“It’s been a fun weekend getting together with the lads. But sometimes I can’t understand you guys,” Paul said on the flight back from Barcelona.
He sat next to Peter in the first class cabin. Michael sat on the other row, next to another friend of Paul’s, Tunji.
“How do you mean?” Peter asked as he flicked through the in-flight magazine he had in his hands.
“Well, I understand Michael is taken with Kasie, although when they’ll finally bite the bullet and set a wedding date I don’t know,” Paul replied jovially.
“Yeah. He’s still navigating his future in-laws. And considering the arrogance of the Bosas and the pomp and ceremony they will demand which isn’t Michael’s thing, I don’t blame him for being reluctant.”
“You got that right.”
“Actually my money is on them eloping and getting married in secret and coming back to announce it to everyone.”
“I hadn’t thought about that but I think you could be correct. Michael is not averse to defying tradition. This brings me to you, Peter.”
“What about me?” Peter quirked up his brow.
“Well, it’s been five years since Naaza,” Paul said in a sober tone that conveyed both his respect for Peter’s late fiancée and his sympathy at her loss. “I know what she meant to you and I hope you don’t misunderstand me. But you seemed so far away in Barcelona. It was as if you weren’t even there half the time. You’re never going to meet someone new if you won’t even let any woman close. I was hoping you would loosen up but you were worse than everyone else.”
Peter sighed. His friend had a valid point. All through the weekend his thoughts had been consumed by Tessa. He’d joined in with most of the activities everyone else was participating in. In the night clubs they’d visited he hadn’t interacted with any female company.
He’d kept thinking of Tessa and the first night they’d bumped into each other. The way they’d danced and him nearly taking her back to his suite that night. She’d eventually ended up in his suite under different circumstances. Now they were dating.
“I met someone,” he said to his friend.
Paul made a show of slumping over in this chair. His expression was incredulous. “Say what?”
Peter rolled his eyes. “I said I met someone.”
Paul pretended falling over again.
Michael leaned in their direction, having noticed his friend’s antics. “What’s going on over there?”
“Peter said he met someone.” Paul had a huge grin on his face.
“He did. When? Where? How?” Michael rattled off.
“I’m getting the entire gist first,” Paul called dibs.
“Then we’re swapping places so I can hear the story too.” Michael grinned.
Peter laughed. “The two of you are not serious.”
“Come on, tell me. I want all the gory details.” Paul rubbed his palms together. “What’s her name? Where did you meet her and when do we get to meet this woman that snagged your attention.”
Paul chuckled as he answered the questions. “Her name is Tessa. I met her in Port Harcourt and you get to meet her at your traditional wedding.”
He kept to the simple facts. Tessa had vowed not to work as a prostitute any longer and he saw no need to mention that to his friends. It would remain between him and her.
“Wow. This is serious. You’re bringing her along to meet everyone at the same time, including you family. That’s making a statement.”
“You know me well enough to know that I don’t do casual. But I like Tessa.”
“Like?” Paul looked at her as if he didn’t believe him.
“Okay. I care about her a lot. When I think of her I think of all the things that are possible in my life. I think about having a life partner again and loving again. It’s scary but it’s freeing too. And the weird thing is that she is so different from Naaza and still there are similarities.
“Wow. I’m so happy to see you talking about someone. How about Tessa? How does she feel about you?”
He shrugged. “It’s early days. But I think she cares about me. At least from what I’ve seen so far.”
She’d made him so happy in the time they’d spent together after their weekend in Richa. It had been as if they were both new people. Just having her around as he’d worked on his laptop and she’d studied for her exams had been exhilarating.
They connected on a level beyond the physical. Even when he couldn’t see her just knowing she was close by relaxed him and put him in a great frame of mind.
He’d called her every night while he’d been in Barcelona. Now on the way back to Nigeria he couldn’t wait to see her again.
He knew she had exams this week and probably should leave her alone so she could concentrate on her papers.
But he wasn’t sure he could last until the weekend to see her again.
“Well done, ol’ boy. I really wish you the very best with Tessa,” Paul said.
“Thank you,” Peter replied. He really hoped for the best with her too.
As soon as he disembarked from the flight, she was the first person he called her. The phone rang several times and wasn’t picked up.
He assumed she was busy with studies and sent her a text message.
***
Hey countess, I called you but didn’t get any response. You’re probably revising so I won’t disturb you. Just landed in MMA and catching the connecting flight to Enugu. Speak to you later tonight. xx
Tessa stared at the text message. She’d missed his call when she’d been curled up on the sofa crying. In her exhaustion from the tears, she’d fallen asleep on the sofa. She’d woken up to the sound of her phone beeping with a text message.
She rocked in place as she rolled her shoulders. What was she going to do about Peter? He had been so encouraging about her studies. He’d even called last night to wish her the best for today’s exam.
When she spoke to him, he would surely ask how it went and if she was prepared for tomorrow. What would she tell him?
She couldn’t lie to him. Yet she couldn’t tell him the truth. He would be disappointed and it would be another reason for him not to trust her. It would be the final straw for him to find out that she’d hidden her true identity from him. He hated any form of deception.
Anuli was right. Her world would come crumbling down. It was best for her to go now. She would have to move again and relocate to a different city, now that her identity had been blown.
She couldn’t afford for the man she was running from to find her. The police would come looking for her. She would be locked up. Imprisoned for what she’d done.
She couldn’t get Peter involved in her mess. It would mess up his business with her bad reputation. After everything he’d done for her, she couldn’t do that to him.
***
Peter arrived in Port Harcourt on Tuesday mid-morning and headed straight for a meeting with Christopher. He wasn’t scheduled to be in PHC. But after he’d been unable to reach Tessa on either her phone or the hotel phones, he’d had to send Christopher up to the penthouse to check on Tessa. The man had returned with the news that Tessa wasn’t in the suite.
He'd had a bad feeling about her and had driven down with his chauffeur as soon as he could get away from Enugu.
Now the manager confirmed Tessa hadn’t spent the night in the hotel. He headed back out. She had exams today, so he’d go to her University and pick her up after her exams.
On the campus, he asked to see the Dean of the faculty and waited briefly before being ushered into the man’s office.
He introduced himself and told the man the name of the student he’d come to see.
“Mr Oranye, I’m afraid Ms Obum is not permitted on the school premises until further notice,” the dean said.
Peter jerked back. “Why? She’s scheduled to have examinations this week.”
“That was true but she is currently under investigation for registering as a student under fraudulent means and has been suspended.”
Peter narrowed his eyes. “When did this happen?”
“Yesterday. I’ve already issued a memo to that effect. We are involving the police in the investigation.”
No wonder Tessa didn’t take his call yesterday. She had this to deal with.
“What exactly did she do?”
“She registered as a student with a false name and fake identity papers. We take such matters seriously.”
Why would Tessa do such a thing?
He remembered the conversation he’d had with her about her father. She’d run away from home. Had she changed her name afterwards because of her past? It was possible if she didn’t want to be found.
Why hadn’t she told him this before now? He hated deception of any sort.
But then how would the school find out such a thing if she’d already been studying here for the past year.
“I understand why you had to take punitive measures. Can I ask how you found out about the deception, Dean Preye?”
“One of our alumni informed me of the fraud and I took action immediately. Mr George is a prominent member of the alumni community.”
“Do you mean Telema George?” Peter asked.
“Yes. Do you know him?”
“I am acquainted with Mr George,” Peter said trying not to grit his teeth. Telema would be getting very acquainted with him when he got his hands on the man.
Peter leaned forward in his chair. “Dean Preye, I believe you are a man of distinction and integrity. It is the reason I want to tell you something very confidential and I believe you will do the right thing.”
“Yes, of course.” The man preened. “You can talk to me in confidence.”
“A few weeks ago, Mr George attempted to rape Ms Obum in my hotel. The girl was distressed and Mr George wanted to take advantage of her. I investigated the matter and would’ve gotten the police involved but only changed my mind after Mr George begged me to drop the matter. The girl indicated that the man was going to do something bad to her. But I didn’t believe it until now.”
“But that cannot be right,” the dean said. “Telema is the son of a prominent citizen of the state. His father is highly regarded.”
“And we know that sometimes the apple falls far from the tree. Did you check Ms Obum’s current academic and attendance record? Is she a bad student? Have you had any problems with her before now?”
“Yes, I checked her record.” The dean tugged his shirt collar. “Ms Obum has an excellent academic record and her attendance record is above average at ninety eight percent. We haven’t had any problems with her beforehand.”
“Compared to Mr George, would you say Ms Obum was a better student?”
He tugged his collar again as if he was getting hot and uncomfortable. “Well, I can’t compare the two of them. Mr George was a young man and they are usually more boisterous.”
“So you’re saying his academic record wasn’t impeccable yet you took his words over that over an above average student with an impeccable record. That is quite a biased approach, don’t you think. Since Ms Obum is my fiancée I will be advising my lawyers to take immediate action against you and this university.”
Peter was hoping that he wasn’t a dean that wanted to drag his faculty and reputation into the mud of a law suit.
Mr Preye spluttered.”Erm. Hold on a minute. There’s no need for that. Anyway, I took the information on good faith.”
“And I’m telling you in good faith. Ms Obum is an upstanding citizen. You can go and check out my credentials. I can vouch for the young lady.”
“Of course, if you will vouch for her then I will take your word for it.”
“Then reinstate her immediately and see to it that she takes any exams that she’s already missed out on.”
“Yes, I will do that right away.”
“Good. I’ll wait for the reinstatement letter. In the meantime, excuse me while I make a call.”
Peter stepped outside the dean’s office and called Tessa’s number for what seemed like the hundredth time today, hoping she would pick it this time.