The Dragon Society.pdf

8/21/2019 The Dragon Society.pdf

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lufunmi mopariola layinka

THE DRAG N

S CIETY


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Copyright © Olufunmi Omopariola Olayinka

The right of Olufunmi Omopariola Olayinka to be identified asauthor of this work has been asserted by her in accordance withsection 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents ct!"88#

ll rights reser$ed# %o part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in a retrie$al system, or transmitted in anyform or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the

publishers#

ny person who commits any unauthori&ed act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and ci$il claimsfor damages#

C'P catalogue record for this title is a$ailable from the (ritish)ibrary#

'*(% "78!8+"-.//!

www#austinmacauley#com

0irst Published 1/.!23

ustin 4acauley Publishers )td#/2 Canada *5uareCanary 6harf )ondon!+ 2)(


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cknowledgments

ratitude to my lo$ing husband %iyi, wonderful children

4orayo and Damola and my irreplaceable sisters (ola andrin# Thank you all for being pillars of support#


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Prologue

9Don:t take them away, come back, come back, please, please ; ' didn:t mean to disobey you, please return Carol and the boy< take me instead#=

*te$en continued chasing after the $ery beautiful goddessrunning away with his wife Carol, and his son >ola# ?e was

trying $ery hard to catch up with them but soon his legs became too hea$y and would not carry him#

9Please, please don:t take them away,= he whimpered#*te$en woke up with a @erk< he was co$ered in sweats,9Oh, od,= he whispered realising that he was ha$ing the

same recurring dream again#?e must ha$e fallen asleep while sat on a chair reading a

Aames Patterson no$el# The night is still young, it was onlyeight p#m# ?e freshened up in the bathroom and @oined other patients in the common li$ing room#

9't is time for your night medications,= called out $elyna short while later# $elyn is one of the duty staff nurses at the*aint Catherine Psychiatry ?ospital, )ondon#

Dr *te$en ttah, a %igerian trained medical doctor has been admitted and detained under the section - of the (ritish

mental health act for the past two months#'n layman:s terms, if he should lea$e the hospital without

being discharged by his psychiatrist, he will be hunted down by the police and returned to the hospital, as long as heremains within the B>#

?is admission has been prolonged, because according tohis psychiatrist, Dr rimes, *te$en lacked insight into his

mental health condition and was noncompliant with medicaltherapy#'n layman:s terms, *te$en is refusing to take the hea$y

duty: antipsychotic medications prescribed by his psychiatrist#Dr rimes has diagnosed *te$en as suffering from Paranoid


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Delusions:, and prescribed one of the newer antipsychoticmedications called Olan&apine#

9These newer groups of antipsychotic medications gi$eyou significantly fewer side effects when compared to theolder ones,= Dr rimes eEplained to *te$en#

9Feah, right,= thought *te$en to himself, bringing up amental picture of the few patients he had on antipsychoticmedications whilst practicing as a general practitioner in %igeria# ?e was more familiar with the older antipsychoticmedications, and the longterm pictures for his patients werenot prettyG 'n his opinion, the medications left most of them

o$erweight, eEtremely sedated and with sluggish mo$ementsG?e does not belie$e the newer group of medications aredramatically different in terms of these embarrassing sideeffects#

9%ot on your life,= he swore silently to himself# 9'f youdon:t mind Dr rimes, ' will prefer to try psychologicaltherapy: you know ; the so called talking therapy: first before considering these hea$y medications,= he said andcontinued, 9' know some patients who got better with @ust psychological therapies without needing medications,= he saidin a desperate bid to a$oid taking antipsychotic medications#

9':m afraid that is not an option in your case, therecommended treatment for someone with your diagnosis isantipsychotic medication,= replied Dr rimes firmly#

*te$en felt like screaming at the doctor, but knew that

would probably land him in a more secure facility and on ahigher dose of antipsychotic medication#'nstead he said, 9' do not agree with your diagnosis, and

refuse to take Olan&apine or any other medication for thatmatter#=

9That decision is not yours to make at the moment, youare being detained under a treatment section: which meanswe can treat you for some time e$en if you do not agree with

the treatment# ':m afraid we will ha$e to gi$e your medication by in@ection, if you keep refusing the oral form,= said Dr rimes sternly#


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*te$en eEcused himself and left the consulting room,remaining determined not to accept Olan&apine#

)ater on that afternoon, *te$en sat in his room ruminatingabout his discussion with Dr rimes, gi$en the circumstancesof his admission, he could see how his psychiatrist may ha$earri$ed at his conclusions< he, howe$er, wished the team had put in a lot more effort into researching spiritual beliefs andcultural practices of %igerians before concluding withabsolute certainty that he was delusional#

Otherwise, despite the best of intentions, the mental healthsystem will only end up stigmatising and make social life

more difficult for members of ethnic minority families,usually women and teenagers who dare to rebel against certain barbaric cultural practices# 0riends and family members whoshare these beliefs or who are, e5ually, being oppressed arenot likely to tell the truth#

$en if he was indeed suffering from psychosis, *te$enrealised that he was more petrified of the longer term sideeffects of antipsychotic medications than any psychosis# ?ecould not get the mental image of premature ageing, arrays of medical problems including weight control problem out of hismind#

That was siE weeks ago# Dr rimes and the rest of histeam remain uncon$inced of *te$en:s sanity< instead, they belie$e that he is cle$erly hiding his delusional symptoms behind a mask of polite con$ersations#

*te$en was admitted from the police station, after he had been arrested for assault, damage to property and threats tokill his three closest friends namely, (ode, (ayo and Peter# ?eclaims that his friends were responsible for the road trafficaccident that claimed the li$es of his wife and one of his sons,through the practice of occultism# The police felt hisaccusations were bi&arre, since none of his friends werein$ol$ed in the road traffic accident# They decided to refer

him for psychiatric e$aluation#?is friends, on their part, denied any knowledge of what

*te$en was talking about, but refused to press charges, theyappeared $ery understanding and supporti$e saying they


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belie$e he was suffering from mental health problem as aresult of the tragic loss of his wife and son# They alsomentioned that his mother had suffered from a similar condition in the past# ?ence, Dr rimes was totally con$incedof his diagnosis#

las, he has no way of pro$ing that his bi&arreaccusations of his close friends as being responsible for thedeath of his late wife and one of his sons, despite the fact thatthey were not physically in$ol$ed in the car accident was nota symptom of mental health problems#

True to his word, due to *te$en:s persistent refusal to

accept his medication, Dr rimes prescribed Olan&apinein@ection and instructed nursing staff to enforce themedication# *urprisingly, one in@ection was more than enoughto con$ince *te$en that Dr rimes meant business# ?e did notlike the humiliation of being in@ected against his wish and5uickly decided he needed another approach to his predicament#

96hat is it they sayH= he wondered aloud to himself,9keep your friends close, and keep your enemies closerG= %otthat he had anything against Dr rimes or his team members, but there is a conflict of interest resulting from the team:sinability to understand and belie$e in the eEistence of certaincultural and spiritual practices which are foreign to thewestern culture and $irtually impossible to pro$e by anyscientific method#

?e became $ery friendly towards Dr rimes:s team anddecided to superficially comply with all their recommendations# ?e could be a charmer when he put hismind his to it# ?e smiled to himself remembering how theladies used to compete for his affection during his uni$ersitydays#

fter three months on admission, *te$en pretended toha$e had a change of heart regarding use of medications,

ha$ing come to the conclusion that there was no other way outof this hospital arrest for him#


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?e needed to get out of the hospital as soon as possiblefor the sake of his only sur$i$ing son who is currently under the care of his brotherinlaw#

4embers of his late wife:s family are all understandably,$ery cross with him< they blame him for the untimely deathsof their daughter and grandson# 6hat they fail to realise is thathe blames himself more than anyone could blame him#

?e must accept the mental health diagnosis and be seen to be complying with medical treatment as much as possible#

?e will do e$erything possible to gain their trust<thereafter, it should be easy to a$oid taking the medication by

keeping it in his mouth and spitting it out when the coast isclear# ?e:s had plenty of practice as a child, when he used totrick his parents into belie$ing that he had taken medicationsthey had gi$en him, when in fact he had not#

?e made a mental note to remember to complain of sedation and nausea when asked about any side effects hemight be eEperiencing< it would be highly suspicious if he didnot eEperience any side effect#

s soon as he is discharged from the hospital, his plan isto take (ola his only sur$i$ing son back to %igeria and starthis life again from scratch# 0irstly, he must go back to thechurch which he has turned his back on, confess his role in thedeath of his belo$ed wife and son, pray to od for mercy,forgi$eness and seek od:s protection against further spiritualattack from the 5ueen: and members of the dragon society#

*te$en stood patiently in the 5ueue together with other patients#9Fou look different today,= he said to $elyn, the staff

nurse when it was his turn to take his medication# 9't must beyour new haircut, it simply looks fabulous#=

90lattery will get you nowhere,= $elyn said, smiling asshe put the dissol$able tablet into *te$en:s hand#

?e dutifully put the medication in his mouth and @o$ially

opened his mouth, sticking out his tongue to show that he hadindeed swallowed the medication#

fterwards, he walked calmly to his room withoutarousing any suspicion, spat out the yellow paste, thoroughly


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rinsed his mouth and re@oined the other patients in the li$ingarea for a few rounds of dominos game# t midnight, heretired to his room and said a 5uick prayer before lying downto sleep# s he closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to come, hismind tra$elled back to how it all began#


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Chapter One

9ll that glitters is not gold,= *te$en reminded himself bitterlyas he rushed towards the nearest bus stop from his east)ondon apartment#Despite wearing imitation leather @acket and glo$es boughtfrom the )i$erpool market, blood circulation to his fingersseemed to ha$e been totally cut off by the eEtremely cold

weather, his fingers were now feeling numb#*te$en ttah shares his onebedroom flat with his wife

Carol, and his fi$eyear old twin sons >ola and (ola#?e wished he had looked more carefully before he leapedG

Bntil two years ago, he was a successful general practitioner with a flourishing pri$ate hospital and a decent fourbedroomapartment in a respectable part of )agos, %igeria#

Bnfortunately, se$eral of his professional colleagues whowere settled abroad, mostly in the B> and Bnited *tates,always appeared to be much more successful financially#*pending money recklessly whene$er they came home onholidays or to attend social functions# The ma@ority of themowned houses in the $ery eEpensi$e and eEclusi$e areas of )agos#

This prompted *te$en:s decision to mo$e his family to the

B> in search of greener pastures and a better future for their children#

Carol, his wife who was an established fashion designer back in %igeria, was $ery unhappy with her husband:sdecision#

%ot only were she and the twins comfortable in %igeria,Tony, her older brother who has been li$ing in the B> for the

past fifteen years, had warned her that it is no longer easier tomake money in the B> compared to %igeria, especially if youha$e a thri$ing business in %igeria, thanks to the globaleconomic recession#


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Carol tried in $ain to caution and discourage her husbandfrom such a hasty and high risk mo$e, all her warnings fell onto deaf ears# They argued endlessly o$er the issue, *te$en wascon$inced that Carol:s reluctance was down to her being tiedto her parents: apron strings and not wanting to be far fromthem# 'n the end Carol ga$e in to her husband:s decision tomo$e to the B>#

9?ello,= *te$en greeted the grumpy looking bus dri$er who looked like he had had a 5uarrel with his wife beforeresuming work#

?e wa$ed his bus pass at him as he @umped on the bus,slightly out of breath< he climbed to the top of the busmanaging to get his fa$ourite seat near the window# ?e likedto pretend that he was a tourist en@oying the $iew of )ondon,temporarily forgetting all his problems#

*te$en:s destination is the ?omerton ?ospital where heworks as a security staff# @ob he had recently securedthrough his brotherinlaw:s employment agency#

Tony, his wife:s older brother, has his own employmentagency that secures contract @obs for security guards, portersand domestic cleaners# *te$en is well aware that Tony and therest of Carol:s family were not pleased with his decision torelocate his family to the B>, but they:$e managed to remainfriendly and polite with each other for Carol:s sake#

*ince arri$ing in the B>, *te$en has attempted the P)(

eEams se$eral times without much luck# ?e has ne$er got pastthe first stage of this twostage professional eEaminationwhich he is re5uired to pass before he can be allowed toregister as a medical practitioner in the B># ?e has spent mostof the family:s sa$ings from %igeria on eEpensi$e preparatorycourses and eEamination fees# Their sa$ings account is almostempty, which is why Carol pressurised him to take up anya$ailable work through her brother:s employment agency as a

means of sustaining the family in the meantime# Tony wasable to assist him in getting a @ob as a security staff at the?omerton ?ospital#


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*te$en pressed the stop button as the bus approached thehospital#

9Thank you,= he said again to the bus dri$er who barelyglanced at him as he got off the bus# *te$en walked brisklytowards the hospital, in an effort to clock in on time#

96ell, well, well if it is not Dr *te$en ttahG= a male$oice shouted from somewhere behind him#

*te$en looked back, his eyes scanning around 5uickly for the owner of the $oice#

9(ode O@oG= he shouted eEcitedly, rushing to embrace hisformer uni$ersity roommate#

They both gained admission to the uni$ersity the sameyear, *te$en to study medicine while (ode studiedmanagement and accounting# Thus (ode graduated two years before *te$en# They had since lost contact with each other#

96hy do you ha$e security staff: on your 'D badgeH=asked a pu&&led (ode#

*te$en was dressed in a white shortslee$ed shirt and bluetrousers with his 'D badge dangling around his neck# (ode:sconfusion was e$ident in his eyes as he 5uestioned *te$enfurther#

9' heard that you are now a big shot doctor back in)agos#=

9't is a long story, one that will take all day# ' am runninglate for work now, why don:t you gi$e me your mobilenumberH ' will call you after work tomorrow#=

They eEchanged numbers and went on their separateways#


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Chapter Two

(ode was on his way to see his wife, Tola who has @ust gi$en birth to a bouncing baby girl# They ha$e been married for nineyears, during this period Tola has suffered three miscarriages#*he has been admitted during most of this last pregnancy because both Tola and her obstetrician did not want anythingto go wrong# (ode has tried to reassure her that he lo$es her

with or without children on se$eral occasions, but this has notreduced Tola:s desperation to ha$e a child#

Tola feels insecure and threatened by the fact that (odehas a son out of wedlock with his eEgirlfriend while he wasin the uni$ersity# lthough they were ne$er married, (ode hasmaintained regular contact with his unmarried eEgirlfriendwho is a doctor and her son, both of whom are doing

eEtremely well in the Bnited *tates# This feeling of insecurityhas led Tola to seek all sorts of traditional and spiritualremedies in a desperate bid to ha$e a child which she belie$eswill secure her marriage#

9uess who ' saw on my way hereH= (ode asked his wifeas he entered into the maternity ward# Tola was sat breastfeeding her daughter with her face radiating happinessand pride of motherhood#

9' don:t know,= Tola responded as her husband ga$e her akiss, 9so who did you seeH= she asked#

9Do you know Dr *te$en ttahH ?e was one of myroommates during our uni$ersity days#=

9' cannot remember meeting him,= said Tola, 9you hadmany roommates and girlfriends back in those days,= she @oked#

lthough (ode and Tola were not dating during their uni$ersity days, they often attended classes together and werefriends# *he was well aware of (ode:s popularity#

96hat was Dr ttah doing at ?omerton ?ospitalH Or doeshe now work hereH= Tola asked#


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9That is the surprising thing< he was dressed in a funnylooking uniform with a security staff badge around his neck#6e could not talk because he was in a hurry but he promisedto call me tomorrow so we can catch up on old times#=

9' ha$e decided on a name for our daughter,= Tolainformed her husband happily, changing the sub@ect#

9Don:t keep me in suspense,= (ode said, trying $ery hardto show eEcitement#

9Our baby will be called Precious,= announced Tola asshe changed her baby o$er to the other breast and continued breast feeding her#

9That is a beautiful and appropriate name, she is the mostPrecious thing in our li$es,= replied her husband with a slighthint of sadness in his $oice#

9's e$erything O> at homeH= Tola asked, 9Fou sound a bit stressed#=

9$erything is fine,= said (ode 5uickly, forcing himself tosound cheerful#

The truth is that (ode was feeling sorry for his wifesilently, he knew that baby Precious was doomed to die beforeher first birthday# Tola does not know that the man shemarried has a $ery big secret#

(ode O@o came to the B> ten years ago, his parents had tosell their personal properties and borrowed money fromfriends in order to send their first son abroad# The eEpectationis that once he is settled down, he will assist his parents in

training his two younger sisters and one younger brother#Thus (ode was $ery determined to succeed financially, inorder to li$e up to his parents: eEpectations#

On arri$al in the B>, (ode 5uickly disco$ered that,contrary to the opinions of many people back in %igeria,money does not grow on the streets of )ondon# (odeneglected to tell his parents before coming to the B> that boththe passport and the $isa he had bought with a huge amount of

money were not issued in his name# ?e is therefore not able todo any work or further training relating to his professional5ualification while in the B>#


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?owe$er, he did not let anything deter his determinationto succeed# ?e was s5uatting at the apartment of his cousincalled (ayo Cole#

(ayo is also a %igerian< he works as a fitness instructor atone of the branches of 0itness Pays gyms#

(ode was able to secure a @ob at one of the branches of >0C, he combined this with working as a domestic cleaner of offices on most nights when he was not on duty# ?econtributed generously to paying the bill for (ayo:sapartment, in order to make sure that (ayo did not get tired of his constant presence at his place# This was cheaper than him

getting an apartment on his own, and it enabled him to sendmoney regularly to his parents for the upkeep of his younger ones#

s a result of (ode:s generosity in the house, (ayo spentmost of his money and time chasing after girls and organising parties# ?e once boasted to (ode that he had fifteen girlfriendsfrom $arious parts of the world#

't was at one of (ayo:s numerous parties that (ode wasintroduced to Peter Aacobs#

lthough Peter Aacobs was born in %igeria, he did notcomplete high school in %igeria before his parents relocatedto B>< hence he did most of his schooling in the B># ?e is anestablished lawyer, single at forty, li$es in a threebedroomdetached house in Peckham, )ondon# ?e dri$es a black sleek class 4ercedes, is always formally dressed in designer

suits, crisp shirts, eEpensi$e ties and with his eEpensi$eleather briefcase#'t was friends: at first sight for (ode and Peter# They

liked each other immediately# (ode liked the fact that Peter was successful and always looked well groomed, in fact heen$ied him and would gi$e anything to be in his shoes# They became close confidants, Peter offered ad$ice and financialassistance to (ode on se$eral occasions, especially when he

needed to send money to his family in %igeria#One *aturday afternoon, (ode and Peter were relaEing at

Peter:s apartment o$er a bottle of red wine and cashew nuts infront of a huge plasma TI watching a football match#


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9Do you really want to make it in this countryH= askedPeter#

9Fes, why do you askH= (ode answered looking bewildered#

9re you ready to do whate$er it takesH= Peter continuedhis strange line of 5uestioning#

9FeeesG= replied (ode wondering what kind of a daft5uestion is that#

9Then it is time for me to introduce you to our society, butfirst you must promise not to repeat our discussion to anyli$ing soul without permission from me and other members of

our society#=9' promise,= said (ode with absolute sincerity#9The name of our society is T? DJO% *OC'TF,

membership is for life, once you @oin there is no turning back,= Peter informed (ode and continued, 9Our neEt meetingis scheduled to take place neEt *aturday at the Dragon ?ouse*ocial Club, you will meet the lders who will tell you themembership re5uirements and formally initiate you into thesociety#=

That was how (ode became a member of the Dragon*ociety almost nine years ago#

0ollowing his acceptance of terms of membership and hisfull initiation into the society, other members contributed andga$e (ode ten thousand pounds to assist him in starting any business of his choice# ?e was also able to secure a bank loan

and 5uickly opened an intercontinental restaurant called the K)a Carte# 6ithin the same year he became a proud owner of athreebedroom house and the latest (46 series#

One summer, (ode:s restaurant, K )a Carte was bookedto be used as a $enue for a wedding reception, the bride of thewedding happened to be Tola:s older sister, Tolu# That washow (ode got reunited with Tola after losing touch with her for many years following their graduation from the uni$ersity#

(ode and Tola fell in lo$e and became inseparable# Thefact that (ode was constantly showering her with gifts andmoney made the progression to marriage ultrafast, Tola wasnot going to risk losing a handsome and rich eligible bachelorG


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*he turned a deaf ear to anybody telling her to becautious# The couple were married within a year of their courtship, after Tola had called off her engagement to aresident doctor in %igeria#

*hortly after his marriage, (ode was able to con$ince(ayo his cousin to also @oin the Dragon *ociety# 0or each newmember successfully recruited, the recruiter climbs one stephigher on the seniority chart and has additional benefits#


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Chapter Three

*te$en was $ery relie$ed at the end of his shift# 't had been a$ery busy night for *te$en, a group of drunken teenagersturned up at the accident and emergency waiting roomsometime after midnight, nursing staff complained that theywere being disrupti$e and $erbally abusi$e towards patientswaiting to be seen# ?e had to hang around to keep an eye on

the situation, after informing the police# (y the time the policearri$ed, the teenagers had sobered up from whate$er drugsand alcohol they had taken and left the L $oluntarily#

s he took his seat on the bus and began to make his way back home, he remembered his brief encounter with his eEroommate (ode# ?e could not help but notice that (odelooked welldressed in white linen shirt, matching linen

trousers, gold chain with a goldcross pendant, gold Twristwatch and a pair of black 'talian leather shoes# *te$enintended to gi$e him a call as soon as possible, but first heneeded to get home, ha$e a shower and breakfast beforeheading for his eEamination discussion group meeting#

*te$en is $ery desperate to pass his professional eEams sothat he can practice as a doctor in the B># The money he ismaking as hospital security staff is barely enough to keep his

family afloat# Despite her initial reluctance to mo$ing to theB>, Carol has been $ery understanding and supporti$e# The problem is that he does not know how long it will be beforeshe begins to say 9' told you so#= ?e hopes he manages to pass his eEams and secure a @ob as a doctor before then#

9Daddy, tell >ola it:s my turn to watch my programme,=

shouted (ola, one of the twins, as he wrestled with his brother for the TI:s remote control#9>ola, don:t be selfish, let your brother ha$e his turn in

choosing the programme#=


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9' will not play with you again,= said >ola to his brother throwing the remote on the sofa, picking up his %intendogame instead#

9Daddy, tell >ola to play with me,= cried (ola to *te$enwho was trying to ha$e a nap on the sofa#

*te$en was babysitting the twins on a *aturday morningto gi$e Carol time to fiE her hair and do some shopping for thefamily# ?e was beginning to wish that he had gone shoppinginstead and left Carol to deal with the twins#

96ho wants to go to the parkH= asked *te$en#94e, me,= the twins chorused#

9et your shoes and @ackets,= said *te$en deciding thatthe best way to ha$e some breathing space was to allow themto eEert their eEcess energy outdoors#

?e took them to a nearby park, sat down on a bench andallowed them to run around freely#

s *te$en sat down on a bench breathing a sigh of relief,his phone started to ring#

9?ello (ode,= he greeted ha$ing recognised his number from the caller 'D#

9' ha$e been planning to call you sometime today butyou:$e beaten me to it# ?ow is your familyH=

96e are fine< did ' mention to you that my wife deli$ereda bouncing baby girl fi$e days agoH=

9%o, we didn:t get the chance to discuss# Congratulationshow are mother and baby doingH=

9They are doing great< they ha$e @ust been dischargedfrom the hospital this morning# ' want to in$ite your family toour baby:s christening neEt weekend at my restaurant called K)a Carte restaurant, it is @ust about twenty minutes walk from(arking station, can you teEt me your postal address so ' can put an in$itation card with directions in the post tomorrowH=

9' will do that immediately and we:ll be honoured toattend#=

?e teEted his address to (ode and they continued chattingfor another thirty minutes while *te$en kept an eye on thetwins#


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*te$en moaned about his disastrous mo$e from %igeria tothe B>#

9ll my close medical buddies in the B> and B* who prompted me to uproot my family from %igeria seem to ha$ewashed their hands of meG They:$e all stopped picking up mycalls and ne$er return any of them#=

9*uch is life# Fou ha$e no friends when you are broke#=9nyway ' got the message and stopped calling them,=

lamented *te$en bitterly#9ll is not lost, ' had a similar eEperience when ' first got

to this country but sur$i$ed it# Fou were a good friend to me

when we were in the uni$ersity and ':m willing to offer anyassistance possible#=9Thank you (ode, you:$e made me feel better already,

we:ll see at your baby:s christening#=9Take care of yourself,= replied (ode hanging up the

phone#Precious O@o:s christening turned out to be a $ery big

celebration at the K )a Carte restaurant owned by her father,(ode O@o# *te$en felt selfconscious as he entered the stylishand cosy looking restaurant, Carol howe$er was more relaEedand less intimidated by the ob$ious display of wealth# fter the guest pastor had formally christened the baby and said a brief prayer, the DA took o$er, playing a wide range of traditional frican music while guests helped themsel$es to a$ariety of delicious frican and nglish dishes on display on

the eEtremely long dining table, made by @oining se$eralsmaller tables together#*te$en noticed Carol filling her plate with pounded yam,

$egetable soup and beef stew# ?e decided to settle for friedrice, @ollof rice and fried plantain# s he ate, he studied other guests whom he belie$ed to be some sort of business tycoons @udging by the range of eEpensi$e cars on display outside#They were all eEpensi$ely dressed, most of them in traditional

frican attire while a few were smartly dressed in westernoutfits# *te$en could not help but en$y (ode for being sosuccessful and influential here in the B>#

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