Episode seven

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5 months ago

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Mrs. Hudson sat in the front row seat and watched her daughter come on the stage as her name was called as one of the graduates. She moved to the stage with dignity and self-respect. Her green jumpsuit and white pumps added to her elegance.

She hadn't been prouder to call Maya her daughter. "You are my little bit of heaven"  she would tell her while swinging her playfully, till she squeals with joy. That was almost twelve years ago and here she was, all grown up. Despite all the challenges they had faced especially when her father deserted them.

It had been ten years since her husband eloped with her niece, her brother's first child who was young enough to be his daughter. Causing a strained relationship between her and her brother.

That fateful morning, she had come downstairs to start brewing coffee as she normally did every morning, he had placed the note under the coffee maker where he knew she would find it. She never for once suspected that her husband was unfaithful to her, she could take a vow that he couldn't and wouldn't harm a fly. But here he was hurting her.

She had been broken and depressed, especially since she thought he was happy in their marriage. They had normal arguments like couples do but he never gave her any reason to doubt what she thought they shared. She wondered where she failed or went wrong in her marriage.

How and when they started the affair, was a mystery to her. 

Her niece had visited them last summer, when she got a job in their state she had asked them to let her stay till she got her own apartment. Maya's mum had noticed that her niece and husband had become close but she never suspected they were having an affair. 

They both hurt her more than they could have imagined. She blamed her husband more, he was supposed to be the older one and he had been the one who made vows to her and not her niece. He failed her and Maya.

She had cried her eyes out and stayed indoors for almost a week. Because of her daughter, she fought her depression and won. 

Her brother had been disappointed when he got wind of what had happened, he didn't take the news well and was rushed to the hospital when he collapsed. Thankfully it was nothing serious or life-threatening.

But the situation had caused a rift between her and her brother and to some extent their relatives thus making them uncomfortable in the presence of each other. They both tried to avoid one another in family gatherings. But over the years through the help of family members and friends, they were able to look beyond the betrayal and their relationship blossomed.

Mrs. Hudson had taken up the challenge to train her daughter as a single parent, taking her to dance class, swimming lessons, and birthday parties. And she had grown to become a beautiful young woman today. Maya was a good child and her mother had nothing to worry about, she made it so easy for her mother by being self-disciplined and maintaining good grades. 

As she looked at her daughter who was graduating from high school today she felt as if her heart would burst with pride as she gently wiped tears from her eyes. And she raised a prayer of gratitude to God thanking him for his mercies in their lives.

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The present-day

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"Mum, won't you get dressed, we are almost late," Maya said to her mum. They had a wedding to attend today, her uncle from her mom's side was getting married.

Maya didn't know much about her father and her father's relatives and when she asked her mother she gave some explanations she didn't understand and since then she had not bothered to ask her again. Especially as she observed how strained her mum was talking about it.

"You know it's an hour drive to Greenville, we should leave home before 10:00 a.m." she continued as she made herself a healthy breakfast of brown toast, avocado and boiled eggs with freshly pressed orange juice. Her mother declined when she offered her some, she just drank coffee with heavy cream.

"I have already showered, once I bring out the muffins from the oven I would get dressed, they might get burnt if I leave them unattended to."

The oven timer popped minutes later announcing that the muffin was ready, she took a clean rag from the cupboard rail, opened her oven and brought the perfectly baked muffins out. This was the last batch of the 7 she made. She was taking it with her to the wedding.

They were both ready to leave in 30 minutes, time. She wrapped the muffins carefully in beautifully designed packs. 6 pieces in a pack and a total of 12 packs. 

Satisfied with the result she beamed happily at herself, things had fallen into pleasant places for her over the years.

 Her business was booming and her daughter was already in college. The mortgage was paid on time and she had zero debt.

With help from Maya, they both carefully moved the muffins into their van and left for the wedding.

They got there before most guests started arriving, before noon the wedding had kicked off, the groom and bride looked radiant in their attire. 

The groom wore a white Tuxedo and the bride was dressed in a simple flowing white satin lace with cream shoes. They both looked breathtaking. 

The wedding party started after they took their vows. The father-daughter dance was still ongoing when Mrs. Hudson saw her, she couldn't believe her eyes, she had changed and looked worn and lean. She felt anger and pity for her, but she suppressed the pity and allowed the anger to gain more ground.

She moved far away from her point of view, she didn't want to see her because it brought back memories better off buried.

Maya was with her cousins; they had not seen each other for months now, the guests were mingling with other guests, so she decided to take some fresh air outside, mostly to avoid confronting her.

She sat on the empty bench with her elbows on her knees, visibly shaken and upset from seeing her.

"Hello, aunt " she froze, she knew that voice from the pit hell.