Lisa watched Alex leave and felt empty inside. The softness with which he had held her lingered in her head. The warm breath from his nostrils had teased her. She could still feel the warmth of his arms where he had grabbed her.
Cool breeze blew over her and she felt cold from within. “It’s over now,” she said to herself as she tried to understand the emotions that erupted from within her.
“If he doesn’t want me to turn in the papers, why did he sign them?” She muttered. She had never thought Alex would apologise. He has never, not even when he was caught in the act. She heaved a sigh and put a call through to Jane but Jane could not pick up. She was shopping with Jeff.
Lisa dropped the phone dejectedly. She sat down thoughtfully and drained a cup of chilled water. ‘Alex tried to bargain his way out when his mistress came to mess him up. He couldn’t say it to her face that he isn’t responsible for her pregnancy but here he was babbling nonsense,” Lisa thought and got angry again. “Don’t be delusional,” she said to herself.
Suddenly, her phone beeped, she thought it was Jane but it turned out to be a strange number.
“Who the heck is this?!” She picked up and shouted into the phone. The voice from the other end was calm, cryptic and familiar.
“Hello ma’am, I am sorry to have disturbed you, but if you are ever opportuned to see your husband again, tell him he can’t mess with me and go scot free…”
“Who the hell are you?” Lisa demanded. “Sorry, I skipped the introduction, it’s I, Marie Tanner, your husband’s pregnant mistress!”
“Oh, it’s you, you can go to hell with him for all l care. We are divorced!” Lisa blurted and hung up angrily.
“What?! A divorce! What a dump woman! Wow! The world is mine! Alexander Peterson is mine and only mine to feast on,” Marie laughed and touched her stomach.
“You poor thing, you’ve got to be happy for mum. I will kill him, save him, kill him and save him again and again before I finally eat him up!” She said and her laughter echoed through the building.
****
Alex eased his car into the parking lot. He dissuaded greetings and made his way into the elevator. “This is work, emotions should not interfere,” he chorused as he made his way to the workshop where the team of engineers were waiting for him.
They saluted him and work began earnestly.
“I suggest we carry out a thorough check on the machine. It was in good condition at the time of sale,” One of the engineers insisted.
“We should be sure, we can’t afford any rumors now,” Alex responded.
“What if they did not follow the manual?” One of the engineers suggested.
“Let’s get down, we should check its parts,” another said.
“Where is Benny Bells?” The chief engineer asked. “He will join us soon,’ Alex responded.
Everyone pulled on his apron and got down to work. They checked the condition of the machine and confirmed it was in good working condition. One of them opened the water tank and exclaimed, “What the fuck! This is crazy!”
“What’s up?” Alex asked and moved closer. “I think I have found the problem… The water tank is dry and completely destroyed. They failed to re- fill the water tank. The enormous heat made the inner part of the tank to bend and cave in,” the engineer supplied.
“Wow! Incredible!” Alex exclaimed.
“‘All thanks to the control system of the machine, the whole machine would have caught on fire,” another one of the engineers added.
“How could they have neglected the manual? We even sent a video clip on its care and maintenance,” another engineer said.
“The maintenance group we sent initially should have found this out easily. Anyways, I am thankful the issue is not from the design, it would have caused us headaches. We will re-fix the water tank before sending it back. I think we would have to send the maintenance team along to demonstrate the nitty gritty of its care,” Alex suggested.
“That is kind of you boss. It was their problem to fix. They caused it all.” The chief engineer said.
They all turned to leave but suddenly there was a click and in a twinkle of an eye, the workshop was engulfed in fire.
*****
Lisa was on fire. She could not believe Marie had the gut to contact her. She sat down and made a mental recap of Marie’s threat. “What did she mean if I saw Alex again? That crazy thing,” Lisa muttered and reclined into the sofa.
Suddenly just like a flash, she remembered her discussion with Alex two years ago. She had just given birth to Sammy. They had decided they were having just two kids and Alex decided to undergo vasectomy. He was so sure he would get it done during one of his trips outside the country but after he returned he did not mention it again.
Lisa stood up gradually as the memory hit her hard. She slowly picked up her phone and dialled Alex’s number severally but no one picked up. After several attempts, a female’s voice boomed from the other end.
“Hello ma’am, I am not sure I should be doing this. Benny made it clear that we shouldn’t inform you but…”
“What are you talking about? Who are you? Why do you have my husband’s phone?” Lisa questioned.
“I am Julie Bratton, your husband’s secretary. Mr Peterson was severely burnt when a machine…” “What are you talking about, I mean…” Lisa cut in and re confirmed the number she had dialled.
“I want to talk to my husband!” Lisa yelled from the other end and stood up slowly from her seat.
“Calm down ma’am, he was inside the workshop with the team members when a machine caught on fire. He is presently at the hospital. Fire fighters are yet to put out the fire.”
“What?!” Lisa staggered and fell back onto the sofa. The line went dead.
” What! What the heck is she saying” she stuttered and tried to process the information.
“… Alex… Alex.. Burnt… machine … fire… Marie’s threat! No this isn’t happening! Noooo!” Lisa suddenly yelled and sprang up. She rushed out and returned for her car keys. She hit the road like a mad woman.
Tears cascaded her face like a waterfall. Regret coursed through her and she cried hard. “If I wasn’t angry, if I had informed Alex about Marie’s threat, it could have averted whatever set up that witch had but I was blind by anger,” she thought and brought the car to a screeching halt.
“Oh Alex! … Please don’t die on me. I am sorry,” she mumbled and picked up her phone shakily. She dialled Jane’s number but no one picked up.
The phone fell from her grips and she hit her chest severally, she could feel her attack closing in.
She clutched at her chest, put off the air conditioner and wound down the side glasses. Fresh air swept in and gradually, her breathing returned to normal.
She gave up driving, left her car by the road side and walked to the bus terminal to board a cab.