Forever (7)

It’s happening already, she thought. He does not want anything to do with me anymore

. King was still staring at her in shock. “Don’t tell me it was your dad……?” he asked hoarsely Alewa gave a tiny nod of affirmation. King slumped back in his seat and covered his face with his hands.

 Alewa kept her eyes down with tears trickling down her face. She could not look at him, she could not bear to see the censure in his eyes, she did not want to see the disgust, and the revulsion he must be feeling.

 “Alewa…” King whispered. She didn’t look up and she didn’t answer him, she just kept her face down, crying silently. King reached for her hand once more and held it tightly in his. That gave her the courage to look up. She slowly raised her head and looked into his eyes fearfully.

 She did not see any revulsion, she did not see any censure; all she saw was compassion, with tears swimming in his eyes. Alewa could not help herself, she just started sobbing loudly.

King quickly composed himself and called for the waiter to bring their check. He paid for their meal quickly and drew Alewa to her feet, wrapped his arms around her and led her out of the restaurant. He could feel the other diners’ eyes on them as they walked out. They were probably thinking he just broke up with her.

 He led her to his car, opened the door and deposited her in the back seat. He then joined her there, still holding her, allowing her to cry her heart out and let go of the hurt. What type of father will do this to his daughter? I don’t understand Lord. Why did her father do this to her? He thought frantically as he consoled her. Feed my lamb, he heard a quiet voice whisper in his spirit. He listened carefully and heard clearly once more, feed my sheep.

He started praying quietly. Father, he began. Lead me and guide me, give me the wisdom to deal with this situation. This is your daughter, she is hurting, and she is in pain. Heal her Lord, grant her peace in her spirit and restore order into her life. Let her see clearly that you are the only one who can take her pain away. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 Immediately he finished praying, he felt peaceful and he knew what he had to do. By the time Alewa calmed down enough to notice what was happening around her, they were on the move. King was driving and she did not know where they were or where they were headed to. It was so dark out; she could not see anything beyond the car window.

 “King.” She called tentatively He looked back immediately and regarded her. “How are you feeling?” he smiled.

“Much better. Where are we going?”

 “Just relax. I’ll explain everything when we get there. We are not so far now.” Alewa relaxed and closed her eyes. Her eyes were so sore from crying and she had a pounding headache, but at the same time she felt light, as if some weight had been lifted off her. She felt almost clean. Few minutes later, King pulled over on a side street. He parked the car and switched off the engine. Then he turned back to her and started talking.

 “Alewa, I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through in your young life.

Nobody should go through that, and I know sorry cannot begin to heal the pain and hurts in your heart but that is all I have to offer. I’m deeply sorry and I hope I can be a friend to you, loving you and helping you through it all.”

“Thank you.” she said quietly, grateful for his support “I have a friend who went through a similar experience as yours and this is who I brought you to meet. I believe she can help you through this, offer some support and aid when you need it, and just be one more shoulder to rely on. She lives in this neighborhood, and I’ll like you to meet her tonight. Maybe, you both can begin the healing process.”

Alewa was curious about this friend of his. She nodded. “Okay.”

 King got out of the front seat and came around to help her out too. He held her hand and led her to an apartment building at the corner. The street was deserted but Alewa could see a few stragglers walking around. She held on tightly as King led the way. Shortly, they came to the door of what looked like a two bedroom flat. King knocked cautiously and Alewa heard shuffling inside and then a woman’s melodious voice.

“Who is there?” she asked.

 “It’s me, King.” he replied “Oh!” she unlocked the door and opened it. Alewa could tell she was excited to see him.

 “Hiiii.” She gave him a hug, King hugged her without letting go of Alewa’s hand. He quickly stepped back so the lady could see he was not alone. Alewa could tell she was surprised to see her beside King, and holding hands. Alewa saw her mouth tighten slightly when she saw their hands tightly clasped.

Alewa tried to remove her hand from King’s, concerned she was infringing on another woman’s territory but King would not let go. She relaxed slightly and went with the flow.

 “Hello Georgina.” King said.

“May we come in?”

 “Of course.” Georgina smiled. She stepped back and motioned them in. King went ahead of Alewa, dragging her along. The room they stepped into was tastefully furnished and quite spacious. Alewa fell in love with the ambience immediately.
King led her to a settee on the far side of the room and sat down beside her.

Georgina also sat on a single chair opposite them. She looked at them expectantly, waiting for them to state the reason for their visit. Georgina was a very pretty woman. Very fair in complexion and tall. Almost as tall as King, Alewa observed. She smiled at King and Alewa could detect a bit of emotion behind the smile. This woman felt a lot more for King than mere friendship. “I’m sorry for barging in on you like this, dear.” King began. “And with a total stranger too but I assure you I have very good reasons for doing so.”

 “You don’t need to apologize King. You’re always welcome in my home.”

 He smiled. “Thank you. This is Alewa Mathews. She’s a very good friend of mine.” Georgina looked at her and smiled. “Welcome Alewa, I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Same here.” Alewa replied “And this is Georgina Makinde, a good friend of mine also.” King said to Alewa. They smiled at one another. “Can I talk with you for a few minutes?” King asked.

 “Yeah sure.” He turned to Alewa. ‘I’ll be back in a few.” He told her.

 She nodded and it was only then he let go of her hand. They stepped outside and closed the door behind them. Alewa took the opportunity to check her surroundings. She stood up and walked around the room admiring the paintings and pictures on the wall.

 She moved to the mantle, saw some books arranged neatly to one side and a display of photographs on the other side. She perused the titles of the books and saw some she had read, and some she had never heard of. She moved on to properly observe the photographs.

She saw one of Georgina, in a lawyer wig smiling at the camera, she saw another one of her with an older woman, obviously her mother, and the last one was of her and King, arms around each other, laughing at a private joke. A photograph of King, in an honorary position, right on her mantle.

Yep, there was definitely more than friendship between these two. She didn’t know the feeling that coursed through her looking at the picture, but she knew it wasn’t happiness.

Just then, the door opened and they both walked in. Alewa smiled and went back to her seat. King approached her where she sat and took her hand in his. “I’m sorry I had to do that but I needed time to explain all this to her.”

“That’s okay.” Alewa said. “What’s the next step now?”

 “She’ll tell you about it but I know she can help.”

 “Okay then.” Alewa turned to Georgina. “What do we do now?”

“Before we start anything, I just want you to know that I know exactly what you’re going through. I went through something similar myself but it was an uncle who molested me; it’s all the same to me though because these men are supposed to protect us, instead they put us in a position where we need to be protected from them. I know how you feel, and I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“I appreciate that Georgina. I’m sorry you had to go through it too.”

 Georgina nodded.

 “Having said that, let’s move on to the next issue.” She looked to Alewa for permission. Alewa nodded to let her know she was listening. “I think you need to see a therapist to work you through your emotions and what you may be feeling. I saw a therapist and that really helped me have closure and move on. Although, this thing is going to be with me throughout my life, I am at least equipped to control my feelings and reactions to it.”

She paused to make sure Alewa was listening...


 To be continued