Chapter 1
“Your art is so beautiful, you should place them on auction. You would make a lot of money from all this, my friend.” Gloria chuckled as her friend, Edith, stare miraculously at the canvas she was holding. It was the first time she’d showed anyone other than her husband her paintings; after all, they were the tie to the darkest part of her soul. A smile wore itself on her face as she stared amused at the treasured look on her new friend’s face. “Instead of letting cobwebs smolder their beauty I suggest you allow me to show at least one of your masterpieces to one of my friends, I’m sure he’ll sell it for you and you’ll make good money out of this.”
“Do you think so?” She beamed, wiping her paint-stained fingers against the apron she had over her short-sleeved purple t-shirt. She stepped behind Edith, fear slowly crept under her flesh at the thought of having someone critique her work. She wasn’t so sure if she was ready to have them owned by someone other than her. All her painted canvases were more than just canvases to her, they each held an important story to the chain of events her life had undergone.
“Do you know how much people pay for this type of art? You would be rich.” Her friend shrugged, “maybe not right away, but at least it’s a start if you start selling.” Then she face-palmed herself, “what am I saying? You’re already rich.” Gloria smiled sheepishly at her sudden knowledge “When I spoke to you for the first time yesterday and you gave me your address, I couldn’t believe a person living in this neighborhood was actually talking to me. So I decided to visit you today and now that I see you here I cannot believe it. You’re so ordinary, you don’t wear heavy necklaces or expensive designs.”
Gloria raised both her hands up, “Well my husband owns this property. Wait, what would you like to eat or drink?”
“Don’t overextend yourself the view of this house and your paintings are enough to fill me, my friend.” They both burst out laughing at the blissfulness in her gaze as her eyes wandered along the paintings in the room and the creamy yellow color of the room she found sanity in.
“Haven’t you ever thought of selling your arts? I know someone that owns an art gallery. I swear he’ll like every one of your paintings. He does deals with wealthy men and finds them their next painting investments. He makes a lot of money out of that too. So he is like a middle man.” She said, stopping in front of a neatly covered painting, she picked it up propelling Gloria forward as she felt an urge to protect her painting.
Edith unwrapped the painting before Gloria’s fast-paced footsteps could carry her to her friend.
Edith let out a loud gasp at the image in front of her, stopping Gloria from stepping forward to grab her precious painting from her as she awaited the scrutiny from her new friend’s judgment. “This is--beautiful.” Satisfaction settled in her soul for a moment as she watched her turn towards her with an ecstasy-filled gaze, stretching the 40x50cm canvas in front of her. It was a painting of a black infant with a dummy pulling the air close to her.
Gloria completed her steps towards Edith and gently took the painting from her hands, “it’s not finished yet.” That was her soul laid bare. Not even her husband as had the chance to lay his eyes on the painting, it was her most cherished piece of the thirty-something currently resting in the room. For some reason, having another person lay their hands on it made her flesh boil.
She quickly wrapped the painting neatly with the white cloth, “I’m sorry,” Edith said. A purge of pain reflected in her heart at the way she’d acted.
“No,” she couldn’t help the lack of sadness her face bore, “it’s the first time that I have had someone other than my husband step into this room.” Not even the sun had seen the painting, for some reason she only ever worked on the painting when it was late and dark. Most especially, when she’d recently fought with her husband and her soul needed a clean sheet to stain with her bitterness, then she’ll pour like ink unto the canvas, scavenging her deepest sorrows unto it.
“It means something special to you doesn’t it?” Edith smiled and placed her and over her collarbone, “I understand.” She nodded the same second her cellphone started ringing.
Gloria answered the phone as soon as she saw her husband’s name, “Hello?” She answered, showing Edith the cellphone.
“Hello, it’s officer Bryan, your husband was involved in an accident on the M6 road, I’m sorry ma’am but your husband is dead... we will need you to come to the mortuary to identify his body.” Gloria stood in her position with her mouth agape as she stared at Edith’s questioning gaze. “Hello, are you there?”
“Could you please repeat what you just said?” She heard a deep sigh from the officer as silence fell between them, a tear slowly rolled down her left eye as she suddenly held her dreadlocks.
“Ma’am,” her lips quivered in response to her soul leaving her body. “Your husband was involved in an accident that cost him his life. Do you have someone that could take--” she ended the call, exhaling loudly as she stared around hysterically.
“What’s wrong?” She heard Edith’s worried voice chase after her.
Turning back towards the front of the room her friend stood in front of as her whole body shook with grieve, her hands vibrated as she lifted it so she could speak but words failed her as she fell on her knees with Edith running towards her, pulling her into a tight embrace as she subbed loudly.
•☆•☆•☆•☆•
"Men talk about killing time, while time quietly kills them.”
Happy memories flood by like bad memories, once their mission has been accomplished.
Today was exactly a week from the day her husband agreed to make more time for her. They’d planned to try for a child once again. Now, a week later, she was standing aimlessly in front of a full-length mirror, peering into her eyes with no aimed emotion.
She’d just lost her child not so long ago and here she was staring at the widow she’d become. Bags smeared her eyes like leeches, and her black clothes were nothing like the light she exuded within.
Gloria, the wife of Elijah, was now bare with her name. What more could life take from her? What was the consequence of love? Everything she’d grown to love had quickly become smoother than the soil she stepped on.
She loved her husband way too much to accept his demise. But life was like that. Always taking her reasons for happiness.
Her husband was her light and savior, the only man that’d ever experienced the depth of love her heart could give.
Tears slowly walked down the corner of her eyes as she stared at her bald head. Her husband’s death meant nothing of beauty was deserved by her skin. Natural hair, wigs, clothes with colors, make-up, jewelry were all prohibited for every widow. She needed to wear her grieve for at least a year to show full respect for her deceased husband.
But that day was also the day her husband’s lawyer reads his Will. A testament she was sure would bring a lot of troubles. But Edith was there with her, seating on her bed and quietly watching her stare at the egg her head had become, “I seriously don’t understand why your husband’s family members decided to have the lawyer’s read his will so early.” She folded her arms over her chest, her lips formed a straight line as she fumed loudly. “What if they are planning to take everything from you?” Gloria turned towards her, “I don’t trust your husband’s family members. They couldn’t even pity you distress.”
“It’s best to keep calm,” her voice was a shadow of what it used to sound like.
“Text or call me if things go sound so I can take some valuables out of the house for you.”
“I’m sure it won’t reach to that.”
•☆•☆•☆•☆•
“Last will and testament of Elijah Willson,” the family lawyer readout with a serious tone, adjusting the position of his glasses as the air loomed with mock noise of tears, showed by the pretentious family of her husband behind her. She knew all they cared about was their portion of her husband’s wealth. She could count them all by her peripherals, none has since had a genuine tear roll down his or her face.
“You’ve gained weight.” She glared up at the woman she knew as her late husband’s aunt. “You’ve been spending my nephew’s money haven’t you?”
“Well at least, my life is not as stagnant as yours.” She glared at the woman, referring to the time she was nothing but bones. Even at that time, they had a problem with her weight, a time when she was working three jobs just so she could pay for her husband’s university fees so he could achieve their dream. His dream was theirs. But now she was thankful for the meat over her bones. If anything if she wanted she should’ve weighed a thousand pounds just so they could have something to say. But the few years of peace of mind had added her soul more than meat on her bones. Even at this, she wasn’t overweight, she was currently standing at 82kg a little over twice the weight she weighed when they were struggling to survive. She was happy with how she looked and that was all that mattered.
She stared around the lawyer’s office, seeing everyone that was her husband’s family seating quietly and waiting for the lawyer to continue. “We are waiting for one more person that is important to this Will.” The lawyer announced freely as she quietly wondered who was more important than her in the Will.
When the lawyer’s face raised and lit up with satisfaction she followed his line of gaze and watched a white woman with black hair step into the room with three boys that looked to be around the ages of 6, 4, 3, and a girl that was either close to or is one-year-old straddling her waist. She has never seen the woman before so why was she important to her husband’s will?
“Who are you?” She couldn’t control her lips from lifting, if only she knew she would have kept her mouth shut and quietly stared at her.
“She is my brother’s baby mama. Since you refused to give him any children.” She stared at the young children with her mouth ajar then up at the white lady.
“Please have your seat so we can begin.” The woman and her children sat on the row of seats right next to where she sat. “Since everyone is here I’ll start my reading.”
“Last Will and Testament of Elijah Willson. I Elijah Willson--”
“Can you please cut to the chase, we didn’t come here to attend a funeral ceremony?” Her late husband’s uncle informed the lawyer and everyone else hummed to his words as her eyes remained glued at the woman’s figure.
“Alright!” The lawyer scanned the faces of the people sitting in front of him. “Mr. Elijah Willson left his two-bedroom condo for his uncle, Nathaniel Wilson...” Gloria quietly listened to everything the lawyer had to say, listening to how her husband had distributed most portions of his assets to his family members. His company was now supposed to be managed by his younger brother until his oldest child was old enough to run the company.
Her husband was an architect turned CEO of a part architecture and real estate business he’d formed with two of his other classmates just three years ago, and just a year ago they’d separated the company and each got their percentage.
Her lips remained opened with bewilderment as she thought about it and listened quietly as the lawyer continued handing out her late husband’s assets to his family members. Family members that weren’t there when they had nothing to be proud of.
She gave him her womanhood, fought against her family just to be with him at the age of eighteen. She’d sacrificed her education to work petty jobs, just so she could fund and build him up to the man he’d become before his passing. Things were finally turning out good for them both. His money was their money. Yes, she did catch him in bed with another woman during the early stages of their marriage but they’d mended things. She thought he’d changed, he was reformed and only had eyes for her. For what it was worth, she had spent eight years with him. Sacrificing the best years of her youth to work and feed the ‘man of her dreams’, when his family was too ignorant to fund his dream and push him to a height he was meant to surpass.
She’d planted herself in him, laying her hopes and dreams aside and hoping and praying they’d move from the same spot they looked to be planted at. Then they finally moved towards higher realms from the distortions they were surrounded by.
“To my girlfriend, Alicia Michelson, I would like a sum of 57 million to be added to her account. All my cars including those in my wife’s possessions are hers and I gladly make her the new owner of the house my wife and I currently stay in.” The woman started clapping loudly. “She’ll own every piece of jewelry I have ever bought for my wife. She and our children will live in the house for as long as they want and to my wife, Gloria Wilson, I’ll like to ask you to peacefully vacate the house in nothing more than two hours...”
“What?” Gloria rose like a crazed woman, eyes blurry with tears she met the gnawing gaze of the woman her late husband was having an affair with; who threw her head back to stare back at her. “What nonsense is this?” She screamed at the lawyer stepping towards the lady but was immediately pulled back by her late husband’s uncle.
“You can contend the Will in court if you think this is not his Last Will and Testament.” The lawyer quietly said, “for now you’re free to take anything out of the house for the next two hours after that you have to vacate the house or police will be called to arrest you and I’m afraid you won’t be allowed to take anything else from the house.” She couldn’t help the wide-eyed expression that wore itself on her face.
Her feelings were so jumbled that she could only think to turn towards the door while she dialed Edith’s number without really checking her phone she continued her walk out of the lawyer’s office. Her eyes were blurry.
When her footsteps finally stopped in front of the elevator, strong peers of hands tucked at her shoulder, she stared back at the lawyer with a tear-stained face as he handed her an envelope. “You didn’t let me finish, but your husband left you a house at that address that’s attached to your plane ticket which is due to leave in the next five hours. Once you’ve opened the envelope you’ll understand everything more clearly.” Gloria let out a strained laugh as she wiped her tears with her palm, getting into the elevator as soon as it opens, she pounded her fingers against the key for the ground floor until the elevator door closed.
Moving away has never been an easy topic for her. Separating herself from the city she has grown accustomed to, the friends and neighbors she has learned to live with, just to throw it away to a possible visit. Heck, nothing in life is easy. She’d hate to be salty about how her life had been all good in the last two years only for her to be a dwindling mess of the joy she once experienced.
′Some people had it worse’ was the only motto she could sing to encourage herself but even that didn’t keep her tear glands from exploding.
Stepping out of the house she once called her, our home as the movers vehicle closed their door ready to get moving to her aunt’s house in Junctionville as she wasn’t planning on taking a plane to a strange place she knew nothing about.
She stepped back from the door as the sound of her fat high heel against the wet lawn made a squishy sound that sets her off a little.
The house she was leaving behind, wasn’t an ordinary house; it was a home with 8 bedrooms including the guestrooms, 5 bathrooms with shiny wooden floors, the house she first experienced what it was like to make love to someone in front of a fireplace. The magic behind feeling the lips of the one you love against the softness of yours as he pounds you against a soft mattress brought tears to her cheeks as she felt the soft tap of someone behind her. “Anything else?” The middle-aged man asked with a soft smile on his face as she wiped her tears away.
“No, give me a minute and I’ll be right behind you.” She licked her lips, staring back at the white two-story building she’d grown familiar with as she walked back to the door, locking it... as her memories betrayed her with the thought of her late husband saying goodbye to her in his favorite blue and black striped rope flashing his peer whites at her -- just weeks ago he was with her, cuddling her, making love to her. What she had wasn’t just daydreams she felt loved by her one true love, and had gotten the opportunity to experience what good food tasted like, and experienced the loving touch of her beloved husband but now all that felt like a nightmare as she looked up at the house she called hers. There was no way, no way she was going through what she was going through.
Before she got back from the lawyer’s office, Edith had already taken all her paintings except the ones wrapped with a wrapper as she wasn’t planning on selling those. She’d told her to wait patiently for her while she tried to convince her friend to give her an upfront fee before selling the paintings.And in just five minutes her two hours will be complete, so she started making her way towards the pavement.
She’d just given up all her possessions while taking the few she held dear. Most would think she was stupid for not assaulting that stupid woman that had four children for her husband but she didn’t really feel like raising her hands to her, at least not yet. First, she wanted to calm her head and understand what had just happened to her.
Just after ten minutes of standing at the pavement, a small beaten lime green car packed beside where she sat. She looked into the window and stood up from the pavement as Edith made her way out of the vehicle. “Did he like them?”
“Yes, he did. He gave me 100 000 but I bought this car for 10 000. Before you complain it’s second hand but it works fine and you’ll need something to use while you’re there. Plus, I told you your late husband’s family were acting fishy! You shouldn’t have allowed them to win,” Edith rubbed her shoulder, “here is the remaining 90 000. I’ll call you to check up on you okay? Also, I gave him your phone number and he has asked for at least a month to find a buyer for your paintings, he said that you can both discuss the price you would like to sell each painting over the phone when he calls you during the week. Alright?” She handed her the car keys.
Gloria exhaled with unidentified pain in her heart, pulling Edith into a tight hug with both the money envelope and the car keys in her hand. “Thank you,” she sniffed, with red eyes. Wiping her nose she opened the envelope and handed her at least what she thought was five thousand. “Pls accept this.”
Edith rose her hands up and shifted back, “no, you need it more than I do. You don’t know what your new journey holds for you, you don’t know what if you’ll need more money when you get there, so keep every money. I’ll call you alright.” She stepped back towards her and pulled her into a hug as she subbed into her shoulder, “You’ll be fine.” She rubbed her back.
“Lady!! Are you paying us for extra hours?” Her head snapped towards the sound of the voice, recognizing it as the second man assisting her with her luggage; who she’d known to hate in just the past hour of interacting with him. But paying for extra hours? She rolled her eyes as she rolled the key holder around her finger, placing it in her pocket, she kissed Edith’s cheeks before turning on her heel as she heads towards the beat-up car she’d gotten for her.
Tears welled from her eyes as Edith waved her goodbye, clouding her gaze as she moved her hands to find the ignition.
