184 Your Ella Is Not Welcomed Here

Since Maxwell arrived at Islafub, his presence had been of tremendous help to both their fragile Nana Esther and Rex.

Maxwell practically turned himself to his mother’s errand boy as he noticed that his Nana was becoming worn out since her dying son arrived.

If Maxwell wasn’t by his mum, fixing some suspicious but important arrangements, he would either be by Marissa’s side consoling her or by Rex’s side, keeping him company.

If not for Maxwell’s presence and continuous encouragement, Rex would have committed suicide than allow his wife or children to see him in his most vulnerable state.

Most times, Rex would even deny Marissa entry into his room due to her brokenness. He couldn’t stand her grief or his inability to console her. Also, he felt as though her love for him was constantly diminishing with each passing day as his health depreciated. So, he decided that shutting her out would be the best way to preserve the sweet memories she has of him when he dies.

Due to Rex’s refusal for Marissa to sit by his bed and attend to his needs, Marissa had so much time on her hands to wallow in her depressing thoughts. She would seat outside the bungalow by the tree shade and drift in her thoughts until someone came around and pulled her out of it.

Just as Marissa always did, she was seated outside the bungalow and under the tree shade; listening to the happy tweeting songs of the birds and enjoying the serene ocean breeze from afar, when her eyes caught sight of two approaching cars.

She sat up and stared at the cars as they came to a halt by the driveway.

“Is Nana Esther expecting someone?” Marissa mumbled as her curiosity made her stand up and impulsively walk towards the driveway.

.....

“Mum!”

Marissa thought she heard Ivory or was it Yvonne’s voice? Her vision was blurred by tears as she watched someone that looked familiar jump down from the car. So, she wiped her wet eyes with the back of her hand to see clearer. But just then a pair of warm hands wrapped itself around her.

historical

‘Was it one pair or two pairs of hands?’ Marissa pondered in her disoriented mind. She tried to open her eyes but they preferred to be shut tight as more burning tears flowed down her cheeks.

‘Oh, that warm feeling, that maternal love, that cute giggle that now sounded like a sweet angel crying, that heavenly fragrance, and that masculine tenderness that proudly sang out the Treshvire male vigor. These attributes could only sum up three words; Yvonne, Ivory, and Leon.

“My children!” Marissa suddenly found her voice as all three of her children wrapped their arms around her.

“Your dad is leaving me! He is killing me! He had chosen the angel of death over me!” Marissa hiccuped and wailed, causing her female children to join in her crying tune.

Leon was the only one, who held back his tears and tried to act as the father figure amid shattered women.

He was heartbroken when he found his mum acting all delusional. It felt as though she had lost her memory for a split second.

Although Ivory and Yvonne called out to her before hugging her, she kept acting as if they were miles away, calling her name.

‘Oh death, what have you done to my family?’ Leon lamented from within as he cuddled three out of four of the most important women in his life.

‘What wouldn’t I give to have my father live a decade or two more.’

Leon tried to release his sister from suffocating their distraught mum with their squishy and heated hugs.

“Mum, Ivory, Yvonne, please, you all should stop crying,” Leon said in a calm but depressed tone. “Let’s all go inside and see dad.”

“Okay!” Ivory was the first to let go of her mum while Yvonne on the other hand held on to the mum as if she was the baby of the house.

Leon was just redirecting everyone’s focus toward the bungalow entrance when Marissa stopped him and inquired about the person still seated in the second car.

“Umm! Don’t worry about that mum, let’s go inside.” Leon tried to distract his mum’s view by blocking her path.

“What are you doing, Leon?”

Marissa wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and released herself from Yvonne’s hold. She stretched her neck above Leon’s broad shoulders and widened her eyes to see the person seated in the car.

However, Leon was swift to follow the movement of his mum’s head. He blocked the direction of her gaze and further encourage her to go inside the house with him.

“Mum, let’s go inside.” Ivory stepped in to help dissuade her mother from poke-nosing.

“Don’t sugar-talk me into going inside, young lady!” Marissa sniffed and flashed Ivory an angry stare. “I may be in pain but I haven’t lost my mind. I can clearly see someone seated in the passenger seat, inside that car. Why isn’t the person coming out?”

Then she turned back her attention to Leon.

“Young man, the more you try to distract me from seeing whoever is in that car, the more I’m curious to find out who that person is. And for your sake, it had better not be who I think it is.”

At this point, Yvonne’s maliciousness kicked in. Amidst her sobbing and sniffing, she spoke up.

“Mum, it’s Leon’s wife. Can we go inside now?”

“What!” Marissa’s eyes flared up. “You brought her here! Did you bring her to laugh at me in my most vulnerable state? How could you, Leon! How could you?”

“Yvonne! Do you always have to make things worse?” Ivory’s eyes shot invisible fiery darts in her sister’s direction.

“What did I do wrong now?” Yvonne queried amidst tears. “There is no way mum wouldn’t find out when she is here with us.”

Leon’s forehead furrowed in frustration. He had just been thanking his stars a few moments back that Ella’s trip with Yvonne, down to the island had been void of conflict. Now when he thought that nothing would go wrong, this problem arose.

‘This wasn’t the time to accord blame or get angry at anyone.’ Leon pondered in his heart. ‘It was better to explain things to mum and I pray she understands.’

Leon breathed in and placed his two hands on either side of his mother’s shoulders.

“Mum, like Yvonne, rightly said, Ella, is the one seated in that car. I have no intention whatsoever of offending you and Ella would be the last person on earth to make a mockery of you. Also, she is here based on Nana Esther’s request.”

“Nana Esther requested for her?!” Marissa’s eyes widened even more.

“You know what, I don’t care. I want her out of this place right now!”

“Mum!” Leon and Ivory chorused.

“Don’t mum me!” Marissa scrunched her face into a scowl.

“You told me never to meddle in your personal life and so far I’ve swallowed a lot of humiliation and kept my promise. Now, it’s you who is meddling in my personal life. This is my husband, my husband’s home, and therefore my home. Your Ella is not welcome here.”

“Please, mum, let’s not do this right now. We’re here for dad and I’m here for you.” Leon said pleadingly.

“No!”

Fresh tears started pouring down Marissa’s eyes.

“You didn’t come here from me if you came here with her to remind me of how I almost lost you. Whatever you choose to do in Amzone city is all up to you. But in my home, my rules must be upheld. Now, get out of my way!” Marissa angrily pushed Leon aside and matched towards Ella’s car.

...

All the while Marissa and her children were baring out their hearts to one another in an emotional downpour, Ella sat still by herself drenching her handkerchief with her tears.

Seeing the way Marissa wailed out loud reminded her of her mother when her father died.

–

The way Maggie had wailed for days without eating or drinking got everyone, especially Ella scared. It even got to the point that Ella and her younger sister were invited to the doctor’s office and admonished.

The doctor advised Ella that either she or her sister should talk some sense into their mother otherwise, they may be having another untimely death to battle with.

Hence, Ella and Olivia stopped mourning the loss of their dad with their mum and started consoling her until she got herself.

–

Severally, Ella was tempted to step out of the car, in other to join Leon and his siblings to console their mother.

But every time she placed her hand on the door to open it, Leon’s earlier warning rang in her ears. Hence she kept playing the games of; should I, no I shouldn’t.

Ella was blowing out her nose quietly and wiping the tears from her reddened eyes when she observed Leon’s mum staring in her direction.

Her heart skipped a beat and her pulse quickened. She suddenly had the strong urge to use the convenience as she noticed Leon’s mum moving aggressively towards the car while Leon tried to hold her back.