The Wife ESCAPED!

Mary got up from the couch with a sigh. It was not every time that electricity was available at this time of the day, but there was nothing interesting on TV and it was already afternoon – by now, people would already be making their way back home from church. And if people were home, they were bound to buy things.

She threw down the remote control on the arm of the couch and prepared to go outside and man her fast-growing kiosk. But before she could take a step, she saw Caro saunter into the room with a tailor’s measuring tape hanging around her long neck. She wondered what the girl was doing with such an item that screamed “work” and nothing else. She was very worried that Caro was paying little or no attention to her studies when she ought to be preparing for her final exams – such an expensive and important one at that. But before she could say anything, the girl walked up to her and deftly wound the measuring tape around her waist. Mary was surprised.

“What are you doing?”, she demanded. But Caro gave no response and went on to measure other parts of her body with the speed of someone who knew exactly what she was doing.

“Caro,” Mary said in a half-scolding tone, making it clear that she would not stand being ignored.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

“Taking your measurement,” Caro shrugged. “I told you I’ll sew that dress for you.”

With that, she sauntered out as fast as she had sauntered in.

“Hmm,” Mary sighed and picked her purse from the centre-table. As much as she loved this daughter of hers and felt pride at her talent, she knew that sewing was not one of the things a scholar like her should be doing at this time. But what could she do? Caro always had a mind of her own. She had tried to tolerate that independent mind as much as possible, to prevent the girl from shrinking away or being afraid of her, but it wasn’t always easy.

Purse in hand, she strolled outside to the verandah and plopped down on the bench. Caro was nowhere to be seen, but she still occupied her mind. Her worry was so great. Despite being brilliant, she feared that underrating any exam and such an important one for that matter was a risk that no student could afford to take, not even the confident and capable Caro. If only she could see one… just one little proof or reason to believe that Caro was taking the exams seriously, her mind would be completely at rest.

All of a sudden, a steady hum attracted her attention and she quickly looked up to see a car coming to a halt in front of her compound. She took a deep breath and leaned back on the wall, waiting for the occupant of the vehicle to come out.

“Good day, ma’am,” Timmy greeted with a respectful bow as he walked up to the verandah.

“How are you?”, Mary nodded at him.

Her eyes glinted with something that looked to him like suspicion and he suddenly felt the need to explain himself.

“I’m fine, ma’am. Uh… I just came to see a friend on some business matter and it occurred to me to drop by and say hi.”

“Hmm,” Mary nodded again, seemingly satisfied with his explanation. “It’s good you came though. I hope you’re not in a hurry because I want to talk to you.”

“No, no, no, not at all. I’m… I’m ready to listen.” He didn’t know if that was a polite enough expression, but he hoped it was at least tolerable. Mary didn’t seem to mind though. She simply shifted in her seat to properly balance herself and then looked him squarely in the face.

“It’s about Caro. As you know, her final secondary school exams are coming up soon, but this girl is not putting any effort into preparing for it.”

Timmy’s heart lurched and then started beating wildly. Hopefully, she was not about to ask him – of all people! – to convince Caro to prepare for her exams?? How would he explain that he was the most unqualified person for the job??

“But,” Mary continued, “the bigger issue is money to process her university admission and other things that will follow after the exam.”

At this point, Timmy breathed a sigh of relief and his mind flashed back to the calculations he had attempted since one of his cousins begged him to assist in sponsoring his university education. But Mary was still speaking.

“Frankly, I’m not financially capable at the moment to handle such matters, but that bridge is still far ahead. My only fear for now is that Caro is not a “sidon look” person. She will guess the situation of things and start to work towards saving money. That’s where you come in. I’m sure your place is her highest source of income, so I want you guys to keep an eye on her and prevent her from doing anything desperate to make more money, especially now that you’ve given her holiday. I hope you understand me?”, she asked, looking intently at him.

“Yes, ma’am, very clearly,” Timmy nodded vigorously though wondering how he could possibly keep an eye on Caro without risking his head. “I’ll do the very best I can,” he added, with confidence he wasn’t feeling.

“Good,” Mary sighed in satisfaction. “That’s all I wanted to talk to you about. You can go and see your friend now. Thank you for coming.”

“My pleasure, ma’am,” Timmy said, automatically, with a bright smile. But he recovered himself immediately. Were those words not too intimate or impolite? But instead of waiting around to find out, he simply took the easier route and quickly walked back to his car. After all, he had already been dismissed, right?

“Hmmmm,” Caro breathed deeply as she came out of her hiding place after seeing Timmy’s car drive off. So this what was on her Mummy’s mind? And that idiot too had agreed to “keep an eye” on her. Well, she would like to see him try! She replayed their conversation over in her head as she made for the tailor’s shop. She pitied her Mummy and even felt a greater need to save up more money to support her secretly, but Timmy… that stupid daring Mr. Cucumbers… she would put him in his place!

She was still fuming and conjuring up ideas in her head, on how she would catch and deal with him if he tried to monitor her, when she reached the road that led to the tailor’s shop. Just like she had promised, she was really going to sew that dress for her Mummy… Krrrrrrrr! A vehicle screeched to a halt just beside her. Caro turned sharply to see that it was a brown minivan. But before she could think, two huge men jumped out of the vehicle and grabbed her, lifting her off her feet and throwing her into the van. They jumped in after her and the driver sped off!