What Happened To Helen

Secrets Untold

Helen drove to the airport recklessly. On a good day, she’d have been amused at her attempt at Fast and Furious – one of her favourite series – but not that day. The last flight to Jos would leave in less than an hour. Outside the airport building, there was a sculptured fountain shaped like a fish, water coming out of the fish’s mouth and back into the pool.
     On entering the building, she saw screens showing arrival and departure times for different flights. Many people were lined up at the check-in desks with all sizes of bags and luggage. In the arrival lounge, there was a curious mixture of bored and excited people. Some looked like they had lost a dear one, while others looked like they were awaiting the arrival of a long-seen loved one. Yet, some looked like they were waiting for nothing in particular. Some members of this last group sat on low comfy chairs scattered all over the lounge, while some were on their feet, bouncing restlessly from one foot to another.
     Moving on to the departure hall, she saw teary-eyed individuals bade their loved ones farewell with minutes-long embraces and inaudible exchanges of words. The soothing classical music playing in the background added to the wave of emotions. Slowly, she made her way to the plane and got on.
     After about one and half hour in the air, the plane finally arrived at Jos. Helen gave way to the excitement on the runway as she eagerly looked out of the window as the plane taxied on the runway. The blue sky overhead was dotted with clouds, and she thought of Michael and her once-happy home which had now become a thing of the past. She also thought of Adedamola and his friends. Her life was a mess and she wanted more than anything else to be away from everyone.
     Fifteen minutes later, she made it to the arrival hall, handed over her ticket to the immigration officer for the final check, before passing through the electronic security door to the terminal. The airport terminal was so full of people she could hardly see over the sea of heads, it seemed everyone had chosen to visit Jos that day.
     “Where is Nonso?” She asked herself. “She had promised to meet me at the terminal…” she continued, weaving her way through the crowd and wondering if they had missed each other. 
     She was looking for a light-skinned lady with average height, although the latter quality would have been a disadvantage in the sea of six-foot heights. Lost in thoughts of where Nonso could be, Helen caught sight of her walking beside Timmy – her husband and also the state’s commissioner for youths and sports. 
     Just as Helen made to call out Nonso’s name, Nonso's eyes flickered towards Helen and she did a double-take. The two friends ran towards each other and enclosed each other in a warm embrace. It'd been four months since they last saw each other, and that was during the National Book Fair held at Oriental Hotels, Lagos state. 
     “Helen, darling…” Nonso cooed, lightly touching Helen’s face which was wrinkled with worry.
     “Chinonso,” Helen replied, holding Helen's hands in hers.
     “Hey, Timmy,” Helen waved at Nonso's husband who was playing with their twins.
     “What's up, Helen? How are you doing, and how's my friend?” Timmy asked, hugging her.
     “Michael is doing just fine. I guess he must have travelled again,” Helen answered, laughing at her own words.
     After a warm welcome, Timmy drove them back to his residence situated in the government reserved area meant for politicians and top executives in Plateau state. There, Nonso prepared a dinner of fried rice and chicken. After the meal, Nonso and Helen sat on a three-seater chair in the living area, while the twins watch SpongeBob SquarePants, a comedy TV series.
     “Peter and Paul, do you mind going to continue watching that in your room? Mom will come and read you bedtime stories later, okay?” Nonso promised in a bid to dismiss them from the living room so she could have an uninterrupted talk with Helen. 
     The two boys hurriedly left for their room.
     “Mind telling me everything, sweetheart?” Nonso started, after making sure her kids were out of earshot. 
     This made Helen burst into fresh tears, the thought of Adedamola causing a greater part of the pain than that of Michael.
     “Did Michael not tell you what happened?” Helen asked, the second time that day.
     “To be sincere with you, he didn't; but judging from his tone when he called last night, I could tell things are not right with you two.” 
     “Nonso, I'm so sorry. I just needed the break,” Helen uttered helplessly. 
     Timmy, who had been working on his laptop at the dining table, interfered then. “You know Michael, he does that thing with divorce often but he’d never go through with it. You mean the world to him and he would be unable to take it should he lose you. Michael's going through some tough times and is frustrated, and so are you.” 
     “Timmy, I don’t think you get it. My husband served me divorce documents to sign! I even suggested we visit a marriage counsellor; I had booked some sessions and our first appointment is this weekend. Michael seemed so sure he wanted us to go separate ways this last time he told me he wanted a divorce.” Helen sighed, then sniffed to keep the tears from falling.
     She didn't want to cry in the presence of Nonso and her husband but her emotions failed her and she burst into another round of tears. This was made worse when she remembered what had transpired between her and Adedamola the night before. 
     Nonso was heartbroken to see her friend in that state. She had known her since the day of their matriculation ceremony at the University Of Lagos, and she had since then considered Helen as a sister from another mother. She watched Helen take some deep breaths and wipe at her tears.
     “Michael is cheating on me, isn't he?” Helen blurted out.
     “What?! Where did you get that from?” Timmy asked, shocked.
     “I mean, he is always surrounded by beautiful and sexy actresses…and I know I've not been in shape after I had a miscarriage. I also admit to having been busy writing novels, so he must have been cheating on me...I just know it,” she ranted.
     “Darling, what you two need now is to sit down and talk things out maturely – no raised voices and no fighting. Talking things out have proven to be the best option for most dying relationships, and it’s obvious it's been a while since you two have done that,” Nonso replied.
     “Michael loves you, he loves only you. Never in a million years will he even think of having an affair, not to talk of actually doing it. He's not that kind of man, and you know that,” Timmy said.
     “Whenever I return home after taking some time off, he'd be nowhere to be found. Most times, I would make dinner and wait for him, for hours…but he wouldn’t show up. Yes, I know things were rough between us back then too, but I didn't think it was so bad to have made him file for divorce.” Helen was by then tired and spent, and she just sat there, dabbing at her eyes and wiping her nose.
     “Do you want to go out tonight?” Timmy asked cheerfully in a bid to lighten up the atmosphere. “Just to have a nice time and get things out of your mind,” he added.
     Well, maybe I need it, Helen thought, agreeing.
     The black Ford Edge SUV Timmy drove rolled to a stop in front of a high building and the trio strolled into the lobby. Helen did a double-take when she saw who she had least expected to see at that place and time – Michael. She quickly turned around to avoid being seen but it was too late. It was then it dawned on her that Timmy and Nonso had planned the whole thing. In a bid to escape, she dashed towards the elevator as a group of businessmen was coming out of it. Michael ran after her and barely made it through before the doors shut on them. He pressed the button that’d take them to the last floor.
     Seeing as there was no escape route, Helen turned her back on her husband who didn’t feel deterred. Instead, he gently held her shoulders and turned her around till she was facing him, then pulled her into a tight embrace. Disarmed by the embrace, Helen hugged him back even tighter. Her body trembled as she burst into tears.
     “Don't ever run off like that again, please...don't,” Michael begged, plastering kisses all over her face.
     “You said you wanted a divorce,” she cried, trying to pull away from the embrace. “Can we, at least, try the marriage counselling sessions with Coach Ewa? If it still didn't work out, then it's all good. Wait, are you having an extramarital affair? Is that why you were always insisting on getting a divorce? We promised to tell the other person if either of us ever stops loving the other person, didn’t we?” she rambled on.
     “No! I am not having an affair, Helen. Is that what you've been thinking lately?” Michael asked in utter disbelief, backing away in shock. “Have we grown so far apart that we now assume the worst of each other?”
     “It’s not like that, Michael. It’s just that I love you and feel we've lost each other, and I am afraid I will never get you back,” Helen uttered, then continued, “I am going to meet with the Coach, it’s fine if you don't want to go with me.”
     Silence ensued as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. The couple got off the elevator and onto an open terrace that doubled as a helipad, the terrace was fenced round with a low railing to check falls. They walked over to a side.
     Michael took a long look at her, contemplating if he should go on and say what he was about to. “I heard you were seen drinking at a bar,” he eventually said.
     “Drinking at a bar? I did nothing of such! And why would you accuse me? I have the right to drink if I feel like it; and when you yelled at me that night, you have no idea how broken I was afterwards!” Helen screamed in defence.
     “Go on. Get mad at me for once, Helen... Go ahead and raise your voice at me,” Michael encouraged.
     Helen had never raised her voice at him before, not even when she was very angry at him. She would rather bottle it all in and take it out by spending more time writing instead. He knew her and, for once, wanted her to stand up and own up to the things she had done; although a part of him knew she’d rather run off again than do that.
     “Helen, you told me to quit smoking and I heeded. I even stopped taking up offers for roles that would require me to smoke.” Michael said, folding his arms and looking at her unimpressed.
     “What are you talking about, Michael?”
     He grabbed her wallet and pulled out a packet of cigarette, “that you took a shower before coming to Jos doesn't mean I won’t smell the nicotine on you!” he shouted, throwing the pack away as far as it would go. “What else are you hiding from me?” he asked in a near whisper, peering into her face like he knew a secret.
     This, Helen found surprising, seeing as he was enraged some seconds ago. She couldn't bring herself to tell him what had transpired between her and Adedamola the previous night, not if she still wanted her husband. She had been trying so hard to forget all that happened in the last 24 hours, and she resolved to put her mistakes behind her and move on. She bit her lower lip and just shook her head in response to Michael’s question.
     “Talk to me, Helen… Please...” his voice faltered.
     “You want me to talk to you, right? Fine! I will!” she shouted. “I'm trying so hard to get this fourth book published as soon as possible, my publisher and my editor have been on my neck. I need it to come out better than the previous ones, and I am scared I would mess it up. I also want to spend quality time with my husband, but no! You are always busy travelling from one movie location to another. I wish to see you succeed, trust me, but I also want my husband,” she cried in exasperation. “I want the old us back, I want us to sit like we used to, discussing for hours…I want my best friend back! We no longer sleep in the same room as being around each other always end up in a fight. Michael, I am sorry if I haven't been giving you full attention, I'm afraid I might have to trash this fourth novel, I just want us to be happy, I want us to settle down and have a family…” She couldn’t go further as Michael suddenly grabbed her hands and pulled her in for a deep and long passionate kiss which had them both gasping for air.
     “I know a kiss can't solve all the problems in our marriage, but I want to sit down and have dinner with my wife too,” Michael whispered, his head against hers. “We can talk everything over when I'm around. I have to attend a meeting with producers and directors in Abuja tomorrow, but I'll be home in time for dinner,” he promised.
     “You want us to have dinner together tomorrow?” Helen asked, eyes wide with surprise.  
     “Yes. I want us to sit down to dinner and talk like we used to.” 
     He pulled her in for another kiss just as Nonso and Timmy walk up to them. Helen’s gaze fell downwards and she smiled shyly.
     “I'll travel back to Lagos first thing tomorrow morning and have dinner ready for you. If you fail to make it home on time, I'll have your head,” she threatened jokingly. 
     “It's going to be a quick meeting, darling, I'll be back before you know it,” he promised again, kissing her on both cheeks and placing a third on her forehead. 
     Michael signalled to Timmy and Nonso to come closer. He went ahead to tell them of how he had been rehearsing for a part in a movie that would change his career for the better. He was to play the role of a local villain in an upcoming action movie which would be filmed in Indianapolis, U.S. Helen watched on, realizing how much she had missed those little moments, and how passionate her husband was when it comes to acting. He had been practising for some months, and she knew it would break his heart if he wasn't selected.