If someone had told her that Valentine would leave her for another woman and his son and she would survive it and be so happy, she would laugh at the person; but these days, seeing the resemblance which her baby Lucia shares with her father just makes her delighted.
Anytime Lucia smiles and her dimples show, she wishes Valentine could see his daughter but then life must go on. As she trailed her index finger on her baby’s rosy cheeks, Susanne couldn’t help but admit it to herself that God gave her a gift that would dry her tears and make her see the silver lining in the cloud her divorce created.
What Susanne didn’t see coming, were the two visits she had. Valerie came to her house a month before. She knocked on her door an hour after Susanne came back from her morning shift. When Susanne opened her door to see Valerie standing there, she just went dumb. She was so angry she could have exploded but when Valerie started apologizing and telling her what happened seventeen years ago; how her father died and how distraught she was, Susanne started feeling a bit sorry for her. She of all people understood what it meant to want something so badly, have it just within your grasp and still not be able to get it. She had loved Valentine for so long and very deeply. He had always been so near, yet his heart had always been so far. Susanne just stared her in the face while the woman rambled on and on. She went from enquiring about her health to asking for forgiveness over and over again. When she had exhausted her reserve of apologies she left not before saying that she will try and make things right, especially for the baby.
Thinking about it now, she respected Valerie for at least apologizing and owning up to the part she played in wrecking her marriage. As her mind took her to the day the second person came she became infuriated. Although the visitor was an unexpected person, the visit was not a surprise. When she heard the doorbell, she was lying on the sofa, just a few days to her delivery date. The weight of the baby was then making moving around a little bit difficult.
Susanne ignored the doorbell hoping the person at the door would go away but the person was persistent and kept ringing the doorbell. She forced herself to a sitting person and got up to answer the door. When she opened the door to see who it was, Susanne slammed the door shut. It was hard to tell whether it was anger or shock that made her slam the door in his face but one thing Susanne was sure of, was the fact that Valentine deserved it. When he rang the bell again a couple of times and she didn’t open the door, he went away.
Thinking about it now made her angrier. She was sure that Valerie was the one that told him where she was living and about her pregnancy. Susanne took a deep breath and exhaled. She didn’t want any negativity around her or her baby and the anger was not helping.
She leaned into the baby’s cot and planted a peck on her baby’s cheek. She was choosing to count her blessings and not dwell on her past failures. With that happy thought, Susanne switched on the baby monitor, took one of the monitor with her and left the nursery.
Valerie had confirmed from Alfred’s assistant that he was at home. When she got to the house, all the workers were delighted to see her. When she told one of the maids to let Alfred know she wanted to see him, “Madam, Oga says you should come to the room”, the maid said when she returned. Valerie opened the door to see Alfred lying down. He was wearing only his boxers. She had to bite her lip in order to stop herself from telling him to put on his t-shirt. Valerie remembered the numerous times she had to force him to put on shirt or she would switch off the air conditioner. He would grudgingly do it, each time, he muttered to himself, “someone is acting more like my mother than my wife”, and each time she would answer, “A good wife at some point or the other would act as a mother to her husband”.
Alfred would tease her by calling her, Mummy Wife”. On one occasion, he kissed her passionately and said, “I am eternally in love with the wife and I admire the mother you are especially with our son. I love all the sides of you, Valerie Alfred Adegbola, Iyawo mi”.
“I presume you are here to see me”, Alfred said shaking her out of her reverie. “My assistant called to say you enquired about my whereabouts, so tell me what's up”, he said picking up a t-shirt on the bed, he moved to the edge of the bed. He put on the t-shirt and patted the spot on beside him on the bed “you can sit and tell me what it is you want with me”.
Valerie walked up to Alfred and stood a few inches from where he sat. The surprise he felt was evident on his face and it heightened when she got down on her knees. She just knelt there and didn’t say a word and neither did he. They just kept staring at each other. She broke the silence, “Adejumobi”, she called him by his native name. They both knew when he is called by his native name, his heart softens. “I am so so sorry about everything”. Alfred started tapping his feet, showing his unease. “My husband, I know I have offended you in so many ways and I am pleading with you to forgive me”. Alfred got up suddenly, knocking her to the floor, “what do you want from me”, Alfred screamed. “I gave you everything I had, and you tossed it back at me. I gave you my heart, body, my name and all I own, and none of those things meant anything to you. What is it you want this time, I ask you. Do you want my life? Do you want my life?”, he repeated at the top of his voice.
“Please all I want is your forgiveness”, Valerie pleaded. “What for?”, Alfred screamed, holding her by her shoulder and dragging her to her feet. Alfred turned her to face him, “I should forgive you so that you can come back to my life and continue making a mockery of the institution called marriage? I don’t care what you do, I just don’t want to go through that kind of public humiliation ever again”.
They stood facing each other, “Alfred”, she said in a very gentle voice, “I’m pregnant” she paused, looking into his eyes, she added, “I’m pregnant for you”. Alfred burst out laughing. He laughed so loud that Valerie became scared. He fell on the bed and continued laughing. The sudden knock on the door and Alfred’s hysterical laughter made Valerie shake, “Is everything ok, Ma”, the person called out. Valerie swallowed and answered, “Everything is fine”. Alfred was still laughing, rolling around on the bed. “You can go”, she added.
Valerie got to the bed and sat on it, “Alfred please stop this. You are scaring me”, she pleaded. He stopped laughing immediately and that scared Valerie even more. His face still held some trace of humour, “you are one funny woman, Valerie”, Alfred said shaking his head. “You are actually trying to pin another man’s pregnancy on me. We both know that he just has to get in there once to score the goal. I have been trying for years”. “Alfred, please”, she pleaded, “I am so many things but I could never pin another man’s pregnancy on you. I have a DNA test to prove it”, she said pulling out an envelope from her bag. She offered the envelope to him, and when he didn’t take it, she tossed it on the bed. “I am five months pregnant and laugh all you want, you are responsible. I have to admit that I thought it was Valentine’s but a part of me had to be sure and the DNA test result says you are responsible. I had to come and tell you because I feel you have a right to know. Alfred this could be a sign, the universe is trying to say something. It gave us something to share. Alfred, please don’t let my sins stop you from sharing in this joy”, she said placing her hands protectively on her stomach. Alfred then noticed the growing stomach that was hidden by the long caftan she was putting on. “Just look at the test result”, Valerie said. With that, her work at Alfred’s house was done. She turned on her heels and walked away.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this”, Valentine said to his son as he got into the driver's seat of his black Mercedes S-class. Zeal got in beside him, “Sir, it will be alright”. Even though Valentine would love to hear his son call him Dad, he was going to wait for things to happen naturally. As Valentine stole a glance at his son, a smile came to lips. The past three weeks he had spent with his son was the best time in the thirty-four years of his life. Zeal was patient, industrious, very intelligent with a good spirit. Zeal was an optimist and was slowly dragging him into that
way of life. Zeal always saw a glass half full and he had convinced him to do something he had given up on. “You need to start believing in the good in people because its always there, sometimes it's hidden deep down in their being, but its there”, Zeal stated.
“Maybe, it's Doctor Alfred or your mom that you took this optimistic trait from. I think almost all human beings are snakes. Trust anyone and they turn around and bite you. Why are you smiling?”, Valentine asked his son as he drove out of the gate, waving a thank you to the gateman.
“My red Ferrari is on my mind. I love that car. Thanks again”, Zeal said. Valentine smiled back at his son. “I am positive you learnt the habit of thanking someone numerous times from your Dad. It’s a Yoruba thing”. They both dissolved into laughter.
Susanne tried everything to get Baby Lucia to keep quiet. She sang, danced and she even staged a puppet show for her but the baby wouldn’t shut up. Her grandmother had gone to make her hair, Susanne just wished her mother would come back and take her grandchild. These days Lucia has started choosing who she lets carry her. Sometimes her grandmother would want to carry her and she would put up a loud protest, screaming, and tugging at her hair. At times such as now, she would not want her own mother to touch. At first, this new habit of hers was cute but right now there was nothing cute about her loud shrieks. At just four months, Lucia was becoming quite a handful. Afraid that if she dropped her, she would cry even more, Susanne put her on her shoulder, and went to answer the doorbell that wouldn’t stop ringing.
What Susanne opened her door to see, shocked her to the bones. They were almost like the same person, only one was younger and a few inches shorter, if you don’t look closely you won’t see the difference in height.
“Good afternoon Madam, I am Zeal, and I have heard a lot of wonderful things about you”. All this time Lucia wouldn’t stop crying and fussing. Susanne had to hold her closely else she would fall. “May I hold her”, Zeal asked, smiling and showing a perfect set of dentition like his father’s and a set of dimples still identical to his father’s. Without thinking, Susanne placed the screaming baby into her brother’s outstretched arms. “Hello sister, you are the most beautiful baby I have ever seen”, he cooed to her. Her crying subsided and she started studying the person’s face that was carrying her with so much fascination. Susanne stepped out of the entrance and Zeal intuitively knew it was an invitation into her home. Valentine couldn’t believe his eyes, it was as though. Zeal had hypnotized her into doing every single thing she was doing. The same woman that had slammed the door in his face, five months ago.
When they joined Zeal in the sitting room, they found him seated on the cushion with the baby sound asleep in his arms.
“Thank you, Zeal. It was nice meeting you. Thanks for lulling her to sleep. Babies are spirits, she must have sensed you are kin. I hope to see more of you”, she said almost like a question “Sure, Ma’am”, Zeal assured her.
“I will definitely come back so that I can see you and ...” “Lucia”, Susanne offered. “Her name is Lucia”, she brought back light to my life. and mostly because she is so fair. They all smiled at the thought. “She really is fair”, Valentine spoke up and it made the discussion come to an end because Susanne’s facial expression changed from the love that was radiating on her towards Zeal to a weird look, neither could place a name on. They both sensed it was time to go and soon after they drove out after thanking Susanne for everything.
When Alfred had arranged the meeting with her through his Personal Assistant, he didn’t know what to expect. Seeing her walk up to him across the room, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Susanne is beautiful; her brown curly hair was halfway down her back parted at the center. She was clad in a fuchsia pink mini gown that was loose on her but showed off her beautiful long legs.
“You must be, Dr. Adegbola”, she said through pink glossed lips. The restaurant in Channel View Hotel was a beauty, and the staff were impeccable. She drew a seat. and sat, “Sorry about my manners”, Alfred said. “I’m usually more well behaved than this”, and that earned him a smile from her small but full lips.
“I must say you are breathtaking”, Alfred said, taking her right hand and planting a light feathery kiss on the back of her palm. “I must say Dr. Adegbola, your manners keep improving. But take it easy on the flattery”, Susanne teased, smiling at him. “We both know I am not flattering you. Please call me Alfred. I didn’t know what to expect. I must say Valentine’s wife has the face of an angel and a body that is flawless, I can tell from that loose gown of yours. I heard you just gave birth. Congratulations”, Alfred said. “Thank you, Alfred. I have to add that I am Valentine’s ex-wife, our divorce was finalized more than nine months ago”.
Susanne took her time to look. Alfred was a very handsome man and even his well-tailored suit couldn’t hide his virility. Alfred raised his hand and made a signal and shortly after a waiter arrived and took their order.
“Susanne, how are you coping? It must be hard for you...”, “You mean how am I carrying on considering the fact that Valentine left me for your wife, his ex-girlfriend. How I felt when I saw the custody battle between him and your family when he made me abort three pregnancies. You want to know how I felt when I realized that a woman I took as a friend is the same woman who slept with my husband. Well, Alfred, look at me and tell me how you think I am doing”. Alfred just stared at her and couldn’t say a word. The waiter arrived with the order and his presence dissipated the tension a bit.
“You know”, Alfred said as he dropped his spoon, “I have been wallowing in self-pity beating myself up and lamenting of how Valerie has wronged me. I didn’t for once consider you. We are both victims. I came to the conclusion that we should unite and help each other out”. Susanne was busy enjoying her chicken pepper soup with a glass of pineapple juice. Alfred made the order and didn’t order for an alcoholic drink for her because she was nursing. “May I ask you something personal?”, Alfred asked. Susanne nodded, “Do you still love Valentine? Would you in the future want to get back with him, even as lovers?”
Susanne dropped her spoon and sat contemplating. All the while, Alfred didn’t take his eyes off her. “Honestly, I would want some kind of relationship, if not for my sake but my daughter’s. He has stopped by the house a couple of times with his son and I see the way he loves and admires his son. I want that love and paternal influence for my daughter.
I must be truthful to you; I am still deeply in love with Valentine. I have been receiving marriage proposals, even during my pregnancy but it just doesn’t feel right. I have stopped going on dates because it just ends up being a torture for me and the man”.
“Where do we go from here”, Alfred said as he forks a well-seasoned chicken liver into his mouth. “This is tasty”, Alfred said, shaking his head. Susanne giggles, “there is something you and Valentine have in common”, Susanne said. “Apart from my wife, what else” Alfred questioned, Susanne gives him a look and answers, “You both love good food. You both like to treat your stomach well”.
They both ate in companionable silence, Susanne breaks the silence, “Alfred, let me ask you. Do you want your family back? Do you still love her?”
“I still love her but taking her back after everything that has happened would be difficult and the pregnancy she is carrying makes everything even more complicated”. Susanne’s countenance changed. “I am responsible, you don’t have to worry. It seems the universe just wants to keep complicating my life. Now that we would have gone our separate ways, she gets pregnant for me”.
It became clear to Susanne that Alfred’s problem was bigger. In a society where an adulteress is scorned at but if a man commits adultery, most of the time, the wife takes him back. Not only was he a man with an ego like all men, his private affairs had been made public. “Life is really unpredictable: one minute I am enjoying life with my wife and son, the next moment, my name is dragged in the mud, my son now bears another man’s name and lives with him, my wife sleeps with
the same man but gets pregnant for me”.
Susanne smiles at the way he sums up the whole situation. Alfred realizes what she is smiling at and smiles back and both start laughing heartily. They both calmed down and finished their food. Immediately they dropped their spoons, a waiter came and cleared the table.
“Thanks for inviting me, I enjoyed the chicken pepper soup”, Susanne thanked Valentine, dabbing her lips with the napkin. “I know pepper soup is good for nursing mothers, even though you don’t look like one”, Alfred said admiring her openly. She smiled and said, “thank you, for the compliment. You have not told me how you got my number and house address. How did you know I delivered?”, she enquired.
Alfred laughed, “I made it my business and never again will anything take me unawares again”. They both knew what he was talking about. “Sitting here with you I have laughed more times than I have laughed in the past five months. Thank you” he said, and Susanne knew what he meant, she nodded.
“I will have to go soon; I have enjoyed myself so much that I have forgotten I have a baby at home. I have to ask, will you let society decide if you should be happy or not? Your wife has vowed not to return to Valentine and she is carrying your baby now. After Valentine claimed his son, your ties with Valerie would have been severed but it's not. Will you at least forgive her? I keep a clean slate. I know I should not be pleading her case, especially since she slept with my husband but I have been intimated by both parties on everything that happened. They are not right, not by a long shot but all I can say is that your wife has a good heart. She told Valentine about my baby and he has been coming like I told you. I don’t know what he told her. So are you considering giving your unborn child a family ?”
Alfred did not say a word. When he spoke all he said to her was “I will if you will”.
EPILOGUE
Choices Page 15