Bibi - CHAPTER 11

Adesua tried on Bottega Veneta Sunglasses at the Great City Mall in Zurich. “What do you think?” She asked Wole, striking a pose. 

“I think it’s a bit large for the shape of your face. Here, why don’t you try this?” He picked another Bottega Veneta sunglasses from the display shelf and handed it to her.

“Oh, I like it,” Adesua said smiling.

“I’ve got an eye for good things you know.” Wole winked.

“You sure do.” Adesua blushed lightly.  

They had been shopping all day. Wole bought Tonye many lovely clothes, shoes and toys.

“Mummy, I’m hungry,” Tonye whined, holding on to her arm.

“Me too,” Adesua affirmed.

“Why don’t we stop at the food court and get something to eat?” Wole suggested.

“Yes, let’s get food. Where’s the food court?” Adesua asked smoothing a tendril on her forehead.

“Why don’t we look at the mall map or better still, ask around?”

“I think it’ll be better to ask around. I’m too famished.” Adesua stated.

They found the food court ten minutes after walking around the mall.

“What are you in the mood for? Sandwiches, pizza, Thai food, Chinese?” Wole asked.

“Pizza,” Tonye said loudly.

Adesua chuckled. “I want Thai food. We can get Tonye some pizza. What about you? What do you want to eat?”

“Hmm… Hot amala and ila alasepo.” Wole said as a matter of fact.

Adesua laughed. “Please o! I haven’t made that in ages. Better grab something to eat here.”

Wole snickered. “I was only teasing. I’ll get Thai food as well.”

“Cool,” Adesua responded.

“Thank you for the clothes and toys you bought me, uncle Wole,” Tonye said once they were in the car.

“Mummy, will daddy be coming to join us here soon? I wish he was here to see all these lovely things Uncle Wole has bought for me and say thank you.”

Adesua looked at Wole, her eyes pleading for help. Tonye had been asking for his daddy since they’d arrived in Switzerland several weeks ago, but she’d been telling him that he would be joining them soon. This was the first time he was asking in Wole’s presence.

Wole held Tonye’s hands in his. “Daddy is very busy back in Nigeria. He sends his love to you. You know he loves you right?”

“Yes, I do,” Tonye said softly.

“So, don’t you worry. Daddy will be with us soon.”

“Okay,” Tonye said and stared at the road.

Adesua passed him candy and ruffled his hair gently. “Thank you.” She mouthed to Wole silently. He nodded, smiling.

The chauffeur steered the Jaguar F-Pace SUV smoothly on the roads of Zurich. When they got to Wole’s home where they were staying for the next couple of months before heading to the UK, Tonye was sound asleep.

Adesua unbuckled his car seat and carried him in her arms.

“Let me have him.” Wole reached for Tonye and carried him inside the house.

The chauffeur tipped his hat before he pulled the car away. Adesua walked into Wole’s five-bedroom house where they were currently staying at. The house was tastefully furnished and everything about it smelled of luxury.

When she had changed out of the clothes she’d worn out, she went to the sitting room to join Wole. He was watching a football match as usual. She picked a magazine on the table and flipped through it.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Wole questioned.

“Nothing,” Adesua replied. She decided to blurt out what was on her mind instead. “Well, it’s just that I haven’t spoken to my parents and friends in a while. I feel like a fugitive.” She chuckled but it was a pathetic one. “Everything just makes me feel somehow. We are out here, and I don’t know anyone around. You have work to keep your mind busy but mine is in a funk!”

Wole took his gaze off the TV and turned to her. “I thought we agreed you’d start fashion school once we are in the UK.”

“But that’s how many months from now? What about before then? Tonye’s schooling is also on my mind.”
“Babe, just enjoy this ride and stop working yourself up over things that will be sorted out eventually. Tonye is only five years old. He can watch Pepa Pig and all the fun cartoons that kids watch these days. We’ll enrol him in school once we are in the UK.”

“Okay,” Adesua said, folding her arms. Wole pulled her to himself and kissed her. Adesua’s worries melted in that instant. She couldn’t deny that their affair had gotten explosive lately. The feelings of guilt which she had carried in the initial stages of their relationship no longer assailed her.

****

“Oya, wake up o, Omolara. Have you forgotten that you promised to go with me to Tejuosho market?”

 “Mummy, what time is it?” Lara said groggily. Her head thumped.

“It’s almost 10 am princess.” Ireti placed the cup of tea which was on a saucer on the table.

“I brought you some tea. It’s got cloves in it just the way you like it.”

“Thanks, mum.” Lara sat up in bed and stretched. She reached for the cup of tea.

“So how was the party last night? Did you meet anybody you fancied?”

“Mum! It’s too early to be asking about that. My head hurts.” Lara whimpered.

“Pele. Did you drink a lot?” Ireti queried.

“I had a few glasses. Nothing over the top.” Lara said, kneading her temple.

“Now, that explains the headache. Let me get you a glass of water. Be right back.”

“Thanks, mum.” She and her mother had been bonding well lately. She was thankful that the pressure on her to get married had reduced. She figured that her father had had a good talk with her mother.

“What time do you want us to set out for Tejuosho market?” Lara asked after drinking all the water in the glass.

“I wanted us to set out this morning. I came here earlier and saw you were sound asleep. I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“But you did anyway,” Lara stated.

“Yes, because I needed you to be awake so you can shower and get dressed soon. I made breakfast.”

“Thanks, mum. What did you make?”

“Yam and egg stew. Your dad and I have eaten. We couldn’t wait for you.”

Lara nodded. Saturday was one of those days where they sat to have a meal together.

“I’ll be downstairs. Let me know when you’re ready. Don’t take all the time in the world to shower o.”

Lara laughed. “I won’t take a long time.”

She picked her phone and saw that she had several messages and some missed calls. She saw a text message from Jimi. She had saved his number the night before.

“Hi, Lara. Hope you got some good sleep. It was a pleasure meeting you last night. When is it a good time to call you today?”

Jimi struck her as the charismatic type. She smiled. Their conversation had been funny and easy last night. She read his text message again, replied to him and went to the bathroom for a quick shower.

Tejuosho market brought back memories from the past and Lara felt nostalgic. She hadn’t been to the market in ages.

“Mum, everything has changed around here.”

“Of course. You were a teenager when you came here last if I remember correctly.” Ireti Fernandez responded.

Lara admired her mother who was dressed in a colourful yellow and green Kimono top worn over a black camisole top and a pair of jeans. Her hair was wrapped in a green turban.  “Mum, won’t you dash me this your kimono?”

Ireti giggled. “My friend makes them. You can buy one for yourself.

“Okay o,” Lara replied.

They spent hours going from one shop to the other. Her mother bought almost everything on her list. Her business partners in the USA had placed an order for some goods to be exported. Ireti thrived at haggling and negotiating prices. She was an astute businesswoman and that hadn’t changed over the years.

Their day ended with a trip to Designer Rice Palace. It was a beautiful restaurant. Lara glanced at the menu on the wall, impressed with the little she had seen.

“Good evening Mrs Fernandez,” a lady at the counter greeted.

Ireti flashed her a heartwarming smile. “Hello, Tinu. How are you? This is my daughter, Lara. She’s my first child. I have told her so much about this place. She insisted I must bring her so she can also have a taste of your authentic Ofada rice and designer stew.”

Tinu smiled at Lara. “You won’t be disappointed. We are the best in this entire Lagos State. I’m sure you’ll keep coming back for more.”

“Ahh, we’ll see about that o!” Lara chuckled.

“Hmm... This is good.”  Lara moaned while feasting on the delicious meal of Ofada rice and stew with assorted meats on her plate.

“Mum, I’m getting some to go.”

“I usually do that whenever I come here.”  Ireti reached for the bottle of water on the table.

“So, what are you rating the food out of a ten?”

“Mum, this is ten over ten o! I love the food.”

She had just gotten back home when she heard her phone ringing later that evening. She walked to the dressing table and picked her phone up. She arched a brow when she saw the caller. It was Jimi. She picked the call on the fourth ring.

“Hi, Lara.”

“Hello, Jimi.”

“Is this a good time to talk to you?”

“Oh yeah, it is. Was out with my mum all day. Just got back home now.”

“Yeah, you mentioned before. So how did your day go?”

“It went well. I haven’t been to Tejuosho market in ages. Everywhere has changed so much.”

They spent the next twenty minutes or so talking about different things. Lara’s eyes were threatening to shut themselves.

“I should let you go. You sound drowsy.” Jimi said on the other end of the call. Lara sounded like she needed to sleep immediately.

“Thanks for calling. It’s been great chatting with you.” Lara said, with sleepy eyes. She was sure that the call would have gone on for much longer if she had not been so tired. Jimi was friendly and she found it easy to converse with him.

“Same here,” Jimmy replied before he cut the call.

****

“So, you are not going to get the Interpol involved in this matter? You’re just going to let it slide? Your wife walks away with your son for what may be forever and you’re not going to put up a fight?” Akin blurted, walking up and down in the sitting room in Pere’s house.

Bade stared at Pere who was seated across from him. Pere had been withdrawn for some time now, not picking up his calls and so they had decided to visit him. “The only issue is that Interpol does not carry out investigations or arrest people. It is the responsibility of the national police. Investigations and arrests are always carried out by national and local police forces. What Interpol does is to help the national police to communicate with police in other countries to solve international crimes.”

“So, what does the Interpol do then? Looks like they are not very helpful.” Akin countered.

“They are actually...” Bade explained.

“I don’t want to involve the police,” Pere said quietly.
“Why not?” Bade asked him.

“Can you bear to be apart from your son for a long time?” Akin asked. “You have to think about that.”

“I know you feel like the police in this country might not do a great job, but I believe it’s worth getting them involved.”

“As much as I want to see Adesua now and give her a piece of my mind, something in me doesn’t want to get the police involved. I don’t even know what country they left for. The whole thing would be like going on a wild goose chase.” Pere stated.

 Akin looked at his friend, anger rising like bile on the inside of him. “So, if you never get to see Tonye again, would that be alright with you?”

“Never,” Pere responded sharply.

“There you go! It’s been two weeks. We should file a report with the police.” Akin rolled the cuffs of his shirt and went to stand by the window.

“I agree,” Bade stated. “Pere, we’ll go with you to the police station and offer whatever support you need, financial and otherwise.”

Pere sighed. Adesua left him with no choice. In the past weeks, he had gone through every feeling from anger to rage to resentment for all that she had put him through lately. He had never gone through a period as rough as this in his entire life. First, it was his business and now his family was in shreds. Who cursed him? Who did he offend?

“Okay,” he finally managed to say. He couldn’t put a name to the emotion that he was currently feeling. He felt numb from the inside. “Let me get dressed. I’ll be with you soon.” He informed them.

“Better!” Akin stated.

****

The week passed by in a blur. Pere had just gotten out of the shower. Akin had talked him into hanging out at the club with some of his friends.

“Pere don’t kill yourself over Adesua o! Better days are coming. Come out for some air tonight. You’ve been wound up too tightly lately.  You don’t have a social life or do you think that we all have not noticed the fact that you’ve been killing yourself with work lately?” Akin’s words earlier in the day played in his mind.

He picked a white shirt in the wardrobe and a pair of jeans trousers. “Damn you Adesua!” He said to his reflection in the mirror. His face looked like he had lost weight. He rolled the cuffs of his shirt and walked into his bedroom looking for his bottle of Aqua Di Gio cologne.

His phone rang just when he was looking for his car keys.

“Perelayefa! How many times did I call your name?” His mother asked. “You don’t call me… You don’t call your siblings. What is going on?”

Gosh! This was the last thing he needed today.

“Silence ehn? Silence is all I get abi. Very well. What is this thing I am hearing about Adesua leaving you and taking Tonye with her?”

His mother was the Matriarch of the Brisibe family since the death of her husband more than twenty years ago, Tamara had ruled her household with an iron fist. She was well respected in their hometown of Okrika.

“Nimi and I are coming to see you next week and you better get ready to tell me everything that is going on with you, son.”

“Yes, mum,” Pere replied. “We’ll talk when you come to visit. I have to be somewhere now.”

“Okay. I’ll see you next week. But Pere, I’m worried about you. I’ve been having these strange dreams lately.”

“About me?” Pere asked.

“Yes. About you. But I’m praying. Whatever it is, I know the end of it will be victory.”

“Amen. Thanks, mum.” Pere responded. “I have to go now.”

“Goodnight son.”

“Good night mum.” He cut the call and found his car keys on the bed.

“Oga, you dey go out?” Agnes stood up from the chair she was seated on at the dining table.

“Yes, I’ll be late. Don’t stay up on my account. I’ll let myself in when I come out.”

“Okay oga.” Agnes gazed at him with questions in her eyes.

“I’ll have your salary by next week. Sorry I haven’t been able to pay you.” His voice trailed off.

 Ahh, it’s okay. I have a roof over my head. I’ve got food too so no wahala at all. I just need money for the JAMB form I told you about recently.”

“I haven’t forgotten. You’ll get that next week.”

“Ahh. Oga. Thank you so much.” Agnes curtsied. 

Pere looked at her and smiled. He thought that she would be out of his house by now, but she was still here. Her presence in the house kept him sane even though there were days when all he did was snap at her. He sighed as he opened the door to his car. He had to learn how not to take his frustrations out on her. He would be crushed if he came home one day, and she had packed her things. He would make sure to never owe her salary going forward. She was a rare breed of a human being, and he wouldn’t take that for granted.

****

“You do me something wey nobody do me!”  The lyrics from Tekno’s ‘Your Luv’ filtered across the Club.

“Amaka garu oh”
“Oya chop my money oh”
“I no go do you jukpa oh”
“You dey turn my radio oh.” The crowd yelled the lyrics of the song

Pere dipped his hands in his jeans pocket, looking around as he walked to see if he could spot Akin. He finally saw him after minutes of combing through the club. Akin introduced him to the guys around him.

“Guys let’s move to the VIP section,” Koyejo announced.

Pere turned to look at who had made the announcement. His face lit up in a smile as recognition dawned on him. “Koyejo Aboderin!”

Koyejo spun around at the mention of his full name. “Pere! Perelayefa! Mehn! Where have you been hiding? Been ages bro!” The two guys shook hands in a typical guy style.

“Guys, all the drinks are on me tonight!” Tayo, one of the men announced.

“Oshey!! Too much money.” Koyejo hailed him.

“Is it easy to be the brother to the newly elected governor of Ekiti state?”  Tayo teased.

“God has buttered our bread o!” Akin raised his two hands. “We about to hit it in this country.”

“Like we ain’t hit it already?” Leke, one of the guys said, shrugging.

“Na God o! All na God!” Koyejo stated.

“Yes o! Let’s get this party started!” Akin announced. “Pere, wetin you wan drink?”

“I got this!” Tayo said and walked to the bar to get the drinks.

Soon the table was filled with bottles of Vodka, Whisky and Champagne. 

Pere opted for a glass of Champagne.

“Pere, for where now? You are out to enjoy yourself tonight. Abeg, pour this guy some Smirnoff.” Akin hissed. “Oya, take and drink. Drink and forget your sorrows.”

“Left right left right..”

“Gbe keke e..”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m back…”

“Oshey!! Leke raised his hands like he was about to rap.

“Yo back with a banger.”

“For the hood, for the streets, for the zanga.”  Action film by M.I and Brymo played loudly, and the crowd yelled again.

Pere loosened up as the alcohol kicked in. He hadn’t been this happy in a while. Some scantily clad ladies came around them. Two of them had blond hair. Another had silver. Her skin was as smooth as caramel. She wore a heeled sandal that was laced to her calf showing silky legs. She wore a halter neck top that stopped around her midsection and an A-line leather skirt that stopped around her mid-thigh. Her arms were adorned with silver and gold bracelets that went all the way to her upper arms.

 Pere was sure her goods would be out in the open if she bent to pick something on the floor. Yet, she was the most dressed among the girls. “A wonderment!” That was the only word that came to his mind. He tried to tear his eyes away from her but he couldn’t.  She sauntered towards him seductively.

“Hey, handsome. You been looking at me like I’m candy floss. Care for a dance Romeo?”

Good grief! He thought. What had Akin gotten him into tonight?” She put his hands in his and pulled him up. “A guy with broad shoulders. I like.” She said biting her lips. “May I touch them?”

“I thought you wanted to dance.” He finally managed to say to her.

She giggled. “That too.”

“What’s your name?” He asked her while they were on the dance floor minutes later.

“Monalisa.” She replied.

Pere smirked. “Is that your real name?”

Monalisa smiled. “What does it matter? I am Monalisa to you.”

Pere’s eyes roamed around her face. Beautiful women would always be his weakness in this life.

“You can call me Nneoma.” She said, gazing into his eyes.

Her eyes were shaped like almonds. There was an innocence in them that drew him in. “Nneoma...” The mention of her name on his lips felt like melting chocolate on the lips. “What does it mean?”

“Nneoma means beautiful mother.” She said to him.

Pere continued staring into her eyes. “It suits you.”

“Thank you.” She replied, smiling. 

They both got lost in the music playing. Monalisa’s back was turned to him while they danced, and she was rubbing her curves all over his body.

Hadn’t he learned from Adesua’s cold betrayal?

He held her shoulders. He had had enough for one night. Adesua’s image was all that he needed to rouse him from his dreamy state. “I think I’ve danced enough tonight.”

“Oh..” Monalisa pouted. He realized she had been enjoying the dance. “I mean, we could continue dancing if you want.”

“It’s okay.” She wrapped her arms around him and planted soft kisses around his neck.

Pere could feel his body responding to her. What was she doing to him? He found the strength to break the kiss and head towards the guys leaving her staring at him. “Akin, I’m heading home.”

“Did you get her number at least?” Akin asked. “I’ve been looking at the both of you. You both got some chemistry going on there.”

“And you can tell that in thirty minutes? Bravo, Akin!” Pere clapped. “Dude, I need to head home now.”

“You are running,” Akin said to him.

Pere had to admit it to himself. Yes, he was running. He was running because it had been a long time since he had been intimate with a woman. He was virile with needs, and he feared what he could do to her.

“I know you want to smash her,” Akin said deviously. “You are no longer married. That ship has sailed. What’s stopping you?”

“Akin, in the eyes of God, I am still married to Adesua.” Pere countered.

“Oh really? A woman left you for another man and you’re here still claiming to be married to her? Pere, are you alright? Do I need to get your temperature checked or what?”

“Akin, I’m going home. I’ll see you at the office on Monday.”

The other guys were nowhere to be seen. They were probably busy with women.

Pere’s emotions warred within him. There was a lot of raunchiness around. His eyes darted across the room, and he saw Monalisa sitting with her legs crossed under the lights. She had a glass in one hand and a cigarette in another. He shifted his gaze before she could notice him staring at her and walked briskly out of the club and into his car. When he had made sure that his car doors were locked, he leaned his head against the steering wheel and breathed. “Lord help me!”

“Leave” One voice shouted at him.

“You know you want her. Go for it.” Another voice cajoled.

He turned on the ignition and drove home instead.

****

Two Months later….

The drive to Murtala Muhammed International airport felt like being in a race against time. The driver drove at the speed of lightning.

“Mr Kushimo. Please take it easy.” Bibi said.

“Sorry, madam. Na oga say make I drive fast fast.”

“Drive fast but not recklessly Mr Kushimo.”

The driver looked at Bade and Bibi through the rearview mirror. These rich people sef! They could be so confusing. Drive fast but not recklessly! What did that even mean?

Bade pulled wads of Naira notes in his wallet and handed it over to Mr Kushimo. “Ahh, thank you, Sir. Thank you.”

“No wahala.” Bade smiled and walked over to the back of the car. Mr Kushimo was his parents’ driver. He had worked for his parents for so long he had become family. They bade him farewell and headed for the immigration line in the airport.

“Uncle, you can’t just come and stand here anyhow!” A woman and her daughter said to the giant of a man who had come from nowhere and cut to the front of the line.

“Well, you both came from nowhere too.” The big man said. Others agreed with him.

“No, we were standing over there on the line before we were told to come here. We had been on that other line for so long.” The woman and her daughter tried to explain.

“So? How is that my business? The both of you should be on the far end of this line.” The man snapped at them.

A fight soon broke out among them. Bibi watched amusedly. Nigerians could be quite aggressive.

“If you touch my mother!” The young lady said to the man. “Touch my mother and you’ll see the stuff that I’m made of.”

Bade chuckled. The girl was no match for the tall man. Bade admired her spunk. The noise soon subsided. Bade and Bibi found themselves in front of the immigration officials twenty minutes later.

“So, you are going to America?”

“Yes.” Bibi and Bade both chorused.

“What’s inside your bags? You have six bags. Are you going to sell things in America?” The immigration official said chewing a piece of gum annoyingly.

“Oga, do Christmas for us now! You know Christmas is only a few weeks away. Anything at all for your boys. We are loyal!” Once the immigration officials were done rummaging through their suitcases and asking questions, they proceeded to put their bags on the weighing scale. 

These two bags are fine. The other two have an excess of 2kg each.

Bibi smiled at the female attendant. “Ah, my sister. It’s only 2kg each. Surely you can help us.”

“Why don’t you step aside and rearrange your things.” The airline attendant said dismissively.

Thirty minutes later, they were at the boarding gate. “Mehn…. We Nigerians put up with so much bull crap!”  Bade said, wiping sweat from his temple. 

“Terrible!” Bibi shook her head, fishing through her handbag for her handkerchief. She found it and wiped her temple with it.

Christmas Day. Two weeks later….

“Merry Christmas Bade.”

“Merry Christmas, Sir.” Bade greeted his father-in-law. Bibi's parents, Sir Peyi and Anna Kuti lived in Chicago. They had a home in Lagos and several properties across Nigeria. They visited the country from time to time.

Bibi's mum often joked that they would move finally to Lagos as soon as their daughter started giving them grandchildren. Bibi was already pregnant, but she wasn't showing yet. It was hard to tell except one took a close look at her. They hadn't yet told Bibi's parents. It was their surprise package for them.

Bibi stretched, yawning. When she opened her eyes, she realized that her husband wasn't on his side of the bed. Glancing at the clock, she dashed out of bed. It was almost 10 am. Good lord! She was supposed to be helping her mum in the kitchen. Grabbing her robe, she fastened it and looked at her tummy. She took a minute to lay her hands over it and dream about how lovely the baby would look when it was time. Her heart was thankful. She felt very blessed. After brushing and rinsing her face with water, Bibi headed downstairs to help her mother out in the kitchen.

The smell of freshly baked pastry kissed her nostrils. “Good morning mum.”

“Good morning my darling daughter. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas mum. Where's dad?”

“I'm sure he's somewhere chatting with your husband.”

“Hmm, I'm sure,” Bibi replied her mother filling the kettle with water. A good cup of tea was what she needed at the moment.

With the cup of tea in her hand, Bibi walked into the sitting room where she found her dad and Bade chatting. “Merry Christmas my loves,”
 She proceeded to hug her husband and her father.  Flipping through the TV channels minutes later, she stumbled on the movie- Almost Christmas. She exclaimed. She could never get tired of watching it. “Mum, I'll be right there,” she yelled loud enough for her mum to hear her.

They had a good breakfast of french toast, sausages, scrambled eggs, and hash browns. While the men chatted and discussed the stock exchange market and all things finance-related, Bibi and her mother savoured the pastries while listening to the men's discussion. She was a creative and didn't have a good head for finance so one of her prayers had been to marry someone who had a knack for finance and could help manage their finances and make investment decisions. She found all that and more in Bade.

The doorbell rang. It was the Jeffersons. Ellie hugged Bibi. Ellie was white and was like a mother to Bibi. She had taken a liking to her when she was schooling in Austin, Texas. Martin, her husband stretched out his arms and hugged Bibi as well. She led them to the family room where her parents were.

Anna was excited to see these folks who had remained friends of the family for a good number of years. The doorbell rang again, and it was no other than the rest of the Kuti clan in the US. Their house was huge and could accommodate 3 families. Bibi hugged her cousins and their little ones.

They spent the day singing Christmas Carols and catching up on old times and the recent happenings in their lives.

“Oh no, I forgot to take some food and pastries to Mr Neville's house. Gosh, he and Melissa likely did not have anyone come over today. I have to take some food to them.” Bibi fussed later that night.

“You know it can't be that bad. I'm sure some good folks around took food to them today.” Bade told Bibi leaning against the wall in the kitchen. Neville and Melissa were an old couple with tons of health issues. Neville was confined to a wheelchair and Melissa's health had gotten frail with each passing day. They had refused to go to the old people's home and had chosen to remain in the confines of their home. Bibi had known the couple since her growing up years. They didn't have children and family members seldom visited them.

Bibi grabbed the car keys on the table. “Let me run along quickly. I'll be back soon.”

“I got you.” Bade said to her.

Bibi looked at him pointedly. “No Bade, I'll just run along and be back in a jiffy.”

 “I insist,” Her husband said to her. “Let me take the food to them.”

“Okay Bade, in that case, lemme get my boots and we can go together.” Bibi insisted.

“Nope, it's fine. You’ve been so busy all day. I know you are tired. Let me run along with the food.” Bade wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the crook of her neck. Bibi wriggled in his arms. “Sugar, don't start what you cannot finish.” Bade giggled.

She packed up some food, put them in a basket and handed it to Bade. “Okay, I'll be right back.” Bade said on his way out.

“See ya soon.” Bibi shut the door and headed for their room. She jumped into the shower as soon as Bade drove off.

****

Her phone rang. Bibi stared at her phone screen and couldn’t recognize the caller.  The caller ID showed that it was a Chicago area code. She usually made it a practice to not pick up calls from unknown caller IDs. If it was urgent, they'd leave a voice message. She decided to answer the call.

“Hello. We are from the local police department. Are you Mr Oyebade's wife?”

“Yes,” Her voice shook a little. Why was the police calling her?  

“We have Mr Oyebade on a stretcher. He's been in an accident, and we are taking him to the hospital.”

“Do...do you know which one?” Bibi stuttered. 

“I believe that would be the Chicago Downtown Hospital. “The cop answered.

 “Okay, I'll be there as soon as possible.” Bibi's world came crashing down at that point. Dazed and confused, she walked up the stairs. She had on a bathrobe. Throwing that off, she slipped into a pair of Jeans and a T-shirt and headed for her parent's room. She knocked loudly on their door. “I just got a call from the Chicago police. Bade has been involved in an accident and they are driving him to the hospital now.”

“How? What happened? Why did Bade leave the house?” Peyi probed.

Bibi dashed for the stairs. “My daughter hold on. Let me drive please.”  She heard her father say.

“I'm coming along too,” Anna said, concern lacing her voice.

Bibi hugged herself where she sat at the back. How did a beautiful day turn out to be a horror story? Her stomach rumbled from anxiety. She thought about the baby she was carrying. The one that had been a source of joy and delight. She prayed Bade was not badly injured and he would mend in a bit. Another thought popped up in her mind. What if he was in a critical condition? What if he died?  She quickly crossed out that thought. She hoped to God he was not in a critical condition. What was she going to do if anything happened to him? How would his parents react? They were on a holiday to visit her parents.

"Dear Lord, please let Bade be alright.” She muttered silently while her father drove them to the hospital.