52. LUKE
Chapter 52
LUKE
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and it’s Dele. I check the time: it’s four p.m. She never calls me during the day. This meeting is important, but Dele calling me at this time has me concerned.
After work, her plan today is to visit my dad. I signal to the guys to continue, and I answer the call, leaving the room.
“Hello.”
“Hi,” I hear it right away, the low rumble and crack in her voice. Something is wrong.
“Are you okay?” The phone is silent. I can hear her breathing, then a sigh.
“Fine, just wanted to hear your voice. Hope I didn’t disturb you.”
“Not at all, I was just reviewing papers,” I lie. I know her; if I tell her I was in a meeting, she’ll get apologetic and might not reach out again.
“Okay.”
“Do you need something?” I ask.
“Not really, but can you please let Baba know that I can’t make it today?” Yes, something is wrong with my wife.
“Sure, no problem.” I pause. “Is there anything else you need?”
“No, I’ll see you when you get home.”
“Okay.” She hangs up right away. Rather than return to the room, I head to my office, open my laptop, and check the link to Dele’s GPS. She’s driving towards home. I close the link and head back to the room. Everyone stops when I return.
“I need you guys to finish up and send me the breakdown,” I say, walking out. Kevin is right on my heels.
“I’m heading home; something is wrong with my wife. Stay in the meeting and update me on what’s discussed and what needs to happen.”
“Got it.”
I return to my office to pack up my laptop. I text Martin that I’m on my way down. Getting off the elevator, I call my dad.
“Hello.”
“Dad, Dele can’t make it today.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she’s fine. She’s working a few extra hours,” I lie to him. I don’t need him worrying any more than I am, plus not knowing what’s wrong doesn’t help.
“She works too hard. Have her call me when she gets home.”
“Dad, she’ll call you tomorrow morning.” I answer.
“No, I want her to call me today.” Seriously?
“Fine, Dad.” No point arguing with him; he’s not going to stop.
Martin is waiting in the car when I get out of the building. I get in.
“Head home.” He pulls into the street. Our drive is short, but in that brief time, my mind is reeling about what could possibly be wrong with Dele. Soon as he pulls up, I dash out of the car and onto the open elevator. I almost knocked an old lady down. I quickly apologized and move on. At our door, I quietly open it. The house is quiet, but I see her backpack on the living room floor.
Yes, something is wrong. That bag is always close to her. I remove my shoes and move quietly to our bedroom. The door is slightly ajar, and I can hear her sniffs and tears. I slowly push the door open and see her on the bed, but she doesn’t even notice I’ve opened the door. She’s so far gone in her tears.
My first thought is to get into bed with her, but startling Dele is never a good thing. It’s best to let her know that I’m here.
“Dele,” I call in a low tone. She lifts her head and turns to the sound of my voice.
“Hi,” she croaks, wipes her face, then sits up in bed, pulling the sheets close and wrapping her arms around her knees.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she whispers, wiping her tears. I move closer to her and wrap my arms around her. She rests her head on my shoulder.
“Ayo mi, why are you crying?”
“Why are you back so early?” Clearly, she hoped to cry her eyes out and be good before I got home.
“You never call me after work. What you do is send me a text, and most of the time, it’s to tell me if your plans are changing. You don’t miss time with Dad. Today you called me and asked me to cancel on your behalf.” She chuckles.
“I didn’t realize I’m that predictable.”
“Not predictable, just sharing with me.” I pull away from the hug and kiss her forehead. She straightens her legs and leans back on the headboard.
“A girl was brought in today. She escaped her kidnapper. He’d locked her up for months, beating and raping her repeatedly. Her friend was the only one who kept looking for her. What if no one had looked for her? I guess I just got emotional and entered a labyrinth of despair with no exit. My mind just darkened on what could have happened to me if I hadn’t run from my uncle’s place or if Aunty hadn’t helped me. I can’t imagine living in an endless circle of torture with no end in sight or anyone coming to help.” I take her hand and lift her face to look at me.
“I’m sorry that girl’s situation triggered you, and I’m thankful she had a friend who didn’t give up on her, just like your Aunty and Amaka helped you. Floppy is dead, and you never have to worry about him again.” She nods. I let go of her hand and move closer, cupping her face. “No one is ever going to take you away from me. I need you to know that I will always send an army for you, and I will always protect you. Do you understand?”
“I do.” She pulls me into a hug, clinging tight to me. “I understand, my Lion of Blythe.” I chuckle and hold on tight as well. We stay together, the sound of our heartbeats being the only noise in the room. She pulls away from the hug, but I take over her mouth, kissing her. She kisses me back, my hand sliding under her T-shirt, squeezing her breast. She moans.
We lay wrapped in each other, her head on my chest, our breathing slowing to normal.
“Thanks for coming home, Luke,” she says. My hand trails her back. She snuggles closer to me.
“Always, Ayo mi.”
“Is Baba okay?”
“He’s fine. I told him you were working extra hours, so don’t be surprised if he presses on you to work fewer hours.”
“Noted,” she says, just as her stomach growls. We both laugh.
“Guess it’s time to feed you.”
“That would be a good idea. Can we go out?” She sounds like herself now.
“Yes, we can. Get dressed up nice; I’ll take you somewhere special.” She kisses my cheek and rolls off the bed to the bathroom.
As soon as I hear the shower running, I get up. My phone pings with messages from my PA. I read them, and shit is hitting the fan with this project. Pulling my pants on, I head to my office to turn on my computer. I call Kevin on Zoom. He starts breaking down the report, and everything is going crazy: massive cost overruns and delays that look like they’re going to continue unless we act soon and figure out how to block the areas causing us to hemorrhage. How the hell did the guys not catch the errors in spending?
Kevin and I dive into the numbers and pull the team into the call to discuss the situation. The more I look through it, the more it becomes clear: I’ll need to travel to fix things. I need to speak with certain powerful players, otherwise, this project is toast. By the time I hang up, I realize I’ve been on the call for the last two hours. Leaving my office, I turn toward the sound of the TV in the living room. She’s in my T-shirt and shorts, her hair pulled up in a messy bun.
“I’m sorry, Dele. Stuff was going crazy.”
“It’s okay, we can stay in. I already ordered and waited for you. I did eat the bread, though; my stomach wasn’t going to wait that long.” I chuckle.
“Come on, I’m starving too.” She gets the food out and we sit to eat, watching the espionage movie she had on.
“I called Baba.”
“Good. What did he say?”
“Nothing much, just warned me to work fewer hours and stop by soon. I told him I’ll stop by tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
We finish our food, clean up, and return to finish the movie. Dele gets in position: her head on my lap and my hand on her ass. Our moment of comfort and trust.
As the movie wraps up, she sits up.
“I might have to travel soon,” I say to her.
“When?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll find out when and how long tomorrow.” She nods.
“You’re starting to own my heart,” she says, surprising me. Not the words I wanted to hear, but they’re getting warmer.
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“Depends.” She lays her head back on my lap, facing the TV. I move so she can sit up. I lean in and nuzzle her neck, moving closer to her ear.
“You’ve owned me since that day on the balcony,” I say. She pulls out of my cuddle and turns to face me. I’m short of words as we lock eyes.
“Let’s go to bed,” she says, getting up. I take her hand and we head to her room. She still refuses to sleep in the primary room. I’ve left it alone for now.
“Will you be fine while I’m gone?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine. Osei called me today. He only checks on me from time to time, but I think he’s probably dumped the new girl.” I laugh. It sounds right.
“You guys hang out, but don’t let him drag you into his craziness.”
“He can’t. He knows my limit. Besides, the semester is still on. I won’t have that much time for him.”
“Good, and no extra hours.” She scrunches up her face, and I maintain a straight look.
“Fine,” she exclaims like she’s giving in.
“Come on, bedtime.”