Susan ekerete [completed] Season 2

Season 5 years ago

Susan ekerete [completed] Season 2

Michael’s Honda sped through the streets of Uyo, leaving a haze of dustbehind them.

His handsome face was grim where he sat behind the steering wheel, hands clenched as he concentrated on driving. Beside him, Susan was slightly hunched over in her seat, attention divided between the road in front of them and the phone clutched in her hands.She frantically punched buttons, texting furiously as she kept in communication with Cherish’s teacher, Jennifer Adesina.

Michael was glad he had refused to let her drive herself to the airport. Considering her current state of mind, she would have wrapped herself around a telephone pole before she made it halfway to her destination.He threw a glance at her as she made a small sound of apprehension. “What? What’s happened now?”Susan rocked gently in her seat, and then looked at him, the fear in her eyes making his heart lurch. “The taxi Jennifer is in has not been able to find Asuquo. She just keeps apologizing and I don’t know how to calm her down and still find time to stop thinking about how to deal with this…”“Hey, easy there.” Michael said soothingly. “You need to be strong for Cherish, okay? She’s fine, you know that.”“I know.” Susan said, wiping at her wet eyes. “Asuquo loves his daughter and would never harm her.But being with him right now is the last thing that is okay for Cherish. He’s wanted by the police for heaven’s sake. There’s a city-wide manhunt out for him. What if some overzealous policeman shoots at them?”Michael pushed down his own worry. That was his greatest fear as well. “Hey, don’t start thinking of worst case scenarios, okay? She’ll be fine. We’ll get her back.”Susan nodded and looked out the window, her eyes distant. “I just feel horrible for Jennifer. I’m partly to blame; I missed her calls and didn’t see her text messages about their early arrival from Ghana on time, butshe is blaming herself fully. The poorgirl.”Michael watched as a tear rolled down Susan’s face, and marvelled atthe type of woman she was. She ought to be angry at her daughter’s teacher but even in such a stressful situation, she was only full of sympathy for the young woman whohad been put into an impossible situation by a cruel twist of fate. He was convinced afresh that Susan was a kind woman.He just hoped Jennifer Adesina would handle herself with that much composure.** **When they met up with Cherish’s teacher outside the airport where hertaxi had returned, she seemed composed but Michael could see thefear and worry swimming in her eyes, like barely visible fish in a muddy pond.She calmly explained how the unfortunate incident had happened, the only outward signs of her distress the way she twisted her hands and kept rubbing them on the thighs of her dress. Her pretty face was twisted in concern and her hair was standing on end, a result of worried hands running through them.

She found it hard to hold Susan’s gaze as she spoke.“While waiting for you, your ex-husband saw us. Cherish was happy to see him and when he told me he had been to the airport to drop off a travelling friend, I saw no reason not to believe him. But I was a bit hesitant when he offered to takeCherish home to you. I remembered the incident at the school and was anxious to avoid a repeat of such a situation. When I declined the offer, he laughed and suggested I follow as well.

So I figured that was a better option and I followed Mr Asuquo Udon… Unod…”“Udodiong.” Susan said helpfully, grasping Jennifer’s twisting palms in hers. “Just refer to him as Mr Asuquo.”Jennifer nodded and although the gesture of Susan holding her hands comfortingly brought tears to her eyes, she continued. “We followed him to his jeep.

He was pulling both my bag as well as Cherish’s own and went to the back as we reached the car. I assumed he was placing our bags in the trunk. But after I helped her settle in the front seat and secure her seat belt, and he had entered the car, I was preparing to enter the backseat myself when I noticed my own bag was still on the ground. As I went behind to place it in the jeep boot myself, he just zoomed off.”Jennifer looked up, anger in her eyes. “He deliberately left my bag out, because he had no intention of carrying me too. I just stood there looking like an idiot as he zoomed off with her. Before I could raise a loud enough alarm, he had already exited the airport parking lot.”Michael cursed under his breath. Susan’s ex-husband was every inch the terrible person she had always claimed he was. Only a person with an eroded conscience would be that calculating and unfeeling.Susan was hugging Miss Jennifer Adesina, who had finally broken down and was sobbing. People walked past, staring at them, curiousabout what had happened. Some of the airport security staff had also come over and were offering any help they could.“We called the police.” One of the security men assured them. “We gave them the car model, colour andplate number. It’s already being broadcast to all their mobile units. They will find him, madam. Just have faith.”Susan and Michael shared a concerned look at the man’s words.

What if Asuquo put up some sort of resistance after the police found him? Wouldn’t Cherish come into theline of fire?Had Asuquo inadvertently put his own daughter in danger?