A Shared Destiny

As written by @debbiebars

Prologue

He enjoyed the rumbling of the engine as he stepped on the accelerator, his adrenaline surging as he shifted gears! He could feel the power of the car as it sped on the highway. It was 2 am. Ideally he should have been in the comforts of his beautiful home with his lovely wife saying goodbye to the last of the guests but he was tired from keeping the fake all-is-perfect smile on his face, shaking hands, making small talks, sipping champagne or wine! It was just a little too much to bear! He took the roundabout at the amazing speed of 150km/hr, which was not as fast as he would have loved but it would have to do. 

This was Lagos and he still had to be safe. He was grateful that at least that the Lekki - Epe Expressway had been completed! He could enjoy it! Something good from the Tinubu – Fashola administration, that’s what his brother would have said. His forehead squeezed in a frown! His brother and twin. They hadn’t spoken in over 7 months! How could he have betrayed him like that! It still hurt! He couldn’t quite decipher which hurt more; the act of betrayal or that they had deliberately stayed out of touch for so long?

He had done the stretch! It was time to head back; he took the next turn at the round-about and started driving back. This time he decided to drive slowly! Stretching the amount of time it would take him to get home, back to his wife! He still loved her but he now equally hated her! He had loved her since the very first day their eyes clicked on those steps! He cursed that day! 

He would soon be home! He dreaded it but he had no choice. He honked at the gate; the security guard awoken to the now practiced ceremony opened the gate and let him in! He pulled into the drive way, parked and got out. Thankfully all the guests were gone! At least he would be alone; he didn’t have to explain to anyone he’s sudden disappearance. He opened the doors with his keys. There she was standing on the balcony as pretty as the very first day he had met her! Their eyes locked for a few seconds then he looked away and headed to the guestroom! He should have known she would be up waiting! She was always waiting! He sighed! It will be another long sleepless night!

Chapter 1

Dominique Badmus-Obike stared into the darkness; it was one of those nights when the loneliness of her bed got to her. As her pregnancy progressed it got harder and harder to sleep comfortably. She propped herself up like she had done countless times to a half sitting –half lying position. She reached out for her glass of black currant juice. Seemingly no end to these cravings. This time it was any drink made of grape or blueberries or black currant. As she sipped from her glass, her mind went back to those times when life was simpler, when all she needed to think about was getting good grades. Hmmm! How time did fly.

She was a precise person; she had time-lined herself. She would be out of university at 21, masters done at 23, married at 24, two kids already birthed at 28, and back to face her professional career at 30 give it 20 years and retire very wealthy at 50yrs. It seemed to be working just as she had planned; she had met the love of her life at 20 in the university. They had a healthy, fun relationship. He had dreams and he equally believed in her dreams as well. They were perfect together. They got married 4 years later as she turned 24. It was the wedding of any woman’s dreams. Chuka had gone all out to make it exactly how she had imagined it with no expense spared. It was a fairy tale wedding, and still brought smiles to her face. 

How she wished, she…

Kick, kick, kick! She adjusted herself, brought into the moment while patting her belly gently and whispered, ‘go back to bed my darlings please’ her babies were kicking; they seemed to understand when she was out of this world, and when her imaginations ran wild. They were saying come back to reality! She sighed and thought ‘I need to get my head out of the clouds’. She enjoyed a good life. Her husband was good to her. He made sure she had everything she wanted. She should be happy! She just couldn’t understand the sudden change. They had gone from being best friends to strangers. She heard the sound of fridge open and close. He must have gone for a drink, maybe a beer. He obviously was having one of those sleepless nights again. His drives usually helped but tonight he seemed more tensed than ever especially during the party. 

Thoughts played around in her head, Should I go to him? Would he come to me? How do I let him know I am here and I miss him? How do I make him understand he is everything I want and need and everything I have done is for him?  How do I tell him I would always be waiting for him for us to go back to what we used to have? How? How? How? Played like a broken record in her head as she finally drifted off to sleep…

Chapter 2

Obiora was bored, Saturdays used to be fun; he and Chuka would be together gaming away like little boys. They had bought twin townhouses so they could be together but in their own homes. How he missed those times! It had been a long day at the office yesterday and he had left at about 7pm and headed in the direction of Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, Victoria Island, to Radisson Blu for dinner with his friend Okan, who happened to be the General Manager. The food was great there, service was prompt and he enjoyed massive discounts. On most days, it was enough and at about 10pm he would drive home to his Bachelor Pad in Surulere, but last night had been too much. He had spent the whole week beating himself up for going to Dominique’s baby shower on Sunday, he had told himself that he just wanted to make sure Chuka and Dominique were fine. It had turned out to be a high-class party; few guests, classy, music, food, drinks, was excellent. Then again Chuka was meticulous and never compromised when it came to his own parties. They had hosted so many together sharing roles. He was always impressed with the way Chuka handled stuff even when he wasn’t feeling it. It always came out excellent, He still felt the tension between them, they still hadn’t spoken, he couldn’t even look Chuka in the face, he still felt guilty but not because of what he had done but because he knew in his heart he was very much still in love with Dominique.

They hadn’t spoken in 7 months. This inseparable duo were now separated. He had even moved to the mainland to give them some space. Going to the party had been a mistake and as soon as he had gotten there, he dropped his gift and left but not before he had caught a glimpse of her. She would see his gift and she would know he had been there, but he couldn’t face her. Not yet! Gosh! She was beautiful! Pregnancy was good on her. He remembered how her face had glowed and her grey eyes sparkled when she laughed giving it a bluish hue. Chuka was so darn lucky, and he knew it.

Obiora flung the game pad away. He had been at it for hours and he was losing all his games, his phone rang again. He looked at the cell phone with irritation ‘Couldn’t this chic take a hint?’ he wondered aloud. It was weeks ago, they had, had a good time but it was done. She was great company, beautiful, career oriented, independent but she wasn’t Dominique. Nobody was Dominique. He had gone through so many girls. They always fell short. His phone rang again, he sighed as he answered ‘hello,’ there was a slight irritation in his voice’ ‘what you want?’ ‘I ain’t home, stepping out’ ‘nothing to talk about out’ ‘I meant it, I can’t be with you’ ‘take care’. She hung up. Well hopefully this time she would get it and leave him be.

He got up, picked up his keys from the side table in his game room. He was heading out. He would go for a swim in the sea. It always cleared his head. The cleanest beach around was in Eleko almost 90mins away, it was going to be a long drive. The drive would be good; it would help put him in the right frame of mind for the swim.  He had been told that time heals all. Hopefully, time won’t take forever. The thought of it already made him feel better, calmer; he needed the calm for the next work week.

Chapter 3

Dominique always loved Saturdays; they were days for reflection for her on the past week and for planning for the new week. She opened her bedroom windows to allow the cool air in and decided to go to the next room that had been converted into a nursery. She walked in to the beautiful room redone in lavender colours with a soft blend of pink and blue and looked at the pile of gifts that lay in a corner. The nursery always brought her calm. It had been done up for one baby, she had still not gotten over the news from the last scan she had just gone for just before the baby shower that she was expecting twins. She had told no one. 

A week had gone by since the baby shower and to take her mind off the complications that seemed to have no end, she decided to go through the gifts that were piled up. She called out for her live-in nanny, ‘Susan,’ she heard the high-pitched reply, ‘ma’ She giggled! Susan’s voice always made her smile. It was probably why she had hired her amongst others. She needed to stay happy for her baby – no babies (she corrected her thoughts), and every thought and action counted, ‘Please come’. Susan was there almost immediately, ‘Ma’ Dominique smiled. ‘Susan, help me with these gifts, we need to open them and know who they are from.’ 

She started with the cute ones at the top of the gift pile, their friends had been generous. Dominique opened gift after gift, and made sure to keep the cards attached to each one so she could reply them with a thank you note. She knew and understood how important it was to appreciate little gestures of kindness and honestly, they were beautiful gifts. She smiled as she looked at the cute clothes, booties; baby this, baby that; it was all thoughtful and needful. She took a sky-blue package that Susan handed to her and started to open it. She sensed something personal with this gift as she gently unravelled the pink ribbon and opened the box. 

There was no card attached to the gift but she knew exactly who had sent the package though she hadn’t seen him at the party. She peeped into the box and saw a little blue and pink embellished jewellery box. She picked it up, opened it gently and saw a beautiful link bracelet with a diamond crusted heart charm attached that said ‘MOM’. It was Gorgeous! She picked it up and the box dropped from her thighs. She asked Susan to help put it on her left wrist. It was made of silver and had beautiful intricate patterns. It was something she would buy for herself. She thought to herself, ‘He knows me well.’ She noticed from the corner of her eye a light blue piece of paper hidden partially by wrapping paper that had fallen out from beneath the box when it fell. She asked Susan to pick it up and hand it to her. It was folded in two, she opened it and stared at the beautifully handwritten words that read, ‘I still…’ Words that immediately took her back to a time and a place only Dominique knew. She couldn’t dare say his name aloud, but it echoed in her mind and head over and over ‘Obiora’. 

‘Susan’ Dominique called out from her thoughts; ‘I am tired. I think it’s enough for today, we will continue tomorrow’ ‘yes ma’ Susan replied. Dominique barely heard her. The door closed to mark Susan’s exit. Dominique picked up her phone and dialled the number she knew by heart. It rang once. ‘Hello Dominique’ his voice had a deep to-die-for baritone. He was one of the few people who still called her by her full name. Most of her friends called her Nikky or Deedee. She loved the way he said it, ‘Hi’ she caught herself in time to sound calm, then she said ‘thank you, it is a lovely gift’ he replied, ‘I am glad you like’ then there was silence. After what seemed like a minute, he said, ‘I miss you’ and she replied softly, ‘please’ then he asked after another seemingly long pause, ‘Are you happy?’ and she replied ‘I am’ she could hear the sadness in his voice as he said, ‘I am glad’ then she asked, ‘you came?’ and he replied, ‘I couldn’t stay away’. She thought about all the things she wanted to say and decided it wasn’t time, then she said, ‘I have to go, just wanted to say thank you’ and before he could reply she hung up.

Chapter 4

Nothing could prepare Obiora for the stillness that followed the end of that call. He had held onto his phone staring at the screen longing for those days when their conversations were fuller, happier with a hint of no-harm flirting. Those days seem so far away now.  The universe was unfair to him he thought maybe he was just being punished for all his playboy shenanigans but bringing him someone like Dominique so close and yet keeping her so far from him was the punishment of the worst kind. 

She wasn’t his. He needed to remember that. She was his brother’s scratch that his twin brother’s wife. The mess they had created by going against his brother’s wish was still unravelling and longing for HER was only going to make it all worse. He heaved a deep sigh of no relief. He stared at the sea he had driven nearly 60km to come swim in, hoping for its calmness but all he saw were strong waves hitting the beach with the same ferocity as the rhythm of his heartbeat. 

He walked the beach shore bare chested and bare feet with his shirt flung carelessly across his shoulders and felt the salt filled ocean droplets the wind had carried gently hit his face. He allowed himself to reminisce for a moment taking him back a few months ago. Back to the last time he had kissed her, he had replayed the kiss in his dreams a-thousand times and a-thousand times more, but nothing felt as real or as beautiful. 

He could still feel the soft caress of her full lips, he had felt time slow down and everything go into a blur. There was nothing else but her at that moment. He had felt the warmth and suppleness of her full-figured body. He remembered the black tee and blue jeans that had fit like a glove. He remembered how his hands had crept under her shirt to feel her skin in his hands and pull her gently into him, holding her tighter allowing her to feel his need for her. He remembered the faint scent of her perfume, Elizabeth Arden’s green tea – simple and classic.  He had wanted this.  He had tasted her, and he had wanted more. 

Excitement had thrust them into each other’s arms that day all their defences had fallen, there was always sexual tension between them that was forbidden and, in that moment, had been set free. He had felt her back arch into him wanting more and he would have given it all to her… everything, his essence he wanted her to have it all. She had matched him Kiss for kiss, touch for touch, the intensity had built up to its peak that if it wasn’t for the entry of the good Dr Whitman into the office bringing them the results she had gone to get, he would have taken her there and then. With Dominique he had no control. There was only want, desire, and an urge to be her everything. He wasn’t jealous of his brother. Far from it, to be honest, Chuka and Dominique were made for each other and were good together, they loved each other and respected each other. However, the heart wants what it wants and he Obiora wanted her too.

Sigh… “na woman do me dis sha” then again Dominique Badmus-Obike wasn’t an ordinary kind of woman. He was an emotional wreck and the evening tide had made the beach no fun. There will be no swimming for him. He should be with her. It was going to be an even longer drive back maybe he should call that girl back what was her name again? after all the sex was good and he would maybe get a good sleep.

Written by Debbie Ubaru...