I was going home from uni one weekend when I saw them from the tricycle I was in. I wasn't sure who the lady was, but I had heard from my mom that Agatha now works with Uncle Peter as his secretary, and she was doing well handling all his financial transactions. So I thought, what if the lady was Agatha? I recognized Uncle Peter. I mean, why shouldn't I? He has the figure and height of a heavily built wrestler.
I saw them make attempts to cross to the other side of the road from the bank. While it was completely normal to see a man and a woman together in public, it was a bit unsettling seeing Agatha grip Uncle Peter's arm, holding on so closely like a lover clinging for guidance. With the awareness that the relationship between them ought to be formal, I immediately smelled a rat.
I got home and couldn't get the whole incident out of my mind. Uncle Peter was married with grown-up children at Agatha's age. During the early years of his marriage, he fathered a child with the widow of his late best friend. An act that stirred up the whole church, with both women at each other's throats. The heat got to be too much, and the widow relocated out of the state.
After that incident, I saw Aunty Susan put up the strong woman image, not responding to side talks or mockery about the incident. She forgave Uncle Peter, invested more money in his real Estate business, and supported him wholeheartedly.
"Mommy, who did you say Agatha was to Uncle Peter?" I had inquired between meals as we sat for dinner.
"She's his secretary. Why?" My mom responded with a stare.
"Oh, nothing. It's just something felt off when I saw them earlier today on my way home."
"Something felt off? How?" At this point, my mom became a bit concerned, dropping her cutlery and listening with rapt attention.
"I don't know, Mom, but the way I saw them, that's inappropriate for an employer with his employee." As I was about to shove the spoonful of rice into my mouth, my mom hailed mockingly.
"Human resources, HR, well done. Police of corporate affairs, you will not keep quiet and mind your business. Better not repeat this nonsense for another person to hear. You know how respected Uncle Peter is in church. Please, I beg you, don't drag me outside. As far as we all know, they are working together, and that's it...."
Seeing as I was absent-minded, my mom yelled, "Are we cleared?"
"Yes, ma'am," I responded, jolting from my chair. I didn't expect my mom to respond to me in such a manner, especially given Uncle Peter's record with women. But maybe I was overthinking things. Maybe he changed and is now a faithful husband, or probably my mom was just being overly religious and looking out for the image of the church, as Uncle Peter was a senior person in good standing.
After the whole incident with my mom, I never spoke of anything relating to Uncle Peter. Even when my mom always brings up the topic of Agatha's accomplishments and how she's built a house and bought several cars in just a few years of working with Uncle Peter. I kept minding my business until my mother suggested I befriend Agatha so that she could help me out with job placement at Uncle Peter's company, even if it was to be her PA.
"How much is Agatha's salary that you think could get her the lifestyle she's currently enjoying?" I said to my Mom, who was already getting under my skin with Agatha's news.
"You want to start with your suspicions?" My mom questioned. I knew nothing I would say to her would get her to reason differently, not when tribal and religious sentiments were at play. Despite Uncle Peter's position as a leader in the Church, Agatha was from my mom's tribe, and I know how sanctimonious she gets with her tribe after religion so I tried to end the whole argument.
"You know what, Mom, let's not argue. I'm doing quite well, and even if I need a job, it will never be to work under Agatha."
I was hoping to end the brewing conflict, but my mom was persistent as she inquired what I had against Agatha. We barely even spoke when we met in church, and since my mom could not see Agatha for the snake that she was and thought so highly of Uncle Peter, I was not about to argue over anything, so I faked a call and excused myself to my room.
Life went well, and it seemed I had heard the last of Agatha, but boy was I wrong. The moment I visited home, my mom welcomed me with the news of Uncle Peter's kidnapping, ransom payment, how his car was sold by kidnappers, and how his wife was unbothered over the whole ordeal because she found out about his affair with Agatha, and people tagged her paranoia.
During the ransom payment, Aunty Susan reluctantly brought a million Naira even when she could afford more. She asked Agatha to complete it to the tune of 15 million Naira, as demanded by the kidnappers.
As my mom narrated the story, telling me how Aunty Susan was being dragged and insulted by the church for being cruel to her husband, I saw my mom take sides immediately, tagging Aunty Susan as a wicked and heartless woman who was consumed by jealousy. I kept quiet and I listened to the story. In the end, Agatha sold some company assets and two of her landed properties to complete the ransom.
When my mom was done with the story, I chuckled and shook my head sideways. My mother stared at me with her eyebrows scrunched. She couldn't fathom what was amusing in all she had just said.
"Oh, Mommy! You all have been played by Agatha." I clapped my hands and rested them on my forehead.
"Played how? What do you mean?" My mom inquired as her eyes squinted underneath her furrowed brows.
I didn't care if she believed me, but I made her understand that the whole story she told me was staged by Agatha to further drive a wedge between Uncle Peter and Aunty Susan because she knew Aunty Susan would be too hurt to want to part ways with her money over an unrepentant cheat. I told my mom to watch how Agatha would play the supportive role just to put Aunty Susan in a bad light. But of course, my mother didn't believe me as she covered my mouth forcefully and scolded me to stop saying nonsense.
Well, as I predicted, Agatha became Uncle Peter's chauffeur, and their bond grew stronger. During Sunday service, Uncle Paul would rather ride with Agatha than with his wife. And while Aunty Susan tried attacking Agatha, the church turned against her. Nobody believed Agatha was having an affair with Uncle Peter until it blew up that she had gained full custody of Uncle Peter's company by transferring ownership to herself.
The church still in shock at the discovery, later on, saw on Facebook, pictures of Agatha being traditionally married to Uncle Peter.
Uncle Peter and Aunty Susan were referred to as such not because they were my relatives but because that's how elderly people are being addressed where I'm from.