The Wife ESCAPED!

“Are you done?”, Caro asked, looking at his notebook.

“Almost,” the boy replied, scribbling furiously.

“What about you?”, she asked, turning to his brother. “Are you done, I… you’re Ian, right?”

“No. Moses.”

“Okay. Ian, Moses… Ian, Moses… Ian, Moses,” she recited in a bid to remember who was on her left and who was on her right. “So how can I tell who’s who after you both leave here?”

“He’s the stupid one,” Moses said, pointing at his twin.

“He’s the crazy one,” Ian shot back.

“Okay, okay! It’s okay. Just go back to your works.”

“I’m done,” Moses announced, triumphantly slamming his pen down on his book.

“I finished first!”, Ian countered.

“That’s a lie! I finished first!”

“You finished second!”

“That was you, liar!”

As they quarreled and called each other names, Caro sighed and shook her head in frustration. Fighting children was not something she was unused to, but children fighting without fists was certainly not familiar to her. She knew that talking would do no good, so she simply looked at their books.

“Hey Moses, where’s your full stop?”

As that twin added the full stop in defeat, the other one was beginning to mock him. So Caro turned to him.

“Ian, why didn’t you dot that i?”

“But it’s dotted!”

“Are you sayin I’m blind?”

He went back to the i and dotted it properly. And peace reigned.

“Is there anything else to be done?”, Caro demanded.

“No”, the boys chorused, packing their books. “Thank you, Aunty Carol.”

“You’re welcome,” Caro beamed, almost blushing.

It was the first time she had ever been called ‘Aunty’ and it sounded nice.

“What was that about?”, Trisha asked from behind Caro, positively startling her. The boys had gone and she had been sitting alone at the table, smiling to herself.

“Um… Good Morning, m… Trisha. Um… I was just helping them with their homework.”

“Oh. Thanks. You seem good with them. You did this with your siblings, I guess?”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

That struck a chord. She had actually been the one coaching her younger ones. Now that she had left them, what would they become if not illiterates? The schools did little to nothing for them.

“Umm… ye… yes. I did.”

“Is everything okay?”, Trisha asked, noticing the change in her demeanor. “Did I say anything wrong?”

“No, no, you didn’t. I just… I just… miss my younger ones.”

“Oh! Sorry about that. Where are they, by the way?”

Oops! She really had never thought this far when forging her fake history. Oh God, where should her siblings be? Her heart pounded wildly as her mind raced, frantically searching for a suitable place to deposit her younger ones.

“It’s okay,” Trisha sighed. “You really don’t have to tell me everything about your family. I was only cur…”

“No, no. It’s not like that. It’s just that… it’s been a long time since I saw them and…”

“It’s fine, Carol. Just forget about it. Forget I ever asked. Now, guess what? Your books are on their way here!”

“Oh thank you! I…”

“It’s okay. You can hug me,” Trisha smiled as Caro suddenly recognized her error and withdrew just before she could touch her. When the girl still did not move an inch, she moved in herself and hugged her tight. “Hmm. You smell nice, Carolina.”

“You smell nicer, m… Trisha,” Caro replied quietly as she tentatively put her hands on the older woman’s back. They remained like that for a while until Trisha broke it slowly, drying her eyes with her hand.

“My mom used to hug me like that,” she croaked. For fear of sounding wrong, Caro did not utter a word. Never before had she been hugged and confessed to in this way by an older woman, so she had no idea what to say. She just stared as Trisha sniffed and dried her eyes.

“See you later, Carol,” her host said, hurrying away.

Later that evening, at supper, everyone was present at the table except Mabel whose visit had ended and had gone back to school.

“So what do you think of your books, Carol?”, Trisha asked between mouthfulls.

“They are fine, m… Thank you very much… Trisha.”

“Have you started working on the topic I marked out for you?”

“Yes, ma… Yes, Trisha,” she quickly corrected.

“Then you’ll have your test next week. Mind you, it will be tough.”

“Okay.”

And silence reigned till the end. It was when Rennie and the twins had taken away the plates that Trisha decided to comment on Caro’s discomfort and lack of ease.

“Wanna tell me something?”, she asked, predicting correctly.

“Um… ye… yes,” Caro stuttered, scratching her hair nervously.

“Okay. Shoot.”

“Please, don’t be angry with me over what I want to say. Em… while I’m studying, can you please allow me to also learn a trade? I’m really not used to being idle.”

There was a few seconds of silence and Caro wondered if she would get a scolding. She was already beginning to regret making the request when Trisha suddenly sighed and slumped down on a chair, her hands under her chin.

“Fine. So what trade would that be?”

“Em… I would like to learn how to sew.”

“Tailoring? Okay then. I’ll see what I can do. Now, let’s go watch some TV.”

*****

Caro was on her bed, deeply engrossed in one of the novels that Trisha had bought along with the textbooks. Like the ones her favourite teacher used to lend her, it was a very interesting read – a far cry from the JSS reader boosters they had read in school. Not that those weren’t also interesting, but she disliked the fact that there was so much focus on morals. She was not one to believe in such things. She reasoned that there was neither bad nor good, there was only right or wrong. Bad could be right depending on the circumstances. The only exception was rape.

“Carol,” Rennie knocked and peeped into the room.

“I think I’ve told you not to call me carole again?”, Caro demanded, sitting up immediately.

“Carol,” Rennie repeated, walking into the room to confront her.

“This girl, you’re looking for my trouble o.”

“Really? Where did you keep your trouble?”

“I kept it with you and now, you have lost it. Abeg comot for my room.”

“Madam Trisha is looking for you o, Mrs. Comota,” Rennie sneered and sashayed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Caro sent an angry long hiss after her.

“Stupid girl,” she cursed beneath her breath as she jumped off the bed to get into her slippers.

No matter how she disliked Rennie, the fact that she had delivered a message from a very important person could not be overlooked.

Leaving her room, Caro went down the stairs at a brisk run and landed in the dining room. But she was immediately taken aback by what she saw: Trisha was seated at the table with a well-dressed middle aged man.

At the sight of her, they both smiled, reducing the tension in the dining room. Caro was still a little wary though. Who was this man? Why was he smiling and why did Trisha send for her?

“Come on, Carol. Sit down,” Trisha urged smilingly, patting a chair beside her.

Caro slipped quietly into the chair and folded her hands in front of her, staring straight at the still smiling man.

“Ahem,” Trisha coughed and Caro dropped her eyes to focus on the table. “Sorry to take you unawares, Carol. This is Mr. Andrews. He’s here for your math test.”

On hearing this, Caro’s rigid shoulders slumped in relief. She had thought he was here to take her back to her parents. How she would have fought! But since it was just the test, she could relax now. She even managed a smile as the man made a light comment about something or the other. One shake of her head to clear away all her previous fears and Caro was ready for the moment. But it seemed they had misinterpreted that action of hers.

“Okay then. We’ll do it the other way,” the man said in response to her head shake.

Since she had not been paying attention, Caro did not know what the other way was. But she was ready either way.

As the man flipped through the pages of the math textbook in front of him, Trisha reached out to hold her hand.

“You don’t have to try too hard, dear. You’re going back to school regardless of whether you pass the test or not, okay?”

“Okay,” Caro nodded and squared her shoulders, ready for whatever would come.

“And by the way, Andrews is our next door neighbor, so I’m sure he’ll take it easy on you.”

“Don’t be so sure about that,” Andrews chuckled.

“Either way, I’m rooting strongly for my girl. You’ll do me proud, won’t you?”

Caro nodded, unable to stop herself from smiling.

“Here we go,” Andrews announced. “Ready?”

Caro nodded again. He passed the textbook across the table to her along with a new notebook and a pen. Caro took all three items and started work immediately. The test questions had been marked out on the textbook and all she had to do was copy them out and start solving.

“Good luck,” Trisha whispered before relapsing into silence, giving her ward the freedom to do her best.