***
"Daddy!" a little girl screamed, bursting out of Sir Aaron's house. "Daddy! Daddy!"
She flung herself at Sir Aaron and wrapped him in a bear hug.
"How are you?" Sir Aaron asked.
"I'm fine!" the girl, Vicky said.
Emotions swirled within me as I watched them. They brought to mind the great relationship I had had with my dad.
I missed him. At first I'd thought the wound of his departure would heal, but it never did. And now, seeing the love between Sir Aaron and his daughter had just reminded me of my hurt, and how ruthlessly life had cheated me.
Looking away from the tear-triggering sight, I led my eyes to the house before me. It didn't compare to the mansion I lived in, but it held an air of love around it. It felt like home.
"Where's Sharon?" Sir Aaron asked. "I brought you guys a new friend."
"A new friend!" Vicky said. "Cooool!" She hopped to me and took my hand. "Hello. I'm Victoria. But everyone calls me Vicky."
I smiled at her. "I am Victoria."
"Great! Dad, she has my name. Come, mum would be so glad to meet you!"
Before I could protest, she dashed toward the house, pulling me with her. For a child, she had some unbelievable strength.
"Mummy, daddy brought a friend for me!" She made to step into the house, but I didn't follow.
"My shoes," I said.
She gave me a moment to kick off my shoes. In seconds, I found myself in the kitchen. A woman turned to look at me. She held a spoon she'd been using to stir. From the scent wafting through the air, I recognized the food-in-progress to be vegetable soup. Dad's favorite.
"Good evening ma," I said.
"Good evening dear," Mrs. Aaron said. "You must be Victoria."
"Yes ma."
"My husband has told me so much about you. It's great to finally meet you. You must be starving. Food should be ready before you're done showering." To Vicky, she said, "Vicky, show her to the room."
Returning her attention to me, she said, "You'll be sharing a room with my daughters. Vicky will show you to the room so you can freshen up. I'm sure Sharon's clothes will fit you just fine."
"I brought a few clothes," I said.
Mrs. Aaron gaped at my backpack. "What? In that little bag of yours or there's a suitcase?"
A suitcase? Would I be staying here forever?
She waved off my unasked question. "Never mind me. Oh, anyway, you can always try Sharon's clothes. She'll be pleased to share."
"Come on," Vicky said. All smiles, she ran past me and flung open the door to a room. She grabbed a pillow and approached Sharon who lay asleep in bed. Before I could protest, she slammed into her with the pillow.
"Wake. Up. You. Sleepy. Head." With every word, she slammed the pillow into her.
Sharon grunted. "Vicky, allow me to sleep!"
"No I won't," Vicky said. "Wake up this instant!"
Groaning, Sharon dug her face into the pillow underneath her head. She crushed her fist into the wall and leapt to her feet. "You're dead!"
Vicky screamed and giggled as Sharon dashed after her. She leapt behind me and gripped me for shelter. "Ogre," she said, jumping and giggling. "Ogre! Ogre!"
I couldn't help but share Vicky's excitement. Frozen in her tracks, Sharon took a few moments to smoothen her disarrayed hair. "Hi, Victoria."
"Hi," I said back.
"I swear, had you not been here, I'd have tickled her to death for interfering with my sleep," Sharon said. "I was even dreaming and she just interrupted it like that. Can you imagine?"
"What were you dreaming of?" I asked.
She waved off my question. "Speaking of it will only break my heart."
"That heart has been broken over and over again," Vicky said. "I wonder how it still works."
"Vicky, I don't have strength for you," Sharon said.
Vicky detached her hands from me. Her fading footsteps told me of her exit. Sharon seemed pleased.
"Come in," she said, heading for the bed on which she'd slept. Her reflection in the mirror caught her eye. Picking a hair brush from the closet, she kept each strand of hair in place.
Just as I made to sit on the second bed, Sharon turned around with a shriek that almost split my eardrums. "No no! Don't!"
I held my awkward position for a moment before straightening my spine. My face contorted into a grimace.
"Go shower first," she said. "You're all sweaty right now."
Had I not been warned beforehand of her obsession with neatness, I would have taken offence. But now, I could only find it intriguing.
Moments later, freshened up and clad in a jean skirt and pink t-shirt, I stepped out of the bathroom to find a pair of slippers at the door.
"I wouldn't want your feet to get dirty," Sharon said. She didn't look away from the game she played on her laptop.
"Thanks," I said.
"Mum came a moment ago to tell you food's ready," she said. Too engrossed in her game, she didn't notice my departure. Neither did she notice my presence fifteen minutes later.
I plopped down in the unoccupied bed and busied myself with Stella's Robber's Heart. I'd barely even finished one page when Sharon paused her game. The sudden quietness forced me to look at her. Laying in bed and propped up on an elbow, she stared at me.
"I didn't even notice you were back," she said.
"I didn't want to interrupt your game," I said. "What game is that?"
"Fast and Furious. I doubt you know it. You're not allowed to watch TV anyway. But don't worry. You're here now. You'll get all the love you've been deprived of."
It felt awkward knowing Sir Aaron had told his entire family of my misery. But with Sharon's sweetness, who could dwell on a thing like that?
"Wow," Sharon said. "I can't believe I haven't even told you my name. I'm-"
"Sharon," I said.
"Ah! I see someone's been talking about me. What did dad tell you? I'm dying to know everything!"
"He said you're done with high school."
"What else? I hope he mentioned my supposed obsession, because only then would you be able to stand my personality. I mean, some people take me for a proud person. But that's not what you think, is it?"
"Of course not," I said. "I think it's adorable."
She grinned. "Adorable. I'm adorable." She sat up and leaned toward me as though wanting to peer into my mind. "Hey, tell me something. Do you think the Iraqi Sherlock Holmes likes you? I mean, from what I've heard, he's allergic to humans, mostly the ones wearing skirt. But then, he didn't mind spending time with you in the name of solving a case. What's your take on this?"
"Where do you get your news from?" I asked.
"Why? Are you stunned about how reliable my source is?"
"Well, yeah," I said. "I know it isn't Sir Aaron. No, it has to be a student."
"Of course it is. But I won't tell you who." She stuck out her tongue.
"It's a girl?" I asked.
"Not telling you."
"Oh, please. Come on!"
"No way on earth am I."
"You have to tell me. If transporting you to Mars is the only way, so be it."
Sharon giggled at my hopeless threat. "Guess what else the person told me."
"What?"
She grinned. "You are to Raheem what Juliet is to Romeo."
"No," I said. "That's the sickest thing I've ever heard."
"Really?"
"Really, it's totally wrong."
"Oh, but the look on your face tells me otherwise."
A smile stretched my lips, making it impossible to hold Sharon's gaze. She smiled knowingly as I averted my eyes.
"You're only imagining things," I said. "Besides, Raheem would never look at me that way. And even if he did, I wouldn't be ready to play 'Juliet' just yet. It's a really challenging role."
"Yeah, right. Anyway, about the case you solved, my dad is really proud of you. And I am too. Ever since, I've been dying to meet you, and now here we are."
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"I shouldn't receive any credit. Raheem did all the work."
"Yeah, right." After a moment, she added, "Hey, you're so easy to talk to. I feel like I've known you all my life."
"I was about to say the exact same thing," I said.
"If only we attended the same school, we'd have been great friends. But I never even thought of Western High, because the fee is just too much. It's more than hundred times the fees in the school I attended. No kidding. You can compute it yourself. Mine was twenty eight thousand per term. Highest was thirty four. At least, writing my WAEC in SS2 has helped save one year's worth of fees, thank goodness."
Our conversation went on till darkness conquered daylight. At one point, I'd even convinced her to give Stella's Robber Heart a chance. Going through my phone, she found a video of Raheem's live show I'd downloaded from YouTube.
"This guy is bomb!" she said.
"There's more to him than meets the eye," I said.
"I'm turning on my Xender. That video needs to be on my phone!"
I shared the video via Xender. Sharon cranked up her volume as she played the video. "When's his next performance? I wouldn't forgive myself if I missed it!"
"I don't know when," I said.
"Are you for real? Call him right now and ask him."
"I don't have his number."
"What? Why?"
"We aren't exactly friends. We were only partners in crime solving. And that's that. I think now we're back to being strangers." A wistful look crept to my face.
"You're okay with this?" she asked. "Returning to being strangers when there's a great possibility of a wonderful friendship?"
"Actually, I'm the one avoiding him. I don't think he wants friendship. He-"
"You see! I told you!" Sharon's piercing voice could slice through rock. "My source's right. There's a modern-day Romeo and Juliet in the making."
"No," I said. "That's not even it. He has a very wrong view of girls. He thinks we're all the same. And now he wants me to prove that not every girl is the same."
Her smile said she'd seen this coming. "That is him asking you on a date, my friend. His way, though, is?wow. Don't say yes, though. If he wants you to date him, he'll have to drop his ego and ask you directly. We won't accept anything less than that."
"We?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. "We are a team. High five?"
The door cracked open and Mrs. Aaron stepped in. "Dinner's ready."
"One moment, mum," Sharon said.
"I don't think I'll be having dinner, ma," I said to Mrs. Aaron. "I ate barely two hours ago. I am still full."
"Sweetheart, I have already dished out your food," she said. "So please, come and eat. You don't have to finish everything on the plate."
"Sorry, my friend," Sharon said. "But here, we make sure to have three square meals. No less."
Walking away, Mrs. Aaron said, "I didn't cover anybody's food o."
"Oh shit!" Sharon sprang to her feet. "You should have said so earlier, mum. Thanks, mum! Just thanks!"
Sharon fled to go attend to her uncovered food. I made to follow, but my ringing phone held me back.
I answered Stella's call with a smile. "Hi."
"Hey, what's up?" she said. "You're all good, I hope."
"I'm fine," I said.
"Perfect. And your new home? I hope you feel at home."
"I do. They're lovely. Thank you so much for helping me." I wished she were here so I'd hug her.
"It's okay," she said. "You have to do something for me in return, though."
Words failed me. What would she have me do?
"Are you there?" she asked.
"Y-Yes."
"Okay. I was saying you've got to do something for me in return."
"Okay."
"Be happy," she said. "Can you do that for me?"
As simple as her request sounded, we both knew happiness was the number one emotion that eluded me. But for her, I would try to find a place for it in my gloomy life.
"Yes," I said.
"That's a good girl," she said. "I just wanted to know how you're doing. I'll call you later. Take care."
She ended the call. I placed my phone beside my pillow and made for the dining, but an ongoing conversation stole my attention.
"What do you think of her?" Sir Aaron's voice sailed amidst the clatter of cutlery.
Careful not to make any noise, I stood beside the wall, and thankfully, my shadow hid beside me. Entering the dining would bring their conversation to a halt, and I didn't want that just yet.
"I like her," Vicky said. "She's nice."
"We got along just fine," Sharon said. "She's a lot prettier than I thought."
"She's okay with your obsessive neatness disorder?" Mrs. Aaron asked.
"Mum, it's no disorder," Sharon said. "It's the best way of life. Don't you see that I don't get sick like the rest of you?"
Mrs. Aaron played deaf to Sharon's question. "I'm impressed you all like her. We need to be good to her, okay? She's been through a lot. Sharon, you're a bitter old maid sometimes, but put that away while she's around, okay? She needs a break from sickening dramas."
"Mum, I'm not a problem as long as you give me all the freedom an adult needs."
"I'll start treating you like an adult when you start acting like one."
"I'm not a kid anymore," Sharon said. "Mum! Dad?"
"I'm invisible," Sir Aaron said. They all smiled at me as I joined them in the dining. A plate of fried plantain and fried egg sat before me.
"Dad, will Victoria return home sometime?" Vicky asked. "I'm so worried about her. She's happy with us. I don't want her to go back to that evil woman you told us about."
"She has a point, dad," Sharon said. "That woman is capable of murder."
"Your mother and I were thinking the very same thing," Sir Aaron said. "We have decided to take custody over her. I'll schedule a consultation and hire the right attorney so we can start the court procedure for child custody. But first I'll visit that woman to tell her of the new turn things have taken. Victoria will have no more of her abuse. That woman is crazy! Killing a pet dog is unthinkable. It shows just how depraved she is."
"You're right," Mrs. Aaron said. Staring at me, she went on, "It is not only not in your best interests but also to your detriment to be left with your so-called family. They've caused you much harm already. With them, your physical, emotional, moral, or mental health is in jeopardy. You are a fine young lady who needs an appropriate home. I know our home isn't much, but we will treat you right. Things are hard in Nigeria at the moment, but my children don't starve. I'm sure there'll be enough food for everyone."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Forgiveness
"And then I knew my heart had led me to the one I wanted to spend my whole life with."