UNMARRIED AT THIRTY
EP 25
“I think we should take the responsibility of the food that day” Jumoke’s husband suggested. They had thought of a reasonable gift for the wedding but couldn’t arrived at anything very productive. They settled for the food, that would be more practical. “let’s go to bed, it is late already” Jumoke told her husband.
“I pray non of our son’s take after your sexual craves. Your libido is too much. Can’t you for just a night forgo sexx?” Fumilayo said as her husband reached for her pants.”I pray so too. And may they marry an understanding wife as their mother ” he said as he pushed her legs apart going inside her. Fumilayo now looks at his unexplainable sexual urge as a cross she must bear in her marriage.
She no longer look at it negatively. Once it was nine o’clock in the night, she d’ already be waiting for him to make a move.
Yinka’s bed was small almost impossible to contained two people but Toluwani wrapped herself on his chest throughout the night. Around four o’clock early in the morning, Yinka woke her up to take her bath but she turned sideways and continued her sleep. “It’s too early, she said with drowsy eyes. Yinka knew why he woke her up early, by five o’clock it d’ become a long queue already.
“Uuhmmm baby, good morning” Toluwani greeted wiping her eyes. It was already six o’clock. “I want to ease myself” she said and Yinka directed her. When she saw how many people were queued before her, she almost fainted. She was number seven on the queue.
“Morning o my daughter” Mama Yetunde greeted with a weird looks on her face. She couldn’t believed the kind of noise she made yesterday. Modupe was dressed up for work, she was a hairstylist. She looked at Toluwani, she recognized her. She stared at her with envy as she walked past her. The memories of what she saw yesterday replayed in her head as she greeted Yinka who was coming back from outside where he went to buy tea and bread for Toluwani.
At the office, Toluwani couldn’t take her mind off last night, she must be crazy, she couldn’t believed she made love in a place as Yinka’s.
“Good morning Mama, how are you and how’s father” Toluwani greeted as she answered her mother’s phone call. “Eh i called to remind you that i have chosen an Asoebi for your wedding, when you close from work, come to the house and pick some for your friends and colleagues at work. It’s just 10k only” Toluwani’s mother said. Toluwani was speechless, they had agreed that they won’t be any Asoebi as they won’t be much people attending. “My daughter, forget that thing, i have bought all my friends daughter’s Asoebi, they must return my money by buying your own too” they laughed as she ended the call.
Toluwani knew that something’s must not be argued as long as her mother is concerned.
The wedding was just a week away. Something wasn’t right with Toluwani’s body. Last three months during her menstruation periods, the blood she saw was just a few drops. She thought it was a hormonal changes in her body maybe due to her becoming sexually active after a long time. She didn’t take it seriously but two weeks ago, at Yinka’s place, Mama Yetunde had told her she was pregnant but she wasn’t feeling nauseous or weak . In fact they was no signs of pregnancy. Now, her fourth month period wasn’t showing at all, not even a single drop of blood anymore. She worried and wondered what the problem was. Well, pregnancy would be a great news after all they were getting married in about eight days time.
“Uncle, can’t you make time to be there, you know i have nobody to represent as a father figure except you” Yinka pleaded with his uncle who gave an excuse of failing health. “Don’t worry Yinka, as long as I’m not dead before that day, i must be present” he assured him.
Toluwani had closed from the office and heading to the family house to get the Asoebi her mother had bought in bulks. Already all her colleagues had made payment, she promised to send each person’s own to their houses through dispatch riders the next day.
The road was busy and Toluwani cautiously drove at a reasonable speed, the honking of cars blared everywhere. Sometimes, one can’t help but to wonder if Lagosian drivers were specially trained to use their horn abusively. As Toluwani drove her camry car slowly, ahead of her was a maniac driver intoxicated with alcohol. He swerved left and right with a speed above his control. The car screeched loudly as it swerved, the people screamed as he his acceleration increased every second, he was heading directly at Toluwani.
“Jesus!! Jesus!!” the groundnut Hawkers and other road users shouted as the mad driver lost total control of his sterling wheel while crazily accelerating. Everyone standing beside the road knew they was going to be a crash soonest but they had no superpower to stop this from happening. When Toluwani noticed the driver speeding directly into her, she panicked and matched accelerator instead of a break or dodging. “Jesus Christ!!!” She screamed as her car jerked into an unexpected speed, the sterling jerked away from her hands. The screeching of the cars was deafening and maddening as the people put their palms towards the sky for a miracle. In full speed the drunk driver drove unaware of what he was doing, the loud music from his sienna car boomed through the window. In a flash like the quickness of the flaring lightening, he crashed into Toluwani who was screaming at the top of her voice.
“Yinkaaaaaaaaaa!!!!” It was her last words before she went silent.
“Hasn’t she closed” Yinka asked rhetorically as he tried severally without success to speak with Toluwani. The phone rang several times without answer. He went in to the tent of the woman who sold roasted yam besides the road. Toluwani liked roasted yam with peppers sauce. He bought some yam with kpomo and enough pepper sauce, he wanted to surprised her with her favourite roadside delicacy. He tried the phone again still no answer.
The two cars crashed into pieces. The drunk driver was dead at the spot. The sterling handle had pierced into his heart and shattered it. He was breathless in a minute. Toluwani laid in the pool of her blood breathing faintly, the passerbys were preoccupied with snapping pictures and making videos and uploading instantly to Facebook and other social media outlets. They focused on their phones instead of immediately checking if the victims were still breathing or not.
TBC
I’m Victor Your Local Writer
ยฉOinu2033
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Sometimes you’re tired of living, you have decided to leave the cruel world by your own hands. Please don’t be selfish even at your last moment. They’re people who are really happy and your decision may shattered their happiness. Think twice before you do anything.
It’s a new generation of technology and devices but can’t you drop your phone for a moment and help a soul in needs!!.
Remember, it’s irresponsible to create content with people’s lives when they’re dying and you haven’t taken a step to bring them back to life