Sold (Christian Romance)

Chapter Eleven

It was a hot Tuesday Afternoon in Lagos, a month after Sisi had lapsed into an unresponsive state. Mrs Joke and Jummy worked vigorously in the kitchen, the stove helping to heat up the place and sweat beading their foreheads. Mrs Joke glanced at her daughter and frowned. She couldn't understand what inspired Jummy to wear such a chunky sweater in the midst of the heat.

“Are you trying to kill yourself?” She said, motioning to Jummy's sweater. “Take it off before you fall sick and I'll have to spend money I don't have”

Jummy's eyes darkened but she said nothing. Mrs Joke wondered at her daughter's choice of clothing lately. It was either a big gown that made her look like an old maid or this chunky sweater. No wonder Remi's interest remained on the dead woman he kept in his guest room. She hissed loudly and glanced back at Jummy who still had on the sweater.

“Jummy, take it off immediately!” She yelled.

Jummy hesitated but eventually complied. She reached for the sweater and slowly pulled it off, exposing what looked like a pregnancy. Mrs Joke stared at her daughter in unbelief. She had given Jummy the abortion pill personally. There was no way her daughter could still be pregnant. Had Jummy eaten so much that it left her with a protruding stomach? Ah, but she was a woman and a mother and no sane woman would look at Jummy's stomach now and say she's not pregnant.

But how can it be? Jummy looked like she was six months or seven months gone. How did her child hide a pregnancy from her for that long? Now that she thinks about it, Jummy had avoided physical contact with her for a few months.

Jummy diverted her eyes. Mrs Joke felt her anger coming upon her like a flood.

“Jumoke!” She said, calling Jummy's full name. “Ah! You have killed me. So, you kept that bastard child?!” She pointed at her daughter's belly. “After all I have suffered, you want to ruin my life?!” Jummy said nothing. “Answer me! You want to kill me?”

“No, Mama” Jummy answered.

Mrs Joke turned the back of her hand and slapped Jummy across the face so hard, she fell on the kitchen floor. Overwhelmed with anger, Mrs Joke reached for a butcher's knife on the sink. She was going to cut that child out of Jummy even if she had to do it the local way. She lifted the knife and made her way towards her ungrateful, stupid daughter.

...........
Jummy had hesitated when her mother instructed that she take off her sweater because she knew that the revelation of a baby bump would drive her mother crazy. But what choice was she left with, if Mama didn't find out today, she would find out another day. And just like Sisi had said, she might succeed in hiding a pregnancy but she couldn't hide a child.

She reached down and pulled the sweater over her head. She imagined the look on her mother's face as the sweater slided over her head to reveal her growing belly. Her mother was furious as expected. The slap and it's intensity had not come as much of a surprise, Jummy had even had the fore sight to break her fall with her hands but as Mama grabbed the butcher's knife and turned to face her with the look of death in her eyes, she knew she had to save her baby. If she didn't, Mama would perform an abortion right there on the kitchen floor on her.

She sprung to her feet and ran out the kitchen with her Mother hot on her trail. She had to think fast. Where was she running to? Remi! She ran through the living room and to his office, pushing the door violently open.

Remi sat at his desk, a pen in his hands as she shoved the door open and ran to him. He stood up and she grabbed his legs and hid behind him.

“What?!” He had barely gotten the word out of his mouth when Mama shoved the door open, the butcher's knife in her hands. She scanned the room and her eyes rested on her target.

“Sir!” Jummy yelled, pointing at Mama. At that point, she was gasping for air and the baby kicked violently inside her.

“Mrs Joke, what are you doing?” Remi asked sternly.

“This child!” Mama breathed. “This ungrateful child is pregnant!”

“Okay, calm down” Remi motioned with his hands for her to take a seat but she was unyielding, holding the butcher's knife in front of her. “Mrs Joke, we can talk things through!”

“There is nothing to talk about, she will never give birth to a bastard child, it is over my dead body!” Her eyes caught fire as she reached for Jummy and she began to wail, clinging tightly to Remi's legs for safety.

Remi wrestled the knife from Mrs Joke, pinning her hands to the desk before retrieving it. The blade sliced his right palm and he winced.

“That is enough! Get out! Get out of my house” He said sternly to Mrs Joke as he threw the knife behind him and it landed on the floor.

“Fine! As for you, you no longer have a mother or a home to return to! Live on the streets for all I care” She stormed out of Remi's office.

Jummy stared after her in horror, still clinging to Remi's legs. He bent down and grabbed her by the arms and pulled her up. She threw her arms around his neck and began crying.

“Are you okay?” His voice was laced with concern and it surprised her. She had expected him to be angry, perhaps even order her out of his house but instead, he held her close and brought comfort to her.

“I... I... I'm sorry” She trembled. “I'm so sorry Sir” She cried.

“You should rest” He loosened her hold on him and touched her fore head. “I can't have another sick woman on my hands. Go to Jesse's room and get some sleep. When you have regained your strength, we will talk about what just happened” He said, motioning for her to go. She obeyed silently.

..........
Remi watched her leave his office without saying a word. What just happened? He rubbed his forehead and tried not to think about what could have happened if he wasn't at home to stop Mrs Joke from killing another human being who happened to be her daughter! He glanced at the wall clock. Seeing the time, he decided it was time to check on Sisi and see how she was doing.

He walked to where she was on the bed in her room. Her eyes was closed and she snored softly. He smiled at her, she seemed to be at peace. He left her in the room and went back to work.

That evening, Jesse sat watching cartoons in the living room and Jummy sat with her hands resting on her knees beside him. She had slept for about three hours after the incidence with her mother. He faced her.

“I need to know what happened earlier on”

She nodded her head. “I'm pregnant and Mama is not too pleased. She found out about it two months ago and tried to get me to have an abortion because... ” She paused and appeared to be nervous.

“Why?” He probed.

“She wants me to be your wife” She answered. “She does not care that I do not have feelings for you, she was going to force me to marry you”

Remi almost laughed at the notion and even the fear he saw in Jummy's eyes. Mrs Joke could force Jummy to get married but unless she was planning on getting another groom, he wasn't a willing candidate.

“How was your mother going to force us both to get married to each other? I mean, I'm a grown man and you are grown yourself. You are old enough to make your decisions.”

“She doesn't care. Now, she has thrown me out of the house. ” Jummy averted her gaze.

Remi thought about the situation he was in. It would be nice to have Jummy around to cater to Sisi's needs for the mean time and to help take care of Jesse.

“You can stay here until I get a chance to talk to your mother and explain everything to her. Until then, you'll sleep in Sisi's room. I'll move her to my room”

Jummy fell to her knees and held his legs. She placed her head on his feet. “Thank you!” She cried.

“Don't thank me yet, Jummy, I have a feeling this is far from over” He answered, bracing himself for what he knew was coming.