Second chances

Chapter thirteen :Helping hand

It had already been months since I started working, preparation of light breakfast, trying to sort out files were becoming my early morning routine.
Charles had been so busy with work that sometimes we barely eat dinner together.

A part of me enjoyed working, being needed to do something while another part hated the stress. Today a meeting which had been announced the previous day was going to be held. The thought of it excited and scared me as well.

Charles had advised that I start driving myself to work, so that I can drop Christy to school. But there was a feeling of uncertainty and fear about driving. I could drive, I remembered how but I just doubted myself.

Nne, it'll save us money and time, Christy won't even need to take a cab home inugo?, "
Charles persuaded

Whenever he made pleas, it was quite difficult to turn down, his eyes were his weakness when it came to giving him away, but they were also mine when it came to obliging his requests and needs.
But this time I couldn't, I didn't trust myself enough to drive and endanger my daughter.

We ended up hiring cab driver, who'd pick us early in the morning and pick us later in the day. He was quite old with grey hair sprouting from all corners of his head.

"He should be retired, if not that our country is so corrupt, this man would have been in a home for elderly being taken care of" I thought to myself.

While in the car, Christy kept playing candy crush with my phone, the driver was playing a native song and all I could make out of the song was " overtaking is allowed, amaghi akwu na line akpata ego"

The song tried to explain that, being successful has nothing to do with age, class, or rank. Whoever was in the position to make money should make money. Hence overtaking is allowed

My mind drifted to my boss, how nice he had been to me, the last week. He'd request for me in his office and question me about strange things, like "which sanitary pad a teenager would use, which brand was better. How painful cramps are, drugs to use for them"
I concluded that he had a baby sister, he looked too young today have a teenage daughter.
Other days he'd just call me in to ask how I was coping with work.

I saw it well to remove details of how my co-worker made me feel so uncomfortable with their attitude and gossip. I had found solace in Onyi, she was very funny, naive and carefree but she was a good person. She made work bearable and would always tell me funny things her children did to their teachers.

" So the man told him to stand up after he failed his test, my son refused oo. That one is oyiri Nna ya(just like his father) Very stubborn. He sat still and kept staring at his book. When the teacher now finally threatened to flog him. My son stood up, looked at the teacher and told him"in my mind I'm still sitting down". I was called to the school because of that. The funny thing was that two weeks earlier, his sister yelled "fuck me!!! " in class and she's just seven. You should have seen the way their teacher was looking at me. Like I was this incompetent mom, hmmm inukwa m. She's lucky she's single, it's not easy to balance work, with raising kids and being a wife as well. Women are just hero's"

I was always amused with her stories and sometimes I wished that I could remember all the funny things Christy did while growing up.

The boss would always nod and tell me to take things easy, like he genuinely cared for my well being.

The car stopped and brought me out of my thoughts.
"Why did we stop? " I asked the driver hoping it was not a car breakdown.

"Small madam say make I stop, she wan do something "he replied

I felt it was rather insulting to call a fifteen year old small madam, irrespective of her status in the family.

"Mpa I na anu igbo? "(Do you understand igbo) I asked him, he nodded and smiled