The Lives We Lived

20: PASSENGERS

It had been three day since Osa had walked out on her and he hadn't even called. He couldn't even send an SMS. She wasn't going to call him. He was the one who left her at the hotel. But she was going to return to the house that evening because she wasn't sure how much she could keep up the façade of happy wife for her sister's sake.

The steaming cup of bournvita before her coaxed her warm face with the wisps it sent travelling in the air. Her breakfast companions had devoured more than half the quantity of bread on their plates while she tossed her egg around the plate trying to work up an appetitie by staring at the food.

If Adesuwa was at the table with them, then her lack of appetite would be the topic of discussion but as Abidemi, Adesuwa 's husband, was more interested in reading the paper and Bisola wanted nothing more than to finish her food, Kemi was left to herself.

She liked it that way. She couldn't imagine for a minute that she would have to live a life like Adesuwa's. This was what Osa wanted and this was not what she had envisioned for herself after she agreed to marry Osa. She didn't want a husband that was barely around or a child that spent more time in the hospital than out of it.

Kemi sighed, rising to her feet. She couldn't pretend to find her food interesting any longer. Abidemi raised his head from his paper to give her a glance. "Kemi, are you done?"

She flashed him a smile. "Yes. I have to leave now or I'll be late for work."

"Oh," His head was bent towards the paper again. "Do come and visit us soon."

"And when you're coming," Bisola forced some food down her throat "bring uncle Osa and your baby."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Kemi cautioned her niece as she had no response to Bisola's request. She strolled to the kitchen and leaned into it while her fingers clutching the doorpost.

"Sister mi," Kemi called. Adesuwa paused from packing food in three separate food flasks. "I'm going oh."

"Already? Isn't it too early?" Adesuwa peered at her before resuming her task.

"I'll be late if I don't leave now."

"Okay. Have this." Adesuwa walked past the counter with one of the food flasks on her hand. She held it out to Kemi.

"I don't-"

"Just take it and I hope that you know that I know something is wrong." Adesuwa said. Kemi took the flask and turned to leave.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You've been acting very strange since you got here and you dropping here unannounced with such a large box is strange. I hope everything is okay with Osa?"

"I don't have a problem." Kemi snapped. Bisola only sighed as Kemi turned away from her. "I'll call you later in the day."

"Okay oh. I won't force you to to tell me anything but remember I'm always here to listen to you, aburo mi."

Kemi hurried to her car and dumped her food flask at the back of the car before she set her feet to the accelerator and drove out of her sister's middle class compound.

Looking at the clustered houses with peeling and faded paint, she couldn't help but wonder if her life and would have played out like that of the woman she had almost hit the other day. She sincerely doubted it. Before Osa came along, she was living comfortably. Mostly because she was already making money while in the university.

She also had a barrage of well to do boyfriends and suitors but for some reason, none of them were able to keep her heart racing as Osa did. Most of the emotions from previous relationships had fizzled out and she feared that the same thing would happen to her marriage.