Scars (Romola 2)

17: Family Dinner

He would rather meet Dami at another time. Alone. But Dami had insisted that it was a special event.

He dragged his feet towards the long glass table where his family sat. There were ten heads at the table. Dami's family was there too. Olumide paused, watching a light skinned woman falling into Dami's hands, laughing. Vicky? What was Vicky doing at Glass Court? This was supposed to be a family affair.

He took the chair beside his sister's one-year-old son.

"Look who is here." Dami said.

"What was so important that I just had to leave my house?" Olumide folded his hands.

Half empty plates sat in front of everyone except her sister's son who held a half-full feeder of milk.

"Your house? You mean Muyi's house?" His mother said.

His father taped his mother's arm gently but he kept his mouth firm. She was one big reason why he hated to have dinner with the family. He re-lived Muyi's death anytime he was with her.

Poison.

He remembered all too well what his mother said about Romola.

Poison.

"Olumide, how was your day?"

Yetunde was the other reason he hated to gather with them.

He glanced through the menu even though he hadn't had much of an appetite lately.

"Mide, she's talking to you." Ajoke adjusted the black shades that sat on her nose.

Why was there an empty seat beside her? "Who are we waiting for?"

"That's your seat." His mother replied.

"Then who is missing?"

"Not missing. Tomiwa is on his way."

"Sure." Olumide snorted.

"Olumide."

"What mom?" He matched his mother's frosty gaze. "When would we be honest with ourselves and accept that your son-in-law does not care about this family?"

"He will be here." His sister's voice was mellow. "He promised."

He missed the days when Ajoke would shut him down with a fiery word or two. If not for her son, he would've thought that a bad look alike had taken his sister's place at the table.

"When?

"Soon, he came here last time."

"How long did he stay?"

"Is this what you learnt overseas?" His father said.

His mother frowned at his father.. "This is your son. Your work. I kept saying don't send him abroad and you insisted."

"Ronke, this is not the place or the time."

"Will someone just tell me why I need to be here today? It's not like I have to feed anyone." Olumide asked.

He avoided staring at Yetunde's part of the table. He hated the way she looked at him. Like she expected him to be grateful for shattering his heart with the truth about Romola.

He picked the bottle out of his nephew's hand and brought it to his lips, while staring at the boy. The boy began to cry and then he punched Olumide's hand. Olumide dropped the bottle on the table and the boy swiped it.

"Where did he learn to punch like that?"

"His daddy." Modupe said.

Ajoke shot the girl a nastly look before smiling at Olumide. "He takes Karate at school. Leo, how many times have I told you to stop playing while eating?"

The boy turned to his mother, still crying.

Olumide gave the boy a piece of chicken from his mother's plate but the boy tossed it away. "Isn't he too young to start Karate?"

Ajoke faced her son. "Don't you want Chicken? What do you want? I'll order it for you."

So far, this dinner had gone better than others. Conversation continued around the topic of Leo's Karate school while Modupe pouted.

Olumide ordered a glass of cranberry juice and a plate of chicken. It was the only thing he could bring his stomach to swallow. He took his time to peel the skin off the chicken and put it in his mouth bit by bit.

Vicky and Dami seemed somewhat uncomfortable as they whispered amongst themselves. Yetunde's eyes dropped as soon as he looked her way. Her parents and his father discussed like they were having the time of their lives while his mother glared at him.

This was the worst way to spend his evening and no doubt, he would hate it. How would Romola spend her evening? Who was she spending it with? What was she doing?

A cold drink splashed on his body. He jerked. The drink he ordered dripped down the table and down his clothes to the floor.

"Mide, I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where my hands went."

He almost kicked himself. Why was he thinking of how Romola would spend her evening? That was not his business.

"Why don't you just take off the damned glasses. You're inside."

A waiter rushed to the table. "Can I help you with a towel or something?"

"No." He turned to Dami."Coming here was a mistake."

He stood, shaking his legs so that the drink that had pooled on his body fell.

He ignored his sister's sob as he walked towards the door. What was she crying about? He was the one drenched in his own drink.

He opened his car door and was about to sit when someone else held the door.

Dami stared down at him. "What was that all about?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, all the drama you were acting in there."

"Do you not see how wet I am?"

"I know that isn't what bugs you. You wanted to talk?"

"Yes, to you. Not to your entire family. And what is Vicky doing here?"

Dami frowned. His tone deepened. "Is there a problem with her being here?"

"Yes."

"You can't still be mad at her because of Romola."

"Don't say that name. Vicky doesn't deserve to be here."

Dami let go of the door. "And you do? Thank you for coming. You are no longer obligated to be here."

Olumide got out of the car as Dami walked away. "So that's it. You will choose Vicky over me."

Dami turned to him, "We were going to announce our engagement today and we thought that as a special friend to both of us, you would be happy to be part of it. Apparently, we were wrong."