Chapter Eight

Tiwa watched shocked as Dele poured her a cup of palm wine. He handed her the cup before returning to his breakfast.She looked at the cup, and then his face. She rose the cup to her nose.

 Poison. He poisoned this thing 

How could he just give her like that? He did not even serve himself. 

Dele could feel her stare on his face. He rose his eyes to hers, her stare was not deterred. 

 'What is it?' He asked. The thing with women is that they tend to expect people to understand even when they has been no prior explanation. 

 Tiwa's eyes were still on her husband. Questions continued to ebb from her spouse's eyes. Confusion also clouded his eyes. 

 'Take' She handed thrust the cup towards him. The confusion did not cease.'Drink' Dele took a hold of the cup without thinking. He still did not understand the whole situation.'I do not understand' 

 'Drink it first' Tiwa said firmlyIn that moment things seemed to click. Mirth began to rise from Dele's chest and in moments the small chuckle had bloomed into full blown laughter. He took the cup and gulped down all its contents. Tiwa did not even blink. 

His mirth had not fully disappeared before he began to speak once again.'You've been giving me food since the beginning of our marriage and I never questioned it, yet one cup from me and...' 

Before he could complete his statement, Tiwa interjected. She had not thought about that before making assumptions. 

 'It's not like that, I was just wondering why you would just...' 

'Give you something to drink?' It was Dele who interjected this time.Shockingly there was no tension in the air. Dele's laughter resumed in full force. Tiwa's expression was the reason for this. She did not have a reply and that reflected on her face. 

 'Women...' Dele's amusement was beginning to annoy Tiwa. 

 'What are you trying to say?' She asked not thinking about what her mother would say about talking back to her husband. Forgetting that she just insinuated her husband was planning her death. All her mind could decipher was that she was Dele's source of amusement and that did not seat well with her.The man only shrugged his shoulders and continued with his meal.

 'Answer me' Tiwa continued to be frustrated with him, but this time he had calmed down. No more laughter but that did not mean it subsided to a frown. 

'It's funny how little you think of me' 

'It is not like you have given me reason to think otherwise' 

 The realization that today was the first time they had a real conversation they had had since their union struck Tiwa. Usually, it was not back and fort, it was not this way. This realization seemed to spur Tiwa on for some reason.

 What do you have to loose? She asked herself. Ironically, she refused to allow herself answer that question because she knew the answer was not 'nothing'. 

'You know, some times I wonder how you think. If I wanted you gone, that problem would have been solved a long time ago' Dele nonchalantly stated. 

He knew that was not true but making such false claims did not seem like a bad idea in that moment.

 'So you did not want me gone?' Tiwa was perplexed. Her heart was excited at the thought that maybe she was not unwanted, at least not entirely. At least she was worth sparing.Dele did not reply her question so she went on to inquire some more. 

'So you came to terms with the marriage?' 

'Did I have a choice?' His rhetoric made her blood boil. It even ached more since he just continued shoving food in his mouth. Food she cooked. His plate was almost empty.

 She just observed him as he ate. Memories of humiliation started to return. How she had to leave her home town. How her insecurities built over the years, yet the person, the root cause of her struggle just "didn't have a choice" but to come to terms with the marriage.

 She was the one who was made fun of. She was the one who had to leave. She was the one who almost lost her sanity!

 'The food is very delicious' He said as he cleared his plate.Never before in her life had she wanted to shove a compliment down someone's throat to choke them. 

Dele made a small show of how full he was by patting his stomach and letting out a sigh. 

Don't worry eh. You'll soon truly come to terms with this marriage.Tiwa thought as she carried away his dirty dishes. 

She was already standing when she heard voices. 

'Dele!' 

 It was, of course, his gang. 

........'

'Eka sun' Tiwa greeted as the men made their way towards her and Dele.She continued her to walk away after hearing murmured replies from them. 

At the back of the house Tiwa set out to cleaning when she realized she had not carried the cup, the one that was intended for her.She  walked back to get it. By the time she had returned to the front, the men were already seated. 

 Bowing low, trying to be as conspicuous as possible, Tiwa retrieved the cup. Just as she was leaving she heard a comment. 

'Your wife is beautiful o' 

Whether it was intended as a compliment or a snide comment, Tiwa did not care. It only added fuel to the fire of anger already burning inside her. 

............. 

Tiwa had left before Dele spoke. 

'Are you stupid?' 

He did not realize how stern his voice was. His eyes were even more tense. Wale just could not control his mouth.

 'Why are you angry?' Wale asked nonchalantly 

'Is that why you came to my house?' Where did this anger come from? Dele did not even have an answer for himself. He knew Tiwa looked like a goddess but it felt different when another man made the observation. She was not some sculpture that was open for every man to admire, she was HIS wife. Everyday, her actions seemed to establish that fact. 

It's too early to be possessive, Dele reminded himself. His friends should not know of his frustrations with Tiwa, at least not the intimate frustrations. 

'Don't mind him.' Kola, the responsible one, tried to reassure Dele. 

'Back to why we came' Tunde the last member of their clique began to speak 'Where have you been?' 

A smirk rose on Wale's face. 'Can't you see he has been busy?'

 'Shut up!' Dele speaking 

'Don't mind this one, he just tagged along because he wanted to finish getting drunk' Tunde concluded. 

'We went to your farms this morning but you were not there' Kola stated'I did not feel like going today' The conversation sailed around Kola's new son, Dele's new wife, and Tunde's new betrothed. Wale was left out. Good for him for being so stupid.

 'As you people are making me realize how unfortunate I am, can I please have something to drink?' What Tunde said might as well be true. Wale tagged along because Dele never ran out of of stock in alcohol. 

'Why did we even ask you to come sef?' Kola murmured at Wale's request. 

 'Don't worry, let's shut him up with the wine he asked for' Dele proclaimed. 

.............. 

Tiwa sat behind the house on a stool. Her mind wandering. Oh, she wanted to do something to Dele. She wanted to strangle him. Passive aggression seemed like the way to go, but what could she do?

 'Tiwa!' it was her husband. 

 What does he want now?She heeded his call. 

 'Check the store, the other keg has wine, bring it with some cups'. There he goes again, making her feel like a slave. This one was fermented, unlike the other, this one was alcoholic. 

Just a few steps and an idea clicked. A sadistic smile marked her face as she went to the store. Don't worry, Tiwa wasn't stupid. Poison was not an option but salt was. 

She walked in. At first she put a few pinches but she changed her mind. She poured as much salt as she could into the keg. Stirring it when she was done.

 First she took the cups. The evil smile remained on her face, she struggled to remain neutral. 'Thank you' Kola said to her as she brought it.Too bad he too would partake from the wine.She brought the keg next. 

This time guess who said thank you. Dele why? 

'Thank you' Dele remarked as he took the keg from his wife. 'Thank you very much' He said once again. 

You cannot make me feel guilty.

Tiwa walked away feeling proud of herself. 

A few moments after she had settled in her seat, she heard the first shriek. It was hilarious!............. 

Without invitation Wale took a hold of the keg from Dele and served himself. The other companions just watched him. The awkwardness made Wale shove all the cups into their hands. He then went on to serve them and himself. 

Wale's amusement died instantaneously. He let out an inhumane shriek!'What is this!' 

As he asked his question the other friends had raised their cups to their mouths as they took their own first sip, all except Dele. 

Tunde let out his agony, next was Kola. Kola began coughing rapidly. 'What is it?' Dele asked in shock. The wine couldn't be stale. He bought it today!'Is that why you did not take a sip?' Tunde asked, eyes wide open 

'No. I don't know what you are talking about' Dele was beyond confused. 

'Take' Wale handed him the cup 'Drink it'. Had he not heard those same words earlier? He took the cup, confidently, as he had done before with Tiwa, but this time luck was not on his side.HE spat out the cup's contents with immediate effect. His face was squeezed. He had never tasted wine like this before. 

Commotion continued. Kola's coughing feat continued to recur, Tunde tried to calm Kola to no avail. Wale on the other hand accused Dele, someone who had not even grasped the situation yet.

 Ironically, by the corner of the house, Tiwa was laughing to her heart's content.

 ......... 

Don't forget to vote

Hey lovelies, 

Writing this part was kinda confusing.Do you support Tiwa's actions? Would you do the same if you were her? 

Wait oo, was anybody shocked Dele's reaction to Wale's comment. 

Sincerely, It did not seem to fit with the scene but it felt wrong when I wanted to remove it. It kinda felt like Dele had those feelings. Weird right?

 I am dedicating this chapter to @Irene6510 . You don't know how much your reactions and comments mean to me. Thank you for making me feel like I am not writing BS. Thanks a lot 

Until next time. 

Mwah

 Hey, where do you think you are going without voting!