A Couple of Three... Episode 2

"Let the name of the Lord be praised...
Oh, how wonderful you are...
You are beautiful beyond description...
Too marvelous for words...
Too wonderful for comprehensionnnnnn...."

*loud singing continues for two minutes*

"Thank you Jesus, Thank you Lord..."

She paused for a moment, opened her eyes and saw him fast asleep. He knelt down by the sofa and buried his head in the chair. He began to mutter words unconsciously, as if to continue his prayers silently.

Fikayo was not fooled. She knew her husband so well. This time around, she decided not get mad at him as usual. This was a critical time in their lives, and she was not about to give the devil a chance. She continued her singing, moved closer to where her husband was and gave him a light kick.

"Bosun, wake up..." She pushed him yet again when he continued with his muttering.

"Amen, Amen in the name of Jesus..." Bosun shouted, and began nodding his head to prove that he had been praying all along.

"Shior. Who are you fooling? Just round off the prayers o..."
Fikayo took out the bible on which her husband had been resting and dozed off, she closed the pages, relaxed into the chair next to him, and moved her husband's hand from the chair.

"I'm waiting o." She spoke into his ears, since he wouldn't stop nodding and speaking words she couldn't hear.
She wondered if he was just starting his own prayers.

"Father we thank you for today. We pray that you be with us as we go to bed. Amen."

"Amennnnnn" Fikayo shouted at the top of her voice.

"Good night." Bosun managed to stand up from the rug, rubbed his eyes and made his way to the bedroom.

Fikayo shook her head as she watched her husband stagger towards their bedroom. She shut her eyes and said a proper closing prayer for herself and her husband, and their extended family. Her nuclear family was yet to start, and she wondered if God was taking his time to prepare her husband for fatherhood before he actually blessed them with a child. She had prayed and fasted innumerable times, and after sometime, she reasoned that they couldn't have a child yet; not with the current lifestyle of Bosun.

"Change him Lord, draw him closer to you, make him the father that he should be to our unborn children..."

She began another session of prayers and was likely going to continue till she felt a relief in her spirit. It wasn't the first time closing prayers led to another round of prayers.

She assumed her first position , which served as the entrance position into her rigorous prayers. She held the bible close to her chest, knelt down and began to sing at the top of her voice....

"Create in Bosun a new heart, Oh Lord... and renew a right spirit within himmmm.... 
Jesus.... create in himm a new heart, I pray" She twisted the lyrics of the song to suit her prayer points.

Then she remembered the Pastor's admonition to praise God at all times, especially when faced with stubborn situations and circumstances. She immediately switched to another praise song. This time she imagined her protruded belly, her beautiful set of twins, her well-behaved husband leading a powerful session of anything and probably everything in church, her amazing in-laws, family members, and friends rallying round her and rejoicing with her.
She jumped up from her first prayer position and assumed the next position. She began to dance to the many praise songs she had remixed and merged together....

"I will praise you Lord, if nobody will praise your name oh, I will praise you Lord..."

Her loud 'Thank God I made it by Frank Edwards' ringtone interrupted her praise session. She moved to the table where she dropped her phone to check who the caller was, and then press the red button.
She continued her singing as she checked her phone.

It was Olori S. on the phone. She ended the call and went back to her dancing. Her phone began to ring a second time. She went back to check and it was still Olori S. She kept humming the praise song, as she ended the call a second time.

Whatever Sewa had to say could wait, she told herself as she navigated to the profile settings and placed her phone on silent mode. She was about dropping the phone when a whatsapp message came in. She was not planning on checking the message but it was from 'T2dA'. That was weird. She decided she would read and then type 'brb'. It would be rude of her to just stop her prayer session abruptly.

The message read: "Sister Mary, pick your call now. I'm in town..."

"Brb..." Fikayo typed but didn't send the message. She smiled in an instant, after which she switched back to her prayer mode.

"I'm sorry Lord. I'm so sorry..." She apologized to God for interrupting their conversation so rudely.

After what seemed to be a rushed closing prayer to the second round of prayers, she hurried back to her phone and dialed Sewa's number.

"Olori, wassup?" She tried to hide her excitement.
The night was still young but they lived in a very quiet environment. However, that quiet environment situation could not stop her from praying and singing aloud, whenever she meant business with God.

"I can feel it, you're smiling.... Just scream as usual now..." Sewa laughed out loud.

"Shhh. The mister is asleep jare. Oya, what's up?" She was now smiling ever so wide.

"Asleep ke? It's not even 8 pm yet? Sewa laughed.

"You know how Bosun is; especially on supposed boring Saturdays when he's not on duty." Fikayo rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, what's the news?" She continued.

"Tade is hereeeee" Sewa screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Oya nawwwwww..." Fikayo jumped up from her seat and began to dance. It was time to switch to that  I-don't-care-if-it's-a-quiet-environment mode.

"He's here, like in your place right now?" Fikayo paused to think about the situation for a moment.

"Of course..." Sewa batted her eyelids.
"Where else would he be? Hold on, let me give him the phone." She laughed her way to the sitting room where the men were quietly sitting, watching a football match so intensely.

"Dude, Fifi on the phone." She handed the phone to Tade and then moved her excited self to her husband's lap.

"Dinner is almost ready." She whispered in his ears, biting them so gently as she laughed and got up to check the special meal she was making for her guest, and her husband.

Kunle sat stiff on the chair. He was boiling on the inside but was determined not to explode in the presence of their guest.
The ride from the airport to their home was very awkward. He felt like the driver, with his wife and Tade chatting and laughing at the top of their voices at old memories that his ever so intelligent wife brought up, and completely ignoring him all the way home. He knew they had agreed to host a Tade in their home for a few days, but not in his widest imagination had he expected the Tade to be a guy. He tried to get his wife's attention a number of times, but she was so bubbly, super excited and exceptionally free with this bestie. She had jumped out of the car as they drove into the compound, calling on the gate man to help out with the boxes, while she held Tade's hand and dragged him into the main house. She pointed the guest room where the boxes should be placed to the gate man, and then rushed off to the kitchen to get a pack of cold juice and a glass cup for Tade.

"Darl, please can you help slot in the wedding CD for Tade to watch?"

That was the only time Sewa remembered she was his wife. Kunle had quietly walked into the bedroom , put on his iPad, and began catching up on some unimportant work. He plugged his head phones to divert his attention from the drama unfolding around him. He expected his wife to step in to check up on him but he waited in vain. He drifted to sleep shortly after, and it was his alarm reminding him of a football match that woke him up. He decided on watching the match in his bedroom, since there was a TV and the cable was connected; but he figured he was being too slow, too quiet, and too accommodating. This was not the way things should be done. He stood up aggressively from the bed, picked his phone and iPad and hurried to the sitting room, with a plan to drag his wife if need be, into the study to set ground rules and discuss the exit of this bestie from his house.

His head began an intense spin when he walked into a quiet sitting room without a trace of his wife anywhere close. He rushed to the kitchen and she was no where to be found. He hurried to the guest room, but stopped at the door. The door was shut. Kunle stopped himself from imagining the worst, and instead decided to listen through the door, for any laughter or conversation coming from the room.

"Kunle?!" He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a touch on his shoulders.

"Whooh! You startled me." Kunle started in a whisper, wiping off the sweat that had formed on his head within the few minutes he had spent searching for answers to the numerous questions that flashed through his mind, right from the airport till the moment he woke up.

"What are you doing?" Sewa frowned.

"Doing?" Kunle cleared his throat and gave the straight face look.
"Was just making sure our guest was... settling in... properly." Kunle stuttered.

"By the way, you have some explaining to do." Kunle decided to take charge of the situation. So he continued in a serious tone, pulling his wife's arm as they both walked away from the corridor where the guest room was. It was only then he noticed the cloth basket Sewa was carrying. She had gone to fetch the dry clothes from the cloth line.

Sewa couldn't be bothered with the way Kunle was feeling. She expected him to react this way, but she was not ready to give in to his inquisitions; at least not tonight, when Tade just arrived. She had one mission; which was to enjoy every moment of this visit from her best friend.

***

"Going to refill my glass. Care for some juice?"

Tade was not dumb, he could feel the awkwardness building between himself and Kunle. He had tried to start a decent conversation with him at the airport, on their way home, and even while he watched the wedding video, but Kunle shut him out at every instance. He knew what that meant, after all he was a guy.

The match was very interesting but he couldn't react normally as he would have if he was with any of his buddies. Kunle on the other hand, seemed to be taking mental notes of every move of the players on the team he supported. He was too serious for Tade's liking.

The call from Fikayo was very timely, especially since Sewa was stuck in the kitchen for hours. He wondered what she was cooking, and he found memories of her numerous delicacies to which he had been a fortunate recipient, coming back. It was time to break the ice. He was not enjoying the match, and there was no point pretending. He suddenly felt the need to get up from the chair. So he took his empty glass cup and began making his way to the kitchen, with Sewa's phone in his hands.

"No. Thanks." Kunle answered coldly underneath his breath.

"He doesn't talk much. Does he?" Tade said quietly as he walked into the kitchen, and pointed Sewa's phone to her.

"Don't do that again." Sewa almost dropped the serving spoon she was holding out of fright. Then she laughed as she collected the phone from Tade, and slipped it into the pocket of her apron.

"Nah, he's just tired, you know? Don't worry, you'll get along just fine." She smiled at him. He smiled back and stared intensely at her.

She turned back to the pot of efo riro  (vegetable soup) and continued stirring the various assorted meat she just added to the soup. She could feel his gaze all over her, and it made her nervous.

"So I'll call Fifi..."

"Fikayo said she'll chat..."

They spoke at the same time and Sewa's heartbeat increased.

"You go first..." She said quietly, while keeping her gaze fixed on the vegetable soup. She began to imagine him walking towards her.

Tade let out a small laugh.
"Let me go back to the match." He said as he walked out of the kitchen without the refilled glass of juice that he came to the kitchen for in the first place.

***A Couple of Three by FAITH TUNDE-YARA
*** Photo credit: bmoredivasent.com