Good Riddance... (6)

The flowers were the loveliest I had seen in a really long time. I blushed like a little child. It was so sweet of him to have brought me these: not just the flowers but the really fresh fruits in the basket, some of which he had arranged on the tray on my bedside table. I looked at him as he picked the fruits to place on the tray and it just felt really good to stare at him all day long.

“So tell me, how do you feel now? Really?” He asked gently.

“whole or half truth?” I was in the mood to tease, so I answered with another question and smiled weakly.
“I could have us dwell on this simple question all day long”. I thought to myself.

“Seriously. Are you sure this was not some stunt you pulled to get us all worked up?" This time he smiled sheepishly..

“Why will I pull a stunt? I'm not an attention seeker now. But all of these feels good, anyway. The pampering from everyone." I smiled wider this time.
... and you in particular. You skipped work for me? That's so sweet of you..." I continued.

“Just answer the question. All these posh kids with posh ailments…” he cut in.

“Well, I’m fine. I feel better today. My head just feels a little light, but I’ll certainly be fine. The doctor has assured me.” I replied softly.

He went on to chat about the pretty ushers he saw at my church but mentioned that the team looked incomplete without me. This time, I laughed because I knew he was just teasing. He went on with the other compliments about the church generally, the choir, the team that welcomed first-timers and so on. Then, he reminded me of the fun times at Vic's party on Saturday. I was so carried away with all the laughter and gist that I blurted out without thinking...

"You're such fun to be with. My tummy aches already." I laughed softly this time, trying to catch my breath and looking away after realizing what I had said.

"So, what's the big deal. What I said is true" I thought to myself in a second as I looked back at him for a response to my last statement.

He just stared at me, smiled and stood up as if he wanted to walk closer to my bed to plant a kiss on my forehead. I wished for that immediately, but was disappointed when he walked instead to the bedside table to get a glass of water.

"Here, have some water." He said softly.

I looked back at him weirdly, and collected the glass.

"You look drained. And I'm sorry for making you laugh so hard..." He smiled wide.
I sipped the water in silence, and stared at him stylishly as he brought out his phone to type a message.
We both ran out of words all of a sudden.


***
"Yes, she's stable and will be discharged this evening."

"Oh. Thank God. Thank you so much doctor."

I heard my mum's voice as I rolled to the other side of the bed. I felt her hands that were now holding mine. It took a while to open my eyes, or so I thought. I kept hearing voices. It was the doctor giving mum some more instructions about my health.

"Abike mi, you'll be fine", my mum patted me as she saw me open my eyes.

"Good morning mum" I said gently.

"Hi dad." I smiled at my dad who was standing at the edge of the bed.

"The doctor said you'll be discharged by evening. How do you feel" My dad asked.

"Oh. Great. I'm fine, dad. I've missed my bed." I replied.

My parents laughed lightly. It felt good to see them laugh and not stressed up about me. I squeezed my mum's hand and she squeezed back. She got the message. I wasn't going anywhere. I could understand her fears but I felt so much better after the long sleep.
I tried to figure out the events of the previous day to see if Demola actually came. I picked my phone and found his message.

"Hi dear. Hope you're better today. Jess told me you're not feeling well. I would have come by the hospital as soon as I could but something came up at my folks'. I had to rush home to see them. I'll try to come see you after the close of work tomorrow. Get well soon dear. D."

I hissed in my mind and dropped my phone back on the table. I turned back to my parents and we talked for a while, had breakfast and was able to walk them to the door when they had to leave.
I picked up my phone after they had left and began typing a message. I was so pissed at Demola. I thought he cared as much as I did. He had not showed up at all and I was here dreaming about him bringing some cute flowers. I erased the message I was typing and called Segun instead, after which I called Jessica.

***
It had been three days since I got back from the hospital and there was still no word from Demola. This was awkward. It was so unlike him. Demola was a very thoughtful person. I fought so hard not to call him to find out what the problem was. He had sent a couple of one-sentence messages but I was not just in the mood to type any response. It all didn't make sense.

"You there? Tola" I don't know long he had been calling my name.

"Yes, Segun... So sorry. You were saying?" I asked as I regained consciousness.

"Babe, are you sure you're alright? Don't you like the food? Or is it the crowd you don't like? I could take you home and we could sit comfortably to talk"
I could feel the concern in Segun's voice but there was nothing I could do about it. I only felt sorry for him. The indian route seemed to be taking forever.

"Errmm. I'm fine. Food is great. Pardon me for that. Go on... I'm listening." I tried to cover up my distraction with a smile.

"You sure?"

"Really, I am." I sipped my drink as I paid attention to all that Segun had to fill me in about his work place and his upcoming business. He also talked about helping me get an assistant for my business. I contributed as much as I could but it was just like any other conversation we had had in the last one month - not exciting.
I took my phone out of my bag, sent a quick message to Jessica for us to meet up.
The ride home was usual - silent almost all through the way. I was thankful Segun did not continue to ask if I was fine. He simply said:

"You still need a lot of rest and pampering".

We hugged tightly after he dropped me at my place and I whispered a 'thank you for everything' in his ears, gave him a peck on the cheek and watched him drive out of the compound with a smile that seemed plastered to my face.

***

"We need to talk right now." The urgency in his voice was scary but she couldn't be bothered.

"Hi to you too. What's the problem?" She answered non-challantly.

"Where are you at the moment? I'll come pick you up immediately." He asked in a hurry.

"Does it matter where I am? Dude, I'm busy. Okay? Don't you have work to go back to or something?" She asked disgustedly, then continued.

"I'll be free from 6.00pm thereabout. You can call back by then." She hung up without waiting for his response. She hissed this time, left the kitchen for the living room to get back to what she had put on hold to answer the call secretly.

"Where were we?" She sat back on the chair, took her bag from the side of the chair and placed her phone into her bag.

"You look pissed. Is everything alright?" Keji (Jessica's friend) queried.

"Everything is fine jare." She re-arranged her bag, zipped it and placed it on the floor.

"Don't tell me you're leaving oh." 

"Leaving ke? Not at all. So, tell me more about that yeye ex of yours." Jessica inquired.

***Good Riddance by Faith Tunde-Yara
Photo credit:  bigeye.ug