Ditched

Oluwole and Mrs. Sharon kept on with their conversation until the horn of Kate’s Toyota Camry vehicle was heard.

Oluwole felt a cold chill down his spine and a rush of fear run down his body.

“David that should be her, right?” Mrs. Sharon asked.

Oluwole nodded affirmatively to her question.

“By you sudden change in mood I can tell that she was the one whose car made that horn even before I asked you.” Mrs. Sharon said. “Take care dear!” she added with a smile.

Oluwole stood up and embraced Mrs. Sharon tightly returning the smile.

“Thank you so much for always being there for me Ma. You’re like the loving mother I never had.” Oluwole said amidst stifled tears.

Mrs. Sharon returned the embrace warmly after which Oluwole ran off to meet his step-mother at the reception. He did not need a prophet to tell him that she wasn’t in a very good mood. Without staring so closely at his stepmom’s face, Oluwole stepped into the car without saying a word to Kate or even sparing her a scan. 

On their way back home, Oluwole noticed that Kate took a different route this time, not the usual one that leads to their house.

After a short while, she pulled up at the front of a big house.

“Stay here!” Kate said with intense firmness in her tune.

Oluwole looked at her curiously as she stepped out of the car and made her way through the enormous white gates that stood in front of the big house she had pulled the car over by. After about 15 minutes of waiting and battling with boredom and idle curiosity, Oluwole reached for Kate’s phone. After several unsuccessful attempts to unlock the phone, he finally guessed her password right and busied himself with the numerous applications on her phone.

He started playing the Dream League Soccer football game on her phone and was completely oblivious of what was going on in the big house. 

Oluwole just waited patiently like she told him too and often looked around him for any sign of her to avoid getting caught. He knew the terror that awaited him if Kate ever got to find out what he was doing with her phone. After about an hour and a few minutes, his inquisitiveness got the best of him. Oluwole made a watch as he stepped out of the car and wandered into the big house through the enormous white gates. He found the house quite beautiful and immediately assumed that the owner must be quite wealthy.

Indeed, his assumptions were in the right position as the interior nature of the house was tastefully furnished with exquisite décor and furniture. As he ventured further into the house, he began to hear groans and moaning from a certain room.

“Mmhmm… ye-eessba-byy!!”

“Ah-hhh Kath-yyy!” came a much deeper, unfamiliar voice.

Oluwole quickly recognized that the first voice. There was no way he could ever forget it. That voice seemed to be a part of his sorrow-filled life. It was Kate, his step-mother.

Oluwole located the room that the noises were coming from. The door was slightly ajar. With a slight push Oluwole got to see the inner room. He was utterly dumbfounded with was his eyes seemed to be showing him. Oluwole saw Kate on top of an older man who by his physical appearance would not be anything younger than 58. 

They had no clothes on and the only thing shielding him from seeing whatever was going on between his stepmom and an unknown man was the blanket that was over them both.

For several seconds, Oluwole stood there with his mouth to the floor trying to phantom and process what was before him. Kate let out a surprised shriek and hurriedly got off the older man and tried to rummage for her clothes at the site of Oluwole. Oluwole did not wait to see what their next line of action would be. He ran quickly back into the car and sat completely flushed in his seat. Awaiting the next scene of his tender life.

“Was she having an affair? Is she cheating on daddy?” he thought to himself. 

Oluwole already had a huge hunch that he was going to be in serious trouble with his step-mother and silently prayed that everything he had just seen was a mirage or even better that he was having a very bad dream.

Back in the room, the disgruntled older man said, “Who was that?!”

“Ignore him honey, he is the son of that crippled idiot who parades himself as my husband.” Kate replied disgustingly.

“Don’t you think it’s high time we disposed of him? I hope that you are mindful of the fact that he is a major obstacle to our plans. He is the only son of that foolish doctor and as such he is heir to all of his properties that we want to acquire for ourselves.” added the older man with a puckered brow.

Kate smiled cunningly. “Trust me darling, I am fully aware of that and I know just how to get him out of the picture.” she said.

“All that would be left after the kid gets taken care of, would be for you to finish up your part of the deal by taking care of Tunde.” she winked with a pinch of evil written all over.

The older man smiled knowingly. “I trust you Kathy but as for that idiot, I think it’s high time I give him a visit.”

Fully dressed up now, Kate made her way over to him and gave him a peck before exiting the room and then the building. On getting to the car, she gave Oluwole, who by the way was still trying to process everything- a pretentious smile.

Katherine revered the car and drove towards the highway. Still Oluwole could tell that she wasn’t taken him home. Not after what had just happened. After a few minutes of driving, she brought the car to a halt in front of a fast food restaurant.

“Get down!” she ordered. “Now!!” she added.

Oluwole jumped out of the car as soon as her instruction came. Holding him by the hand, they made their way into the restaurant. The restaurant had dim but appealing lights and a certain corner of it bore a dark shade of scarlet red lighting.

Kate told him to order anything of his choice as long as he could finish it. Oluwole saw the mischievous look in her eyes that she was trying so hard to conceal, and knew at an instant that she was up to something. He just couldn’t place a finger on what tricks his deceitful step-mum had up her sleeves this time.

“Anyways what harm could some edibles from a restaurant that had no connection to Aunt Kate cause?” Oluwole thought to himself.

Oluwole eventually decided to seize the golden opportunity. He let go of his suspicions and what had happened just few minutes ago and thought to himself that perhaps God had finally heard his prayers – that Kate finally had a change of heart towards him.

With mouthwatering urges, Oluwole ordered a plate full of meat-pies and a cup of chilled apple juice to go with it. After which, he ordered a frozen cup of his favorite type of ice-cream- Vanilla. He ate to his satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Kate was at the customer’s stand, charging her phone. She was lost in thought and from the look on her face, it was safe for one to conclude that whatever it is she was thinking/planning, wasn’t something good.

At exactly 5:47pm, she paid the bills, then she and Oluwole made their way to the car. At 9:03pm, they were still on the road. Oluwole had no idea where they were. Apart from the few vehicle front lights on the road, all around him was pitch black.

“It usually doesn’t take this long for us to get home.” Oluwole mumbled to himself. 

Shortly after, he started to feel sleepy. He struggled with the sleep for a long time because he wanted to stay awake to see where this long journey they were on would lead to. The snacks he had eaten that resulted in his full tummy were however not helping, because it only made him feel drowsier.

Eventually he slept off. 

Unknowingly to young Oluwole, the long journey eventually ended on a lonely bush path. Kate parked the car, open the passenger’s door and pushed Oluwole out of the car with his bag pack strapped to his back. She closed the door and hurriedly sped off leaving Oluwole on the lonely bush path. 

Poor Oluwole who had the time of his life earlier on this evening, and had thought to himself moments back, that perhaps things were eventually going to change for the better; has now been thrown into a more complex maze of fate. 

What lay ahead of him? Even he in wonder-land, couldn’t determine.