The Wake 6
THE WAKE
Mayowa Ojo
6/10/20263 min read
“Surprise!” Vera said as she walked toward Sam who gave her a fatherly side hug.
Paloma had tears in her eyes instantly but tried to blink them back. She could hardly believe her eyes.
“It’s been what? Twenty-eight or twenty-nine…”
“Not so fast. I was enjoying your version of events. I think you…”
“Sammie, please. Let’s not do this in front of our daughter. Can we get some privacy?”
Sam and Vera burst out laughing.
“Oh now I'm daughter? Do you know how long it took me to find him? Anything you want to say will be done here before I…” Vera paused as Sam pinched her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I can’t mention any of my plans to you so I don’t implicate you.”
“You plan to dispose of me?” Paloma asked, surprised.
“Like you came here for a pillow fight or slumber night! By the way, this is a family meeting so why is he here?” Vera asked Paloma without looking at her henchman.
Instead she allowed Paloma look at the guy and before either of them could communicate any message across Vera very deftly fired a single shot into his forehead. The henchman was on the ground before he knew what hit him.
Despite the fact that the gun had a silencer and barely produced a fart for a sound, Paloma still quavered with shock considering how fast and how smoothly the shot was taken. She looked from the man on the ground to Vera with what looked like a mixture of awe and hatred.
Paloma ran to her henchman’s side and shook him violently.
Sam and Vera looked on in amusement.
“Was she sleeping with him too?” Sam asked.
“Nah, too young. Maybe a child from someone else?”
“Must have been before I met her.”
“Could she have hidden that from you too?”
“Hey, it’s Paloma! You never know.”
While they made jokes neither of them saw Paloma slip her henchman’s pistol into her left hand and then into the pocket of her trousers.
“Now it’s just us. What a wonderful family reunion,” Vera cheered. “Get up,” she ordered.
Paloma got up, playing the victim very well. She stood and faced the two of them while calculating her next move.
“So, it’s true you were abused although now that I think about it who’s to say you did not fabricate that?” Sam asked Paloma.
“I swear it Sam. I was. You remember when…”
“Yes, yes, I remember. I believe you. What I don’t believe is this lie about me not wanting to take responsibility for my child.”
“But you left me.”
“No. YOU left.” Sam turned to face Vera. “So your mother was very intelligent and had job offers right out of school. When we found out she was pregnant she feared what the future held for her because her father…”
“Because your father, Vera darling, was an athlete who yearned to be poached by a foreign talent recruitment firm. The norm at the time for all athletes was to go abroad and never return to their girlfriends. Most of them married white girls and…”
“And it did not matter how many times I promised her that I would return." Sam turned to face Paloma. "I gave you my word,” he spat out in frustration.
“So what happened next?” Vera asked.
“Your mother tried to…”
“Shut up Sam,” Paloma yelled.
“Ooh, touchy!” Vera chipped in.
“She tried to get rid of you but it did not work. In anger I left because I could not be with someone who…”
By the time Sam saw the gun it was too late. He did not hear the gun shot before the bullet hit him in the chest. The gun did not have a silencer and so the loud bang shook both women in the room.
Paloma recovered first and aimed the gun at Vera who tried to run for cover.
“Put it down and kick it away,” Paloma instructed, referring to the pistol in Vera’s hand.
Vera dropped the gun and kicked it far away from herself.
“Good girl. Now we’re even.” Paloma walked to the fridge and got herself yet another alcoholic beverage.
“How can you even compare my dad to that thug?”
“He was my boyfriend too you know?”
“Which of them?” Vera asked, confused. “You know what? Don’t answer that. You already gross me out as it is.”
Paloma chuckled and drank from the bottle in her hand. She brought out her phone and placed a call.
“Come upstairs,” was all she said.