TROUBLE IN PARADISE

Chapter 8

It is true what they say about the depth of a mother's love being endless.

EVE

They say a new born brings it's own blessings.

I believed it absolutely.

As I gazed at the baby in my arms, I marvelled at how defenceless and fragile she was.

She stirred in her sleep, making little suckling noises. I smiled down at her, then gently laid her in her cot. Bending down, I planted a kiss on her cheeks, breathing in her fresh baby smell.

Music filtered in from the compound. The party was in full swing. We had just come from the church where little Eseosa had been baptised. Eyare's mother had danced to the alter, smiling away.

It seemed the whole of St. Patrick's parish was in our house now. My colleague's and Eyare's friends, and even employees had arrived, bearing gifts. The corridor was lined with gift upon gift. Onari had helped to stack them up there.

I had excused myself to feed Eseosa in private. Now I gazed down at her. She was such a peaceful child, only making a little fuss when she was hungry. Once she's had her fill, she doesn't disturb us. I woke up every morning, eagerly looking forward to hold her, and just look at her.

Eyare and I were the only children of our parents, so naturally I wanted siblings for Eseosa.

I missed my parents greatly. Soon after my graduation from the university, they had relocated abroad. I had spoken to them since the birth of Eseosa and they had also seen her via video chat. They'd oohed and aaahed over her, but it wasn't just the same as having them here in person.

The door opened and Eyare's mum came in. I turned round and smiled at her. "Hello mum, I was just putting her down to sleep."

"My daughter, how are you doing?" Concern was written all over her face. "I haven't come visiting since you two got married. I hope my son is looking after you." She placed a warm hand on my cheek.

"Eyare is a wonderful man, mum. Thank you for bringing him up this way. I couldn't have asked for more." I smiled as I looked at her.

We both hugged and she looked down at Eseosa, sleeping peacefully, one thumb stuck in her mouth. "He used to do that as a baby, you know. Suck his thumb. He didn't stop until he was about three years old. She takes after him in that."

My heart skipped a beat.

Could Eseosa really be Eyare's child?

Eyare's mum continued, oblivious of the conflict I was going through."Eyare is a wonderful young man, even if I dare say so, being his mother. He's considerate like his father and very confident too. Whatever he puts his mind to, he sees it through, but he hurts easily." She turned to me then. "He loves you, so please look after him. He's the only one I have." There were tears in her eyes as she turned to look at me

I hugged her tightly and we clung to each other. Just then, my phone rang. I was about to leave the nursery, when she smiled, shook her head and went out instead. It was Onari, calling to tell me to come see the guests, as more people had come and were asking after me and the baby, so I went back outside and found it bursting full with people.

Eyare had contacted an event planner who planned everything; the food, small chops, the drinks, the decoration. He also told mother to help contact a local artist in their country home to come play at the party. They were currently belting out melodious music.

People sat in small groups, eating and chatting in the compound under canopies that had been set up specifically for the party.

I kicked against the party being held inside the house because I didn't want the noise disturbing Eseosa. Looking at it now, I made the right decision. I joined Eyare, holding the baby monitor in hand. He turned towards me and kissed me on the lips when I got close, possessively holding unto my waist. "Hey baby. Let me introduce you to a few of my friends. Guys, please meet my lovely wife."

We exchanged handshakes. Some even kissed me on my hand, all the while complimenting me on my beauty. They told Eyare to keep taking care of me, especially now that I'd given birth.

At a point, I excused myself to go check on Eseosa. On getting there, I saw Onari in the nursery, looking at the baby. "Hey sis, thank you so much for being here. You don't know how much your presence and support means to me."

"Come on dear, your joy is my joy. Your successes are mine too. So don't thank me. Eseosa is my god - daughter, it's my obligation to take care of her." She finished, smiling at me. "Why don't you go get some rest, I'll hold the fort with the guests. I'll also inform Eyare so he doesn't get worried looking for you."

"Thanks dear, you're the sister I never had, you know." I smiled, grateful for having her around.

When we both left the nursery, I went to the room, while Onari went in search of Eyare.

EYARE

I turned just then and saw Onari watching me with an intense look on her face. Smiling, I wove her over.

"Hey!" She called out, sounding breathless as she got close. She touched my arm a bit longer than was necessary, so I moved back from her, but she didn't even seem to notice.

"Have you seen Osagiede?" I furrowed my brows, taking on a serious look.

"Yes! She's got a headache and said to tell you she wants to get some rest." She eased into the seat beside me and sat close to me without leaving any space in between us.

Does this woman not realise I'm her best friend's husband?

Am I back to fending her off, again?

"I'll go check on her." I announced, getting up quickly before any of my friends could notice what was happening.

"Oh no, no, no!" She protested, putting her hand on my thigh to stop me. "She doesn't want to be disturbed."

"I insist! She could need something for the headache." I swatted her hand that was still resting on my lap and stood up. I told my friends I'd be back and walked off.

As I did so, I wandered what in the hell she was up to, getting clingy with me.

Where does she get off, acting so boldly?

She had shown me some serious green light, but that was in the past. Why dredge up something that was clearly never going to happen?

I heard the sniffling immediately I walked through bedroom door.

"Baby?!"

The sniffling stopped.

I inched closer to the bed.

She was lying down, backing me. "Baby, are you okay?" I gently pulled her to me. She had been crying. Her eyes were all red and watery. I hated myself in that instant. I would give anything never to see her cry again. "What's the matter, my love? Did I do anything to hurt you? Is Eseosa fine?"

She just clung to me with a fervour that took my breath away. So I held her for a few seconds until she disentangled herself and turned round to face me. "I'm scared, scared that I'll wake up and all this would be just a dream. You, our baby, your love, your care. Never leave me, okay. Promise you'll never leave me, no matter what happens, promise me." Her eyes were two fevered orbs as they stayed on me.

"I promise you, sweetheart. You and Eseosa are my everything.

And mother of course, but don't say I didn't warn you though --- you'll have to pry me away from you when we're both old and tottering around."

She smiled.

That's better.

"Now, I want you to take some pills for your headache. Onari mentioned it to me. She said you didn't want to be disturbed. I just really needed to check on you and know you're okay."

"I do have a headache now." She smiled ruefully.

I pulled out the drawer on the bedside table and gave her some headache pills we normally kept for emergencies. She took them with the glass of water I proffered.

"Please stay with me here, E." She said, resorting to the initial she used to call me when we had first started dating.

"My love, we have guests, surely I can't tell them to leave." She looked sad at my statement, so I sighed and nodded. "Alright, I'll make an exception. I'll tell Onari to handle the drink and food requests, I'll be right back." Kissing her on the lips, I went to look for Onari.

I checked up on my daughter first. She was fast asleep, a thumb in her mouth. I gave her a kiss on the forehead and quietly closed the door. Mum was in the kitchen tidying up. "Hey ma, I appreciate your being here so much, especially right now that we've just had a baby."

"Nonsense my son, I'm right where I'm supposed to be."

"Osagiede has a headache and needs to rest. She wants me to stay with her, so can you please oversee what Onari needs for the guests? I just want her to get some sleep, she hasn't had much of that recently, what with getting up in the night to feed the baby and preparations for the baptism and the party."

"That's not a problem dear, go be with your wife. I'll also check on Eseosa too. But come here first!" And she hugged me.

I smiled as I walked to the sitting room.

Onari was sitting exactly in the same position I'd left her, staring into space.

My friends were chatting amongst themselves.

"Hey! So um, can you kindly help with overseeing what the guests need. I need to stay with Osagiede until she sleeps." It felt awkward talking to her now, but my wife had made a request to be with me, so who was I turn it down?

"Yeah sure, no problem." She got up. "Some of them are already leaving. I'll stay as long as you want me to. How is Osagiede? Is she okay though?" She was already moving close to me again, so I moved back.

This time, she noticed and frowned, but said nothing.

"She's fine. Nothing a good night's sleep won't take care off."

She came close to me again and I had to move back a bit, once again. "If you need me for anything. Anything at all, you just have to ask."

The hidden meaning of her words weren't lost on me.

I nodded my thanks and went back to the bedroom. She was suddenly giving me the creeps.

I had to talk to Osagiede about her, but I didn't want to put any friction between the two of them.

Osagiede was still awake when I got to the room. I took her in my arms and she snuggled close. I didn't stop holding her until I felt her go slack in my arms and felt her even, steady breathing.

I got up and pulled the covers. over her and made my way to the sitting room. It was already dark outside, I didn't know time had passed by so much. Onari was picking up stray glasses and bottles of drinks that were littered on the table and putting them in a black trash bag.

I didn't want any further weird behaviour from her, so I went into the kitchen and passed the back door to the compound. It was clean. No canopies and no remnants of a party showed at all. The event planners had lived up to their reputation. Good thing I had paid them in full, too.

The band was the only one left and they were packing up. I told the gateman to lock up after them and came back in. I felt a twinge of regret for staying away from the party and my friends in general, but I hoped everyone would understand.

I made a mental note to call every one who attended the party the next day to thank them for coming.

I sighed, I was suddenly feeling weary so I went back in with the option of checking on Eseosa and mother and joining Osagiede in bed. It had been a really long day.

I got back into the sitting room, but Onari was nowhere to be seen. I knew she was going to spend the night, but I felt uncomfortable about that, what with her weird behaviour earlier on.

I went to check on Eseosa and saw the lights on. Onari was just coming out of the bathroom with only a towel round her chest. I averted my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just came to check on my baby, I'll leave now." I felt flustered. I had forgotten she would have to stay in the nursery tonight, as the only other room available was already occupied by mother.

"It's okay Eyare. Haven't you ever seen a lady in a towel before? It's not like I'm naked. Don't be such a gentleman."

She said this last sentence with a small laugh.

I wasn't having any of it. I swooped my baby up in my arms and took her with me, all the while averting my eyes. I made my way to our bedroom, where I put her in the middle of the bed.

Luckily our bed was big, so I got extra pillows and made a form of barricade on either side of her so we wouldn't roll over her while we were asleep. I knew what I was doing wasn't safe but I needed her close where I could watch her.

She would also need to feed in the night, and that would save me the trip of going to the nursery and encountering Onari and any possible antics she may put up.

I suddenly remembered mother was around, so I got up once more to go check on her. I knocked twice on the guest room door. No answer. I tried the handle and pushed it opened. The room was dark, save for the bedside lamp illuminating the room.

She was asleep, a book on her chest. I removed it and kissed her on the cheek. She muttered something unintelligible and turned to face the other direction, settling into a more comfortable position.

I went back out, checked the sitting room door to make sure it was locked, put the lights off and went to join my wife and baby in bed. I was bone - tired at this point.

Being a responsible head of a home was definitely not easy.

                                                  Two months later

The next few weeks were blissful. Osagiede and I bonded so much with little Eseosa. When we heard her cry via the baby monitor, we'd both rush to pick her up.

We had to draw up schedules of who would carry her in the night. With the coming of our baby, we didn't have much time to spend as a couple. I needed to fix that so Osagiede wouldn't get too irritable staying at home with the baby all the time.

She was on maternity leave for now and I knew she was used to a hectic schedule of waking up early for work and coming back home late, so I asked mother to kindly look after the baby while she and I went out for dinner to get some alone - time. I was so grateful mother was around, taking time out to be with us and help with the baby.

I was able to spend quality time with Osagiede and when we got back home, the baby was in the cot, bathed and fed with pumped-out milk Osagiede had left.

Life couldn't have been more rosy, until one fateful day I got a distress call while at work.