#JUST_BEST_FRIENDS

Author: Sam Freddy

CHAPTER 34: RECONCILIATION.

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11:39 AM.

Tayo pulled his car to a halt by the roadside, opposite a brown bungalow, which happened to be Idara's actual home.

“You're sure this is the place?”

“Yeah, that's my home.”

Earlier on, Idara had received a phone call from her father, in which he'd revealed a huge shocker to her, and now she was here on her father's request, feeling indifferent to the core.

“Are you all right, Elle?” Tayo put his hand on hers, super concerned. “You look spazzed.”

“I'm fine.”

“Are you?” Tayo squeezed Idara's hand mildly, earning himself a mystified look from her. “Don't pretend. Talk to me. I'm here.”

Sincerely, it was so nice to hear such comforting words from Tayo. She really needed them to curb her anxiety, and his firm touch on her hand solidified those words, giving her courage, and hope.

So, slowly, Idara's terrified look waned off and was soon replaced by a confident look, as she held Tayo's hand with love.

“It's nothing, babe.” Idara assured Tayo, steadfastly holding his gaze. “I was just worried about facing everyone in there,” she gestured in the direction of her home with her head. “But I'm less worried now. You've given me confidence. Gracias.”

Tayo searched Idara's eyes for a moment, before responding with, “De nada, mi amor. No hay de qué.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” A boisterous laugh instantly sprang forth from Idara, as her eyes widened, fixated on Tayo's smirking face. “That's really impressive, T, for real!”

“Gracias, mi reina.”

“Whoa! Amazing! I see you've been taking your online Spanish lessons very seriously.” Idara cheered, amused. “I know I challenged you to learn Spanish just last week, but I never really expected you to grab it so fast. Wonderful.”

“Gracias.” Tayo did a mild dramatic bow with his body, smiling.

“Well…” Idara's excitement slowly disappeared. “I have to go now.”

“Hey.” Tayo held her shoulder, his voice ever so soft, and soothing. “Don't worry about anything, okay? Everything will go smoothly. I need you to be positive. Can you do that for me?”

Idara nodded after some hesitation. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“No, don't tell me you guess so. I need to hear you say you can!”

“All right, I can. Yes, I can!”

“Nice!” Tayo delighted in her renewed optimism. “That's the spirit!”

Idara smirked mildly at that, resting her head on Tayo's hand which was still on her shoulder.

Instantly, Tayo's heart fluttered at her lovely gesture, which prompted him to say, “And hey, I'd love to go with you, but this is not exactly how I planned to meet your father.”

Idara chuckled, before planting a honest kiss on his hand. “I understand. Don't stress.”

Joyfully, Tayo dropped a kiss on her forehead in return. “I love you, babe.”

“I love you even more.” Idara raised her head, blinking repeatedly, as she went straight for another kiss on Tayo's lips, closing her eyes slowly.

Each time she kissed Tayo, she felt renewed, refreshed, energized. So did he. Every kiss was bliss, every touch, every intimacy between them was like a trip to paradise, which they always found so hard to control, to come back from.

But given the situation today, time was of the essence, therefore Tayo cancelled the kiss quite shortly.

“Babe, that's enough.” He giggled, pulling back. “You know we can do this all day long, right?”

“Right.” Idara elbowed him, smiling. “I have to go now. Goodbye.”

“Te echaré de menos.”

Idara patted Tayo's shoulder and exited his car after professing, “Te extrañaré también. Te amo. Adiós.”

She kept glancing back over and over again whilst walking to her home, until she got to her doorstep. It was at that spot that she blew Tayo a kiss and watched him reciprocate it before driving off.

Sighing heavily, Idara knocked on the door, her heart pulsating. She'd never felt this way whenever she visited her father before, and that was understandable, because he was always alone without unexpected visitors in the house.

Harbouring scattered thoughts, she just hoped that this anxiety wouldn't be the death of her, eventually. She was restless, very, very restless, and she was about to say a quick prayer when the door opened, revealing a gloomy man behind it.

“Dad.” Idara embraced him immediately, her eyes closed.

“My angel.” His tired arms were the first things Idara felt around her, before feeling the intensity of his heartbeat, which made her pull back almost immediately. “What's wrong?”

“I should be asking you that instead, dad.” Idara's face and voice showed both concern and fear. “Your heartbeat is a little too fast. What happened?”

Mr. Thompson held his chest, sighing. “It's a long story, dear, but come inside, you'll understand better that way.”

Bracing herself for the worst with a deep breath, Idara nodded subtly and followed her father into the house without further questioning.

In the living room, she came face-to-face with the woman she despised the most, and a good-looking man dressed in a navy blue suit, plus a chubby lad who was an authentic replica of her—facially.

“Isabelle!” Janet rose up at once, delighted. “Welcome home!”

Idara stood still in shock, hoping she hadn't made a big mistake by coming here today. A lot of thoughts swarmed her mind, like who was the light-skinned man sitting alone on the couch? How come there was so much resemblance between she and the teenager staring back at her right now? And, most importantly, how did her mother find her home?

Idara would've dwelled more on those thoughts if Janet hadn't interrupted with, “Hey, Matthew, this is your elder sister whom I've been telling you about. Why don't you go say hello to her?”

Idara made a brief eye contact with Janet and her father, before setting her eyes on the boy who was approaching her with a big smile on his face. It was as if he'd been waiting for this moment all his life.

“Hi. I am Matthew.” Matthew stretched a hand of friendship towards Idara with great admiration for her.

“Um, hello, Matthew.” Idara clipped his hand, beaming a smile to him. “I am Idara. It's nice to finally meet you.”

“Same here. I've heard a lot about you, sis.” Matthew grinned, winking at Idara. “We look just like twins.”

Idara snorted, amused by his boldness. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“Well, good talk, I guess.” Matthew shrugged, retreating to the sofa for his PSP.

‘What a funny-looking confident boy,’ Idara thought, watching him swaggering off without a care in the world.

“Come on, sit.” Mr. Thompson urged Idara, his hand on her back.

Silently, she obeyed, and Janet sat down too, albeit on a different sofa. Although Janet had the urge to march up to Idara and embrace her, she knew better than that, especially after their last encounter at the restaurant. She didn't want history to repeat itself, ever, because she knew that Idara hadn't forgiven her yet.

However, the moment Mr. Thompson sat down next to Idara, the man in suit said to Matthew, “Son, why don't you go outside and get some air?”

“Sure, dad.” Matthew replied, elatedly. “Can I take my game out?”

“Sure, if you wish.”

“Cool!” Matthew smiled cheek to cheek, hopping straight to the door. “Thanks, dad. Bye, everyone!”

“Bye. Be careful.” Janet waved at him until he was out.

Now, a displeasing air of silence engulfed the room. It lasted for an exact minute, and it was utterly heart-clenching, because everyone kept making direct eye contact amongst themselves, lacking the bravery to speak.

The silence would've continued for much longer if Mr. Thompson hadn't drawn confidence and said, “So, as we were saying before my daughter's arrival…”

Idara swallowed hard on knowing that they'd been discussing even before she came. What could they have possibly talked about?

“Or as you were saying, rather.” Mr. Thompson rephrased to Janet with a heavy heart, and with eyes that harbored so much pain. “You said something about being in touch with my daughter for a while now. How so?”

Janet felt bad to hear him call Idara "my daughter," as though she personally had no place in Idara's life at all. However, she replied with, “Yes. I've been in touch with Idara for some time now. In fact, we even met somewhere last week.”

“Really?” Mr. Thompson's eyes dropped on Idara's face. “How true is that?”

With her eyes on the floor, Idara muttered, “It's true, dad. We've been talking, and we just met recently.”

Mr. Thompson's eyes widened at once. He was appalled.

‘When exactly did this happen?’ was one of the many questions on his mind. ‘And why was I left in the dark? Why?’

“So you knew about this all along, and you never told me anything?” He said to Idara, hurting deeply. “You've been in contact with her, and you never said anything to me?”

Idara couldn't look at her father, but she felt his blazing gaze on her regardless. His heart was bleeding fast, seriously tearing apart, and it wasn't even his fault. Everything was just too much for him to take in.

“I'm sorry, dad. I didn't mean to. I was just confused.”

Mr. Thompson shook his head, before burying his face into the palms of his hands with his eyes shut. “How could you, Dara?”

Feeling utterly bad, Idara shifted closer to her father and wrapped her arms around him with her head on his shoulder. “I'm so sorry, dad. Forgive me. I'm sorry.”

Moments later, Mr. Thompson raised his head and opened his eyes, only to see his daughter shedding bitter tears beside him. He felt bad for her, hence he patted her back lovingly and said, “It's okay, dear. I understand that you were simply scared and clueless then. It's not your fault, okay?”

For real, Idara didn't really believe that. She felt like she deserved a huge chunk of the blame, but she simply nodded to her father's statement regardless.

“Good. Now sit up, dear, let's all settle this issue once and for all.”

Wiping her face with her handkerchief, Idara sat up with her head down this time. Making eye contact with anybody else but her father or Tayo just wasn't on her menu for today at all.

“So now that that's out of the way, what exactly brings you both here, with all due respect?”

“Reconciliation.” The fair man spoke, crossing his legs. “I'd like us to sort our differences once and for all, like you said.”

Mr. Thompson scoffed. “You say it like it's one easy thing to do, Mr  . . . ?”

“Kalu.” The man said sharply.

“Yes, Mr. Kalu.” Mr. Thompson said flatly. “I'm afraid what you seek might be a little hard for me to grant you, considering what you both did to us for so many years.”

“Correction, sir: I had nothing to do with Janet's mischief.” Mr. Kalu pointed out with his index finger up. “I suspected you'd make that assumption if she'd come alone to you, that's why I'm here to clarify things. Just so you know, sir, our whole marriage was a lie, a big scam.”

“How do you mean?”

Mr. Kalu shook his head, shooting a thunderous look at Janet. “Would you believe that this woman lied to me that she had no family ties, no actual background, for several years?”

“Kalu!” Janet reprimanded him sharply, her heart racing.

“What?” Mr. Kalu thundered, his eyes blazing. “Am I lying? Did you or did you not deceive me into marrying you, Celine?”

“Celine?”

“You're surprised, ain't you?” Mr. Kalu shrugged at Idara's utterance. “She lied to me about everything, including her own name. I never would've thought that the woman I loved, the woman I genuinely saw a future with, was actually married to another man and had kids already. How could she had been so heartless to abandon her own family over material wealth? It beats my imagination till date.”

Idara and her father shook their heads, both staring at Janet whose head was bowed, obviously too ashamed to make eye contact or speak again.

“'Celine' here told me that she was raised in an orphanage and that she never knew her parents. She said she was maltreated a lot while growing up, and that she officially ran away from the orphanage when she clocked ten. Ever since then, she did menial jobs and went from place to place to survive. According to her, she lived under bridges and uncompleted buildings and struggled in the streets of Lagos until a kind barren woman took her into her home, but then she eventually got raped by the woman's husband and fled the house, back to the streets.” Mr. Kalu went on, pure bitterness evident in his voice. “And when I asked her about the orphanage where she grew up so that I could do some investigations on her background, she said she couldn't even remember the name and the location anymore because it had been too long, and I believed her. I actually put myself in her shoes and imagined the trauma she must've been through, and that was why I never bothered her about it anymore.”

Janet's heartbeat was erratic, so was Idara's and Mr. Thompson's. The air was so tense that even the AC in the living room couldn't cool it off.

“If I hadn't discovered the truth from my high-profiled lawyer friend who did some background checks for me, I would've still been married to this devil's incarnate, thinking I was spending the rest of my life with a good woman.” Mr. Kalu said with disdain, disgusted by the mere sight of Janet. “But no matter what, she's still the mother of my son, and that is why I invited her here today for the same purpose I'm here: to make amends.”

Idara sighed hard, stealing a glance at her father. She wanted to know his reply.

“Hmm.” Mr. Thompson sighed too, processing all what he'd just heard. “Well, first off, how did you find my house, if I may ask?”

“I was expecting that,” Mr. Kalu replied. “Well, there's nothing money and good connections can't do, don't you agree?”

Mr. Thompson exhaled, knowing that Kalu's so-called high-profiled lawyer friend must've been behind it too. “I see…”

Before Thompson could even go any further, Janet dropped on her knees, her eyes soaked with tears. “God knows how sorry I am for all I've ever done to you people,” she confessed, crawling towards Kalu. “If I could change the past, I swear to God I wouldn't even hesitate to do so.”

“But you can't!” Mr. Kalu roared, his temper rising fast. “The deed has been done, and nothing can change that!”

“But you can see how sorry I am, Kalu.” Janet pleaded, stopping before him, hot tears cascading down her face. “Can you at least forgive me?”

“God forgives; I don't.” Mr. Kalu said, looking her straight in the eyes. “Divorcing you was definitely the best thing I ever did. The real people you should be apologizing to are over there,” he pointed at Idara and Thompson. “Leave my presence, now.”

Shamefully, Janet crawled from Kalu's spot to her daughter and her ex-lover's spot, hoping they'd hear her out, but the odd look she received from both of them hinted at trouble. Trouble in the sense that convincing them wouldn't be any easier than she tried with Kalu.

“Isabelle, my dear Isabelle.” She held Idara's knee, unable to look at her face. “Please forgive me. I am sorry.”

Battling with rapid mixed feelings of fright and contempt, Idara shoved Janet's feeble hand off her leg, grimacing. “Please don't touch me.”

No doubt, Idara's words and actions left a deep hole in Janet's melting heart, but she moved on to Thompson regardless.

“My love…”

A spark of adrenaline rushed through Thompson's body as Janet touched his knee too, but that didn't stop him from feeling betrayed. He gazed at Janet, the woman he once loved unconditionally, the woman he actually married out of pure love, the woman he seriously intended to spend the rest of his life with, with nothing but deep hurt and disdain. How a once lovely and simple woman turned out to be a complete gold digger was beyond Thompson's reasoning, and he doubted if he was willing to forgive her so easily, no matter what she'd say to him.

“I know you hate me now more than ever, but I think we can all still reconcile, you know, fix this whole thing up.” Janet said, finding the courage to glance between Idara and Thompson. “I was young, wild and naive, and I had bad friends who brainwashed me with the wrong advice, that was why I lost my way to the point of no return. Not a single day passed that I didn't think of you all,” her lips quivered. “I felt bad living the good life abroad while my actual family suffered at home. And when I learnt of Francis' death through the Internet, I was so devastated. I was shattered to the core. My conscience never let me rest, that was why I lied to you—” she glanced at Kalu, “—that one of my friends who struggled with me in the streets was getting married, just so I could come down to Nigeria and see my family, but by the time I arrived here, it was far too late. You had both moved out of the house, and I didn't know where or how to find you.”

“Wait, sorry to interrupt.” Mr. Kalu chipped in. “So you lied to me about your friend's wedding too?”

Janet shamefully nodded.

“Wow. Why am I surprised?” Mr. Kalu shrugged. “Besides, let me get this straight, you said you discovered your son's death through the Internet, hmm?”

Janet nodded again.

“How exactly? Elaborate.”

Janet swallowed hard, breathing fast, her eyes on Kalu. “Um, I used to be friends with my husband on… on Facebook but, but I blocked him after running away from home to avoid any connection between us. I, however, added him back with a fake account so I could monitor my family that way, and that was how I knew about Francis' death. Although he never posted about it, people kept posting on his timeline, offering their condolences, and ever since then, his account hasn't been active anymore. It was abandoned…”

“I see.”

Slowly, Janet faced Thompson again, holding his knees. “I don't know what else to say, Thompson. I'm lost for words. But, but God knows my heart. God knows how sorry I am. God knows how guilty I feel deep inside, and that the forgiveness and trust of everyone I've wronged are my only remedies,” she blinked, turning to Idara. “I would die a happy woman if you could all forgive me, honestly.”

Just then, Matthew walked in, gaining everyone's attention with his loud footsteps.

“What are you doing here, son?” Mr. Kalu demanded. “I told you to stay outside!”

“I know, dad, but I overheard your conversation from the window where I sat next to.” Matthew explained, feeling pity for his mom whom he saw on her knees. “And I'm here to plead on mummy's behalf.”

Matthew suddenly knelt down, to everyone's surprise.

“Daddy, Sister Idara, Mr. Thompson…” He called, crawling to the center of the parlor. “Please, I beg you all with the name of God, forgive mummy. Let peace reign. I know she obviously made some terrible mistakes, but all that is in the past and she has realized her faults. She is very remorseful and her present condition is breaking my heart.”

Idara was touched by Matthew's speech, and the fact that he paused and locked gazes with her wasn't helping her emotions at all.

“An English poet once wrote, ‘To err is human; to forgive, divine.’” Matthew quoted, his lips somewhat heavy. “Furthermore, the Bible also says, ‘For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.’ Romans chapter three, verse twenty-three,” he added. “In addition to that, there are two Bible verses I love so much, which are, ‘For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.’ Matthew six, verse fourteen and fifteen.”

Everyone except Janet sat still, listening to Matthew speak. He was indeed too bright for his age.

“So if our Heavenly Father can forgive us from time to time, who are we not to have compassion on other people?”

Idara felt that, so did everyone else. But personally, Idara connected more to everything Matthew said. It was like he stitched the words into her heart with a needle and thread, hence she stood up and looked at her father and extended her hand to him as she said, “Matthew is right. We need to move on, dad. Please give me your hand.”

Mr. Thompson agreed with Matthew and Idara's perspective, and although he didn't know what she was up to, he rose up and held her hand out of faith, and trust.

“Thank you, dad.” Idara said, before facing Mr. Kalu. “Sir, please, hold my father's hand.”

Surprisingly, Kalu agreed. She'd expected him to grumble or refuse to do it but he did not.

“Thank you, sir.” Now, she said to Matthew, “Please rise up, Matthew. Join us.”

The moment Matthew grabbed his father's hand, Idara's gaze fell on Janet. “Mom?”

Janet was skeptical. She doubted Idara's call, for some reason. Maybe everything was happening so fast that it just didn't feel real to her. Just maybe.

“Mom?” Idara said with a open hand to Janet. “Come on.”

Convinced, Janet rose and received Idara's hand, earning herself a slight smile from Idara. She couldn't believe she was finally holding her daughter, having physical contact, after a long, long time.

Technically, everyone held each other in a small circle, like one happy family. All that was left was Idara's speech to seal their bond once again, or once and for all rather.

“You know,” Idara cleared her throat, “all this fighting and blame games are pointless. It's high time we face reality and move on, and I'm sure you all agree with me. And, see, let me tell you all something I just realized,” she shared. “Something about Matthew's words struck me a while ago, and that is the fact that when someone wrongs us and we forgive them, we often think that we are doing that person a favor, but in actuality we are unknowingly helping ourselves even more, in the sense that all the pain, the burden or the unpleasant memories we've harbored for so long are washed off from our hearts and minds with time. All the hurt will be gone, and we will be free too, so I guess it's safe to say that forgiveness benefits both parties, not just the offender.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, seeing big sense in Idara's opinion.

“So, now, mom,” she looked at Janet with eyes that had begun to manufacture premium tears, “I know it will be hard for me to forget everything you did, but I'm willing to take this first step regardless. From the bottom of my heart, I forgive you, mom. Let bygones be bygones, and let's sail to the future together, like a true mother and daughter should.”

Janet was at a loss for words. She was still trying to grasp the whole situation when Idara's warm arms enveloped her in a hug, and she hugged her in return, overfilled with serious mixed emotions.

In most cases, Idara would've hid her emotions, but this time she did not. She just allowed those salty tears to spill as she pulled back from the embrace, then she looked at her father and caught him smiling.

“Your turn, dad.”

As expected, Thompson stepped forward and embraced Janet as he said, “I forgive you, too, my love. Old things have passed away, and all things have become new.”

When he pulled back, Kalu hugged the living daylight out of Janet without a word, but his action, however, proved his true intention towards her. He had forgiven her, and she burst into tears when Matthew finally embraced her too.

“Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven; whose sins are covered.” Matthew declared, smiling. “Psalm thirty-two, verse one. God bless us all. Amen.”

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