Bade went to the bar immediately it was lunch time. He ordered for a drink and a plate of pepper soup. And while the girl attending to him went to get his order, he looked around, observing the faces of the workers.
Jonah walked into the bar at that same time and sat down. He had just returned from one of the errands Madame Kali sent him. Then Madame Kali asked one of the girls to collect some money from him. As she came chewing gum and swinging her hips, she hissed at Jonah and looked towards Bade.
Jonah smiled and tried to put his hand around her waist but she barked at him.
"Common commot! You think sey I dey play with you. Abi I look like Boma for your eye?"
"Taaa. You fit look like her? She better pass you ten times. No dream am." he answered her mockingly and threw the money on the table for her.
Bade watched them both and after he was served, he asked the girl that attended to him to give Jonah a bottle of drink too. The girl did as he said and brought the bottle to Jonah.
"Na that oga there buy you the drink." she informed him and walked back to continue her work.
Jonah turned to Bade's direction and took a seat next to him thanking him.
"No problem. You work here?" Bade asked.
"Yes sir. Here be my station." Jonah replied.
"So you know Boma very well I guess."
"Boma na my girl na. I know her, but she no dey here again."
"Where she dey work now? Where I fit find her?" Bade probed further.
"Oga I no know o'. Any problem?" Jonah had to ask seeing the man's seriousness.
"Please if you can help me with her whereabouts, I'll appreciate you. She met me some days ago at Metro Car Park - I'm the owner. I offered to assist her, but I've not seen her pass by since that day." Bade explained to Jonah.
"Ah Oga, she pack commot on Saturday morning. But I fit take you go one of her friend place for Raymond street. She fit dey there." Jonah answered looking back.
So they agreed to meet again in the evening at the car park.
*********** ************* ***********
Nicole sensed something was wrong with her Dad, they way he looked this past weekend was pretty unusual. She decided to ask.
"Dad?"
"Yes, Sweetie."
"You've been looking sad all weekend. Anything wrong?"
"Oh, no, nothing to much that the good Lord or a glass of wine can't handle." he replied smiling.
Nicole laughed. The humour to cover up her question, nonetheless, didn't work.
"So, Dad, what's wrong?" she asked again taking him off guard.
"Nicky, I'm fine. Quit worrying about me. I'll just have a drink or pray or do both. But I'm ok, ask your mama." he responded and left the kitchen to the living room, where he sat before the TV and increased the volume with the remote.
Tess had told him how probably devastated Nicole would be if she learned about the death of her 'Uncle'. He knew he couldn't hide it from her for long, but at least he could wait until he was in touch with his niece so there'll be some good news to overshadow the bad.
Nicole sighed. Her Dad was hiding something from her, but she would get it out from him sooner or later. Right now, she needed to quench her boredom with some good peer company.
********** *********** ***********
Bade drove to Raymond street, to the very house where Jonah showed him, in the estate. He hoped the girl was really staying there.
Just as he was about to knock the door, a car drove in - it was Tonye who had returned.
Tonye was surprised to see the man in front of his house. And the gateman: what did he tell him to have allowed him into the house when he wasn't around?
Tonye parked his car in front of his house and came down. Then he noticed Jonah standing beside the car.
"Oga welcome. I carry dis man come. Him sey e won see Boma, very important. Naim I carry am come here. No vex." Jonah said, coming over to greet Tonye.
"Hello sir. Good evening." Tonye greeted Bade.
"Good evening. Please I'm here to see Boma." Bade said giving Tonye a hand shake.
"Who are you sir? So I can find out if she wants to see you."
"I am Bade, Bade Martins. We met at my car park some days ago. She may not recollect the name, but tell her the man she saw at the park, that looked like her father..." he was saying when Tonye quickly ushered him in.
"Come in, sir. I'm sure she'd want to see you." Tonye said as he closed the door behind them.
Boma had just told him about the incident over the phone earlier in the afternoon and he was of the opinion that they go back there to enquire about him.
Inside the house, Boma was surprised to see Jonah and she didn't even recognize the man. She assumed he came with Tonye.
"Welcome sir. Welcome. Jonah, what brought you here?" she greeted and then asked Jonah calmly.
"Boma, I'm Bade. We met at the Metro car park few days ago, where you fainted after seeing my friend." Bade spoke up first. "Jonah brought me here because I've been looking for you."
Boma jumped up, scared. "What do you want?" she asked, her face a mixture of fear and surprise.
Tonye came to her side comforting her, and made her seat down again.
"Boma, the man you saw was not a ghost, he was your father's brother." Bade continued.
"My father's brother?" she asked looking at him as if he was saying something stupid. "what? do you even know about my father?"
"I know he's late. I know he grew up in St Peters Orphanage. I also know he had a twin brother called Raymond."
Both Boma and Tonye looked at each other amazed at what Bade knew. Jonah was obviously lost.
"How did you get all these information?" Tonye asked Bade.
"Raymond is my friend and business partner. He was in Nigeria a few days ago and they met at my car park." Bade sat up as he continued. "After their encounter, my friend went in search of his brother's whereabouts and that's how come he discovered and told me all I now know."
"But my father never told me he had a twin brother." Boma said enquiringly.
"Or maybe he did and we missed it in all that paper. We should go through the box again." Tonye said, and went inside to bring out the box.
"What box?" Bade asked her.
She wasn't paying attention to him so she didn't reply. Tonye returned with the box and he gave Boma the letter.
She read through it again. No mention of a relative, much less a twin.
"Mr. Bade, my father grew up in the orphanage and he didn't tell me about any relative of his. But, it's possible. I remember the striking resemblance when I saw that man at your car park." Boma said, then sighed, "But all that doesn't really matter now because this letter here, written by my father, tells me I'm not his biological child."
"What?" Bade looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Tonye spoke this time, not wanting Boma to get into tears again. "We just discovered that she's not his daughter. He rescued her from Blue spring Medical Centre where the Doctors had stolen her from the woman who gave birth to her."
"Oh my God! Blue spring Medical Centre? My goodness!" Bade exclaimed, shocked at the news.
"His letter of appointment dated August 1995 is even here." Tonye added pointing at the white envelope.
"This is mind blowing."
"Well, that's the result of wickedness perpetuated by fellow human beings on each other." Tonye said.
"My God!" Bade looked at Boma feeling sad for her. "Well, I'll get back to you. But please, for the sake of the kindness my friend's brother showed to you my dear. Can I get your contact so he can reach you? He sees you as his niece."
Boma hesitated but Tonye gave Bade his contact and thanked him very much for coming, before escorting Jonah and Bade out of the house.
Boma was just stunned. Everyday seemed to have a surprise of its own. Yesterday, the man she knew as her father turned out not to be her biological father. Today, he has a twin brother that she had mistaken for a ghost. What will tomorrow bring? She wondered.
***************************************
It took two days before Bade could get in touch with Mr. Ray on the phone. He called him in the evening, when it was a bit late in the night at Alabama.
"Hello Ray."
"Hello Bade. How are you?"
"I'm fine my brother. And you? Sorry I should have called earlier."
"It's okay. I'm sure you have good news for me, that's why."
"Yes Ray, I found the girl." Bade said.
"You did? Ah, my niece has been found." Mr. Ray said elated. He looked over at his wife, considering whether to wake her up to let her know or wait.
"Ray, there's a problem." Bade continued.
"Problem? What problem?" Mr. Ray said casually still happy at the initial news.
"She is not Richmond's biological daughter."
"Eh? You said what?"
"I said she's not his daughter. The story is long. But the summary is that, he rescued her in 1995 when he was working with Blue spring Medical Centre as a cleaner. Seems she was stolen from birth by the corrupt Doctors, but was fortunate to have been rescued before any harm befell her." Bade was talking.
"Wait wait wait, Bade. Please take it again." Mr. Ray requested. The information was just too much for him to break down.
Bade repeated what he had said again, adding that Boma was now in search of her real family.
Mr. Ray thanked Bade for the help and ended the call. The one thing he'd feared the most, ever since he heard of the Blue spring Medical Centre Saga, was about to befall him.
When the news first came to him about how that medical Centre had been taken to court for gross malpractice, his first thought was: I hope they didn't use my daughter's body for ritual. But he dismissed the idea and convinced Tess to do same. Later on, when he saw that girl at the park, for a moment, his mind went back to Blue spring and he wondered if perhaps they deceived him and his wife and probably sold his daughter to another couple. Now, he'd just discovered his brother worked there the same year Tess was admitted to the hospital at her delivery, and his brother rescued a baby girl that looks identical to his Nicole.
This was too much to take in. He quickly left the room and went downstairs to the kitchen to get a drink from the fridge. He needed to calm down.
About an hour later, Tess woke up and when she didn't find her husband on the bed, she wore her dressing robe and came down to the kitchen.
"Ray, what are you doing up, drinking by midnight?" she asked standing at the door.
"Tess." he looked at her weighing his words before saying it. "I have to make a trip back to Nigeria, tomorrow."
"What are you talking about, Ray?" she asked taking a seat right next to him.
Mr. Ray was trying to put his emotions in check because he wanted to fling the table away in anger. He just held it so tight, and banged on it in frustration.
"Ray! What's wrong with you? Nicole is gonna wake up, it's midnight." Tess said, standing up to go over to her husband.
He just didn't know what to do or say. How could this have happened to him, to them? How can he even put the news to his wife, his daughter? All the years of pain Tess had gone through crying about her lost daughter, all the years their daughter has had to live cheated of the good things of life, all the years Nicole has had to live as an only child when she so wanted siblings, siblings they could not have for her due to the complications Tess had having the twins.
"Ray, please you're getting me scared already. What is going on, honey?" she asked. This time she had come to the sink where he was standing and she placed her palm on his clenched fists.
"Mom. Dad. What's happening here?" Nicole had come into the kitchen, awakened by the noise.
*********** ************* ***********
Tonye took Boma out to shop for clothing and toiletries. They also hung out with Greg, who had a lot to catch up with. All the while, Boma waited to hear from Mr. Bade but Tonye said he hadn't called. Meanwhile he got her a phone and talked her into getting a Jamb form so she could write the following years' exam.
************ ************ ************
Mr. Ray turned around when he heard Nicole's voice. He didn't know where to start now. He looked at his wife, then at his daughter. There was no need hiding it from them any longer. It was beyond him alone to keep to himself.
"Tess. Nicole. Please have a seat."
"No Ray, I can't have a seat. You need to say what's on your mind while we're standing." Tess said and walked over to her daughter to hold her for comfort.
Mr. Ray heaved a heavy sigh. "Tess. They lied to us. The Doctors."
"What doctors?" Tess asked him looking puzzled.
"The doctors at Blue spring Medical Centre."
"lied 'bout what, Dad ?" Nicole asked
"About our daughter, Tess, they deceived us after all."
"Raymond, what are you saying?" Tess said walking up to him, eyes searching his.
"Tess. Our daughter is alive!" he said to let her see the brighter side of things.
"Dad, that's a joke right?" Nicole said, still standing by the door.
"Bade called me up and told me that he's seen her and he confirmed it. Tess, I confirmed it too. It's the same girl I met."
"What?! What same girl?" Nicole was asking when her mother slumped.
"Mom!" "Tess!"
Mr. Ray grabbed his wife before she hit the floor. Nicole hurried to get a bowl of water, while he undressed his wife so she could breathe. Few minutes later she fluttered her eyelids and opened her eyes.
"Ray, I need to see my baby." she cried.
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