The Wake 2
THE WAKE
Mayowa Ojo
6/10/20264 min read
Vera sauntered suggestively to the front in a lacy black dress that showed every curve of her body. She could feel hatred and envy oozing from the pores of the women as their husbands drooled with reckless abandon. She was not the least bit bothered. She knew she had everyone’s attention by the time she stood in front to address the audience. Rather than speak, she simply stared as if to lock eyes with every soul at the wake.
Paloma shifted in her seat and that brought Vera’s eyes to settle on her. Behind her dark glasses she smiled. She still wielded some measure of control over Vera and it pleased her. She suspected that Vera would think she was uncomfortable and she indulged her. In reality though she just wanted Vera to get it over and be done with it. The dramatic walk and stare was starting to bore Paloma.
Ferdinand shifted nervously. He was much younger the last time he saw Vera but not too young to understand what was going on.
**********
Vera stared at Paloma and immediately suspected the woman was not mourning but simply acting out a script. She let a smile dance on her lips as she stared for a little longer knowing it would irritate Paloma a lot.
“Good evening everyone. My name is Vera. A lot of you do not know me but I assure you I’m very much a part of this family as anyone can be. I…”
Vera choked on her words. Of the many ways that she rehearsed her speech, being emotional was not one of them. At that moment she looked at Paloma and saw a smile on her face. It crawled so deep under her skin that it irritated her soul – an irritation that fuelled her resolve to speak.
“It’s been twelve years since I last laid eyes on the members of this family. The last time I saw them I was threatened never to return. Well I’m back and although I’m sure the threat still holds, I’m not afraid anymore.”
Ferdinand stirred, looking very uncomfortable in his seat. Paloma wore the finest poker face she could muster. She was not about to be threatened by Vera.
“The man you extol so highly was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Saint to you but destroyer to me. But you know wolves hunt in packs…”
***************
Vera was sure she could hear a pin drop with the silence that washed over the event. It seemed the desire to hear it all was stronger than the need to silence her. The murmurs soon spread and very quickly there were many theories as to the person of Vera. Suddenly she was everything from a bastard child to a concubine and everything else in between.
Ferdinand leaned in and asked his mom if he should take her down. Paloma shook her head and placed a gentle hand on his to calm him down. He, in turn, calmed his younger siblings down.
Mr. Patrick bolted forward and squatted beside Paloma asking what should be done. He was probably the only non-family member who knew some of the intricacies of their family. She simply waved him off and adjusted her chair as if to enjoy the show.
*************
“You abomination. Home wrecker,” Paloma spat while screaming as she threw Vera’s things into a small bag. “Of the many evil things that you are, you want to add lying and stealing to it too? Not in this house. I will kill you before you kill me.”
For hours they’d been at each other’s throats screaming at the top of their lungs.
“What are you doing? You can’t…”
“I can’t what?” Paloma stopped to ask and then she moved like a lightning bolt and was beside Vera in a heartbeat. “I can’t what?”
Before Vera could form the words on her lips, a deafening slap twisted her face against the wall.
“Please don’t…” she pleaded after several minutes of struggling and being pummelled. Eventually she was thrown on the streets in the pouring rain and told never to return.
**************
Paloma stared back remembering the last time she saw Vera. She was skinnier then and only still a teenager. She had no regrets for what she did to Vera…only what happened afterwards.
In the middle of the rain several hours after she threw Vera out, Dennis arrived a day earlier than his scheduled trip. Within minutes of his arrival he asked for Vera and she told him she had no idea where she was. She served him his dinner and went to put Ferdinand to sleep.
Around 6am Dennis burst through the door of her room. She woke up with a start and immediately thought Vera was back with a vengeance. As she cracked her eyes open, Dennis closed them back with a resounding slap that left her seeing stars.
He stepped back and waited for her to correct herself before he spoke.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t find out? You threw her out in the rain? Did you think no one would see you or you’re just so cold you don’t care? Where did I go wrong with you? Haven’t you learned anything in all the years you’ve lived with me?”
By this time Paloma was crying. She knew that when Dennis got talkative out of anger it was usually a prelude to certain battering. She cried all the more and immediately rolled herself into a ball awaiting the second impact. The entire time he talked she shut out his voice and waited… and he did not disappoint her.
For the next three years he treated her like a slave in her own house and in every sense of the word. His hell very quickly became her home.
***************
Together they snapped back to the present.
Vera looked into the audience and could feel them almost bursting at the seams waiting for her say something. It was too late now. She knew they would tear her to shreds if she did not say anything to excite their curious minds.
“The things I suffered in this household should not be wished upon anyone but before I start, let me give honour to whom it is due.” She chuckled slightly before putting on a serious face.
“Hello Paloma, or should I say hello mum?”
Ferdinand jerked in his seat and cast a sharp glance at his mom. “She’s my sister?”
Paloma winced in her seat. She expected Vera to focus on Dennis the bulk of the time but this spotlight on her was not expected. Her mind began to plot how she could get rid of Vera before more damage was done.
“What? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”