The Butterfiles... Episode 7

Tade was super glad that her boyfriend was back to Ibadan for good; finally, they could be together once again and work on getting the spark back into their relationship. It was one of the reasons she planned the surprise birthday gift to be delivered by her sister. She knew he wasn’t going to be expecting anything from her but she did it anyway. For one, Ade was the only guy Tade really felt comfortable with; the only guy she knew could withstand her dry jokes as her own friends complained severally about how dry her jokes were; she also felt at peace with Ade. Well, he was the only guy that she had ever fallen in love with and she was glad that it was her first serious relationship after all the flimsy girl-meets-boy drill in secondary school. She looked forward to being with Ade forever; she wasn’t sure she could deal with all the drama her friends who had been in and out of relationships had to deal with. She had thought severally to herself, that it was possible to get married to one’s first love and as she stepped out of the hospital to see her handsome boo scrolling through his phone, she whispered a silent prayer that her wishes about spending forever with Ade come true.

Tade had caught Ade unawares as she moved closer and stood smiling for about 10seconds before pulling the phone out of his hand…

“Adeee… chai… I’ve been standing here for some seconds and you didn’t even notice...”

Ade, though startled could not help the smile that engulfed his lips as he drew his babe closer to give her a peck on her forehead…

“Tade mi….  Ade said as slowly as he could, still holding Tade close to him, he wasn’t ready to let go as he used his right hand to raise her chin up, lowering his lips to plant a kiss on her cheek…

“nah… you know I don’t like PDA now…” Tade said smiling, as Ade gave her a big hug…

“Gosh, I’ve missed you… I didn’t know what to expect oh, seeing that you’ve been having one of your moments for far too long…”

Tade laughed, knowing what Ade meant.

“Just say it now… my skoin-skoin is much, right? But you know you caused it… anyway, that’s talk for another day…” Tade said giving her boyfriend a side hug. She wasn’t really a fan of public display of affection which she referred to as PDA but she couldn’t hide the fact that she had missed him too.

“Babe, na wa for you oh, you can’t even compliment me. See me looking all fly for you now…” Ade said while adjusting the collar of his shirt just so Tade could notice that he was wearing the shirt she had sent him as his birthday gift…

“Proud boy… you can’t change… You sure look smashing…. Now let’s going in to meet my sister” Tade said winking at Ade as she held his hand while they walked into the hospital.

***

Dr. Dunmade had been at the door of the room where Ayomide had been admitted for about 1minute observing mother and child as Tofunmi sang nursery rhymes to Ayomide and he smiled as he tried to sing along. She had stepped in to pat Tofunmi who was obviously not conscious of the fact that someone else was in the room with them…

“I see he’s improving a lot…” She said

“Thanks doctor… He really is, he ate better this afternoon and we’ve been singing together for some time now…” Tofunmi said, with gratitude in her heart that her son was recovering so fast.

“Good. We will observe him for about 2more days and run a final test on him to be sure he’s perfectly okay, especially since he still looks a bit weak. Once we are sure he’s very fine, he will be discharged” Dr. Dunmade said as she went closer to the little boy to make some observations which she penned down before stepping out of the room.

“Thanks again, doc, for all your help” Tofunmi said as Dr. Dunmade left.

“Ayo, did you hear what the doctor said… You have to be strong if you don’t want any more injections, okay?” Tofunmi said as she teased her son…

***

“ Adedapo… dee-1 of life… na you be this?” Bimbo shouted as she bumped into Ade who was stepping into the hospital with Tade, while she was stepping out.

“Dee-1… wow, it’s been… 4, 5 years or what?…”  she went on as she helped herself with a hug… “haba, you don’t even want to hug me… na wa o”

“Bimbs, how far? What are you doing here?”  Dapo finally muttered out after recovering from the shock that was obviously on his face but which he tried to cover up with a forced smile.

“I should be asking you that. You’re the Lag-based dude, remember?”… Bimbo was all smiles…

“Oh, so is this your sister or just another random chic”… Bimbo said, laughing out loud as she pointed to Tade…

Tade just stood as she watched the whole drama unfold. As Tade was about greeting this stranger who was obviously a talkative, Bimbo cut in…

“ Hi. I’m Bimbo, one of Dapo’s random chics…”  laughing harder this time… “You’re his sister right?” Bimbo went on…

Ade was finally pissed with Bimbo’s attitude, she had such a lose mouth, he couldn’t cope with her anymore and that was why he called it quits with her several years ago.

Tade who was getting uncomfortable with everything Bimbo was saying and the way she was laughing out loud tried to hide her disgust by introducing herself calmly…

“I’m Tade…”  she said, turning to give Ade a stern look that he could interpret almost immediately as she hissed and walked into the hospital to meet her sister. She brought out her phone, typed a message and sent to Ade while walking towards Ayomide’s room. The message read:

“Don’t bother coming in, just go on with your random chic. Nonsense”

Ade couldn’t hold his anger as he dragged Bimbo by the hand out of the hospital…

“What was that?” he said with so much anger in his voice

“What was what?” Bimbo asked looking confused… “and why are you talking to me like this. Are you alright? I saw you, you saw me but as usual, you lacked the courtesy to greet me and I did. Please, please, if you can’t give a reasonable explanation for all this, can I go now?” Bimbo said as she began walking away…

… “You know what? I shouldn’t be surprised you’re still this way. You just keep showing up at every instance when my life is progressing. That was my babe right there and all you did was run your mouth with the random chic story… gosh, were you sent to ruin my life…” Ade’s phone beeped…

“e gba mi oh… what are you saying? Infact, I\m out of here” Bimbo hissed as she left.

Ade was no longer listening to Bimbo, his ex-girlfriend as he read Tade’s message. He sighed and walked back to his car, while dialing Tade’s number. He couldn’t understand all the drama that has been unfolding since he made the decision to get serious about this babe, Tade Badmus. He knew it was going to be of no use stepping into the hospital and he wasn’t ready to cause any more scene than he had already caused in the hospital environment. He put Tade’s number on redial, even though he knew his babe too well to answer his calls.

He reluctantly got into his car, turned on the radio and tuned to his favourite radio station, The Beat 97.9 Fm where Sam Smith’s “Stay with me” was being played. Ade sang along as he drove away, singing loudly the part that seemed to fit into current his situation….

“Oh, won’t you stay with me…

‘cause you’re all I need

This ain’t love, it’s clear to see

But darling, stay with me… oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh….”

***

The way Tade dashed into the room, Tofunmi knew something was up but she also knew Tade would appreciate if she didn’t ask too many questions, so she simply asked where her boyfriend was and when Tade said he had to go for some reasons, Tofunmi did not bother asking further questions. She had told Tade what the doctor said about discharging Ayomide in 2days if he recovered faster. Tade was glad; she smiled and hugged her nephew while trying to hide her feelings about what just transpired outside the hospital.

Mr and Mrs. Badmus later came to join their children at the hospital, bringing lunch for the two girls and the little boy. They wished they could take Ayomide home but they were really glad that he looked better and was even smiling a lot.

The girls switched to other gists, their mum’s 50^th birthday being the main part of the gist. The Badmus’ left the hospital at night but not before they made sure Ayomide was properly attended to for the night.

Tofunmi was exhausted by the time she got home, she however managed to send Ibinabo a text message thanking her for calling and wishing her the best in her forth coming examinations.

***

Ibinabo had no doubt enjoyed every bit of her first year in Obafemi Awolowo University; for one, she enjoyed the freedom the campus afforded her, unlike when she was at home with her parents. She had rocked every departmental party and other parties outside the department that she had the opportunity to be aware of. She had also attended several dance and music shows at Amphi Theatre. Ibinabo just wanted to enjoy herself, and that, she did to the fullest. She had however done her best not to miss classes where attendance counted and tests. She considered herself lucky to be able to grasp anything she’s being taught fast. She had managed to imitate Tofunmi by going to the Library and class at night to read, but she knew that wasn’t her thing, as she ended up dosing or chatting away on her phone. She couldn’t lie to herself that she was a day-time person.

As she dropped her pen for her final paper for 100level, she heaved a sigh of relief and silently said “thank God”. It wasn’t as if biochemistry was a particularly easy course but she had always been good with the Sciences. She initially wanted to come in for Medicine, but when her score couldn’t meet the cut off mark, she immediately obtained a change of course form.

As she stepped out of BOOC (the hall where she had her examination), she brought out her phone from her bag, switched it on and Bode’s message was the first to come in. She smiled as she read through the message where Bode promised to take her out later that evening.  She smiled even wider. She was lucky to have this guy in her life, she thought to herself as she dialed Bode’s number to inform him that she was out of the exam hall.

Later that evening, at the New Bukateria, Bode had taken his babe to Nypsie Bar and Lounge, the reigning bar for the big guys in school. As they chatted and laughed over several things, Ibinabo’s phone beeped. It was a message from Tofunmi asking about her exams and informing her of her mum’s 50^th birthday celebration that would be holding that weekend. She had stated that it wasn’t going to be anything big, but that she would appreciate if Ibinabo could stop by briefly before going to Lagos for the holiday. Ibinabo had replied immediately…

“you bet… I’d call you soon… in a noisy place…”

***

“Tade… Tade… your phone...” Tofunmi shouted as she approached the kitchen with Tade’s phone. Tade had looked at the caller and hissed.

“Sister mi, please help me put the phone back in the room on your way back” Tade said as she went on slicing the onions on the meat she was about boiling…

“Okay oh…” Tofunmi said as she walked back into the room. She knew that something was up with Tade and her boyfriend, especially with the countenance she tried to cover up with a smile when she walked into the hospital four days ago. She wished she could get Tade to talk to her but she had barely had any spare time since she got back from the hospital with Ayomide. She had to watch him closely and she enjoyed every bit of his naughtiness when he finally regained enough strength to play around.

Her mum’s 50^th birthday preparations did not make things easier as her dad had planned to surprise their mum with a mini-party. She knew it was going to be a bit difficult to surprise her mum with a party as the cooking would be done in the compound but she loved the fact that this celebration was coming up almost immediately after Ayomide was discharged from the hospital.

As Tofunmi was about dropping Tade’s phone on the table in their room, it rang again and this time she picked it, just to tell the caller that Tade was busy at the moment…

‘Tade, I said I was sorry now. See, I already told you all there is to know about her. We dated for a while but it didn’t work out, and that was a long time ago. I just didn’t think it was necessary boring you with stories from my naïve days… Tade,Tade… you’re there?.... *silence*

Babe, talk to me now, it’s me oh, your baby, your Adedapo….” Ade went on, thankful that Tade eventually picked his call after ignoring him for 3days. She had sent a long message asking what else he was hiding from his past if he didn’t deem it fit to ever bring up stories of his exes all through the twenty-something months they’ve been dating. He had apologized and called severally to tell her the whole story behind Bimbo and about other girls he had dated in the past, but she won’t pick him. He eventually sent a message, the longest he had ever typed, explaining as brief as he could all he could remember about Bimbo. As his call went through and it was picked, he decided to seize the opportunity to apologise before Tade hung up but now, she wasn’t even talking….

Tofunmi was stunned as she listened to the person on the other end of the line; this person sounded like her own Dapo; she got even more confused when he called his name in full trying to psyche the person who picked the call, thinking it was Tade. Tofunmi couldn’t fathom what was going on, the coincidence and all. She determined to figure out the puzzle and there was only one way out…

Tofunmi cleared her throat, as she tried to mimick her sister’s voice….

“Adedapo Aborishade” she eventually muffled, trying to act pissed like her sister would…

“Yes, baby…” Ade responded, more excitedly this time…

“I’m in the middle of something right now. You can call back at night or something…” Tofunmi said, trying so hard to keep sounding like her sister…

“Okay, baby, but you know I’m…” Tofunmi didn’t wait for Dapo to finish his statement before she ended the call.

***

Tofunmi didn’t even realize she was now sitting on the bed as the realization of the fact that Tade’s Ade was her own Dapo; the father of her son was dawning on her and the thought just weakened her. She couldn’t figure this out… She must have been sitting for about 5minutes before coming back to consciousness at her mother’s tap who had been standing at the door and calling her name for that same amount of time before walking up to her to tap her…

“Maami, it’s you. Sorry, I was deep in thoughts…” Tofunmi said, as she stood up to go back to the kitchen to help her younger sister out in the cooking.

“’Funmi, take e easy o. Ki lo de gan? (Tofunmi, take it easy, what is the matter?)”, Mrs. Badmus tried to find out what the problem was with her daughter. Tofunmi assured her mother that she was fine, as she hugged her mum, smiled and walked towards the kitchen…

*the butterflies
*faith Tunde-Yara
*photo credit: madamenoire.com