TOLANI
Episode 16
I couldn’t help but to continue to thank God for not allowing me to throw the pills into my clothes.
Not quite long after we had taken the apples, Chimaobi’s mother called, telling Chimaobi of how his father is terribly sick.
“It’s like you will need to excuse yourself from all these back and forth drama of Tolani’s parents. This is 6 months now, we’ve been trying to reach him and have adult communication, but he doesn’t want to give in. Nna, it makes no sense whatsoever to keep waiting for nothing. I am not getting younger, we need a grand child.” She said to him.
“Your dad has been sick, and I am distressed.”
After the call, Chimaobi had a worried look all through the time. His countenance was low and he barely talked.
I could see the sadness in his eyes.
The sadness of losing the one he loves.
“Babe, you don’t need to worry about this whole thing. We will get married.” I encouraged him.
“What? Get married? How? My parents are tired, I am tired. I can’t be waiting forever.” He hit the pillow and stepped out of the parlor.
“Chimaobi, we are talking. You should not walk out on me, that’s disrespectful.” I said to him.
“I am not in for what is right or wrong. I’m just fed up. What is it? Is it a crime to marry you? What is the difficult thing for your Dad to agree? You are in your finals and have few months to graduate, what’s your dad’s problem?” He asked me and I could not utter a word because I could feel his pains.
“Are my parents dumb to let me marry a YORUBA GIRL?” He said, stressing it, and I looked at him.
“Yes, are they dumb? Are they lesser human to let me marry you? I don’t understand. He should do whatever he likes with his daughter, I don’t deserve you, and I think I don’t care anymore.”
“ Chimaobi! Did you just say these to me?”
“Tolani, I think I’m not concerned with this whole thing. Let your father’s will be done.”
“You want to leave me? Chimaobi? You intend to walk away from all we toiled and worked for together?”
“Please, do not play the victim’s card here. I am not the cause. Your father is the course, and I bloody don’t care about him.”
“Do not insult my father, I will not take that from you.” I shouted back at him.
“Tolani, I have no strength for all these. And it is very unfortunate that you do not see my struggles and how much I have fought to be with you, how much I have been patient to have you, and how much my parents have been patient. Everything is about you. I want to be about myself now.”
“You think going away from me will give you happiness?”
“At least, I do not have to keep fighting to be happy.” He said as he picked up a glass of wine, gulping it in speed.
“I don’t blame you, I blame myself for believing all your lies.” I cried out, as I became extremely mad with him as I went under the couch, picked up the pills.
“What are you doing?” He said, coming towards me.
“You did not take the pills?”
“It’s none of your business now.”
“TOLANI! You deceived me? Oh! Jesus…” He hit his hands in disbelief.
“I am disappointed!”
“Bae, it’s not what you are thinking.”
“Let me go.” He pushed me aside, picked up his car keys and left me.
I became disappointed with myself, I just wanted to show him how I was trying to be with him too. I didn’t mean to hurt him. I wanted him to see I planned to be pregnant just because I loved him. I had no idea he would misinterpret me.
I began to call him,, but he wasn’t picking my calls.
“Ruth, you have put me in trouble.” I called Ruth on the phone.
“He got to know about my plans while we had a fight.”
“How? I told him.”
“Why are you this dumb, Tolani? What is wrong with you? Which man would take this lightly with his fiancée.” She asked.
“But you asked me to”
“Dummy! I asked you to, but I didn’t ask you to disclose it to him. I thought you are wiser than this.”
“Ruth, enough of the insult.”
“My friend, keep quiet and call him. Apologize as you can and also try to get his approval to get pregnant, since you have disclosed it.” She as we hung the call.
I could help but to shed a million tears as he continued to busy my calls.
It was near 11:00pm, Chimaobi wasn’t home, with grievance in my heart, I dialed a text to my Dad.
“Whatever that happens to me, get ready to tell the world that you are responsible.” I said, as I fell on the bed, crying.
TOLANI
Episode 17
My dad began to call me, but I refused to pick the call because I was so mad at him. My mom called me and my brother Segun called too, but I ignored them all.
All I wanted was to be left alone because I couldn’t even imagine myself losing Chimaobi, I knew it was going to be the worst times of my life to lose him.
He was everything I wanted.
So, while everyone called me, I was busy calling Chimaobi to return, looking at the watch in each second. I found out it was already 20 minutes after 12am at night.
Chimaobi had never been that angry with me. It was totally new for me.
I had slept off around 2:00am in the morning, I woke up with swollen eyes and had coerced voice.
I had messed up myself with tears throughout the night.
“You just have to give up on all these. You just have to move on” I told myself.
Things were not actually working. My dad wasn’t ready to let me marry Chimaobi, and I couldn’t just continue this way,
“I can’t hold this young man, he has tried. Just move on.” I tried to talk to myself, but the reality of all the sacrifices, the reality of
all the time we had together, the love we shared, the understanding, the fights were totally what I couldn’t let go.
I understood I had messed up, yeah, I knew I didn’t do well, but I was only trying to make things work, it was not like I wanted to hurt him. I felt he had been fighting to be with me all the time, I felt I needed to show my support. The only idea for me was to get pregnant for him.
I began to pack up my clothes into the bag.
I had picked up everything and walked to the sitting room, looking so dejected.
Outside the house, Chimaobi drove in.
He came down and walked towards me with red eyes.
“Where are you going to?” He asked,, but I kept quiet, standing before him, ashamed of myself.
“Look, I have thought about all these things. I have thought about all the sacrifices, the many years we’ve spent with each other. I just can’t let you go. I am sorry for what I made you go through. I apologize for my words last night, I was just so push to the extreme and had lost my sanity. I apologize for walking out on you and sleeping elsewhere. It was disrespectful, and we had promised to respect each other, regardless of how hurt we feel.” He moved towards me and held my waist.
“I didn’t mean to disrespect your dad. You misunderstood me. Forgive me. I know you had to do what you did because you wanted to fight for us, and honestly, I am here to tell you the truth that I am actually impressed.
Although, I would never wish you to get pregnant before marriage. You didn’t care about the dangers, the ridicule it will bring to your parents, you as a woman, you were selfless about it. Bae, it doesn’t matter whether you tried to take the wrong way or right way, what matters is, you tried to fight to secure our future. I will be a heartless guy not to understand what you tried to.” He said, and a tear dropped in my eyes.
“I’m sorry for putting you through all that.” He said as he hugged and tried to kiss my lips.
“No!” I shifted my mouth to the other side.
“What, nah?”
“Go and brush, your mouth is smelling.” I said, and he tried to force it, I ran away.
He began to laugh as he carried my stuff back to the house.
Later in the afternoon, we were making oha soup together in the kitchen when my brother Segun called Chimaobi.
After sometimes, he excused himself outside to speak with my brother.
7 minutes or more, he came into the kitchen with a very tight face.
“What?”
“He said you’ve not been picking your calls”
“Yeah, I want to gain my sanity.” I said, turning the soup.
“Your brother said I should beg you to pick your call. He doesn’t know you are here. So, call him. Let it be like I called you to call him.” He said and I nodded.
After our meal that afternoon, I called my brother.
“Tolani, you really did not have to send such message to Dad. He is sick. He has been in the hospital. We rushed him to the hospital last night. Tolani, don’t kill that man ooo. Wooh! No kill your father because of stupid love.”
“Yahya Segun.”
“I don’t want to hear anything, just book the first flight tomorrow’s morning and come to Ogun to see him before anything happens.” He hung the call and I fell on the bed, crying afresh.
I was disappointed with myself. Two men I loved, my dad and my fiancé, who should I go for? I cried more.
Chimaobi consoled me and advised I se my dad. He booked a flight for me immediately.
As usual, he helped me packed my clothes and assured me that everything would be fine.
The next morning, Chimaobi drove me to the airport. His friend Drake came along with us.
After I had gotten into the plane, they left.
I got to Lagos State and boarded a commercial transit to Ogun.
Getting to Ogun, I called yahya Segun to know where they were.
I needed to have the address to the hospital.
He sent it to me and I took a cab to the hospital.
At the reception, I gave out my dad’s details to them,, but they said no such person was admitted.
I felt it was one of my dad’s way of being security conscious. He doesn’t like disclosing where he was, he always felt there were enemies coming after his life.
So, I called Yahya Segun to know if they hid dad’s name to his but Yahya Segun was not picking, mom wasn’t picking either.
I called Chimaobi to let him know the situation of things, but his phone wasn’t going through at all.
I became alarm.
“Do I go to the house?” I asked myself, but Yahya Segun had told me they were in the hospital and no one is home.
I decided to stay back and wait until they pick their calls.
I had spent three hours or more at the hospital in the reception, when Yahya Segun called me,
“Where did you keep your phone?” I almost shouted at him.
“Girl, calm your nerves, we have been home. We were discharged before you got to the hospital. I had to run an errand for dad, I left my phone at home. Please, come home.”
“I don’t get you and mom could not pick my calls either?”
“Tolani, come back home. Ah!” He hung the call.
I was so annoyed.
I took a cab again and drove to my house.
Getting into the compound, everywhere was quiet.
I feared if anything bad had happened to my dad.
There was an unusual feeling I was having.
I got into the sitting-room immediately, and rush in to hug my mom.
“Where’s Daddy?” I shouted, crying already.
“Nothing happened, he’s fine. He is just in his room, resting.” She held my hands, but I lost from her grips and ran upstairs to my dad’s room.
Unlike me who knocks before entering his room, I flung the door open and was shocked with my sight.
“Dad! What is happening?” I shouted, rushing into the room.
To be continued…
©️ Esther Charles (The Storytelling Diva)
