ASUNDER (3)
Olivia Coker’s POV
It was sunday and I was finely dressed to say the least. I knew a lot of women whom frequently approached me just to compliment the way I looked while a few had also advised me to go into the fashion business of selling clothes and accessories since I had very good fashion taste, but I didn’t fancy such. The last thing I wanted was having to start dragging debtors to pay up their debts because that was bound to bring enmity between me and some people and also probably ruined my business, so I decided to solely stick to my writing and blogging. Yes, I am a writer, although not as renowned as Chimamanda Adichie but I’ve won a few awards here and there, that WAEC had even approved one of my books to be included in the Literature WAEC syllabus.
I’m a tall woman who has added some weight after childbirth and also because I had to work from home. Though, I was not as tall as my husband but anyone would acknowledge my beauty. I was chubby but still moved around with grace and I was less concerned with the stretched marks that had mapped specific parts of my body, especially my buttocks and thighs. I have two kids, a boy and a girl and I had no intention of getting pregnant anytime soon or even anymore. I was in my late-thirties and after experiencing severe poverty with my husband for six years, I was glad that things were finally turning around for good after God had blessed my husband with a multi-dollar contract and here we are today, basking in wealth and all the good things of life.
The problem I have is while my husband and I were still living in a one-room face me-I face-you house and hardly being able to eat two square meals in a day, we were deserted by friends and family, especially my family who had been against our relationship from the onset and had warned me against marrying him. Peter and I suffered but strived and we saw many hungry days. While he managed to get a teaching job which paid seventeen thousand naira monthly, I began to buy iceblocks in order to sell cold sachet water so that I could also assist my husband in fending for us. But immediately he was sought, given and paid for the contract, we suddenly jolted from grass to grace and out of the blue, a lot of people wanted to be our friends and were clamouring to relate with us. Friends and family began to contact us again like they never deserted us, but we forgave them and still accommodated everybody happily.
Reuniting with family and friends was not even the problem; my problem was the fact that girls were beginning to flock around my husband because of his wealth. My husband, being a faithful man and also my best friend, would tell me about several scenarios where ladies tried to seduce him and I’d advise him on what to do. Most of these ladies had no shame. They knew that he was married quite alright, yet they wanted to seduce him at all cost. Most of them were so shameless that they openly flirted with him despite knowing that I was there.
They had so much guts that I felt like strangling the life out of them anytime they smiled at, winked at or intentionally had body contact with my husband. How dare they?! They were all not there when I stood by this man through thick and thin and yet they wanted to come partake from the harvest they didn’t sow. The only reason I felt a bit relaxed was the because my husband always turned them down or had to go to the extent of even bribing the persistent ones with money so that they could let him be. I loved and trusted him so much and in order to rekindle our love and not get so carried away with work and family, we agreed to send our children to boarding schools and this made us have the whole house and enough privacy to ourselves anytime we wanted.
It was Sunday morning and we arrived in church five minutes late due to the rain that had messed up the rough roads the previous night, so my husband had to drive slowly and also maneuver his way around muddy water-filled pot holes as he drove us to church that morning. The sky seemed cloudy and the atmosphere was cool which showed that another downpour was imminent, and within me, I prayed that the rain should stall till after the service ended and we had left the church.
As we walked into the church which was already half-filled with members and workers, heads began to turn to look at us as usual and the ushers grinned and handed us several envelopes made for tithe, offering and Thanksgiving. My husband and I walked to our special seat and sat down. The seats were located three seats from the front and we had made it a habit to always occupy the first two seats on the right. I always sat outside, while my husband preferred sitting in. The ushers had noticed that we liked that spot, so they had always made sure that no one else occupied it, except we would be absent from church that day, which we hardly were.
The Sunday School was still ongoing and after saying a short quiet prayer, I lifted my head and looked at my husband and that was when I noticed that a beautiful lady was sitting next to him. She wasn’t there when we had arrived and I figured that she must have arrived while I was busy praying. She had her eyes fixed on the Sunday School teacher who was standing on the pulpit, but being a good writer and a good reader of people and emotions, I could tell that she was not really focusing on what was being taught. After sunday school, the choir led praise and worship songs and the way this girl kept dancing, especially how she stylishly turned to shake her buttocks towards my husband’s direction made me uncomfortable.
If my husband noticed her behavior, he said nothing but continued to sing and gently clap his hands as he fixated his attention on the singing choir. We were not a couple who really fancied dancing in public, no matter how enticing the music might be. His indifference did not however seem to make the girl stop. Noticing that her buttocks would occasionally brush my husband’s side, I was almost tempted to go stand in between them and keep the slut away from my husband, but because I didn’t want to create a scene in the church, I managed to keep my cool. I have never confronted any girl who openly flirted with my husband before, but this one was asking for it and I was glad when the praises ended.
During the sermon, I noticed that the girl said something to my husband and my husband reached out to give her a pen and the way she would occasionally put the head of the pen in her mouth when she was not writing, irritated me. The service soon came to an end and people began to disperse out of the church. My husband quietly excused himself after telling me that he had to attend the men’s meeting that had been announced earlier, so I nodded and moved my legs to the side so that he could go out. As other women came over to greet me, even though I knew that some of them only wanted to take a closer look at my clothes and accessories, I happily exchanged pleasantries with them. When they finally left and I was all alone once again, I turned and was surprised when I saw that the lady had not left her seat yet. In fact, she had taken my husband’s bible which he had placed on his seat before he left and she was flipping through the pages as if looking for something in the chapters.
“Excuse me, that’s my husband’s bible.” I said to her.
She looked up at me. Her eyelashes were too long for my liking then she smiled in surprise. “Oh! You mean the man who had sat here?” She asked.
I gave her a look. Was she blind to see that we were wearing matching native outfit?! Who didn’t even know the Cokers in this church? This girl must either be a new member or she was deliberately playing ignorant. “Yes, I’m his wife.” I stated as I gently reached out to take the bible from her.
“Oh, pardon me, I had no idea.” She said then stretched an open hand towards me. “My name is Merit.”
I stared at her hand for a second then reluctantly replied without attempting to shake her hand. “Olivia Coker.”
“Oh my God!” She suddenly exclaimed now, placing the hand on her chest with a look of awe on her face. “You are the popular Olivia Coker on Instagram; the blogger and writer?”
“Yes.” I smiled a bit. I loved it when people could identify me through my books, it made me proud. “Have you read any of my works?” I asked.
“I’m sorry, no…” She said with an apologetic smile. “I’m not really a reader… I find it quite boring.”
“I see…” I said, instantly disliking her again.
“I live in the same estate as you do, you know!” She suddenly blurted.
“Oh, really?” I said, my dislike for her heightening. And why the hell was she telling me this?
“So we are practically neighbours.” She added, beaming.
“That’s good.” I said with a forced smile, eager to end the conversation. I glanced at my wristwatch now. My husband has been gone for fifteen minutes.
“And that’s why I’m waiting for your husband to give me a ride back home.” She said with a grin and I turned my head to give her a surprised and questioning look. This girl has guts sha. “Hope you don’t mind, though?” She asked me now.
“If my husband doesn’t.” I managed a reply even though I wanted to tell her to fuck off.
“I bet he won’t.” She said confidently as she fiddled with a tuft of her artificial hair. “He seems like a very nice man… and besides, men like him wouldn’t turn down beautiful women… I mean, it’s just a ride.” She sultrily said with a smile that suggested what I didn’t like.
“Right…” I said, slowly nodding my head as I scrutinized her. “My husband might finish his meeting late.” I said trying to dissuade her from waiting. “I don’t think that you’ll be able to-”
She gently cut me off and said with a smile, “Oh, no worries, I’ll wait… I am not in any hurry…” She said and I looked away and breathed a frustrated sigh while she soon got busy with her smart phone.
Half an hour later, my husband returned. “Hey babe, sorry for keeping you waiting.” He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek.
From the corner of my eyes, I noticed that the lady looked up immediately at the sound of my husband’s voice. “Are you done now?” I asked my husband.
“Yes, let’s get going.” He said, taking my hand, and I rose, deliberately turning away from Merit. As we were about to walk down the aisle together, She suddenly spoke, quickly rising to her feet, making us pause.
“Um, aren’t you forgetting something?” She asked with a wide smile and a knowing look fixed on me as if she was expecting me to say something to my husband.
My husband glanced from her to me, a bit confused. “Is something wrong?” He asked me.
“Good afternoon sir.” Merit smiled charmingly at my husband and quickly stretched out an open hand towards him. “The name is Merit Madume.” She introduced herself.
My husband hesitantly shook her hand but I noticed that when he tried to pull his hand away, she held on. I cleared my throat and held the bible towards my husband as I said, “Darling, your bible.”
This time, she had no choice than to let my husband’s hand go so that he could take the bible from me. I was mad. How can this girl be so bold to flirt with my husband right in front of me?! The other girls had not been this daring before! What makes her think she could disrespect me this way?!
“Sir, I was just telling your wife here before your return that I live in the same estate as you guys.”
“Oh really.” My husband said, glancing at me for confirmation but my angry eyes were fixed on Merit.
“Sir, please, if it’s not too much stress, can you give me a lift?” She asked sweetly.
My husband gave a subtle shrug then nodded. “I don’t mind at all. Please come along.”
“God bless you!” She beamed and quickly bent to take her handbag. My husband held my hand again and together we walked out of the church while she followed in tow. As we reached our car in the parking lot, my husband, being very chivalrous, opened my door and held it open for me to get in. After I sat down, he helped gather my skirt into the car so that it didn’t stick out after the door was closed and when I glanced at Merit, she was watching keenly and I felt that if she had the opportunity to join me in the front seat, she’d jump at it. I thanked my husband and he closed the door.
Merit however didn’t get in. She just stood there and watched him as if she was waiting for him to also open the back door for her but my husband who was completely oblivious to her thoughts, simply walked around the car and got into the driver’s seat and that was when Merit reluctantly opened the back door and got in with a slight frown and I had to suppress a smirk. Soon, my husband pulled out of the parking lot and we were on our way home. The sun had disappeared and the sky was almost dark with rolling clouds. The wind was cold and moist and I knew that it would definitely rain soon but I was glad that we would already be home before it did. My husband switched on the music player and as Mercy Chinwo’s Akamdinelu began to play, I sang softly with her.
As I sang, my husband glanced at me and smiled and I smiled back. He loved it whenever I sang. He had commended me for my voice several times and had even suggested that I joined the church choir but I had declined; there was no way I’d want to put myself in a position where I’d have to be struggling to fit in matching uniforms with the church choir, not to mention that I hated berets. With one hand on the steering, my husband’s other hand found my left hand and we entwined fingers.
He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it. Feeling so loved, we soon forgot that we had a stranger in the car and we were so carefree with each other. I asked my husband what had been the discussion in the men’s meeting and as he began to tell me when the lady in the back suddenly cleared her throat loudly and leaned forward, interrupting our conversation, obviously feeling neglected and bored, “Can you please change the music?” She requested. “I’m not a fan of gospel music.” She said to us.
“Excuse me?!” I slowly turned my head to give her a disgruntled look.
Her smile faltered a bit. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful ma, but-”
“Honey, just change it.” My husband softly said to me, giving me a knowing look and I reluctantly agreed. “What kind of music do you prefer?” He asked her without taking his eyes off the road.
“Preferably R&B.” She answered. “Do you have any Nicki Minaj or Cardi B?” She asked.
“Those two women who sing vulgar music?” I suddenly asked in surprise, my frown deepening. “We don’t listen to such!” I stated flatly.
“Okay then, how about you just put anything that’s not gospel.” She said, rolling her eyes.
My husband switched the music player to radio and searched till he found a secular music and she told him that she was fine with it before she leaned back into her seat.
After a few minutes of silence, she leaned forward again as my husband started to pick up where he had left up in our conversation before she had interrupted the first time. “You two are really in love.” She cooed but I could sense that her intention for saying such was not genuine.
My husband and I exchanged looks and we both chorused. “Yes, we are.”
“And we are inseparable!” I added for emphasis.
“Wow! That’s great! I’d really love to find a husband exactly like yours.” She told me. “You two are very good role models and I think other couples should learn from you.”
“Thank you.” My husband replied, smiling a bit. “You are beautiful yourself and I’m sure that any man would be lucky to have you for a wife.”
I secretly shot my husband a displeased look. Why had he complimented her that way? He understood my look but only smiled without saying a word.
“Awwwn…thank you sir…” The lady said. “If only men like you had duplicates…or if only you could take a second wife…” She wishfully said.
I turned to shoot her a scornful look, ready to blast her but when my husband added pressure on my hand, I turned away and remained quiet, although, still seething. This girl was really asking for it!
Thankfully, we soon arrived at the estate and drove down the long road. After taking two turns, we finally approached the house she pointed out as her place of residence. As my husband crawled to a stop in front of her gate, she suddenly pulled her phone out of her handbag and much to my surprise, she said, “Sir, please may I have your number?”
My husband locked gazes with me as if seeking my approval or disapproval but I gave off no sign. I was curious to see what his response would be.
“Please, do not think that it’s anything…” She pleased. “I’ll just want to call you once in a while so that I can extend my greetings, that’s all…” She said.
“You can take my wife’s.” My husband replied.
“Nah… I don’t think that would be okay by her.” She quickly refused. “She’s a writer and the least thing she needs is people distracting her with calls, so sir, I’d rather take yours, pleeaassseee.” She insisted.
“Alright then…” My husband said with a sigh, opened the glove compartment in front of me, pulled out a complimentary card and handed it to her. Instead of getting down the car, she remained in the car and copied his contact into her phone and dialed. When my husband’s phone began to ring, she ended the call and said cheerfully, “Sir, that’s my number… Please save it once you get home. Don’t forget my name, it’s Merit.” She stated.
“Okay.” My husband simply said. I could tell that even though he was just being polite, he also wanted her gone from his car.
She opened her door and got down the car. “Alright, thank you sir. Thank you too ma.” She waved at us and I just acknowledged her with a nod and a false smile while my husband pulled back into the road and continued down the street.
“What do you think about her?” My husband asked me.
I glanced at my side view mirror and realised that she still stood in front of her house, watching us drive away. “I think she’s weird…and I don’t like her.” I said bluntly.
“Although, I’m indifferent towards her but one thing is for sure; she sure lacks manners.” My husband added.
“What stranger interrupts a couple in their own car?” I asked rhetorically.
“Perhaps, she was just looking for small talk, but I find her as an ambitious person.” My husband pointed out.
“And pretty daring too for her own good.” I stated in a displeased tone. I have not had someone irk me this bad in a long time.”
“It would be to her own folly.” Then he looked at me and smiled as he asked the next question, “Do you think she was hitting on me?”
I rolled my eyes. “Really? Even a blind man would have noticed.” I stated and he laughed.
“And you were going to blast her, weren’t you?”
“She’s lucky that you stopped me!” I stated. “I was at the verge of kicking her out of the car! The nerve!”
He took my hand and kissed the back of it. Then he glanced out at the sky through his window and said, “This weather is just perfect for something nice, don’t you think?” He gave me a knowing smile.
I feigned ignorance. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Peter Coker.”
“Come off it jare… Let me massage your inside with something strong and warm, so that it will ease your anger.”
“Biko, leave me…If I need something warm, I’d take hot tea.” I shrugged a shoulder, suppressing a smile. “Besides, today is Sunday, what happened to keeping the sabbath day holy?” I teased him even though heat was already gathering between my full thighs.
“Holy ke? Where in the bible did it say that a man is not allowed to touch his wife on Sunday? Whether you like it or not, Oli, once we get to that house, I’m devouring you.”
He unlocked our fingers and began to tickle me while I laughed and tried to slap his hand away. “Better focus on your driving before you drive into the gutter.”
“Only if you can just sit on me right now.” He took my hand and pressed it against his groin and I gasped. His dick was already hard and had created a tent in his white native pants. “Can you feel it?” He flinched his brows at me. “Can you feel how it’s twitching for you?”
My hand lingered on his erection. “So, rain cannot fall again in peace without your thinking of bad bad things, abi? So that you won’t say that I didn’t tell you, I can’t do anything when we get home o…” I cocked the side of my head towards him, pulling my ear. “…I have an article to finish and I need hundred percent concentration and zero distraction.” I said with a smile.
“You want me to start working around the house naked, abi?” He asked.
“That’s distraction, you’ll have to remain in your clothes. How do you want me to concentrate on my typing if you go around the house naked?”
“Ehn! It’s simple, just write or type in a standing position and leave the rest to me. I’ll take care of that beautiful behind!” He said, sneaking a lustful look at my ass.
“You want me to write rubbish abi?” I laughed.
“You’ll be writing my name as I dig in from behind… Sha don’t write faster and harder…”
I laughed out loud now and pulled my hand away from his erection as we came to a stop in front of the gate of our house then he pressed down on the horn to get the gate keeper’s attention.
To be continued…
© Angela Okoduwa
