Ego walked briskly to the reception, where the receptionist had a caller on hold for her. As she made her way downstairs to receive the impromptu call, she wondered at the urgency of the call and was surprised that her boss could have allowed her to even pick the call in the first place. The top executives in her company were in the middle of a tough deliberation as regards the recent relocation of some sensitive equipment to their sister factory and the government officials treating the issue were trying to act smart.
She gave Amanda, the receptionist a brief smile as she picked up the receiver on the large semi-circular desk that took up half of the floor space. She turned her back discreetly at the young lady at the desk as she spoke into the phone.
Osahon stood defiantly before his father. He was in his father's study and his father, now playing judge, sat at his desk, presiding. His cousin-cum-brother, Segun, on a visit with the family, stood at a respectable distance from the desk where Osaro sat. Rosa Obasogie was noticeably absent.Osaro was tapping the top of his desk as he addressed his younger son. "I will have no child of mine exhibit any trait of hooliganism, Osahon! You were not so taught!""But dad, he-" Osahon began to protest defiantly but his father's roar startled him into silence."No more meddlin
Obiageli Kaodiliye tossed restlessly again on her bed. The nightmare never left her alone. She knew that her conscience will forever hold her guilty before a holy God, Who had demanded nothing but holiness from her. Yet she was afraid, deeply afraid of being misunderstood. Her dear husband had been away for two weeks now on an official duty, and she could not discuss her inner turmoil with him over the phone. These were the times when she really wished he was around her. She knew he would have given her sound counsel on how to approach such matters.Ego was a 'no-no' as the fervent preparations for both her marriage and that of her friend's was eating up her whole attention. She rarely had time for anything else. And, how would her daughter have taken her mother's appalling and unfounded allegations? Ego could be heady most times, and Obiageli was not sure if approaching her daughter would settle the present
There was a mild shower in the morning on Ame's wedding day. Ame had turned down the beauticians her mother had sent to her, choosing only to be attended to by her best friend, Nwakaego Kaodiliye. For her wedding dress, since her mother-in-law, Mrs Abiola Adejare had insisted on providing it, she had chosen a silver, ankle-length gown which enhanced her curves to an advantage. The shimmering ankle-length cape attached to the dress added to the beauty of the dress and made Ame look like a dazzling nymph. For her adornment, Ame wore the diamond necklace which Philip had given her, her mother had given her a pair of diamond earrings and diamond bracelet to accentuate her necklace. She wore the silver Swiss wrist watch which her father had given her on her twenty-third birthday. The only makeup she wore was the pale peach lipstick that Philip liked. And, she had also insisted on wearing her hair in the style Philip had preferred. Her dressing on her wedding day was all for her dead love,
"Ol' boy, you really strong o!" Dare's voice hailed Dapo at the other end. His wife was out shopping by herself and so Dapo had taken the liberty to call his friend back home in Nigeria to break the news of his wife's pregnancy to him.Abiola Adejare had been ecstatic when she received the news hours earlier and had promised her son 'the package' on his return to Nigeria."Any improvements after that first night?" Dare asked his friend. The couple were in their fourth week of honeymoon in Los Angeles, America because Ame refused to go back home yet.Dapo hissed in answer to his friend's question. He didn't want to remember the ugly incident. They had reached America the next day of their travel and Ame had claimed jet lag and tiredness as an excuse not to perform her conjugal duty to her husband on that first night. The wife's continual rejection the whole week long had made the young husband take to the bottle and on their fifth night in America, a drunken Dapo had forced himself on h
Sweat trickled down Philip's face but the attendant nurse quickly dabbed at it with a sterile cotton swab. His eyes lit up in appreciation but he quickly turned to the patient on the operating bed. He was with a team of neurosurgeons in the theatre where they had been for the previous five hours, battling to save the life of a man who had been involved in an accident. His helicopter had crashed immediately after take off and though he had miraculously escaped death, he was in a very bad shape. He had been rushed into the emergency section of the hospital in the early hours of the morning and the senior surgeons had risen to the challenge. Philip had been surprised when he saw his name on the schedule but the Chief Medical Director had quipped that having understudied their best hands for over six months, Philip was over qualified to be part of the team.The operation had been long and hard and Philip, knowing
Philip rounded off his evening surgery and prepared to head home. He was quite happy as it had been a fulfilling day for him. He had succeeded in posting all his letters to Ame; he had even paid for it to be delivered by the Courier Express, so he was assured that this time, his letters would get to her and quickly too. He smiled proudly to himself at the great achievement, and even nodded heartily at one of the janitors who was hustling away, probably to meet up with an appointment.He had painstakingly taken his time to explain all that had happened to him, right from when he had left his beloved Ame, till when he had landed in Australia. Then, he had apologized for all the pains he must undoubtedly have caused her to pass through. He had ended his letter by expressing his unchanging love for his Ame, whom he claimed to 'always love'. He had also written his office and apartment phone numbers as a post script for her so that she could get in touch with him as soon as she received his
"Congratulations, Mrs. Alatise, you are three weeks pregnant!" The doctor beamed as she announced happily to Ego.Ego laughed in response. She looked up as she raised her arms up in praise to God. "Ah, thank You, God!" She looked at the doctor. "Thanks, doctor."The doctor nodded as she scribbled something into Ego's file which was before her. She then looked at Ego, where she sat opposite her and handed her a sealed envelope. "You have to register for the antenatal classes now, my dear.""Okay, doctor. When do the classes start?" Ego asked anxiously."We have the classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m." the doctor said, as she smiled again."Thank you, doctor," Ego whispered as she returned the doctor's smile."That will be all for now," the doctor nodded her head and Ego rose up from the chair. "Congratulations once again, Mrs. Alatise."Ego could only smile at the doctor as she walked out of the room, giving room to the next patient on the doctor's appointment list. She couldn'
"Ibadan sucks, man! Why did your old man ever go and tuck you in such an obsolete place, eh?" Dare complained bitterly to Dapo. They were at their usual joint somewhere on the mainland, far from the prying eyes of nosy reporters but Dapo had announced as soon as they got together that he could not stay for long that night. Dare could not understand why a fully grown man like Dapo would still choose to dance to every tune played by his overbearing father.That was the problem with all these over indulged children of the super rich; they were too protected, like crabs full of shells, having lived a sheltered life right from their inception. These ones never knew what it meant to be poor, and had probably never gone without food for a day. Most of them could never stand on their own without being propped up by their ever dotting parents, who would stop at nothing to give their over pampered children whatever they whined for; always giving them soft landings, cleaning up their mess for the