Welcome to season two of Miss Acolatse! Season One showed us what was happening with the titular character, and it was such a relief to see her getting saved from some pig. We’re about to find out what happens next with her and that man who saved her. Should be an interesting one, so let’s move, shall we?

Akushika stirred, then opened her eyes.

The sun was out, blazing in all its glory, lighting up the room in which she lay. The sun had been pretty unforgiving that week whenever it emerged, so it was likely it was still early morning.

Stretching her arms upward and yawning, she smirked as she heard the cracks of those stiff bones in her arms. Just the way she liked it.

Then, it hit her.

She was in a bed.

In a room.

Not on a pew in St. Felicity Catholic Church.

For a moment, she sat up in panic, wondering where she was. The pink walls and the old posters of boy bands surrounding her were as unfamiliar as could be. Her heart pounded in her chest frantically.

Where am I?

Then her brain sparked to life, and in trooped the awful memories of last night.

Walking through that dark, deserted part of town in hopes of getting a bus to head back to Accra. Getting attacked by that disgusting piece of slime, whoever he was. And being rescued by that kind old man.

A chill ran down her spine as she remembered just how close she was to getting violated by that pathetic excuse of a human being. Thank God for that kind-hearted old man and those steel palms of his. Else it would have been one horrid story she’d have to tell.

“How could I forget? I’m in his house!” she sighed to herself, nodding. Then she paused. “Well, in his flat, more like it. Oh, thank God for Mr. Remaliah Mills-Odoi… or Retired Lieutenant Colonel Remaliah Mills-Odoi, to be precise.”

Yep, that elderly angel was a retired soldier. She had marveled as he told her while he drove them to his home. To think when she was screaming internally at God for letting her fall into the hands of some random abuser, He had help nearby in the form of a man who had spent thirty-plus years in the military. No wonder they often said God has a sense of humour!

She looked around the room, a little smirk on her face as she noted the different bands on the wall, from NSYNC to Westlife. “Whoever their daughter is, she really must have a thing for these guys…” she murmured to herself.

A knock followed on the door.

She looked at it, slightly startled, then in a shaky voice, called out, “Y-y-yes?”

The door opened. “Good morning, my dear. Hope you slept well.”

There stood an elderly lady, possibly in her late fifties or early sixties, smiling gently at her. Her silver hair, light-skinned tone and adorable little frame all seemed to accentuate that warm, welcoming smile on her face. One look at her, and anyone would immediately assume that this was a paragon of kindness and motherly love.

Obviously, this was the wife of the retired soldier. Being so tired by the previous night’s events, she had not really talked much with her when she arrived; she had simply been led to the room to get some sleep.

Akushika nodded, somewhat calmed by her gentle demeanour. “Uh, y-yes please, Mrs. Mills-Odoi. I slept pretty well, thank you very much.”

“Thank God for that. It’s almost 9 o’clock, so I was guessing you’d be awake by now. Oh, and please, call me Maa Dru. Short for Drusilla. That’s what everyone around here calls me. Remmy’s not around, he’s gone to take care of things in our shop, so it’s just you and me. Anyways, there’s bread, there’s eggs, there’s oats. What would you like for breakfast?”

Akushika sat up. Breakfast sounded like a pretty good idea. “Yes, please, Ma’am.”

Drusilla shook her head, a smirk on her face. “Not Ma’am. Maa Dru.”

“Oh, sorry, sorry. Yes, please, Maa Dru.”

***

“… and that’s the four of us at Sir Remmy’s official retirement ceremony,” Drusilla pointed to the other picture near the Samsung Smart TV in the middle of the living room.

Akushika looked on, admiring the glamorous photo of the Mills-Odoi couple and their two daughters, with Remaliah looking glittering in his military attire. The three ladies in the picture looked as delighted as could be, with Drusilla in particular looking lovingly in her husband’s direction.

That look pretty much encapsulated one thing she had learned that morning: Drusilla truly adored her husband.

After a nice, heavy breakfast, the first of which she had had in a while, in a bid to avoid getting asked about her circumstances, she asked about the photos around the house. What she got treated, in response to that, was a little history of the Mills-Odoi family. And it was quite a tale to hear.

From first meeting in their early twenties to dating for a year before breaking up and getting back together a year later, to getting married a few years later, as well as an agonizing five-year wait for children before being blessed with Adoley and Dromo, it was clear that this couple had had one heck of a roller coaster together. From the way Drusilla spoke, however, Akushika could tell that this was one journey she wouldn’t exchange for anything.

She nodded as she observed the framed photo. “Beautiful. You sure have a beautiful-looking family, Mrs- I mean, Maa Dru.”

Drusilla smirked. “Making progress already. I like that. And yes, God has been so good to me. Giving me the greatest husband in the history of husbands, and two loving daughters. If He doesn’t give me anything else, He’s done more than enough for me to not be thankful.”

Akushika nodded. This was sweet to hear.

Drusilla then turned to her. “Well, you’ve heard more than enough about me and my family. Are you feeling alright, though? Remmy told me about what happened to you yesterday, and all I can say is that I’m just so grateful he was there to save you.”

Akushika nodded silently. “Yeah,” she agreed. “Yeah, I’m glad he was there too.”

Drusilla then rubbed her shoulder. “You don’t need to talk about it, I know how traumatizing it is. Just take it easy, okay? You’re safe and sound here.”

Akushika nodded again, her eyes meeting Drusilla’s. The compassion in the eyes of the elderly lady was as plain as daylight. Compassion that calmed her heart.

Just then, a knock came through on the main door.

They both looked in the direction of the door. “Come in!” Drusilla called.

It opened, and in stepped a young man with a pretty tidy-looking zigzag braid, followed by a pretty young lady. “Good morning, Maa Dru!” the young man called out cheerfully.

“My only flat mama!” the lady followed suit, in an unmistakably Nigerian tone.

Walking into the living room, they stopped briefly upon seeing Akushika. “Oh, uh, hello,” the young man stated. “We didn’t know you had company, Maa Dru.”

“Oh, come in, come in!” Drusilla insisted, waving her hand at them to come. She turned to Akushika. “So about the flat family thing I mentioned while I gave you the lowdown on our family, these are two of the three ‘children’, if I should say that, we have here. So this is Jonathan Darko. We call him Jonny.”

He waved at Akushika, a polite grin on his face. “Hello!”

“And this,” Drusilla continued, gesturing towards the lady, “is our Naija baby. Bukola Ogunjobi, better known to us as Bukky. Bukky, you see I’ve pronounced your name well?”

“Yes oo, Mama! You’ve perfected the pronunciation well well!” Bukky confirmed, looking very pleased.

“Perfect! Perfect! So yes, my dear, these are Jonny and Bukky. Two of the three. The third one is Raymond, he’ll be coming back from Accra later this week. Bukky doesn’t stay here; she lives in an apartment down the road with some friends, but she’s almost always here. As you can probably tell, they’re in a relationship, so cute, and oh, they are amazing singers! You should hear them one of these days. Simply breathtaking!”

“Oh wow, I see,” Akushika breathed, nodding and trying her best to show interest in the information. Sure, it was nice to hear that, but the reality was that she could already feel her body roaring for sleep. That symptom was proving to be the most dominant one her expecting body was having to deal with.

“Yes, yes, exceptional singers, for sure. Anyways, guys, this young lady here is Akushika Acolatse, and she’s staying here for a little while. It’s… it’s a long story, you’ll understand later…”

“Oh, it’s-it’s okay, I can say it,” Akushika mumbled. “S-S-Sir Remmy saved me from some creep who tried to abuse me last night, and I don’t have any home to go, so…”

“Goodness! Oh, oh, I’m sorry to hear that!” Bukky gasped, immediately stepping forward to pat Akushika on the shoulder. “I hope you’re doing okay now.”

As she nodded, Jonny placed his hands on his hips and sighed. “Chale, the monsters them dey roam these streets diɛɛ, the police for do something ooo. Na this is bad. Sorry Akushika. Thank God Sir Remmy was there to save you.”

“Hmmm, yes ooo. Ei, by the way, if it was Sir Remmy dealing with this oloshi, I sure he collect hot Double Cheeseburger, abi?”

Drusilla laughed. “According to Remmy himself… one, two, three… four double cheeseburgers!”

“Heeeeiiiiiii!” Jonny and Bukky exclaimed together, their hands on their heads. Akushika couldn’t help but crack a little smile; she could already tell that the ‘double cheeseburger’ in question was referring to the slaps Sir Remmy delivered to that sick freak.

“Four hot ones! Yieee! I no sure sey the boy go remember ABC by now!” Jonny laughed. “Chai! He really collect! Well, can’t say he doesn’t deserve it.”

“Of course! Nonsense guy. See sweet girl like this, you want to destroy her life for nothing,” Bukky remarked passionately. “I sha hope the slaps reset the brain make he learn how to treat women. Werey! Omo, thank God for your life, my dear. This guardian angel He send you na proper guardian angel.”

Akushika’s smile grew slightly bigger. “Yeah, that’s true. And thanks, I’m doing okay. Just that I’m… still kinda tired. I hope you don’t mind if I…”

“Oh, oh, that’s okay, my dear,” Drusilla responded gently. “I need to prepare something for them anyways, so go on and rest a bit. Just don’t lie down, you don’t want to give yourself indigestion.”

“Yes, please,” Akushika nodded quietly, waving at Jonny and Bukky briefly before making her way back to the bedroom.

She could feel the sleep fighting pretty hard to shut down her eyelids as she entered the room. “Ugh, I need to close my eyes,” she muttered to herself. “Just a short nap should do the trick…”

***

“Good evening, Akushika!” the gentle but firm voice of Remaliah boomed out as he entered the cozy apartment called home. She was seated in the dining room, eyes on the TV as highlights of football matches rolled on the screen. She had spent most of the day sleeping, yet she still felt super tired. This pregnancy was certainly doing a number on her. Thankfully, though, the nausea wasn’t popping up; it seemed like Drusilla’s cooking went down well with her system, so that was quite a relief.

She looked up to see him. “G-g-good evening, Sir,” she responded.

“How are you doing? And how’s your day been? Sorry you didn’t see me this morning. I had to leave pretty early to attend to some matters at our shop.”

“Oh, umm, it’s… it’s been okay. Maa Dru’s been very nice to me, so I’m doing fine.”

He laughed as he took his seat in the living room. “Of course. I’d be shocked if you said anything less than the opposite. Safest and sweetest pair of hands in the world she is, that woman called Drusilla Mills-Odoi.”

“Remmy! I hear you gossiping about me!”

Akushika let an amused smile crack at Drusilla’s call at her husband.

“Yes ooo! A woman like you deserves to be talked about paaaa!”

Remaliah’s response had her giggling, as Drusilla came to stand in the doorway to the kitchen. It increased as she noticed Drusilla’s faux hard look at her husband, and Remaliah’s rather goofy grin.

“That sweet potato smells good, by the way,” Remaliah remarked, punctuating it with a wink.

Drusilla maintained her faux hard look. “As always. But since you’re talking about me, it’s for me and Akushika only!”

“Even though it’s all positive?”

“Gossip is gossip, my dear.”

Akushika laughed along with the couple.

“Do you want me to dish out your food?”

“Yes please, my dear.”

As Drusilla disappeared back into the kitchen, Remaliah looked back at Akushika. “So, everything’s alright for now, yes?”

She nodded slowly.

“Good, good. Like I said, take your time. With what you’ve been through, I don’t want to force anything out of you. You need to put yourself together before we can see what action to take next, alright? And when you’re ready to talk, we’re here for you.”

As she nodded, while Drusilla brought her husband his dinner for the evening, there were two major emotions nestled within her bosom.

Relief.

And fear.

For one, it was so soothing to be in this place. For the first time in forever, she found herself in a homely setting where she could breathe easy. Kind, gentle words. An older couple being playful and sweet with one another. She never would have expected to find herself there, but boy, she sure was glad!

But she feared that it would not last once the truth came out.

As she watched the couple chat heartily while sitting on the couch, the question ran through her mind.

Will these people accept me once they know the truth about my pregnancy?

Well, they seem too sweet to not accept her. That’s what it looks like, though. Will they accept her once they find out?