It was a boring Saturday morning. My mother and younger sister had gone to visit our uncle, Anthony. Absolutely bored alone at home, I decided to go and see a movie on the Island.
Luckily, when I got there, a romantic film had just started. Glued to the big screen, I laughed at funny scenes, cried in touching scenes and also apportioned blame where necessary. At the end of two hours, I knew my day was made. It was time to head home and have a quiet siesta. Immediately I left the movie venue and crossed over to the other side of the road, I saw a woman in her 50s vomiting by the road side. I noticed that everyone passed by without looking at her twice.
I quickly walked up to her and asked what the problem was. “My daughter, I just felt dizzy and sick all of a sudden,” she managed to tell me. She then begged me to take her to a particular hospital. “Madam, did you come in a car?” I asked. She simply nodded no. I hurriedly got a taxi because at this point, she was becoming unconscious. On our way to the hospital, I wondered why a woman so expensively dressed from head-to-toe did not come out in a car. “O God, please let her not die in this taxi, spare her life,” I prayed silently.
When we got to the hospital, she was recognised by virtually all the staff. Immediately, she was taken to a private room and put on drip while I sat by her bedside. The doctor and nurses checked on her every 15 minutes to ensure her condition was stable. When she was fully conscious, the doctor informed us that he had called chief. “Madam, you will be fine. I have called chief and he is on his way here.”
Later, she introduced herself to me as Madam Emilia. She told me she actually left the house with her driver but the car developed a fault and she asked him to fix it while she hurriedly left in a taxi to catch up with her appointment before she suddenly took ill and started vomiting. “Please, pardon me. What is your name?” she inquired. “My name is Veronica, but everybody calls me Vero,” I told her. And she said, “Thank you for saving my life. You are indeed God sent.” While we were behaving like mother and daughter who had not seen for years, her husband, Chief came, rushed into the room and said, “My dear what is it this time? The doctor told me you were rushed here.”
Madam Emilia then told him how I helped her and he also thanked me for saving the life of his lovely wife. “Madam Emilia, since your husband is here and you are in good hands, I think I should leave now,” I told her. She gave me her complimentary card, took my phone number and made me promise that I will come over to her house for lunch whenever she invites me which I promised and left. On Sunday afternoon, I called to find out how she was doing and she excitedly informed me she would be discharged that evening.
She called within the week and invited me over for lunch on Saturday. After lunch, she told me she has only one son, Chris who has been in the United States for about 10 years and wishes he would come home soon so that he could take me as a wife. “Vero, you are a nice, young woman. You are the daughter I never had. I would want you to marry my son when he comes back if you don’t mind,” she said. I just giggled and refused to give her any answer.
Just then Chief walked in and said, “Vero my dear, you are free to come here whenever you like. See this place as your home.” He asked me what I do and I told him I was looking for a job. He asked me to see in his office on Monday. I was so excited and hoped for the best. I went to see Chief and he bluntly told me, I did not need a job.
“Vero, you don’t need a job. I can give you whatever you want, just be my mistress. I loved you since the first day I saw you at the hospital. Just be my mistress and all your problems would be over. I will take care of you and your family.” I was not surprised he said all these things because of the way he was staring at me back at his house. I told him I was not interested because his wife sees me as a daughter and I would not want to disappoint her. Chief kept pestering me but refused to employ me in his company.
When the pestering became too much and my mother took ill and we needed money to take her to the hospital, I had to turn to Chief for financial assistance when Uncle Anthony refused to help us. Chief still insisted that I must be his mistress before he will assist me. I had to give in at this point to save my mother’s life. Chief and I started dating, and he spoilt me silly but he was too jealous. He does not like to see young men come any close to me.
To be continued
