The desperate daughter-in-law

At the hospital

It was a bright beautiful morning as the mild morning sun settled on the window blinds. Her dry lips broke into a smile as she saw Daren walking into the ward, holding balloons and a beautiful bouquet of flowers. She could see the warm smile on his face as he approached the bed, dressed handsomely in a black turtleneck long sleeve top and black pants.

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when the skies are gray. You never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away,” he sang beautifully as he walked to the bed and kissed her forehead tenderly.

Mrs Thambisa and her daughter couldn’t help but gush from where they sat beside the bed.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he said with a smile as he looked into her pale face.

“Morning, love,” she said with a smile as he caressed her forehead.

She took the flowers from him and smiled as they looked into each other’s eyes.

“How is my baby May doing?” He asked as he walked over to the cradle.

“She’s been sleeping all morning,” Mrs Thambisa replied.

“Wow, she needs it,” he said as he looked into the cradle where the cute baby girl was sleeping peacefully, wrapped in her white baby shawl.

“Hope she is not a cry baby?’ He asked and they all laughed.

“She’s not. She’s such a sweet soul,” Melisa gushed and they all laughed again.

“Have you had breakfast?” He asked as he walked over to the bed.

“Yes, Aunty made me tea,” she replied.

“Thank you aunty Tham, you’ve really done a lot for us,” he said and the lady smiled with a nod.

“Um, mom and grandmother are on their way here,” he announced and her eyes bulged.

“They couldn’t wait for me to get home first?” She asked in surprise.

“You don’t know how desperate those two are. I wonder what kind of elaborate party they must have planned awaiting your arrival,” he said and she smiled wryly.

They were still speaking when the baby cried.

“Oh, my sunshine is awake,” he cried as he stood up from the bed and rushed over to the cradle.

He placed the baby in his arms and began to sing her beautiful songs.

From the bed where she laid, she watched them with tears in her eyes. The r**e scene continued to play in her head and she shut her eyes bitterly. Why does everything have to happen this way? Why couldn’t she have gotten pregnant for Daren instead? She thought as tears flowed down her cheek intermittently.

“Lisa, are you okay?” Mrs Thambisa asked as she saw her crying.

Daren looked over to the bed at once and he saw her wiping out her tears.

“Love,” he called anxiously as he walked over to the bed.

“I’m..I’m fine, just..just tears of joy,” she stammered with a forced smile on her lips.

He chuckled as he sat on the bed with the baby who was now crying.

“Come on, breastfeed your baby,” Mrs Thambisa urged as she stood up from the bed and took the baby from Daren.

She handed the baby over to Melisa who managed to sit up right. She heaved a sigh as she held the baby in her arms and looked into her bright round eyes.

“She has eyes like her father,” Mrs Thambisa commented.

“Yes, I know she’s going to pick those sexy eyes from me,” Daren said and they all laughed apart from Melisa.

She gulped and her heart began to race. She looked at the baby’s eyes which were staring into hers and her heart cringed. All she could picture was Jerry’s face and she began to feel knots in her stomach.

“Lisa, breastfeed the baby,” Mrs Thambisa urged once more.

“Oh,yeah,” she said as she pulled up her dress.

Daren kept silent as he watched her breastfeeding the baby. She seemed to be deep in thought and he wondered what was wrong with his wife. This couldn’t be postpartum depression, he thought. Something was odd about her behavior even before the pregnancy was detected.

He was still deep in thought, when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.

“Mom!” He exclaimed as he stood up from the bed immediately.

“Have they arrived?” She asked anxiously.

“I think so,” he said as he picked the call.

She watched him answering the call after which he hung up and turned to face her.

“They’ve landed, and I’ll go pick them up,” he said.

“Stay safe,” she said and he nodded and walked out.

*

She was about to take a nap when she heard the sound of the women walking into the ward. She opened her eyes slowly and turned to the door where she could see them stepping in with excitement on their faces. They were both elegantly dressed in blue beaded maxi dresses with their heads wrapped in beaded white scarves.

“Oh my God, where is my beautiful great grand-daughter?” Mrs Selina cried as she rushed towards the cradle with excitement.

Melisa smiled wryly as she saw the women at the cradle, laughing and cuddling the baby with excitement. She knew it was all about the baby and they’ve never cared about her.

She looked at Daren who was before the bed and his gaze lowered to the floor. She sighed heavily and turned to the women. They were the reason she was in this mess today and right now, she felt no atom of pity nor regrets over everything that had happened.

“Mom, grandma, you didn’t check on Lisa,” Daren said with a wry smile on his face.

“Oh, my beautiful Melisa,” Mrs Selina called as she sat on the bed with the baby in her arms.

“How are you feeling? I hope you are fine?” She asked with a warm smile on her face.

“Yes, I’m okay,” she replied with a forced smile on her face.

“You did a great job, Lisa,” Elsa voiced out with a smile.

“Thank you, mother,” she said.

“I can’t wait for you both to fly back home. We’re throwing a grand party to celebrate the birth of our daughter, May,” Mrs. Selina revealed.

“Oh, I knew it,” Daren said and they all laughed.

“Um, who has been looking after you?” Elsa asked as she looked at Melisa.

“My Aunt, Mrs. Thambisa and her daughter,” she replied.

“Where are they at the moment?” Mrs. Selina asked.

“She went home to prepare me lunch while her daughter went to get me something down the road,” she replied.

“They did a great job,” Elsa said with a smile and they all nodded.

“So, when are you planning to return home with my baby?” Mrs Selina asked.

“In a month's time,” she replied.

“By then, you’ll both be ready to fly,” Elsa said.

“Yes, mother,” Daren acknowledged.

“I’ll stay back and look over them, then,” Mrs Selina offered.

“No, um..they will be fine in the hands of Mrs Thambisa. Plus, you are a busy woman and you have a lot of businesses to attend to,” Daren cut in.

“Oh, Daren. I can’t wait to make you the CEO of the company. I’m losing the strength and the mentality it takes to run the business,” she lamented.

He looked at his wife and they both smiled.

“As soon as you both arrive in Nigeria, I'll make you the CEO of the company, and then Elsa and I will begin processing the documents for the final handover,” she said.

“Thank you, Grandmother, thank you, mother,” he said as he prostrated before the women.

He looked at his wife again and she smiled broadly at him. She heaved a sigh and looked away from him. She was glad to have saved his inheritance despite the odds. She could hear the women playing with the baby who was now awake and was beginning to make sounds.

“Look at her eyes, just like Daren’s,” Mrs. Selina commented.

Melisa felt her heart cringing and she turned in their direction. Why does everyone keep saying that the baby has eyes like Daren’s? She thought.

No, there is no way the baby could belong to Daren, she reasoned. From her calculations, she had conceived on the week of the r**e. And after the r**e, she never had i*********e with Daren till the pregnancy was detected. She heaved a sigh as the thoughts ran through her mind.

“Lisa,” she heard his voice and she jolted out of her thoughts immediately.

He paused for a moment as he stared at her anxious face.

“Love, are you alright?” He asked in whispers.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she said at once.

“Um, I want to take mom and grandmother to the hotel they would be lodging,” he said.

“Um, okay,” she muttered.

“Lisa, take care of yourself and your baby. Let’s go freshen up. We will be back,” Elsa said with a smile.

“Alright, mother,” she said with a nod.

“Here, she needs to be breastfed,” Mrs. Selina said as she handed the baby over to her.

She sat up right and the baby was placed in her arms gently. She watched as the women walked out of the ward with Daren and she sighed and tucked her hair behind her ears.

She looked at the baby who was now suckling while making some funny sounds with her mouth. She smiled and caressed her cheek.

“I’m so sorry you had to come into the world this way. But no matter what happens, mommy will always be here for you,” she said with her eyes welling up with tears.