Tiara's mother-in-law rubbed her sweaty palms against her nightwear as she paced up and down the living room, gazing intently at her phone every so often.
She glanced at the huge wall clock hanging on the wall and her heart sank deeper than it had been sinking for the past few hours. She sunk into a couch and tapped her perfectly manicured wrinkled fingers impatiently on her thighs.
It was 12:43 am.
She wiped at the beads of sweat that seemed to be pouring out of every pore on her forehead. The fully air-conditioned room had become too hot for her.
She threw her phone on the couch in frustration and stood up to stare out the window. Her brows furrowed and lips pressed into a tight line, she elongated her neck in a bid to see beyond the fence, her eyes searching. She swallowed to relieve the tight feeling in her chest but it didn't help. She took a deep breath but it did little to ease the sense of dread that clawed at her entire being. She knew she needed to calm down and get her nerves together. She walked back to the couch and picked up her phone where she had abandoned it and typed in her passcode in a flash, with each key vibrating as she pressed. She dialed Tiara's number for the twenty-sixth time.
The number you dialed is switc-
The service provider was silenced as she ended the call. She had gotten the same response the last sixteen times she had tried. The fact that the phone had rang the first ten times she called, made her mind travel to places that weren't pleasant.
What could have happened to her?
Do I irritate her this much that she would abandon her her home to avoid me?
Where does she want me to start looking for her?
She hated the fact that she didn't have Kiki's contact. That would have been a good place to start.
She gasped as a thought hit her.
What if she has been kidnapped!
She took deep breaths to steady her heartbeat and decided to do the most difficult part she wished she could avoid.
She dialed her son's number and tapped her foot impatiently on the floor as it rang.
"Hello mom" Fikayo's rasp voice came to life and filled her ears.
"Hello, Fikayo... Egbami" worry seeped out of her voice and her son caught it and it made his heart race.
"Mummy, is everything okay? Ki ló ṣẹlẹ? This should be about 12:55 am back home so why are you still awake at this time?"
She caught the worry in his voice and wondered if she was doing the right thing by calling him. She wanted to tell him that his wife whom he treated like a precious jewel and carried as though she were a fragile egg, was not home yet since she left to see her friend. She wanted to tell him that the woman who had made him the happiest she had ever seen him, might be in danger. And it happened right under her watch.
"Wo, how are you my dear? I'm just checking on you." She said instead.
"I'm doing well, mummy. But you don't sound okay. What's going on? Are you alright? Is my wife okay?"
She let out a deep retired sigh. "Wo, let me not lie, I'm not okay..."
"What happened? Mummy please give Tiara the phone. Are you two okay?"
Her heart skipped, "that's what I've been trying to tell you ọkọ mi. She not here" her voice was gentle.
"What do you mean she's not there?"
"She went to that her friend's house... what's her name again?"
"Kiki? Mummy, what have you done this time!"
"I didn't do anything to her. I only scolded her a little. Or is this how she leaves your house when you're out on your numerous trips? Is she this promiscuous?"
"Mummy please!" He barked. The fierceness in his voice shocked her, making her hold the phone away from her ear.
"I won't have you talk about Tiara like that! That's your daughter-in-law for goodness sake! I'm getting on the next available flight to Nigeria. And you better pray mom, you better pray nothing's happened to her because if anything happens to my wife, you will lose me too!"
The line went dead before she could utter any word. Not that she had anything to say.
She blew out hot air and glanced subconsciously to the wall clock before saying a little prayer.
Lord Jesus, please keep her safe wherever she may be. If you can help me with this one, I'll never taunt her again, please lord...
She held her hands out in front of her in prayer position as her eyes watered but she blinked the tears away.
Chief Mrs Davis would never be caught crying.
****
Fikayo tapped his foot impatiently as he sat in the backseat of a taxi. His mind had drifted to many thousand scenarios and they were breaking him. His eyes carefully roamed and searched each street as the car zoomed pass, hoping to see her somewhere. Anywhere.
Where could his baby be?
Could she have left him?
Did she get tired of all the bullshit she was being served by his family and finally upped and left his sorry ass?
No. She couldn't do that even if she wanted to. She loved him more than life itself. That, he was sure of. A little hope hung in the air and he inhaled it, filling his lungs with it.
Another sour feeling clawed at his insides. This one troubled him more than the others.
Had his beloved wife left life itself instead of leaving him?
He tried to get rid of the huge lump that formed in his throat. He wrestled with his tie, ripped it off his collar and sent it flying out the window.
"Can you step on it? Drive this car or I'll come do it neatly for you!" He snapped at the chauffeur who simply observed him from the rare view mirror from beneath his black face cap, wondering what could be eating him up alive.
People who lived in this part of the city should have no worries at all.
He thought to himself.
"Sorry sir, we're almost there." He said and peeled off his face cap which left a faint mark round his bald scalp. He picked a paper on which the address was scribbled and took one final glance at it as he cornered a street.
"We're here." He pulled up in front of one of the mansions which was surrounded by identical mansions with perfectly manicured lawns that formed a beautiful sea of greenery screaming luxury. The fragrance of roses hung loose in the air and the chauffeur caught a glimpse of the red flower through the see-through gate.
Fikayo hopped down from the car before the chauffeur could come to a full stop, and dashed for the gate.
"Em... Sir! Your luggages. I'll quickly offload them." The driver called after him. He halted in his hurried steps and tapped around his pockets for his wallet.
Picking out a crisp hundred dollar note, "Keep this for fuel. My driver will come pick my luggage." He said and hurried into the compound, his heart racing and heavy, the weight of it leaving a deep ache he could almost touch, he didn't even hear the chauffeur raining his thanks.
"Welcome sir." His personal driver said with a slight bow on his way out the gate.
"Thanks, John. Is my wife home?" He stopped to ask.
"No, sir. She drove off about this time yesterday and she hasn't returned since."
Fikayo clenched his jaws, his brows furrowing in a frown. "Why didn't you take her?"
"She insisted on driving herself, sir. Said she wasn't going too far."
Fikayo let out an exasperated breath as he ran his fingers through his nappy hair. He slightly nodded a 'go ahead' to John who bowed before walking out the gate.
"Fikayomi..." He turned around to see his mother approaching, a wide smile on her face as she opened wide her arms to embrace him.
What was she smiling for?
He knew this facade too well. It was this same mask she had worn when his team had lost the relay race in nursery school. She had worn a really wide smile as she pecked his wailing mouth shut, telling him, he was her winner and that was all that mattered.
She had worn this same mask when he had lost in the finals of the spelling bee competition that would have bagged him a scholarship in his dream school abroad. She had surprised him the following year with an admission letter from the school. She wore this same smile when his high school crush rejected his proposal to go to prom with him and instead, went with his best friend, Chuks. She had smiled and said 'oh well, her loss. She just dodged a prince to kiss a frog'. Each and every single time, that broad charming smile of hers had worked, calming his raging storm, telling him everything was alright. Or at least was going to be.
Today was different.
The smile enraged him and made his stomach twist and turn in ways he didn't know it could. He clenched his jaw and looked away from her, telling his heart to calm down. Willing himself not to say anything he would regret.
His mother's smile shrunk as she knew her charm wasn't working. How has her daughter in-law cast a spell on her son? She knew him inside out, knew how to get to him, what to say and when to say it. What was this resistance? She was worried sick too about Tiara but she had to do something to protect her son's feelings. Something that had always worked but somehow, wasn't working right then.
"Ọkọ mi... Káàbọ̀. How was your trip?"
"Mummy, my wife. Where's my wife? I want my wife."
"I know, son. Calm down. There is no need to panic, we'll find her..." She pacified him. Fikayo shot her an unbelievable look.
"Mum, where is the woman I left in your care?" His mother's face fell. Tears brewing in her eyes.
"Ọkọ mi, come inside first. Come into your home."
"Home? My home is missing! Nowhere to be found! And it's all because of you!" He stormed off and brushed past her, his rage evaporating from every pore on his skin.
She walked after him in hurried steps to match his strides then came to a halt when he suddenly stopped and impatiently reached for his phone.
"What are you doing? She's been unreachable since last night. I've tried." She said, worry breaking her voice. Her eyes traced the hard lines that formed on his face, especially the deep wrinkles that appeared on his forehead as he ignored her and typed away on his phone.
"Yes Inspector, Mr. Fikayo Davis. ...very well, thank you. Em... My wife-"
The sound of blaring horn drowned out the inspectors voice. He looked through the see-through gate to see the sound emanating from his wife's white SUV. He bit down his rage and clenched his free fist.
"You know what, Inspector, I'll call you right back."
His mother made the sign of the cross as the car drove into the compound and parked in its usual spot. Tiara stepped out of the car and four pairs of eyes took her in from head to toe. Her hair was a tangled mess and her makeup looked like a poor attempt at makeup removal. Her eyes were sunken deep and red as dried up tear-shaped mascara ran down her chin.
She was the visual representation of the word 'disheveled'
She didn't say or word or attempt to move an inch. She just stood there as the world went in and out of focus.
Fikayo tried to read the look on her face, many scenarios rushing in and out of his thoughts.
Albeit grateful that she was home unscathed, if he could call it that, the burning rage within him needed to be put out. Questions had to be answered.
"Where are you coming from, young woman?" He asked calmly, his anger still managing to seep through the facade.
"I..." She spoke but her voice came out as a whisper.
"I said where the bloody hell have you been!" He yelled out his hearts content and approached her angrily. His mother grabbed his arm to stop him but he yanked his arm away from her to face his wife.
"Fiky..." Tears was swelling in her eyes.
"Don't you dare 'Fiky' me." He ordered in hushed tone.
She bowed her head and shut tight her eyes as she mentally prepared herself for his outburst. Tears streamed down her face.
"Since when have you become like this? You get us all worried for nothing? Whatever happened to answering your calls!"
"My phone went dead..." She blurted out.
"Yeah? So you couldn't reach me on anyone else's bloody phone? You couldn't reach anyone at all? Your mother?"
"Baby, I'm sorry..." Her voice was faint, almost inaudible.
He let out a humourless laugh, "you're sorry..."
Then sized her up from head to toe
"You look sorry." He spat and breezed past his mother who was feeling too guilty to meddle in their argument.
Her eyes widened in shock.
"Fikayo!" She call after him but he didn't even take as much as a glance in their direction.
"Fikayo help me!" He turned around to see his mother squatted beside his wife who was sprawled on the floor. His eyes bulged out of their sockets and his heart exploded in his chest as he ran towards them.