Peter Abel Returns Beautiful Alice to Her Anguished Mother

Peter Abel Returns Beautiful Alice to Her Anguished Mother

An hour after Abel rose drowsily from the settee at six a.m., his guest still had not emerged. The sky was already bright and he could hear tawny-flanked prinias chirping happily in the trees that lined the road. As he drank his morning coffee, he remembered that Alice needed a dress.

Ikomma was already awake and prepared to begin work, but not to go shopping that early. Certainly not for the woman with his boss the night before.

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Ikomma did not mention it to Abel, but he had recognized Alice as a prostitute who often accompanied men to the restaurant where Ikomma worked as a cook. She was certainly not the kind of wife he wished for Abel, but protocol between employer and employee required that he keep his counsel to himself. So, when Abel asked him to run to town and pick up an outfit for the girl, Ikomma did so without comment.

He returned an hour later and handed a modest grey flowery blouse and skirt to Abel, then turned unhappily to his own quarters.

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“Not, so fast, Ikomma”, Abel called after him. “Please go to 126 Antioch Road in Yaba and call Mrs. Udor to come see her daughter. Tell the woman Alice had some minor trouble near the museum last night. I had to help her.”

“Yes, Sir”, Ikomma said, smiling. Abel knew his house help hadn’t been happy about the girl’s presence. He could only surmise this smile meant he was pleased she would be leaving soon.

“And Ikomma. Try to keep the story from Mr. Udor.”

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“Yes, Sir”, Ikomma said again as he rushed to the car.

Shortly after Abel returned to the living room, Alice appeared in a bathrobe. Abel suspected the only other thing she wore was the same seductive smile she had on the night before.

“You had a good night?” Abel asked, as he quickly handed her the dress in an attempt to keep the moment from becoming any more awkward than it already was.

“Thank you. It is beautiful”, she said, obviously disappointed to be rebuffed yet again. Abel felt he needed to get the girl dressed as quickly as possible. Her lithe young body strained at the robe, and he couldn’t help but be tempted.

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“I am sorry about the rush, but could you put the dress on so we can have breakfast? You wouldn’t mind oats and bread, would you?”

“No, I wouldn’t, but I would have loved to prepare it for you.”  Was this seduction or just good manners?

“You slept late.” Abel shrugged his apologies.

“I could not get to sleep last night thinking about what a good man you are.”

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This girl just didn’t give up. Abel waved her toward the bedroom. “Thank you, Alice. Now, if you could just get ready …”

“Sorry”, she turned like an unwilling but obedient child and finally disappeared down the staircase that led to the guest room. Abel sighed, relieved, as he headed for the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

 

Once Abel served her, Alice chattered away happily about the size of the dining table for twelve and the oil painting of a Lagos scene on the wall. Abel finally interrupted to tell her about sending for her mother. At the news Alice fell silent and kept her eyes fixed on her plate. She answered Abel’s questions in monosyllables. Abel was sorry he had ruined her morning, but felt relieved she was no longer flirting with him.

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A half an hour later, she was still in this foul state when Ikomma returned with her mother.

“Mummy”, she said as jumped up and hugged her mother to Abel’s utter surprise.

In that split moment, her mood turned a complete 180-degrees. Abel had expected Alice to greet her mother as coolly as she was treating him, but there she was, smiling. On the other hand, her mother did not share her daughter’s good humour. Limping slightly, she accepted the hug but seemed sad and anxious.

Abel watched them. Physically, Alice was every bit a replica of her mother. The few visible differences were signs of age: the wrinkled face, sagging skin around the neck and flecks of grey in her hair.

“Good morning, Mrs. Udor”, Abel said. “I’m sorry to have called for you so early.” Abel stood up to greet her.

“Good morning”, she answered quietly.

“Please, sit down. I am Peter Abel.” He gestured toward the three-sitter opposite him that Alice had been occupying.

“Thank you.” The woman limped and threw her right hand around Alice’s shoulders for support. When she eventually sat down, she winced in pain. The way she arched forward made Abel think her leg problems extended up into her back.

“Alice, would you serve us tea while we talk?”

Abel hoped the girl wouldn’t balk at the request, but he wanted to show her mother that Alice was on her best behaviour. Alice, far from objecting, leaped up, eager to complete the chore.

“Yes, Mummy, you surely will have a cup of tea.” Alice headed off to the kitchen.

The minute she left the room her mother’s brave front broke, and she began to weep.

“You saved her from the streets”, she said, sobbing, her voice strained.

“Yes. From a man she was with. I don’t think she was a willing partner …”

“I know what my daughter is, Mr. Abel.”

Abel sat back. The woman, while apparently crushed by her daughter’s behaviour, was nonetheless direct and brutally honest. He waited for her to continue.

“Alice is my only daughter, and I have tried to give her a good upbringing in spite of our grinding poverty”, she managed to say. “I thought I had succeeded and she would marry a caring gentleman. Then, I began seeing strange gifts in our house …”

“It will be all right, Madam.” Abel found himself saying the same thing he had said to Lola. In both instances, he felt the need to help even when he had no immediate way of doing so.

“In Nigeria, when a child is bad, they say it is because the mother is bad. I came here, hoping against hope that she may have found the right place to be.” She dried her face with one end of her cloth and looked up.

Even under the circumstances, Abel thought this sentiment was a bit over the top. Was she suggesting he take the girl in as his wife?

Abel glanced toward the kitchen. He wished Alice would hurry up with the tea. The last thing he wanted was to hear the mother offer up her child to him for one act of kindness. Abel called, “Alice, please, at least bring your Mum some water while you prepare the tea”.

Alice entered with a tall glass of water, ice cubes tinkling. The two adults fell silent. Alice saw her mother was upset.

“Mummy have you been crying?”

“It is no concern to you. Go on, Alice. Finish preparing the tea.”

Alice bowed slightly and moved sullenly to the kitchen.

“She is so full of life and very intelligent”, Abel said, trying to lift the mood.

“Indeed, that is why it is so painful”, she had a long drink from the tall glass. “And why she needs the guidance of a good man.”

Abel shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He hoped to short-circuit any thought of becoming a husband to this girl. Before he said anything, the woman saw he was ill at ease and guessed the reason.

“Please, Sir, I am only asking for help for my daughter. Nothing more.”

Abel relaxed. His opinion of Mrs. Udor immediately improved. She was not another one of those parents who sell their children like merchandise. So he felt free to offer what help and advice he could.

“I still think something can be done to change her behaviour”, he said. “I have had a word or two with her. She needs talking to by people she can trust …”

“That is the problem, my brother. That is the problem. She is a beautiful girl as you can see, and many a man for whom she had respect betrayed her trust. They showed interest in something else.”

Abel’s eyes widened. It was almost funny. Mrs. Udor, far from trying to pimp Alice, seemed to be accusing him of taking unfair advantage of the girl. He realised she had been just as suspicious of his motives as he was of hers. He tried to allay her fears.

“I assure you, Mrs. Udor, nothing happened between your daughter and myself. Nor did I encourage such a thing.”

The woman nodded, clearing her throat and sipping some more water.

“If you slept with her, you could not play the fatherly role you are now enjoying”, she said. “But I am happy to hear it from you.” She paused again before going on.

“The situation has been made worse by her girlfriends. Bad influences all of them. They have led her into this life.”

Abel suspected Alice’s girlfriends were not the worst of it.

“Alice does not seem to have much regard for her father”, he paused and met her gaze. “She does not even want to talk about him.”

The woman’s eyes betrayed alarm, and she squeezed her hands together tightly. Yes, Abel had guessed correctly. But then she shook her head as if to dismiss the topic.

“At one time, they fought. But not anymore. Now they simply do not speak.”

“Since when, if you don’t mind my asking?” Abel was pressing her.

“My brother, the whole thing baffles me.” She sat up and unclasped her hands. “You must be familiar with the father-daughter relationship. In this case, as an only daughter, she got so attached to him that they always dined together, and she would not sleep at night until she had seen him. Even poor as we are, he would buy her things we could not afford. He used to boast that he had the most beautiful daughter in the world.”

“But that changed.”

The woman nodded. “When she was eleven, I travelled to the village to see my own mother. When I returned, to my utter shock and surprise, I found them to be totally estranged. I did everything I could to discover from her what had happened. Nobody would talk. When I asked Alice, she would only say that her father was not providing her needs at school as other fathers were doing for their children. This explanation made no sense to me. In my confusion, I turned to the father for the reason, but it degenerated into one of our ugly arguments. My husband is a dictator. Arguing with him is pointless.”

Abel again tried to size up this woman. She wanted the best for Alice, this was obvious. Maybe she was too terrified of her husband to admit the truth. Any rational person would have suspected the father of some kind of deviant behaviour. But the wife seemed blind to the possibility. And perhaps this was the problem. This was the source of Alice’s anger. She felt betrayed by her father who had abused her, and felt equally betrayed by a mother who failed to come to her rescue.

But Abel said none of this. He only nodded sympathetically.

“Madam, it is paramount now to keep Alice from going back to the streets. She was lucky this time. But next time, there might not be a good Samaritan on hand.”

“And how can we do that? I have no way of controlling the girl.”

“For starters, we need to get her a part-time job. Between that and school, she will have less time to find trouble.”

“You would do that for us?”

“Yes. But what she needs most is support and love from you.”

“She has both things, my brother. I have always wanted the very best for Alice.” As she said this, Alice re-entered the room.

“Can I serve the tea and fried eggs now?”

“Yes”, Abel said, standing. “Serve her in the dining room and sit with her while she eats. I’ll get ready, and after that we go to Yaba.”

Alice reacted to this suggestion angrily.

“I have said already that I am not going. But for Mum, that place would be miserable.”

“It will be all right”, Abel assured her.

“No, it will not. Why can’t I stay with you?”

“Alice. Please …” her mother pleaded, embarrassed.

“I love him.”

Abel moved to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Alice, I am touched you feel so. But that isn’t how it can be between us.”

Alice looked off, hurt.

“But I will not abandon you. Do you understand? I am going to help you. I promise. But for now you must return with your mother. Trust me. It will be all right.” There it was. The phrase he kept repeating. Finally, Alice nodded, giving in to Abel’s request.

“If you say it will be all right, I believe you”, Alice said without much conviction and retreated to the kitchen.

Abel and her mother exchanged a glance. Neither spoke until Alice returned with a tray of breakfast. Abel left them eating together.

He was relieved to overhear them chatting happily. A couple of times, he heard Alice say, “He is a very good man”, and this strengthened his resolve to help them.

After they had finished breakfast and Alice had helped clean up, something she insisted on doing, she and her mother bade him goodbye. As they were about to board the taxi, which would carry them home, Abel saw the pain in Alice’s wet, red eyes. As he hugged her goodbye he whispered, “It will be all right”.

This time, when Abel made that promise, he had a plan. He was going to see Alice’s father himself and confront the man who had caused his family so much pain.

 

 

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