Sons and Lovers

Episode 5.

Tomiwa was nervous. He didn’t know where to look as he entered Ruth’s house. He glanced at her tear stricken face. He was sad that they had to meet under the circumstances.

“Come in,” she said softly as he, Remi and Chidera walked in.

He was struck by the humble nature of their home. Even in her grief, Ruth still looked exquisite.

She put on a faint smile as they sat down.

“How are you holding up?” he managed to blurt out.

“I’m fine thank you,” she said wiping her face.

The conversation was short and strained. It was obvious she couldn’t talk much. Remi and Chidera tried to cheer her up with tidbits from school but that talk quickly dried up. He tried to convey the depth of his empathy through his eyes. They stood up to go. She gave him a small smile and promised to come to school soon.

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Chidera tried to ignore the knot in her stomach on the drive home. Richard had tried to pacify her but she was still worried. And she was scared at how worried she was. She had known him only for a short while after all. Perhaps it would be better to back out now before she grew too attached.

She had lost her best friend to leukemia while growing up. She couldn’t stand the thought of sickness or of being close to another person who was seriously ill. But it was clear he needed her. The fact that he was ill had actually drawn them closer faster than she had thought possible.

It would be cruel to bring a distance in their relationship now. Perhaps later when the danger was over. It had to be soon though so she could count her losses with no regrets.

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Remi pursed her lips and stared out of the window as the car sped on, and wondered why Fola was avoiding her. For the past three days, he had said little to her despite her attempts to find out what was the matter with him. She wondered if she had said or done something to make him angry. When he denied it, she knew she had to give him his space. But for some indefinable reason, it hurt her.

She realized she had grown very attached to him and that if he suddenly disappeared from her life he was going to leave a huge void. But there was nothing she could do about it if he didn’t talk to her. Chidera and Ruth had teased her countless times about him but she knew all he wanted from her was friendship. Nowadays though, it seemed as if he wanted nothing more from her.

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Peter put his head in his hands, thinking. He had teased his friends about their love life but lately he was beginning to feel the absence of a feminine presence in his life. His friends had asked him why he was so nonchalant about the dating thing. But what they didn’t know was he had made a decision. He had decided to become love-struck and wide-eyed with the rest of them. There seemed to be something to it. He was going to find himself a girl.

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