Honest Illusions

Episode 4

Ruth and Oprah sat quietly in their mother's bedroom. Oprah looked at her mother. The honorable Justice Georgia Bankole Williams was visibly upset. She was tall, fair, beautiful and of mixed parentage.
Her thin pointed nose, fair complexion and hazel eyes clearly pointed towards her mother's Caucasian roots while her jet black kinky hair and height was clearly inherited from her Yoruba, Nigerian father. There was no doubt where her daughters got their beauty from.

A woman of good taste, she was today unmindful of her well furnished bedroom, the result of several additions by her to the furniture supplied by the judiciary. As she paced up and down her large bedroom, she bore the countenance of a judge about to sentence a notorious criminal to a long jail term.

Several thoughts raced through her mind. She loved her daughters and until now, they had never given her any cause for concern. Perhaps their father's absence was the cause of this problem. Ever since their divorce, he stayed in Port Harcourt where the kids only visited during the long holidays. But even if he was present, what much could he do? If Sigmund was still the same man she had married, she was certain he didn't pay so much attention to the children's upbringing except it was monetary.

Her mind went over the last couple of hours. She had been in her study, writing a judgement on a complicated murder case, when she heard the front door open and close. She had assumed her daughters were back from the party. It was not until two hours later when she received a phone call from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) that she realized Ruth had not returned home with Oprah.

A doctor friend had called her from the hospital to inform her that Ruth was with her at the hospital. She was fine, he had assured. She was brought in with three other youths. One of them had taken an overdose of heroine. Unfortunately, there was nothing the doctors could do. The boy died before they got to the hospital.

Justice Williams was relieved that Ruth was fine, but she couldn't understand what she was doing keeping company with drug addicts. She had told her what had happened amidst sobs. All she could do was thank God that she wasn't assaulted or even raped. She turned to Ruth.

"What were you doing there?" She snapped for the umpteenth time.

Ruth was in tears.
 
Her mother looked away quickly. She couldn't bear to see her children cry. Anger went out of her like air from a punctured balloon. She sat on the bed beside both girls who were now sobbing quietly.

"I'm sorry for shouting. This has never happened before. Didn't you know they were into drugs?"
 
Ruth shook her head. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen her mother this angry. She turned to Oprah.

"Why didn't you tell me that Ruth didn't come home with you?"
 
In-between sobs, Oprah explained that she hadn't wanted to disturb her and she didn't know Ruth was going to stay out that long. Justice Williams rose from the bed.

"You must watch the company you keep. I can tell you that 85% of convicts in jail today are there because of their friends. I'm surprised that you didn't know that Boye was into drugs."
 
She knew Boye's parents, they were ardent members of her church!

"Its alright girls. I was just worried about you. Please choose your friends carefully. Friendship is not by force. It is by choice."

"Yes ma," they chorused sullenly.

"Anyways, in the meantime, all rights and privileges to parties, dates and outings are hereby revoked. You're both grounded for one month." She said dismissing them.

Both girls looked too dispirited to argue so they just nodded as they stood up to go. Ruth looked even more morose of the two and Justice Williams was convinced she had learned her lesson.



(To be contd)