"Hey, sweetheart. Ain't you having a game with your associates?" Reyona asked as she looked up at the little clock face on the fridge door before lifting the bowl of quartered yams in her hand "You are back early," she said with a smile, and she angled her face up for a kiss.
"Yeah, yeah. You know, we were not feeling much like playing, so we just hung out for a while, and we called it a day," Thomas answered distractedly as he gave her a quick peck on the cheek before going to the fridge to take out a chilled bottle of water, which he guzzled down.
"Oh, I see. Well, that means I get to have you more to myself then. It has been a while since you stayed at home longer on a weekend. I have to thank your friends," she said with a wink.
"Yeah, yeah. They sent their regards," he said as he looked over at her, then drank more water before capping it back.
"Oh yeah? They did? Your associates that do not know me?" She asked with a feigned curious expression as she smiled inwardly at the way he was trying to hide his agitation.
She knew he was trying to find the right way to frame whatever question he intended to ask her, and the way she was asking him questions was not helping at all.
She placed the bowl in her hand at the sink and turned on the tap as she gave the yams special attention
"What? Yes, it was Lance who mentioned you when he asked how you were doing, and the rest caught on, so they sent their regards."
"Right. How nice of them."
Reyona smiled as she thought, "I guess Lance is a certain brunette at the KDLEA.
She knew he had been to the agency that day to check on his woman even though he had told her straight to her face that he was going out with his associates for a baseball game, just as she knew that his mother had probably called him the moment she left her place to inform him of her visit. She didn't inform Thomas that she would be going over, so she could only imagine his panic when his mother called. Yes, she could imagine the way he had run over.
It was a miracle that he hadn't crashed the car.
Thomas swallowed hard, yet he couldn't bring himself to voice the question that was burning on the tip of his tongue.
He knew if he asked it directly like that, it would seem like he ran home for that purpose, and that would only make him look more suspicious. He knew, yet he knew that he couldn't keep it in for long. He had to know if she suspected anything. His mother had voiced her doubts after all.
He looked at the yam she was washing and wondered why she had insisted on being the one to cook for him since their marriage. He knew she could afford to hire as many maids as she wanted, but she had never collected a cook before, and the other workers were not lived-in.
Warmth filled him as he remembered the delicious meals she had conjured up for him from time to time, especially when there was anything to celebrate. Even on his birthdays, she did the baking and never minded how hard she would work at any new recipe she took interest in. "In as much as you are happy," she had always said.
Thomas shook his head slightly as a vestige of guilt wanted to rise in him. He knew that he couldn't allow that now. No, not when he could still see the teary face of Susan in his mind's eye. Not when he could remember how her sultry lips trembled in fright as she clung to his hands while telling him that she did not want to go to jail.
No, guilt was the least of what he could feel now. First, he had to be sure that his wife had not found out anything yet and had believed what his mother told her.
He needed to get Susan out, and to do that, he needed to get a good attorney to get her out, and to do that, he would need money. He did not have enough money at the moment. He was still reeling from the blow he had been dealt when his money got intercepted.
He had been able to converse directly with his assigned account manager, and all the woman could assure him was that they would try their best to see if the money could be tracked.
Thomas knew that there was a high possibility that he might end up getting a negative answer regarding that. Susan needed a good attorney. He had no idea where he could get a good attorney who would be willing to take up her case without money. No, guilt couldn't be allowed.
"What are we having for dinner?" he asked with a more confident smile after getting his initial misgivings under check.
"Oh, these?" Reyona smiled as she looked back at him over her shoulder. "It is yam. I quartered it. I am going to make you yam pottage."
He gave her a sceptical look "What is a yam pottage?"
She turned to him excitedly as she said, "Oh, it is a new recipe I found. It's an African recipe with a lot of reviews for its taste. I wanted to experiment with it, and I can assure you that you would enjoy it if it turned out fine. If not, we will simply order pizza," she laughed.
His smile widened "Yeah, no pizza could match your cooking, though. I am sure you would get it perfectly right; when haven't you?" He said this as he hugged her from behind and kissed her hair.
Everything in Reyona wanted to rebel against his deceitful display of affection, but she forcibly tamped down her revulsion and relaxed against him. "I think that you are being biased. Well, I don't mind, though. You can be as biased as you want. That is why I love you."
"Just that?" he asked in a joke.
Reyona turned to him and hugged his neck as she said, "Well, that and many other things." She kissed his lips. "I am sure if I started to list them all out, you wouldn't get to have dinner tonight because it would take me all evening and tomorrow."
Thomas slung his arm across her lower back and held her tighter to himself. "I am sure I would love to hear it all." He kissed her back and moved back from her embrace as he said, "You didn't tell me you would be going over to mom's place today."
"Oh yes, that. It was an in-the-moment decision. After you left this morning, I wasn't doing anything. I just decided to check on her. She called you for that?" She asked with a confused expression on her face.
Thomas knew that his wife hardly did anything on impulse; she loved to plan, but he let it go as he shook his head. "No, I called to check on her, and she mentioned it; that is all."
"Wouldn't she mention them? Would it seem normal if I brought them up?" he thought as he turned to pick up his water from the counter, only to realise that it was empty.
He was about to dispose of the plastic in the bin when he heard, "How come I never heard of your dead cousin's children before?"