Mabel left. She was feeling pressed
so she went to the restroom. On getting to the door, she heard two ladies
inside the restroom, talking in hushed tones. She stood still and eavesdropped,
and heard the gossip of her life.
“After cheating on
her boyfriend and going away on vacation for 3 days,” one said. “Mabel has the face
to come here smiling.”
“Don’t mind her,”
the other replied. “It is Madam B who is covering her.”
“Her evil will soon
catch up with her.”
They
said some other terrible things about Mabel. When Mabel could not listen
anymore, she quietly walked away from the restroom and just stood in the
hallway to Mrs Biodun’s office, waiting for Mrs Biodun to be finish up with the
client. She made sure she had a good view of whoever comes out of the restroom.
Some minutes later, the ladies who were gossiping walked out. She was shocked
to see that they were among the closest friends she had in the office. They were
taken aback when they saw her standing there. They forced smiles and came
towards her. They told her how glad they were to see her back to work. She acknowledged
them, looking from one person to the other with a straight face. When they
noticed that she was not responding as they expected, they excused themselves
and went back to their work posts. Mabel watched them walk away. One of them
whispered something to the other and the other shrugged. They looked back at
her but she quickly looked away so their eyes would not meet.
“Hmmm people sef,”
she said and clicked her finger. “They smile in front of you and stab you in
the back.”
After
waiting for a while, Mrs Biodun’s door opened and the woman walked out.
“Have a nice day
ma,” Mabel said to her.
“Thank you my daughter,”
the woman said with a huge smile on her face and stood in between Mabel and Mrs
Biodun’s door.
She
stood for some seconds, admiring Mabel until Mabel got uneasy.
“Ma is there a
problem?” Mabel asked her.
“No problem my
dear,” the woman replied. “You just look so much like my daughter.”
“Oh. Thanks ma.”
The
woman walked away but kept looking back at Mabel. Mabel smiled and entered Mrs.
Biodun’s office with a smile on her face.
“Please sit,” Mrs
Biodun said to Mabel.
“Thank you ma,”
Mabel replied and sat.
“You have a new
admirer o,” Mrs Biodun said, smiling.
“Who?” Mabel asked,
looking around.
“The woman that just
left.”
“Really? Does she
know me before now?”
“I don’t think so.
The first time you entered and left, she lost focus on what we were discussing
before you entered and started asking about you.”
“What did you tell
her?”
“I told her only the
good things about you.”
“Thank you for
hiding the bad side of me.”
“You will pay me.”
They laughed.
“She really fell in
love with you,” Mrs. Biodun continued.
“Did she tell you
why?” Mabel asked.
“No. She asked for
your number but I declined because I don’t know what it was all about.”
“Ok ma. Time will
tell.”
Mrs
Biodun leaned forward and touched her chin.
“You are looking
fresher,” she said. “I guess you are getting over the heartbreak.”
“I am trying my best
o,” Mabel said. “I will not kill myself na.”
“Is there any man
worth dying for?”
“No one o. Not even
your husband.”
Mrs
Biodun leaned back on her seat and swiveled for a while.
“I may die for my
husband o,” she said with a grin. “That man is an Angel sent from God.”
“If you die, he will
marry another woman and move on. Chikina.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Mabel leaned forward and asked
her, “Ma I noticed that no one has asked me anything about what happened.”
“What is their business?”
“Something tells me
you have a hand in that.”
“Must you know
everything?” Mrs Biodun asked, smiling. “So what has happened since the last
time we spoke?”
Mabel
told her everything she could remember.
“You mean Kemi is
still disturbing you?” she asked when Mabel got to the SMS Kemi sent with
Segun’s phone.
“As at then, yes,”
Mabel answered.
“If she tries
anything funny again, let me know.”
“I will.”
Mabel
continued with the narration while Mrs Biodun listened with rapt attention.
After a while, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Mrs
Biodun said.
One of
the staff came in and Mrs Biodun asked him to give her some time. He went out.
“Let me leave you to
attend to other matters,” Mabel said.
“No,” Mrs Biodun
said. “Finish the story.”
“I have said
everything. That is how things are now.”
“Ok. Like your
pastor’s wife said, let him be and put yourself together.”
“That is what I am
doing now.”
“That’s good. Are
you ready for work?”
“Yes ma.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes ma. I am.”
“You know the
demands of your work. It requires utmost concentration. The slightest mistake
can mess up a lot of work.”
“I know ma.”
“Ok. Let me call
Ephraim to brief you on what has been happening so far.”
“Ok ma.”
She used the intercom to call Ephraim,
the staff who was holding brief while Mabel was absent. Some seconds later,
Ephraim came into the office. He greeted Mabel again.
“Please put Mabel up
to speed on what has been happening since the last time she came to work,” Mrs.
Biodun told him.
“Ok ma,” he said,
turned to Mabel and said, “Mabel please come with me.”
“No,” Mrs Biodun
said. “Tell her here. I want to know what exactly has happened in her absence.”
“Ok ma. Let me get
some documents she needs to see.”
“Please hurry,” Mrs
Biodun said.
He
left. Almost immediately, the staff that came earlier knocked and entered. He
told Mrs Biodun why he came, got instructions from her and then left. Mrs.
Biodun went back to working on her computer as they waited for Ephraim to come.
Few minutes later, he came in with some files.
“Keep them here,”
Mrs Biodun said pointing at a free part of her table.
He kept
them and took some time explaining everything to Mabel. He answered questions from
them and cleared their doubts on some issues. When he was done, Mrs Biodun
asked Mabel whether she could take over the work load available.
“It is not an issue
ma,” Mabel replied.
“Ok. Go to your work
station then.”
“Ok ma.”
She turned to Ephraim and asked,
“Is anyone occupying her work station?”
“No ma. We just use
her table from time to time. No one is there now.”
“Ok.”
Mabel
followed Ephraim to her work station. She exchanged pleasantries some more.
From the side of her eye, she noticed that some of the staffs were stealing
glances at her. She sat down, kept her bag and booted her computer. Then she tried
to log in but was told ‘access denied’.
(...to be continued)
Nedu Isaac
You're doing great job. Keep it going
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