COME WHAT MAY

CHAPTER NINE

Professor Badmus was waiting for Lolita when she arrived home. They just had breakfast and were relaxing watching Television. The Professor's mind was not on the program airing on TV but rather on why Lolita left the house so early and to where? He hated what he was doing to her but he had crossed a line of no return. He was not going to apologise now. That would be totally humiliating and even worse the feeling of guilt was closing in on him more than ever before especially now that Lolita had less than a month to remain in Botswana. If she leaves with all that is going on...without straightening things out... It was not his fault after all. All this ... he was the victim in all this not anyone else! But what about the innocent girl that had adored him for years, who has no idea about why she was being treated less than a human being?

Grace could not understand how she could fix the widening rift between father and daughter. Her husband's behaviour had not changed towards her compared to his dead love for his daughter. For three years now she had noticed he looked at her differently, sometimes even studying her deeply. What was he looking for? Their prayer life had become history as he made it clear he no longer wanted to pray together. This baffled her and she fought against it but all to no avail. She had prayed and fasted but the darkness hovering over her family only seem to become stronger and darker. She looked at her once joyful surroundings and wondered what Lolita's plan was concerning her residence permit that was about to expire.

David sighed as he thought about the unbearable tension in his family brought about by his father's behaviour towards Lolita. He had tried to make sense of it all but how a love between father and daughter could change to hate overnight shocked him to the core of his soul leaving him bewildered. Lolita had not revealed her future plans to anyone yet... was she even thinking about her future?

Lolita opened the gate with the spare remote she took with her hoping she would not incur her father's wrath. She planned to see Lorato in few hours to share her news about Chidi. She would totally be flabbergasted. She snickered at the thought of her best friend's eyes bulging in surprise. That look will be priceless. She hoped Desire had no plans with her husband that Saturday as she wanted all the three of them to meet Chidi. It had been long she felt this much excitement.

"Lord Jesus, thank you for indeed everything is beautiful in your time."

Lolita greeted everyone as she entered their living room. The Professor did not utter a word. "Where are you coming from?" Her mother asked.

"I went to the Airport." Was Lolita's short reply. She did not want to give anything away. Her family too is in for a surprise.

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious Grace? She is leaving Botswana of course. The earlier she gets everything ready the better for her and us." Prof. Badmus said with a smirk on his face. Lolita ignored him and smiled brightly.

"Mummy, guess who I saw at the Airport." She sat on the armrest of the Sofa her mother sat on.

Grace smiled brightly, grateful that Lolita was not affected by her father's insensitivity.

"Tell me please." Lolita could see excitement dancing in her mother's eyes.

"You like other people's business Mum." David said teasingly. "Please share." He added quickly. Lolita rolled her eyes and said,

"Chidi." Time seem to stop at that moment. Everybody in her family knew about her fist love and how she had ached over it for some time.

"How is that of any consequence? Is this really a surprise or have you been planning to elope with him all this while? I should have known when the fear of leaving and starting alone in Nigeria did not get to you. This is the reason you turned down Ryan Johnson's marriage proposal?"