Leftover Love

by Mary Gabriel

When it was time for bed, Tochi had prepared the couch and told Ibina that that would be her bed since there isn’t any other bed in the house. Her husband was just stepping into the room when she told Ibina. “No way!” shouted Udak. She sleeps on the bed. Tochi was shocked to her bones. “why is that?” she managed to ask. “My daughter cannot sleep on the couch” he boomed. “Why not?”She asked. “Because I say so, this is my house after all.” Replied Udak. It was getting late in the night and Tochi didn’t want neighbours hearing their voices quarrelling, so she decided to let it go for that night. They all had slept on the bed, the six of them. That night, sleep eluded Tochi, not because it was so tight on the bed but because her husband decided to sleep beside Ibina. She turned and tossed with so many thoughts going through her head. Is she really his daughter? If yes, why would he want his grown up daughter to sleep with him and his wife on their matrimonial bed? Why did he prefer to sleep beside his daughter instead of his wife? In the morning, Tochi had puffy eyes due to lack of sleep. She felt weak and tired.

16 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 24, 2020

About the author

Mary Gabriel was educated in the United States and France, and worked in Washington and London as a Reuters editor for nearly two decades. She is the author of two previous biographies: Notorious Victoria: The Life of Victoria Woodhull, Uncensored, and The Art of Acquiring: A Portrait of Etta and Claribel Cone. She lives in Italy.