BUT Episode 12

 Episode 12

"What happened? I don't want to imagine anything bad o" Beatrice said. 

"After school that day, my mom's driver came to pick me and my brother as usual. As we approached the house, we saw many people in our compound. we were confused as to what might have happened. If I didn't know anyone at all, I could recognise our neighbours and the pastor of the church we attended."

"So what happened?" Deborah said. 

"There was a fire outbreak. A spark started from the kitchen store and  escalated to the kitchen, then to a half of the house. The chef had gone to the market. If she were at home, she could have shouted  for help and sought for ways to quench the fire, but no one was at  home asides the Gateman."

"I remember that fire outbreak, I never knew that was your house." Beatrice added. 

"Oh wow, you have a sharp memory oo." Selina said.

"What do you mean? It's not easy na" Beatrice said with a smile.

"When you people are done, sha let me know." Deborah cuts in

"What  is it gan? Be calming down small small o" Selina said

"Alright sorry, let me summarise so that we can hear from Beatrice" Selina added and continued.

"I really don't know the kind of sleep the gateman slept that noon, till the house got half way burnt . Some of dad's awards in his room got burnt, some of his photocopied certificates too and some of his clothing and shoes as well."

"A week later, dad had to travel down from  the UK to inspect the state of the house and the damage incured . That was the first time I saw  my father's tear drop. He managed to hide it but before he could say anything, he started crying again."

"People came from far and near to commiserate with us for the incidence. We were reminded to be grateful to God because no life was lost in the outbreak. If sorrys and sympathy could bring back our loss, it would have, because the rate at which people trooped in to greet us was high. However, the feeling of knowing people cared about us was soothing."

"On one of the afternoons, the pastor came around to pray with us and encourage us, and that all things work together for good, but being a young child,  I didn't see any good in all that had happened."

"Sorry, I didn't mention that this incidence happened when I was in senior class 2 and my brother was in primary class 5. Some of those things still play afresh in my head as if they happened yesterday."

"Daddy started doing some running around to fix the burnt places and renovate the house. The company on the other hand was doing fine, while the staff school became a private property. My father wasn't interested in school, so, he bought the company and another group of people bought the school."

"A month later, my father was set to go back to the UK. He had made sure that every renovation was done under his supervision, to ensure we all lived in a comfortable place." 

"The fact that my father always sent money home didn't make us feel  his absence much. There were days when mom would go to the post office to bring home letters written by dad and read to us, so we could feel connected.  The older I got, the more I realized the importance of having a father who would be physically present due to the pressure and the distractions that I am getting."

"Dad's flight was scheduled for 7pm that night .In order to beat traffic and other delays, he left the house as early as 1pm. Mom's driver was the one that drove us all to the airport. I could read on mom's face how much she would miss dad and trust me, we always miss dad whenever he was not around."

"Whenever other kids flaunt their dad, we either flaunt him by saying he is abroad or not talk at all. We see other dads  come to school to drop and pick up their kids, we see many fathers show up on visiting days and at PTA meetings, but mom was the only one who played both roles. The only thing is that dad always sent money home."

"Is your mom also a full house wife" Deborah asked. 

"I am coming to the part of my mom soon. So after we saw him through the airport procedures, we left the airport a little past 7pm, immediately after his flight took off. ." 

" My brother slept throughout the journey back home. I would have slept as well, save for the fact that I am not one to sleep on a journey, no matter the time and distance. As we got closer to the house, we sighted someone at the gate of our house, but couldn't see the person's face"

"Can I clear the table now?" The waiter said. 

Who was at the gate?

Find out in the next episode