” he snapped and hung up on her.
He made his way to the couch in the living room with a plate of sandwich and grape juice in his hand. Just then, Haida came out from her hideout. She was breathing so heavily, her eyes slightly teary as she stood, dumbfounded and upset. It was obvious she had heard everything.
“Haida?” he said softly. Then he smiled. “How…when did you get here? I didn’t know you were here…” he stammered.
She stood speechless and gazed wickedly into his eyes.
“What’s the matter, Haida? Is something wrong? Come and have a seat,” he said moving towards her. She kept glaring at him. “Why are you looking upset? What’s the problem, Haida…?”
“You are the problem and you know that!” she burst into his face.
“Haida… please let me explain…” he said softly, about taking her hands.
“Don’t you touch me!” she shouted. “I can’t believe you did this!” she whispered, shaking her head miserably. “Oh, why should I be surprised? You men are all the same!” she sneered.
“Haida, I truly love you….�
�
“Don’t dare talk to me about love!”
They gazed into each other’s eyes for a while before she bolted out of the room with so much anger and sadness in her heart. His phone rang.
“It’s over! She knows everything now! Who won? I!” and he laughed wryly. He cut Kelly through without waiting for her to say a word.
Kelly found it unnecessary anymore to hide from Mellis. This was the right time to see him; already she was missing him too much. She drove straight to Mellis’ without second thoughts. She was going to start her make-up process with him. She hoped it wouldn’t be as difficult as she had imagined, getting this hunk back into her life for good.
Meanwhile, Haida was so frustrated: was it really true all she heard Carlos say? Was her mom right all along about Kelly? Was she really having an affair with Mellis already? One thought upon another rushed through her mind as she drove. Then she took her time and thought about Kelly – from the time she met her, everything concerning her, till the last time she spoke to her, few minutes ago. Upon her thoughts, she found some justification in what she heard Carlos say. But then again, other thoughts made these insignificant. She was too confused. She didn’t know what to believe. It was like a dream. No! It couldn’t be! Kelly was a good friend, she cared truly about her; she has shown this in so many ways. She had always defended her in the presence of everyone – her mom, Kiara, Jolly and even Mellis – and she couldn’t be wrong about her. They had thought she was too naïve about Kelly and she was happy to know they were wrong for Kelly had proven to be a good person and friend. But now what is this all about her really being a charlatan? The thought that the others have proven to be right all along was too painful. She felt disappointed and betrayed and she couldn’t accept that she was really naïve. She had always believed in her sense of judgment, and if Kelly was truly not for real, then she felt she couldn’t trust her sense of judgment and discernment anymore. She wanted to call Kelly and hear her side of the story, but what was the need? She’d be as hypocritical as she is if all were true. This was an issue she couldn’t wait yet another minute to find out the truth, and she wondered what to do now. Then she thought of Mellis. She’d muster up all the courage and defy all self-pride and go to him. She’d put the issue straight to him and query if he knew any Kelly at all. But was that also worth it? He was no different. He’d also give her lies. Everything was confusing, but which way was better? Mindlessly, she drove straight to Mellis’ end.