IJE AWELE 2

A seaside holiday: the beach, long walks and sand castles. Father sat on a deck chair, trying to read. Cold wind was blowing despite the sun. Her mother rubbed sunscreen lotion on her and said you could not be too careful. She told Father to keep an eye on her, she had to go back to the vacation house for her book. Five-year-old Awele was burying her father's feet in sand until Miss Stephanie sashayed to where her Father sat. She said she was on a vacation like them and throughout her light conversation with Father kept out reference to Awele's presence or even the fact that Father was married. Her wide smile seemed forced and long nails painted red looked scary to Awele. She left her father's feet and went further away from them to pick some seashells by herself. Father did not seem to notice as his gaze was riveted on Miss Stephanie's ample bosom that was barely covered with her neon coloured bikini bra.

 Awele drifted further away until she could not see Father again. She was in a panic, she had not meant to wander so far away from her father, now she did not know how to go back. There were a few bathers by the seashore like her but she could see no one that remotely resembled her father. She was about to burst into tears when she heard her mother's voice and then saw her. She had not wandered so far off after all and Mother did not seem too pleased with Father.

"You were so busy with Miss Stephanie's breasts, you didn't notice where your five-year-old child went, what kind of father does that make you?"

"Nneka stop making an issue out of nothing, I'm sure we will find her if we actually start looking for her."

"And what were you doing that she wandered away without you noticing? What am I doing wrong Daniel?

Where did I go wrong?" she said and suddenly burst into tears.

"But honey..."

"Don't but honey me, I saw you Daniel. I saw the way you were staring at her."

"Your imagination is on overdrive Nneka, I was just trying to help the young lady and nothing more."

Her mother's tears vanished in an instant. "So I'm dumb as well as well as stupid now *okwia? I saw you so pointedly flirting and you are telling me nonsense. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Nneka, now is not the time for this, our daughter is missing and we have to find her. We can deal with this later."

They were beginning to get an audience and Awele could see Father was getting worried. She decided to show up then and put an end to Mother's melodrama but if she had thought that would be the end of her parents conflicts, she was in for an awakening.

 As the years went by things grew worse that she often times cried herself to sleep while they hammered away at each other. She had wished they would stop and go back to the times when they were one happy family. When her father took her mother out on fancy dates and left her in the care of the nanny. Those times were happy times which unfortunately, as she found out in the years to come, were gone forever. Her parents were constantly locked in a battle with each other they hardly took notice of her.

(to be contd)

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