This is an episodic fiction I'm writing and I'm sure you'll find it quite interesting. Feel free to upvote and express your views through the comment box. I'll continue to post subsequent episodes regularly.
EPISODE 1
Right from the onset, it was crystal clear that this was a relationship that was never going to work. I and Richard were incompatible in every conceivable way; our preferences were as similar as the Sahara desert is to the Arctic region. I never bargained that I was going to get so intimate with him in the first place because our likes and habits couldn't have been more conflicting. It was difficult to pinpoint the exact time I started imagining a future with someone I thought I was having a mere fling with. Richard was the perfect guy, the kind of guy a woman would love to be seen with. But subsequent events showed that he was actually the devil incarnate would have been an understatement. It came as a shocking news to me to discover that Richard was actually married with kids.
Having been raised by an inexperienced single father, my upbringing was only a little different from that of a boy. My father's military background did nothing to help my pitiable cause. Independence, strength and fearlessness were ingrained in me right from when I was a tottering kid. It is no secret that my father, then a lieutenant, would have preferred having a male child but as he always says, "make use of what you have to get what you want". No! Don't start thinking my dad is insane for trying to make me what I'm not. He isn't. He is just the sort of person who never gives up no matter what life throws in his face. I can attest for that much.
Well, now that I, Tinuke Francis, was the one being slammed straight into his life, he determined there and then to mould me into a formidable woman. A woman who could stand tall even without a man beside her; A woman who could hold her ground wherever she finds herself. One with power, influence and who could screen men like a fifth-grade football coach until she finds her perfect match. To be candid, until recently, I have always been successful in everything my father wanted for me and thankfully, my dad, Rtd. Major General Olatayo Olugbenro Francis is alive to see the success of his handiwork.
The first thing my father did after my mother's demise was to search for a qualified nurse who fits into all his criteria for the perfect nanny. Of course many people applied for various mundane reasons, some men even applied. My dad personally interviewed and screened each applicant closely before accepting one. 'Mummy', as I grew up to call her, was the ideal nurse although it was obvious that there was nothing beyond business relationship between her and my dad. She never entered his room and did her best to cope with my father's stringent rules and principles. He always kept an official distance from her, being the disciplined man I've always known him to be.
Before leaving bed to prepare for my visit to dad, I checked my mail, flitted through my social media accounts for any new information before getting up to prepare. Most of the information I found were on recent developments concerning the Russia-Ukraine war, Rihanna's pregnancy and a conflict between some artistes on who earns more. I cringed at the numerous unread messages in my Messenger inbox. I ignore most of them since I knew most of them were from 'interested suitors'. I was yet to heal from Richard's betrayal.
My father's monthly medical checkup was slated for 10am so I had ample time to prepare. Just before leaving the house, I placed a call to remind my assistant of the official meeting he was supposed to represent me at. I was fully aware of John's assiduousness and conscientious diligence but that never deterred me from bossing him around at times just to put him in check.
I decided to take the Mitsubishi Pajero 2020, a birthday gift from one of my maternal uncles who resides in Philadelphia. I switched on the boombox and felt goosebumps as it shuffled to a song which describes my current mood. It was 'Me, Myself and I', a hit-track by G-Eazy and Bebe Rexha that had topped the Billboard music charts for weeks after its release. I felt like the lyrics were describing me word for word. I turned up the volume and got lost in my thoughts as I drove on, oblivious of my surroundings. There was light traffic and I arrived at my dad's street at about 09:02am.
Reminiscences of my early years flooded my mind as the house came into view. Just then, I observed a car driving out through my father's gate. I was trigger back to reality by a subtle curiosity to know who could have visited my dad so early in the morning.The vehicle appeared familiar and I began to imagine if my father already called someone else to convey him to the hospital. As the car drove past, I cringed with a frown as I saw my ex-fiancé, Richard, at the wheels.