|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
“Babe, I know that you’re not ready to talk, but I need you. I need to know that you’re okay. Please don’t go.” Gbemi pleaded on his knees as he tried to stop her from packing her luggage.
It’s been about a week since Alice got discharged from the hospital and buried her and Gbemi’s baby girl. Life has not been the same for the both of them and even though she and Gbemi’s mother do not agree on many things, the mother has been making positive efforts to make Alice feel comforted.
“Alice, my diya (she said in a Yoruba tongue), you need to eat something. You can’t continue like this; all of the drama is over now and you both are going to have more babies.” Gbemi’s mother said this to Alice, making her curl up and shed more tears. 
“Hello, Daddy, where are you now? Alice said, sobbing over the phone. I don’t want to spend another minute in this house; I’m going to run mad if I do,” she said to her father, who was driving down with her mother to pick her up.
Alice moving out
“You know, Gbemi, I trusted you; I believed every word you said, but you didn’t trust me by shutting me out. You should have said something and I would have gotten you help; I would have gotten “US” help.” Alice spoke for the first time in a week.
“Now, what am I going to make of all these? Losing a child, finding out your mum is a witch… Gbemi’s mum gave her a look and she paused. “Gbems, you know how much I love and respect you, but this is going to take a while to go away if it ever does,” she said as she stepped out when she heard the sound of a car pull over.
“How are we going to bury this, mum? people at the hospital saw what happened, and the lady? what are we going to tell her parents?” Gbemi asked his mother a series of questions with no breaks. “No one saw anything, Gbemi; don’t be dramatic. And about Ufure, no one knows she was alive anyway,” she concluded as she shrugged.
Gbemi nodded his head and rubbed his chin. “Wait, mummy, what do you mean by ‘no one saw anything?’, Maami, does this even get any better?” he barked at her as he jumped up, hitting his thighs with both hands.
The big reveal
“Where do you think you’re going to, Gbemisola? And look here, Gbemi, you don’t fight such battles in the eyes of the world; what would people think of you and your wife if I let anyone see that?”
“So, mummy, what you’re saying is that you stopped time…” “Yes, son, I froze everyone; the only thing I let you see was the prayers and Ufure surrendering, of course.”
“So, how come you couldn’t save my child, mummy? Why didn’t you save my baby, your grandchild?” Gbemi asked with a sob. “She had to be the sacrifice, my darling; it was either the baby or your wife. I am so sorry.” she held him as she broke down in tears.
Alice, her parents, and Gbemi all exclaimed, “What!” in shock.
“My in-laws, you’re welcome,” Gbemi’s mother said to Alice’s parents, who were standing by the entrance, listening to her. Alice’s mother grabbed her bags that were placed beside the dining table. “Honey, let’s go; this is no place for our daughter,” she said.
Alice’s Parent’s house
Weeks had gone by, and Alice was still in recovery. She cried almost every day, but her parents and siblings made sure to cheer her up; they’d force her to eat, race around their courtyard, or just play fun games.
On a Saturday morning, Alice was curled up in bed playing a game on her phone when her phone rang. “Hello,” she said softly. “Please, don’t hang up,” the caller said. Alice recognized Gbemi’s voice and her countenance changed: “I know you’re still angry and probably mad at me, but please, just listen to what I have to say.”
Alice quickly jerked up; she cared for Gbemi so much to see him get hurt. “My mother has died; she was found on a highway. The police reported that it was an accident but I don’t think so, Alice. The car was in a wreck, babe, but no one died except my mother,” he said as he broke down in tears.
Alice tried her best to comfort him over the phone. They spoke for a while before they got off the phone and Alice spent the evening at her family garden, thinking about everything that had happened.
At the dining table the next day, Alice spoke, and everyone’s attention was on her because all she had done since she got back was manage a soft smile or a chuckle. “Daddy, I’d like to go back to my husband’s house by next week,” she said.
“So, you want to go back to that witch!” her mother barked, dropping her cutlery. “Mum, I’m married to Gbemi, not his mother, and by the way, the witch is dead,” she said, making an attempt to leave the table, but her dad rubbed her arm gently, urging her to sit back down.
“Honey, I think the young man has learned his lessons and if she keeps staying here, how are they going to work things out and even give those grand babies you so much desire, huh?” Alice’s mum managed to laugh. “Thanks, Dad,” Alice said, giving him a peck on the right cheek before leaving for her room to pack her things.
Alice & Gbemi back together
A few months had gone by since Alice returned to her husband. They tried to help each other heal by engaging in fun activities together. Sometimes, Alice would sit by the window across the dining room and just gaze into space while Gbemi was at work. He also tries to check in on her either by phone calls or by just randomly sending her flowers and her favorite dark chocolate.
“Babe! Hurry here!” Alice yelled from across the room one morning. Gbemi almost tripped as he rushed to her panting. “What is it, sweetheart?” he asked. She pointed at the wall, muttering the words, ”There’s a kid staring at me; look over there.”.
Gbemi stared closely but he couldn’t see what she was pointing at until he moved closer to the wall. Then he saw a note by the window; it had the words, “Gbems, my love, the universe has smiled on us again; we’re pregnant.” Gbemi took a swerve and lifted her off her feet. He swung her a couple of times while she kept screaming, “Put me down, put me down.”
For months, Alice did not engage in any chores, and even when she complained to Gbemi that she missed cooking, he would jokingly tease her to simply imagine herself in the act. He took proper care of her until her time of delivery.
Gbemi had just helped Alice settle in from the hospital when he took out his phone and dialed Alice’s mum’s number. “Mummy, good morning, ma; she’s fine, ma; yes, ma, they’re both out; it’s a boy and I think he looks so much like daddy.”
He ended the call and went to stay with Alice, who was holding their baby boy. Efa stepped in and said, “I don’t care how many names he’s going to have but the name “Efa” (he pronounced it the traditional way) is going to be a part of it,” and they all laughed.
The end.
