Taste of Deceit – by Dupe Bobadoye

It was a rainy Saturday morning, one in which the rains refused to subside. Tunde had just woken up from his long hours of sleep and got up to take a leak.

“Woman, get up and get me something hot for breakfast.” He said as he tapped his wife and went into the bathroom.

Tunde was the typical egocentric man who took pleasure in calling the shots around the house and had zero tolerance for a ‘No’.

His children were more inclined to yield to their mother, as Tunde was always difficult to please and over the years. They had grown some sort of defense mechanism towards him.

His wife Sade, on the other hand, was an introvert with a deep-seated melancholic personality. She had over the years grown to accept him for who he was and taught the children to accept him and to give him the respect and honor he was due as their father.

Their marriage of fifteen years had produced three children and she was always at his service all through those years.

Tunde on the other hand, loved the attention. As a construction Engineer, he was always travelling interstate. He was good at his job and always got referrals which made him travel even a lot more.

Sade was a civil servant whose job description offered more stability and availability for herself and the family. She always served as the cushion between her husband and children, hence, over the years, the children were more inclined towards her style and philosophy of life.

Every time Tunde was home, his presence always created some sort of toxic positivity but he still tried in his own way to provide for his family. They lived in a four flat semi-detached apartment they shared with neighbors whom they had a cordial relationship.

In their fifteen years of marriage, Sade had never had reason to disrespect him despite his bloated self-image and ego.

Sade had been in far away dreamland when Tunde’s demand brought her back to reality.

“This man again!” She murmured to herself while yawning and stretching as she dragged herself out of bed. “I will be away for a week or two. I have a job to do in Ikorodu and I really need to meet the deadline.” He said to his wife while stepping out of the bathroom.

“I can’t afford to disappoint my client.” He continued. Sade just nodded and went into the kitchen to fix him some breakfast. Unknown to him, Sade and the children always looked forward to his trips no matter the reasons, because it gave them some breath of fresh air.

****

Ireti had waited impatiently at the bus stop and called severally but her calls were declined. She was beginning to lose her cool when she saw a blue Toyota corolla approaching her direction. She heaved a sigh of relief even though filled with anger. “I am sorry my dear, I needed to sort things at home.” He said while parking the car along the curb.

The driver quickly jumped out from the car to give Ireti a beary hug.

The driver of the car was TUNDE who had just announced to his wife that he was travelling on a job.

“I have been waiting for too long now, you should have at least picked my calls!” She blurted angrily. “At least, I am here now if it be any consolation, after all, I didn’t say I won’t be coming.” He replied, pulling her cheeks before he said, “let’s go.”

Tunde had promised to rent an apartment for Ireti somewhere in Ikorodu. He had married her secretly and planned to get her an apartment on the outskirts of town where nobody would know who he was.

On getting to the apartment, he nodded with satisfaction. It was a block of flats just like the one his family lived in Sango Ota, only this time, the building was a two bedroom flats. The environment was very serene and surrounded by nature. The sounds of birds chirping on the surrounding trees made it look like the perfect get-away location.

“What do you think my dear?” He asked Ireti. “It’s a beautiful house and a beautiful location.” She said.

He met with the care taker who was also resident in the compound and had been expecting them. “This is my wife and this is exactly what we are looking for.” He said, while the care taker took them around the house. They had selected the flat on the ground floor and everything seemed to be in order. “When do we meet the landlord?” He asked.

“The landlord is always busy but I can assure you, you’ll meet the landlord soon.” replied the caretaker.

“It’s good to finally have you here and I hope you’ll enjoy your stay here.” He said as he gave them the keys to the apartment after all the paper works had been signed. So Tunde had a second home in Ikorodu.

About a month later, the landlord came around to meet the new tenants but to Ireti’s surprise, she was a woman. After they exchanged pleasantries, she asked about her husband and Ireti told her he had travelled on a business trip.

For almost a year since they moved into the apartment, Tunde and the landlord kept missing each other, until sometime in August when schools had gone on the usual long vacation.

Tunde had given his typical perfect excuse to his family in order to run into the waiting arms of his other wife in Ikorodu.

It was a Sunday evening, while both Ireti and Tunde were enjoying the quiet evening, they heard a knock on the door.

“Who is at the door?” Asked Ireti. “It’s me, the care taker.” He responded. As soon as she opened the door, she met the caretaker and the ‘landlord’. “Madam, you are welcome ma. I am pleased to let you know my husband is finally around.” She said while she let them in.

“Darling, the landlord is here to greet you,” she called out to him. Lo and behold, the “landlord’ was Sade, the woman he left at home and Ireti’s ‘husband’ was the same man that travelled for work.

“TUNDE!” There was a combination of shock, deafening silence and imaginary fireworks.

“Are you the landlord?” Tunde asked while sweating internally but concealing it with his ego. “Well, it seems so.” She replied and also asked, “Are you her husband?” Rather than answering the question, all hell was let loose. Tunde began to huff and puff like the big bad wolf, calling Sade all manner of unprintable names. Ireti and the care taker initially appeared lost until they got to know the ‘landlord’ was Tunde’s wife. Ireti quietly went into the room to hide while the duo continued their altercation. A large crowd had started to gather around the seemingly quiet environment. Tunde started to threaten Sade with divorce while calling her an evil woman, a traitor, for daring to build a house without his consent.

He vowed to deal with her when he returns home. Sade on the other hand used the opportunity to vent her anger and all she had bottled up over the years while onlookers kept trying to douse the tension. It was a typical example of ‘yam pepper scatter scatter’ situation.

Question:

 Who was the real traitor?

Who wronged who?

Please share and let us learn.