Blog series of Never Matter is the true love story of a thirty-five-year-old lady who found love in the least expected place …. with her boss. Doubts, distance and difference in social and family status set in, but love they say always prevails.
Let me officially welcome you to a new inspiring weekly penvoice blog series of ‘Never Matter’ which is a partnership content with Life of a Woman Naija TV.
Welcome!
Blog Series: Never Matter – EP 12
Minutes rolled into hours, hours into days and days into weeks. It has been four weeks since Richard has been seeing Betty. Well, he wouldn’t call it a proper love relationship. But they had been out together for dinner a few times as his work would permit, still getting to know each other. He knew they would have proceeded to another stage of this subtle dating if his job had not been overly demanding of late. There seemed to be lots of accident victims that needed one surgery or the other and Richard had mostly been called upon. Sometimes, in the middle of their date. But Betty didn’t seem to mind. She had never for once complained about it.
Although, it was like a dream come true to finally find a woman who could cope with the high demand of his job. While a part of him was glad about it, another part of him felt it wasn’t normal. How could he sometimes be occupied with work for days without seeing her and she was okay with it? Yes, he knew she was with someone for a short time before they met. She had told him. Richard sometimes felt maybe the high demand of his job was also a safe place for her to not allow herself to be too intimate with him. She had not allowed him to be too close with her. He had even tried to kiss her once when he had dropped her at home after one of their dinner dates. But she had pulled back from him saying she wasn’t ready for that yet.
She had also suggested they took it slow. How slow could they go after five to six outings without any form of close touch? Not that he was in a hurry but he just couldn’t shake the feelings that this beauty was far from his reach no matter how close he got. But he was willing to wait. To wait for something or someone great was what he was willing to do. Because Betty was worth it. He didn’t want to know what had happened between her and the previous person. Besides, she wasn’t willing to talk about it. But what he knew was that as long as she was still willing to have him, he would make her happy.
Blog Series: Never Matter – EP 12
He coughed once or twice. The fatigue in his body was high as he tried to move it. He didn’t know for how long he had been sleeping. He couldn’t even remember anything. He eyes was fully opened now. He looked around a bit without any iota of recognition of where he was. He swallowed a little spit to wet his dried throat for a moment. His eyes scanned the little room he found himself. It was a bit dark with no modern electricity except a subtle light coming from an old lantern placed on a rickety table by the bamboo bed that he was lying on. Where was he? He asked himself. He tried to lift his legs to get up but his left leg was heavier and he couldn’t even bend it. He immediately looked at it and he realized that two inches of tiny wood bamboo was set round it. What was going on? What happened? In bits, his brain started putting together the last thing he remembered. He had jumped out of a plane that was about to crash. Himself, Chung and their pilot. He whimpered as he tried to sit up. He had a serious back ache. Just then, a short older man walked in. He could barely see his face. But he could sense that he smiled when he saw him sitting up. He ran out and in a few moments, he returned with Chung and another man who he quickly recognized to be their pilot.
“You are awake. Thank God. We were scared the worst would happen.’ Chung said as he sat beside him on the wooden bed while the older man and pilot stood and just watched.
Demilade cleared his throat as he asked, “what happened to my leg?”
“You landed wrongly on a rock and broke your leg. This wonderful man…” Chung pointed at the older man, “….has been using some herbs to treat it. He was confident that you would be fine only if you were able to wake up.”
“Wake up? What do you mean?” He asked, looking confused. “How long have I been asleep?”
Chung held his hand and squeezed it. “We landed in this village a little close to four weeks ago.”
“What?!” He exclaimed.
Read also: Blog Series: Never Matter – EP 11
“Yes. We were both lucky to have landed in the water”. Chung said, pointing to himself and the pilot . “Although, it took us a while to be able to swim ashore. But we both did. And that was when we found you unconscious. You had hit your leg and head against a big rock. We were also fortunate to meet Jian here who was going fishing at the time. He had accommodated us and had also been treating you ever since.”
Blog Series: Never Matter – EP 12
Demilade’s gaze went to the older man and put his two Palms together in a way to thank him. The Asian man spoke in his language and the pilot immediately translated it in English. “He says you shouldn’t mention. He also says, now that you are awake, he says for you to just eat and relax, then he would remove the bamboo wood round your leg in no time.”
“Please help thank him for me.” He said to the pilot. He then faced Chung, “So we have been here for four weeks. Is there a way to leave?”
“We have been here because the big boat that goes to the major city of Manila from this village only comes once a month. We are hoping it’ll be around between now and next tomorrow. We have just been praying you will be awake by then.” Chung explained.
“Wasn’t there anyone you could have contacted since we’ve been here?” Demilade asked.
“This is a tiny village with no electricity, no phone or internet connection whatsoever. And it’s surrounded by water. Since we lost everything in our plane, from sat phone to any form of signal, our only hope is to wait for that boat that goes to the city of Manila to sell fish.”
“How are we then going to move from Manila? Since we lost everything in the plane. Shit. My passport. How will I get to Nigeria without it?”
“Don’t worry. Just concentrate on getting better. That will be arranged when we get to Taiwan.”
The wood on Demilade’s left leg was later removed and examined by Jian. And he was satisfied that his hard work on it actually paid off. It had healed. He was given some soups to take in order to gain some strength. Jian made a pair of local crouches of bamboo tree for Demilade to practice walking around with. It was tough and painful for him at first but after few hours, the pain in his leg subsided.
Demilade was glad that he didn’t loose his leg in the whole situation. But he became worried. How would people at home feel right now? Most especially his mother. Betty. Oh dear Betty. If he had just been a little patient and stayed back at Matlock resort in El Nido, he wouldn’t have been in this mess. He would have been able to contact people or even been in Nigeria by now.
At the same time, he was glad he didn’t lose his life. Chung said he would sort out his passport and visa in Taiwan with his connections. He didn’t know how long that would take. But he didn’t care anymore. This time, he would wait and be patient.
Blog Series: Never Matter – EP 12
Theo had finally gotten his visa to the Philippines and he would be leaving in a few hours. It was time he traveled down there to know and understood what was going on. He had been speaking on the phone with few officials of the Philippines National Police over the disappearance of his boss. From what he had found out from one of the CEOs who had since returned to his base in the UK, Mr Martin had left on a Private jet with another CEO called Chung whose base was in Taiwan. He had also called his company in Taiwan and discovered Chung too had not returned. That was when he started fearing the worst.
Mrs Ajoke Martin had been worried sick over her son. She had wanted to go with him to the Philippines. But he had succeeded in talking her out of it with the promise of updating her on every single development via Demilade’s sat phone that he was taking with him.
Theo had also made it a duty to not allow anyone either at GlodiTech or anywhere else to get a whim of what was going on. He didn’t want the press to start snooping around this just yet. So anyone who asked Demilade from him, he had told them that he was doing a global travel business. That way, it was a safer explanation of why no one had seen the boss for weeks. It was only Mr Martin’s mum and him that knew the truth of his disappearance. And he intended to keep it that way. At least till he knew exactly what was going on.
Blog Series: Never Matter – EP 12
Betty sat on the sofa in her two room apartment looking at the Television with a cup of coffee in front of her. It was a Saturday morning and she hadn’t been having a whole lot of sleep of late. She couldn’t point out the reason that was. One of her favorite talk shows was showing on the TV screen but her mind was far from it. Although, she had gone out on a series of dates with Richard so as to forget Demilade. But she had not succeeded in any way. The more she went out with the physician, the more she compared him with her boss. The more she thought of him. The more she even missed him. Her love for him had not stopped in any way. She had tried calling Demilade again recently.
When his line was switched off, she had called his PA, Theo. She introduced herself as one of Lagos staff who needed to speak with the boss over an important matter. She was told that he was traveling on business globally. She was also told that her message would be delivered when he returned. How could she still be madly in love with someone that didn’t want to see her? This was one of the reasons she was still hanging around with the doctor. Spending time with him to forget Demilade. Was it fair? Using an innocent man to get over another one. No. Richard was a good man and he didn’t deserve what she was doing but she would do anything possible to finally get over her boss.
Read also: Blog Series: Never Matter – EP 10
After the recent call she had made to his PA, she decided she was done with him. Even though she still couldn’t picture herself kissing or having anything intimate with Richard….yet. At least she had told him to give her time as she was going through some emotional situation that she needed to heal from. And he had promised that he would give her as much time as she needed.
Blog Series: Never Matter – EP 12
What again was the latest strategy to use in order to fast tract operation ‘Letting go of Demilade’? She questioned herself, when all of a sudden, her head started pounding from a headache. She had been experiencing this for some days now. Coupled with the dizziness that started since she got up from her bed. She needed to see a doctor soon so as to counter any form of malaria developing in her body. This period wasn’t a good time for her to break down. She picked up her cup of coffee and gulped it. A moment after she did, as she tried to get up, she felt extremely uneasy and light headed and in no time, she knew the coffee was coming back up into her mouth. She couldn’t control it. She immediately rushed to the guest toilet which was closer. As soon as she opened the door, she threw everything up right into the toilet bowl.
“Heavenly father, please do not make me cry over my son” Ajoke prayed reverently. “I, Ajoke Omolayo Martin will not cry over my only son in Jesus name. God help me. Help m…” Her voice tripped off in tears. A lot of thoughts went through her mind. What could have happened to Demilade?
Theo had briefed her on what he had found out over the movement of her son. How he had left the resort and went with one Chung. How Chung himself had not been seen as well. She had been pulling all the strings she knew outside the country. She had also called all the ambassadors she had connections with. But she knew little about the Philippines. This was one of the reasons she came out clean to her friend, Chantelle’s mother.
Blog Series: Never Matter – EP 12
She needed to tell her so that she could also help with all her husband’s connections. But since when she had spoken to her friend and her prospective daughter in law, she hadn’t heard from them. They had not even checked in anyway to find out if there was any development. She was even more surprised that Chantelle who claimed to love her son had gone about her life without bothering about what could be happening to Demilade. All of a sudden, it seemed a veil was removed from her face. Why was she forcing a woman who never had one iota of good feelings for her son on him? Demilade complained about Chantelle but she didn’t listen. She was so focused on material things. Power and social status. And now, none of it mattered. All that was more important was to see her son alive. If God should come to her rescue and answer her prayers by bringing her son home, she swore she would allow him to do whatever he wanted. She promised.
But first thing first, someone needed to be on ground in the Philippines to supply information on what could aid with her son’s search. Which was why Theo was en-route to the country. But she feared the worst. Anytime her phone rang, she was afraid to answer it. She didn’t want to confirm any terrible thing happening to her only son. She would die. She knew that fact. It was for her own benefit for her son to return in good health. She thought of several arguments they had in the past. Even the one they had had the last time they saw each other at the party. She realized now that all what she wanted him to do didn’t matter anymore. In fact, she also realized that social status and money didn’t matter as well. All she needed was her son…well and alive. And she would do anything to hug him again. Even if it meant laying down her life.
Blog Series: Never Matter – EP 12
Getting to El Nido was a little stressful for Theo. The trip was not what he had properly planned. But he didn’t mind, as long as the purpose of the journey was fulfilled. He hoped. He had stopped at the headquarters of the National Bureau of investigations in El Nido. He was there for hours providing information and other things needed to aid the search of his boss. Two agents had been assigned to the case and they had also contacted a local search and rescue company who were to set out for a regional search in a chopper the following day. Theo had no choice but to head to his hotel and wait till the next day.
Betty sat in the waiting room of her usual hospital located few blocks from her office, waiting patiently for the result of the blood test her doctor had recommended she did before treatment for her ailment commenced. She crossed her legs with her handbag carefully placed on her laps. The headache that was hitting her head had no second season. She was tired. She had also vomited twice that morning. She had been finding it difficult to keep anything down because she knew it would come right back up. It had been a long time since she had fallen ill.
Therefore, the feeling was extremely irritating. She was breathing heavily to keep her body settled. Her eyes flashed to her wristwatch, it was quarter to twelve in the afternoon. The lab attendant had told her the result would come out in twenty minutes. That was forty-five minutes ago. She hoped she had the strength to sit longer. Just then, her name was announced in the small speaker placed in the corner of the open spaced waiting room. She was asked to proceed to her doctor’s office.
“Hello again Miss Badejoko.” The female doctor greeted as soon as her patient sat opposite her. Betty nodded gently. “So your test result is out and I can categorically confirm that you do not have malaria as you thought.”
“Then what is the issue doctor?” Betty asked.
“You are Six weeks pregnant!”
Blog Series: Never Matter – EP 12
It had been three days since Demilade woke up. He had finally stopped using the locally made crouches the older man made for him. Although, he was still limping a little. But he felt so much better than before. He was still taking the herbs that Jian constantly made to speed up his recovery.
Demilade stood by the bank and stared farther away at the sea. He knew he said that he was going to be patient. But the wait of not knowing when exactly he would leave the village they were trapped in was killing him. He was tired of being away from the world he knew and understood. He was missing his mum’s drama and most importantly, he was missing Betty. He knew she would be worried. “Don’t worry, my love, I will see you soon. Hopefully.” He muttered silently. Just then, he heard a sound from the other side of the area he was standing. It was loud. Very loud. It sounded like a horn. But not from a car or anything. He looked properly, placing his palm over his eyes to shield it from the sun. He sighted a very big boat from afar. The big machine blew its horn again. This attracted Chung, the pilot and Jian. As the trio had walked up to him. “Is that…. is that what I think it is?” Chung said in the language Jian could understand.
“Yes. The boat that heads to Manila city is here.” The older man replied in the local Philipino dialect.
