The accusation hit Imade like a thunderbolt. Memories of her nine-month pregnancy, the labor pains that accompanied her son’s birth and the challenges of raising him alone flooded through her mind. Without a word, she picked Ehis from the sofa where he lay and started towards the room, drawing him so sharply that the boy began to whimper. Dapo followed hastily, reaching out to grab her arm before she reached the door.
‘I didn’t want this to turn into a quarrel,’ he said. ‘Imade please consider; I need him more than you do.’
She turned round and eyed him stonily, shaking his hand off with disdain. ‘Goodbye Dapo.’ she said. ‘It’s time for you to go.’
~~~~
‘How dare he question the way I raise my son,’ Imade fumed. ‘I should have known he was up to something. All that sweetness was so unlike him.’
She sat on the couch in Simi’s living room, randomly flipping through the cable channels. Simi was heavy with her second child. Her two-year old daughter played with Ehis on the rug.
‘Well, if his wife can’t have children,’ she put in. ‘It’s only natural he would want to bond with the one he already has.’
Imade glared at her. ‘How could you defend him?’
‘Calm down dear.’ Simi coaxed. ‘I’m not defending him.’ She thought for a while. ‘Maybe we should pray about this and seek God’s counsel on what to do next.’
Imade hesitated. It hadn’t occurred to her to pray. There was no doubt that she loved Ehis, but ever since he was conceived, she seemed to have lost her connection with God. The nagging thought that she had indiscreetly compromised her faith, kept coming back to her. She was so weighed down by rejection and guilt that prayer had become a struggle. It didn’t help matters that she was always so busy; so these days, she didn’t even bother to try anymore.
Sensing her hesitation, Simi squeezed her hand comfortingly. ‘You can’t carry that burden forever. You need to find your peace with God, and the earlier you do so, the better. How do you expect to train your son up in the Lord, if your own relationship with Him is shaky?’
Imade pondered her friend’s words. The issue of raising Ehis had been on her mind for a long while. Her job at the bank was choking her private life and she was slowly abandoning her son to the mercy of hirelings who would neither recognize nor nurture his worth. Her own childhood hadn’t been that rosy but at least her mother was always there for her. She never really knew her father; he passed away when she was very young and Iye was left to single-handedly raise her three children. But it wasn’t till now that Imade appreciated what a tremendous feat Iye had accomplished and she wanted to do an even better job with Ehis. She could never take the place of the father figure that was missing in her son’s life, but she didn’t want to be an absentee mother either. Most times, she didn’t see her son all week. She left for work very early when the nanny was just waking him up and returned when the nanny had already put him to bed.
Quitting Avery however, was unthinkable; this was her dream career. She was upwardly mobile and her prospects for a promotion that year were high. If she was to drop all that, it would be difficult to find an equally attractive alternative that came at half the stress. She would just have to learn how to strike a balance between her passion for Avery and her responsibilities towards her son. And she would do it without Dapo’s help. The events of the previous day still raged through her mind.
‘That guy!’ she exclaimed. ‘The heavens will fall before he gets near Ehis again.’
She got up and strode into the kitchen for a drink, leaving Simi staring after her, wondering if her advice had hit home.
~~~~
The movers loaded the last piece of furniture into the truck and Dapo did a final check to make sure nothing had been left behind. As he moved from one room to the other, he sighed heavily, his mind feeling as empty as the rooms he had just inspected. Imade was unrelenting and his latest attempt to persuade her to give Ehis up had ended in a deadlock. He had contemplated suing for joint custody. But his lawyer was skeptical. The odds were not stacked in his favor.
‘From the facts you have laid out, the outcome is predictable,’ the young attorney had said as he peered at Dapo through his dark rimmed glasses. ‘You are not married to the lady in question. You have been out of your son’s life since he was born over two years ago with no contact and no financial support. Now you suddenly show up and want to claim him? You will be lucky to get visitation rights.’ He reclined back into the chair and tugged at his moustache. ‘If you really want to give it a try, there must be a reason for your abandonment; we must bring forward a strong case as to why you have been absent from the boy’s life these past two years. Did your ex disappear without a trace? Did you turn over every stone in your attempt to locate her? Or perhaps you could show that she is incompetent in some way and therefore not capable of raising the child.’
Dapo thought for a while and then shook his head. It was him, not Imade who had disappeared from Ehis’ life. He presented the tranquilizer incident but his lawyer threw it out saying it was the daycare’s carelessness not the mother’s.
‘What are my other alternatives?’ he asked finally.
His lawyer shrugged. ‘I would suggest you talk to the mother of your son,’ he advised. ‘It would be easier for you to reach a consensus out of court. Try and make her see reason. If she didn’t listen to you the first time, try again. She might listen the second time.’
Dapo knew that was hardly an option considering the kind of resistance he was up against. After his last discussion with Imade, she had vowed not to let him see his boy again. Feeling defeated, he had left the lawyer’s office, deeply pensive. This was going to be harder than he thought.
From the front seat of their car, his wife called to him to hurry up, jolting him back to the present. The movers were done and ready to leave. Taking one last look round the yard, he sealed up the house and went to join her.
‘So, will your son be visiting us when we get to Lagos?’ Tara asked as he climbed into the front seat.
Dapo shook his head. ‘Imade won’t hear of it.’
‘Then you should just take him.’ Tara declared
Her statement caught him off guard and he stared at her in surprise.
‘Since when did you need her permission to bring your boy home?’ Tara continued. ‘He’s your son, isn’t he?’
Dapo was startled by her remark. The last time they talked about Ehis, his wife wanted to have nothing to do with him. Now, he wondered at her sudden change of heart. The truck pulled out of the driveway, ready to begin the long interstate trip to their new home. As they drove away, Dapo considered his wife’s words. He was convinced that Imade wasn’t competent to raise his son; he and his wife could do a much better job. Tara certainly made a good point; he shouldn’t give up on his quest so easily. He nodded to himself as he considered his next line of action. Imade had left him with no choice.
~~~~
It was after-school hours and the children were returning home. Even the scorching heat of the afternoon sun could not hold back these raucous youngsters as they filled the bus with their deafening yells. The driver pulled up at the front gate of Imade’s home and Ehis disembarked with the help of the teacher, waving goodbye as he did so. As usual, the nanny was standing at the gate, waiting to receive him. She took hold of his hand and began leading him to the house when another vehicle drove up beside them. Dapo had been trailing the bus since it left the daycare center. A look of recognition crossed Vicky’s face as he alighted from the car and she greeted him with a quick courtesy.
‘I’m taking my son out,’ he announced casually. ‘We’ll be back later.’
Vicky looked at him questioningly. ‘I no know say you go take him today,’ she replied with distorted English.
‘Oh? Didn’t his mother tell you?’ Dapo asked, feigning surprise.
She shook her head. ‘His mama no tell me anything. We already prepared his food inside.’
&nbs
p; ‘It’s okay. I’ll bring him back in the evening.’
Vicky hesitated, as she held on firmly to Ehis’ wrist. She looked back towards the house at a loss of what to do.
‘Is his mother inside?’ Dapo asked, as though he didn’t already know.
‘She go to work, but grandma is in the house. I go ask her first.’
Dapo nodded. ‘Okay, go in and confirm from grandma, you can call mummy at the office as well. Ehis and I will wait out here.’
Vicky nodded in consent. She relieved Ehis of his little rucksack and hurried indoors.
‘Take your time.’ Dapo called after her.
Iye was peeling some oranges in the dining room. She looked questioningly at Vicky when she entered. ‘Where is Ehis?’ she asked. ‘Hasn’t the bus arrived yet?’
‘The bus is come.’ Vicky informed her. ‘Ehis wait outside with master.’
Iye frowned. ‘Which master?’
‘Master, his father. He’s outside. He say for me to tell you that he go take Ehis home today.’
‘What?’ Iye exclaimed. The knife slipped from her grip and nicked her on the thumb. She flinched and sucked on the injured spot as she sprang from the seat and hurried outside, Vicky right at her heels. There was no one at the gate; Dapo and Ehis were gone. Iye let out a soft cry.
‘You say his father was here?’ she demanded, turning back to the nanny. ‘How could you let him take Ehis without my permission?’
Deaf to Vicky’s explanations, she hurried to the end of the road as quickly as she could. The area was quiet and Dapo’s car was nowhere in sight. She tried his number, but it was switched off. Frantically, she called Imade.
‘Listen, something has come up. You better come home immediately.’
‘Mom, is everything okay?’Imade asked.
‘Come home now!’
The urgency in Iye’s voice scared her. Pushing aside the stack of papers in front of her, Imade scribbled a quick note for her boss, grabbed her handbag and hurried out.
CHAPTER FIVE
Dinner was ready and laid out on the table. Tara stood on the front steps of the guesthouse waiting for her husband to return. Dapo had been gone all afternoon and she was getting worried, hoping his plan had not backfired. It was such a huge relief when he finally arrived with Ehis, that for a short while, she appeared happy to see the boy.
‘This is my son,’ Dapo introduced.
She bent down and gently squeezed Ehis’ cheek. ‘I hope you’re hungry,’ she said, as she led him to the dining room.
Ehis was a voracious eater and had no problem devouring the savory meal placed in front of him. Tara sat aloof at the head of the table watching as her husband fed him spoonfuls of rice.
‘He likes your cooking,’ Dapo said as he dished out a second helping.
His wife forced a smile. Ehis was indeed an adorable boy but beyond all that cuteness, Tara could see her position in her husband’s heart being usurped and his attention tilted in Ehis’ favor. She wondered what she had been thinking in the first place, telling Dapo to go after his son; the boy just didn’t belong here.
‘What will we do when night falls and he begins calling for his mother?’ she asked.
Dapo shook his head. ‘He won’t miss her,’ he replied confidently. ‘He’s used to not seeing her before he sleeps.’
She eyed them. ‘Then I guess I should get him ready for bed.’
After dinner, she gave the boy a warm shower and brought out his nightclothes. Ehis looked disapprovingly at the new pajamas that Dapo had bought in anticipation of his arrival. Tara tried to pull the shirt over his head but he blocked her move with his hand.
‘Grandma always wears blue pajamas for me,’ he objected.
‘What difference does the color make?’ Tara snapped, looking impatiently at the red set of nightclothes in her hands. ‘Just wear it that way.’
The little boy shook his head vigorously and stepped away from her. ‘I want the blue!’ he insisted, almost yelling.
Dapo entered the room. ‘It’s ok Tara,’ he said. ‘I’ll take it from here.’ He drew Ehis close and spoke to him tenderly. ‘The store down the road might still be open, daddy will hurry there and get some blue pajamas for you, okay?’
Tara looked at the clock. ‘Is it not too late for you to go shopping now?’ she asked. In exasperation, she flung the red pajamas on the bed and stood up.
‘You have to learn to be tolerant,’ Dapo instructed as she stepped towards the door. ‘He’s going to need more patience from you while we’re on our trip.’
Tara frowned at his severe tone. It was going to be a long vacation.
~~~~
There was commotion in the air when Imade arrived home. Vicky was forced to bear the brunt of Ehis’ mum and grand mum’s combined fury. Still, the nanny was the least of Imade’s concerns. She was convinced that Dapo was playing a practical joke on her; one that she didn’t find funny.
‘This is no time for tears,’ Iye advised, as she began to weep. ‘We must find them immediately.’
They headed straight to the police station to report Ehis missing, enduring a long wait as they fell in line behind other people who arrived earlier to file their various complaints. As she sat beside her mother, Imade dialed her boss’ number to explain the situation.
‘Why don’t you take the rest of the week off?’ Mrs. Eki suggested. ‘If your son is missing, you’re going to need all the time and energy you can to find him. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.’
Imade thanked her and promised to keep her informed. The officers at the station made their enquiries, asking for descriptions of Dapo and Ehis. Imade handed them pictures. She also found an old picture of Dapo which she took while they were still dating. He looked a bit younger in the photo but it would serve its purpose. The police sent word to Coco’s company at Port-Harcourt, but Dapo’s boss confirmed that he had already left the city. He recalled that Dapo mentioned he was taking his family on a trip before settling down in Lagos, but did not say where exactly they were going. Despite all their efforts, the police couldn’t come up with any other leads. It was almost midnight when they decided they had done enough for one day.
‘Madam, you should go home now,’ the senior officer suggested. ‘We’ll call you when we come up with something.’
Imade rubbed her throbbing temples. She didn’t want to leave but they wouldn’t let her stay at the station overnight. Days passed, and all efforts to find Ehis proved futile. It was common knowledge that Dapo had taken a vacation, but no one knew where exactly he had gone. There was no trace of him or his wife and Imade was scared that they might not come back. What followed was a string of long and grueling ordeals at the police station, as she attempted to answer the barrage of questions they threw at her.
Vicky also fell under scrutiny, as the investigators questioned her thoroughly for allowing Dapo to snatch Ehis from her hands. But it was nothing more than a thoughtless act and eventually, she was exonerated from suspicion of intentionally aiding and abetting Dapo’s action. Nevertheless, her silly mistake cost her heavily. It soured the relationship she had with Imade and she was forced to give up her job as a nanny in Iye’s household. The statement she gave before she left, however, didn’t help Imade’s case.
‘Grandma and mama are very angry over me,’ she testified in her characteristic Pidgin English. ‘But dis no be my fault. He be the boy’s father. Since this very year, he pick Ehis up from the house all the time and mama allow him always to take the boy.’
Investigations carried out at the Tender Love daycare also affirmed that Dapo wasn’t a stranger to their facility. Imade never bothered to explain the details of her relationship with him to the matron. The elder woman was now surprised to hear that the two of them were not even married. As far as she was concerned, they were one big happy family. She recalled often telling Dapo as he left the daycare during the week he had dropped off and picked Ehis, ‘Give my regards to your wife.’
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‘I will.’ he promised. She never guessed that the woman to whom she sent her regards was not Ehis’ mother.
Following both the matron and Vicky’s testimony, the police found it hard to believe that Imade knew nothing about Dapo’s intentions. He was after all, the boy’s father and it wasn’t the first time he was picking up his son. They however promised to do what they could to find them.
‘He’ll return to work sooner or later,’ they said. ‘And then we can get to the bottom of this.’
Imade was livid. Dapo had played a clever trick, but she would fight him with her last breath if she had to.
Four days of Ehis’ disappearance seemed like a lifetime of trauma for her. It was three in the morning, but she was wide awake. The heavy dark circles around her eyes showed she hadn’t been sleeping well; her mind was in an emotional upheaval. Someone had to have some information on Ehis’ whereabouts. People did not just disappear into thin air. Her phone rang and jolted her out of her ruminations. The number was a strange one. Who could this be at this unusual hour? Surely the caller could have waited till morning. The ringing persisted and she finally answered. The voice on the other end was all too familiar.
‘Dapo, you kidnapper; are you out of your mind?’ Her frenzied outburst was truly a mother’s wrath unleashed. ‘Where is my son? I want to speak with him now! How could you...?’
‘Relax,’ he cut in calmly. ‘Ehis is safe with me.’
‘And where exactly are you?’ her voice was desperate. ‘Please, I need to know he’s okay.’
‘I’ve told you, he’s safe. I asked you nicely to consider my position, but you refused. This is really your fault.’
‘Dapo, you think you’re smart, don’t you? The police are on this case. When they find you, you’ll be sorry.’
‘Don’t make me out to be a criminal,’ he barked. ‘And don’t try to call me either. Ehis and I are spending time together. If and when I decide you can see him again, I’ll bring him to you. But it will be as I see fit. Goodbye!’
The phone went dead. With a cry of despair, Imade hurried to her mother’s room. She expected to find Iye fast asleep, but the elderly woman was kneeling by her bed in prayer.