CHAPTER FIVE
One last try can make a difference. Betty in company of Raina scout the seaport for any sign of Catherine. They would try to persuade her to stay and if she wouldn't as they suspect, then the farewell should be one of peace and cheers, Betty thought not tears. A farewell Catherine could return to, not run away from. After all, Catherine isn't just a big sister to them, she's the mother they didn't have.
Catherine hesitated when she saw Deji walking towards her with their tickets, she had more time before the ship set sailing. It has taken her a lot of courage to pick a side. Her decision to leave with Deji was what she tagged trial and error, the thought of what could happen there scared her more than it did her family, however, the thought of staying back scared her even more. She loved her husband too much to let him go, because of her girlish fears. Beside, Deji has managed to do right by her ever since they met, she was confident he'd do better, all he needs is the benefit of doubt. That's all, she thought to herself.
Catherine's bleak expression attracted concerns from Deji. He understands Catherine's connection with her folk and the life she is willing to leave behind, all for him, all for love. He understood the sacrifice he caused her to disburse. A sacrifice, Deji was willing to make it worth her while.
However, one thing bothered him, he was yet to inform his family of his marriage to Catherine. He hadn't dared to tell them over the letter he sent informing them of his arrival. Now it frightens him that she would have a hard time fitting in.
"Cathy!"
Catherine sprang to her feet. Somewhere in the crowd, she heard her name being called out. For a moment, she thought she was hallucinating until she saw Betty pulling Raina behind her.
The sight of Betty and Raina brought back color and tears to her eyes. She was not really expecting to see them again although she had hoped they come.
Seeing Betty and Raina pushing their way through the crowd of people lightened her mood. Maybe she wasn't being abandoned after all. , she thought. But her father wasn't with them.
"Betty, Raina"
"Cathy"
Raina whispered, breathless. She adjusted her hat and dust the mud of the hem of her dress. It was hell pushing through the crowd of people at the seaport, every going about their business. Children holding onto their mothers, men pulling heavy boxes behind them, others carrying it on their heads. And traders advertising their wares.
Getting to where Catherine stood besides Deji, they throw themselves at Catherine who caught them in a tight breathless embrace. The sisters held onto each other for what seem like an eternity, immerse in the silent, ignoring the crowd of people and the noise, all of it lost in the moment. Until Betty broke the embrace and the silence that bond them.
"Dad is losing it"
The words struck.
"I'm sorry"
Was all Catherine could mutter.
"Please, stay"
Betty pleased. Glaring at Deji, who stood by the luggage outcaste.
"we need you here, Dad…"
"so does he Betty, my place is by my husband now"
Catherine admits that didn't come out as planned. She didn't want them to think of it as if she was leaving them. Heck! She was leaving them but not forever, it's only for few weeks and she will return. it will be like she never left. Perfect plan. She thought.
"Betty, Raina"
She called choosing her next sentence carefully.
"I know everything, I recall the promises I made, but I'm not leaving forever, I will be back soon. I am gone for a only a few weeks"
She assured them.
"But why Catherine? Why do you desire to go? What is so important about Nigeria anyway, you've got everything here, where we all are"
"Betty I am married now, my husband"
She paused. And turned to Raina.
"Please girls, let me go, it is only but a visit, I will return before you say jack"
"Please understand me"
"Catherine, what if they don't accept you? What if he is already married?
Catherine had thought of it, what if her husband was indeed married to another?
"I heard in Africa, parents marry for their children" Catherine heard Raina saying.
"what assurance do you have there isn't a woman waiting for him, that's if his not yet married."
Betty accused.
Catherine admits to her sisters accusations. They weren't completely wrong, but that doesn't mean they are right either. They were just being too persuasive. Catherine glanced back at Deji. He was standing a reasonable distance away from them, giving Catherine time to speak to her sisters. He knew better than get caught up in her family drama. A drama he'd admit he is the center of attraction, if not in reality the cause.
"I am sorry, but nothing you two will say will change anything nor will it make me back out. My mind is made up."
She declared, tongue tied and heart broken.
"And as for his parents, they will accept me and love me"
She got hold of the bag Deji had left behind.
"Please take good care of father while I am away, and take care yourselves too. Please, I need y'all to do me a favor, please think of this as a vacation"
That was it. The last she spoke to her sisters and the last time they heard from her.
Betty and Raina stood bewildered. Catherine was gone. Lost in the crowd of people. For a man, a stranger, Catherine is willing to change. She was willing to change her life to suit him, leave her home to be by him and for him.
"I wish and pray never to find such love"
Raina heard herself say, turning into Betty's open arms weeping silently.
"its ok, everything will be fine, she will be back before you miss her too much"
Betty whispered, consoling Raina.
"as long as she isn't mistreated, there will be no need for me to storm there"
She added. A poor attempt at joke.
" how do we inform Dad"
"my thought exactly"
Betty replied.
"we should call the doctor to the house then, there is no assurance he won't have another encounter when he learns of her departure"
Catherine and her sisters was a sight Deji learned to bare, one that also reminded him of how much he misses home and how much he long to be held in such tight embrace by his family. And his friends. His homies, he hadn't been in touch with them for so long , he wondered what would be of his friendship when he finally gets home. He wiped the thought off, the thought only made him realize how much he was asking of Catherine. What was he thinking convincing to leave her family. The people she had been with her whole life like all for him. And he wasn't being entirely truthful about the whole thing.
"so does he Betty, my place is by my husband now"
From the distance where he stood, he heard Catherine said. What a woman, he thought to himself. Why wasn't she a Nigeria at least their union wouldn't be so opposed.
"what assurance do you have there isn't a woman waiting for him, that's if his not yet married."
That was definitely Betty, Deji thought. But was she wrong?
Before Deji left home to study abroad, there were plans of his marriage to another. A woman his parents insisted he Weds for political and influential reasons. Initially he had agreed to it. After all Helen was his childhood friend, what better companion than a friend you've known all your friend? But that was before he met Catherine. With her, he found love and friendship. He's marriage to her wasn't a marriage of convenience but of love. He loves her and that was what mattered. Deji didn't need any soothsayer to tell him Catherine felt the same way. What he shares with her is special and he'll keep it that way for as long as he lived. Deji swore under his breath.
Drown in his own thoughts, Deji hadn't noticed Catherine walking towards him, until she was the same face level with him.
Was he just realizing it or she was becoming more prettier than he remembered. What was it that attracted him to her again? Was it her eyes that had captivated? Or her smiles, a cure for his racing heart. The memory of the first day he met her at the party remains fresh in his minds.
"What an intellectual"
He'd whispered to a friend.
When he spoke with her that night he realized that instant, Catherine is his to love. Indeed William Shakespeare had it right when he said 'Hear my soul speak. Of the very instant that I saw you, Did my heart fly at your service'