At about 1 o’clock in the morning, I staggered to her front door. I hadn’t been home for almost 3 days since the episode with Cynthia and James. I walked along many streets like a lost man, searching for something and it brought me right to Vivian’s door step.
I knocked and knocked but she wasn’t there to answer this time. I was about to retrace my steps back to my car when I heard the door click.
She was wearing a see through lace night gown as she came to the door which made me wonder if she wasn’t alone.
“What are you doing here?” She wasn’t surprised to see me. Maybe she knew I would run back to her sooner or later.
“I want you back Vivian.” I said, placing my left hand on her door to keep it open. She looked back into her apartment before she spoke again.
“Listen, you’re drunk so please go just back to where you’re coming from.”
“Vivian, can’t you see that I need you?” I almost felt lie screaming it to the world.
“Don’t Vivian me!” she held it in. “Please it’s late, just leave me alone. I thought we made that clear already so what’s all this?” She was about to close the door when a man’s voice asked, “Who is that?”
I stared at her and she did the same to me.
She then answered saying, “It’s nobody honey. Go back to bed.”
I stretched my neck, trying to get a glimpse of this man.
“Victor just go please.”
She pushed my head back out and shut the door. I climbed down her stair case, forcing my tie off my neck. I was a lost man. I didn’t know where to turn to. I definitely wasn’t going to go back home in this state. I took a seat on the lower stair case. I was thinking about what to do next when I heard Vivian’s voice from behind me. I turned around; this time she was wearing a pair of jeans trousers and tank top. She walked to where I was seating and laid her hands on my shoulder as she took a seat next to me.
I laid my head on her laps and wept like a child. She gently ran her hands through my head.
“Shouldn’t you be celebrating with your family?” she asked. I raised my head up to look at her; she looked away not wanting me to see the jealousy in her eyes.
“Vivian I’m sorry. I have been such a damn fool…”
“Victor how is your daughter?” She asked, disregarding my apology. During our first few months of dating she would always ask me saying, “Do you love me because I’m good with your daughter or because you truly love me?” I never knew how to respond to her question. Usually, I would kiss the question away before it even started and that usually led to something else we both needed more.
“How is she?” she asked again which reminded me of how much my life sucked at that moment.
I laughed. “She isn’t mine.” I confessed.
“What do you mean?” She looked at me as if my drunken state has done something to my thinking process.
“Cynthia has been lying to me.”
“Lying to you? How?”
I told her everything that went down with Cynthia without leaving anything out. She either nodded her head or said “Oh” as she listened.
“Wow, what are we going to do now?” She said “we” which gave me a little hope.
“Have you confronted the James?” she asked. When I left my house, my intention was to track James down and give him the beating of his life. I did just that and then settled for a few bottles of liquor.
“Who was that guy I heard his voice?” I asked her the question that had been eating me up.
“Oh him; everyone needs some way to heal Victor. You threw me out of your house the other day.”
“No I did not. I just…”
“Yes you did. The instant Cynthia walked backed into your life, the decision was made. Did you expect me to seat in my room crying all day?”
“You didn’t give me a chance to explain Vivian.”
“Oya na, here is your chance. What would you have said?” she looked dead into my eyes. I caught her off guard when I carefully placed my lips on hers. She fought it with all her strength. When it ended, we both came out for air. Then she slapped me hard on my face.
“How stupid do you think I am?” she shouted. This time, tears were streaming down her face.
“Baby…” I tried holding her hands.
“Don’t you dare baby me? How easy do you think I am? If Cynthia hadn’t messed up, would you have come back to me? Would we be having this conversation right now?”
“It’s not like that!” I shouted. In no time, we were both yelling and screaming our heads off at each other.
“You didn’t chose me Victor, not till the very end when things were fucked up with you.”
“What about me? I’m the one whose wife has been cheating on for so long. My best friend who was like a brother to me stabbed me in the back while smiling at me. I just found out the child I had been raising for two years isn’t mine!”
I just needed someone to pity me, if only it was for one minute.
“Come on Vivian, you’ve got to cut me some slack here. I am hurting just as much as you are but I’m begging you to not push me aside like they did.”
Out of nowhere said, “You’ve got to stop calling her your wife.” she smiled at me.
“Most definitely.” I replied.
She told me to go home and clear things out and that she would call me later in the day. We kissed goodbye and I left her place, heading to a hotel to spend the remaining morning.
Upon getting to my house, there were 2 police officers waiting for me. As soon as Cynthia saw me, she ran to me, crying and raining all sorts of curses at me.
“How could you?” she asked repeatedly as she pulled on my shirt.
I was confused about what was going on. When the first officer pulled out a hang cuff in front of me, I almost wanted to run away without figuring out the crime I had committed
“Officers, what’s going on here?” I asked nervously.
“Sir, you are under arrest for the murder of one Mr. James Edobor.”
I knew there had to be some misunderstanding. The fact that James was dead was a big blow to me.
“Officer, what are you talking about? The last I saw James was a few weeks ago and a phone conversation last week.” I lied.
“Sir follow us to the station, when you get there you can start to explain.” The other officer said.
Cynthia was making the situation worse as she repeatedly framed me for the crime. “You took my James away from me, how could you? What will I tell iffy?” she yelled at me and even at the officers who were telling her to keep calm. The scene was messy and I was standing there confused as hell. As the officers pushed me outside my house, Cynthia gave me that smile as she closed the gate.
